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Drink now,
Frog’s Leap, in the heart of Rutherford Napa was established in the early 1980s by legendary winemaker John Williams. He was an advocate of dry farming and sustainability in Napa long before it was cool and trendy, and – as a result – his vineyards and wines have been reaping the rewards of this attention to detail for many years.
Lemon in colour, with gold hints, the nose offers aromas of grapefruit, melon, citrus and hints of thyme. The palate has energy combined with zesty acidity, with a weight that you would expect from a warm climate origin. With the alcohol and fruit in perfect balance, this is excellent as an apéritif or with food. Drink now to 2021.
Lemon in colour, with gold hints, the nose offers aromas of grapefruit, melon, citrus and hints of thyme. The palate has energy combined with zesty acidity, with a weight that you would expect from a warm climate origin. With the alcohol and fruit in perfect balance, this is excellent as an apéritif or with food. Drink now to 2021.
Ready, but will keep,
Winemaker John Williams has long been an advocate of dry farming, and organic and sustainable practices. His aim was to produce a more restrained style of Zinfandel. The 2017 was a good vintage, and picking early gave juicy acidity as well as carefully managed alcohol. Wild strawberries, strawberry jam and sweet spice notes combine with mocha and vanilla hints to provide a complex and gratifying wine, while the ripe, chocolate tannins provide a luxurious mouth-feel.
Ready, but will improve,
Winemaker John Williams was adopting sustainable and organic practices at Frog’s Leap in the 1980s, long before it was fashionable to do so. The dry farming philosophy and earlier picking style has helped to create more restrained style of wine and this Merlot is very much a nod to its Bordeaux counterparts.
The wine combines juicy, red plums with red liquorice and cherries. There is a concentrated core of sweet spice here that is supported by refreshing acidity. The tannins are generous and ripe but have a grip and tension that persists on the finish. Subtle cedar, dark chocolate and vanilla notes add in layers of complexity.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer (Spring 2019)
The wine combines juicy, red plums with red liquorice and cherries. There is a concentrated core of sweet spice here that is supported by refreshing acidity. The tannins are generous and ripe but have a grip and tension that persists on the finish. Subtle cedar, dark chocolate and vanilla notes add in layers of complexity.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer (Spring 2019)
Ready, but will keep,
Bright lemon colour with golden tints, this has a ripe stone-fruit and lemon citrus peel profile. Orange blossom notes mingle with ginger and white pepper spice, adding definition and complexity. Attractive toasted hazelnut flavours that persist on the palate, combined with nervy acidity and a tightly wound core that gives focus on the finish. This is so wonderfully Old World in style, it reminds me of Chablis or White Burgundy.
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)
Ready, but will keep,
This balanced and focused wine is drinking beautifully. The fruit is organically grown in the renowned Rutherford wine region in Napa. The complex soil structure combined with extraordinary attention to detail from winemaker John Williams makes this a stand-out Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromatics of Morello cherries, dark red-berried fruits with cedar and spice notes are supported by tight-knit and firm tannins and refreshing acidity.
Ready, but will keep,
This is distinctively Cabernet on the nose, with an attractive perfume of cassis and dark black berry fruits, as well as a subtle herbal top note. The tannins are powdery and firm, supporting the concentration and density on the palate. The length is extraordinary and the savoury finish delicious, inviting you to pour a second glass. Drink 2020-2035.
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)
DeSante,
Ready, but will keep,
DeSante is a small grower and their Cabernet comes from the prestigious Oakville area within the Napa Valley, home to some of the most highly regarded and sought-after wines in California. I love this Cabernet: although it displays the typical generosity and power of a Napa Cabernet, there is a purity and elegance that defines the wine and makes it incredibly accessible. Wines of this quality can be rather expensive and unaffordable, but DeSante – who make only 1,000 cases in total – really deliver with this wine, both in terms of price and quality.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer (winter 2018)
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer (winter 2018)
DeSante,
Ready, but will keep,
This wine is a bin-end, discounted by 20%.
A blend of Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah, only one barrel of this wine is produced. The fruit undergoes whole-cluster fermentation, and if the team feels the wine needs more acidity, they add white varieties. The nose offers red fruits and floral aromatics with a blueberry top-note. The tannins are firm and fine-grained, balanced by a juicy fruit core with a long finsih. This wine defines the style of Desante, offering great concentration and complexity as well as restraint and freshness.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
A blend of Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah, only one barrel of this wine is produced. The fruit undergoes whole-cluster fermentation, and if the team feels the wine needs more acidity, they add white varieties. The nose offers red fruits and floral aromatics with a blueberry top-note. The tannins are firm and fine-grained, balanced by a juicy fruit core with a long finsih. This wine defines the style of Desante, offering great concentration and complexity as well as restraint and freshness.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
DeSante,
Ready, but will keep,
Katharine and David spend a day in the cooperage every vintage, making sure that the toasting is suited to the vintage conditions – just another example of their meticulous attention to detail. This cuvée is aged for 10 months in 50 percent new oak. The fruit comes entirely from Oakville. Despite being a trickier vintage, Desante has managed to obtain balance between the 14.5 percent alcohol, ripe fruit and chalky tannins. The wine offers cassis, liquorice, clove and ripe red-fruit aromas, with warm, spicy notes on the finish.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
For laying down,
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is wonderfully savory and mineral, with a host of graphite, liquefied rock, floral and dark stone fruit notes that open up in the glass. Energetic, crystalline and beautifully focused throughout, the 2014 exudes class from the very first taste. Stylistically, it is a bit less generous than the 2013 was at the same stage in its life. This hypothetical blend is every bit as striking as the individual component lots suggested when I tasted them this past spring. Philip Togni adds that a larger than normal crop stretched out the harvest. Today, the 2014 is shaping up to be another uber-classic wine from Togni.
Antonio Galloni - vinous.com, Oct 2015
Antonio Galloni - vinous.com, Oct 2015
Ready, but will improve,
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple colored with a mind-blowingly gorgeous nose that defies words: warm cassis, red roses, sandalwood, Indian spices, crushed rocks, menthol and iron ore with waft of lilacs and truffles. Medium to full-bodied with a rock-solid frame of super-ripe, grainy tannins and tons of freshness, it finishes incredibly long and remains incredibly provocative.
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
Cardinale Estate,
For laying down,
A brilliant wine from winemaker Chris Carpenter and the Kendall-Jackson family, this blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot, mostly coming from mountain vineyards owned by the Jackson family, is fabulous.
The 2013 Cardinale Proprietary Red Wine is dense purple-colored, a big, sweet kiss of crème de cassis as well as licorice, blackberry and espresso are all present in this full-bodied, rather sublime and intense Cabernet Sauvignon that should drink well for 25 or more years. This was aged in about 91% new French oak for 18-20 months prior to bottling. It is certainly one of the finest Cardinales I have tasted in my experience.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - The Wine Advocate, Oct 2015
The 2013 Cardinale Proprietary Red Wine is dense purple-colored, a big, sweet kiss of crème de cassis as well as licorice, blackberry and espresso are all present in this full-bodied, rather sublime and intense Cabernet Sauvignon that should drink well for 25 or more years. This was aged in about 91% new French oak for 18-20 months prior to bottling. It is certainly one of the finest Cardinales I have tasted in my experience.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - The Wine Advocate, Oct 2015
Hundred Acre Winery,
For laying down,
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard has a deep garnet color and nose of crème de cassis, blueberry compote and candied violets with hints of red roses, chocolate mint, stewed tea and yeast extract plus a hint of cumin. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, the palate is completely packed with spicy fruit, finishing with lingering earthy notes.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 07/12/2018
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 07/12/2018
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (summer 2019)