Bodegas El Nido Clio 2011 The Bodegas El Nido & Gil Family Winery is located in the Valley of the Aragona, 10 kilometers north of the town of Jumilla, in the “top boundary”, so named because it is the highest altitude in the municipality. The vines are planted on soils mostly of limestone and very stony surface. The winery began bearing fruit in 2001 as a result of the partnership between the Gil family and Chris Ringland, one of Australia’s best winemakers. The first harvest sold was 2002 under both El Nido and Clio brands. A personal favorite. Dark red color with intense aromas of ripe fruit, floral notes and…
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R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva 1980 It all started in the middle of the nineteenth century when French negociants visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps. Don Rafael fell in love with the region and especially the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He observed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing…
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Caymus 2012 40th Anniversary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon In 1971 Charlie Wagner and his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner asked their son Charles (Chuck) Wagner, who had just graduated from high school, if he would be interested in joining them in starting up a winery. If Chuck declined the offer, Charlie and Lorna were planning to sell out of their ranch in Napa Valley and move to Australia. Chuck accepted his parents’ offer to launch the winery, Caymus Vineyards. The Wagners produced their first vintage in 1972, consisting of 240 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then, Caymus has focused their efforts in the production of quality Cabernet Sauvignon. Back in…
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Ramirez de la Piscina 2007 Gran Reserva The name Ramírez de la Piscina traces its lineage back to the Navarra Kings who fought in the First Crusade during the 11th century. Included among this noble ancestry is the famous Cid Campeador. The name is also strongly embedded in the small village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, which is centrally located in the Sonsierra lands, in the heart of La Rioja Alta. Bodegas Ramírez de la Piscina elaborates its wines with grapes proceeding from its own vineyards located in Abalos and from other very carefully selected estates. Aged for 24 months in American and French oak, and cellared for 36…
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Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir 2013 Grace and Ken Evenstad first arrived and settled in the Dundee Hills in the Willamette Valley in 1989. At that time, the couple had spent over 20 years together in Minnesota building a successful business and a deep appreciation for the wines of Burgundy. The Evenstads had faith in Oregon early on, before there was a national market for domestic Pinot Noir. When the time came to pursue their longtime dream of growing and producing world class Pinot Noir, they invested in a 42 acre hilltop estate that had just been logged in the beautiful Dundee Hills of Oregon. With the support of…
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Robert Mondavi 2013 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon Robert Mondavi Winery, located in Oakville, CA, makes a number of outstanding and consistent quality wines and established his winery in 1966 with a vision to have his Napa Valley wines to be among the world’s finest. Robert Mondavi also believed his wines should reflect its “roots” and be a signature creation from a combination of the soil, climate and production techniques, both new and old, which transforms the grapes into a fine wine. Oakville Cab has an alluring dark purple, almost inky color with loads of blue and black fruit aromas. The wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc,…
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Cakebread Cellars 2012 Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir Over 30 years ago, Jack Cakebread came to photograph the Napa Valley for a book and while there, he casually mentioned his interest in one day owning a vineyard to some family friends who had a ranch in Rutherford. When he returned home that afternoon, the phone rang and it was the family friends offering to sell their property. He headed back up to the valley that same afternoon to make his best offer, and Cakebread Cellars was born. Today, the winery owns 13 sites totaling 982 acres, 460 of which are currently planted. The Cakebread Website is full of interesting information…
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R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva 2004 It all started in the middle of the nineteenth century when French negociants visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps. Don Rafael fell in love with the region and especially the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He observed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing wine…
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Franck Bonville Grand Cru Les Belles Voyes Blanc de Blancs N.V. Franck and his wife Jeannine after the second war commercialized the first bottles of champagne from a vineyard already connected on the lands of Avize and Oger for over twenty years. Today, Giles and his wife Ingrid Bonville, together with their son Olivier spend time tending to the operation of the winery, including updating and modernizing the facility. Their goal is to grow grapes of the highest quality and produce great wines which are fresh, delicate and elegant. If you read the label, you will see the words “Récoltant Manipulant” or “RM” on the bottle of Franck Bonville, which…
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Cade 2013 Howell Mountain Napa Cabernet Sauvignon In 2005, John Conover, Gavin Newsom and Gordon Getty founded CADE Estate Winery on Howell Mountain as a complement to the valley floor terroir of PlumpJack Winery. Like PlumpJack, CADE takes its name from Shakespeare, who used the term to refer to the wine casks or cades used to transport wine from Bordeaux to England in Elizabethan times. Deep purple red with concentrated aromas of black berry fruit and subtle spice, a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. The palate blackberry, plum and cacao flavors with pepper and cinnamon, very complex, with cedar notes. Well structured with firm…