A Morning at AXR

Tasted Tuesday, May 30, 2023 by Franken Berry with 64 views

Introduction

An unanticipated highlight of our recent family trip to Napa was the Wednesday morning spent tasting at AXR. This winery fell upon my radar, as I have been following the wine making genius of Jean Hoefliger, first through Alpha Omega and again at The Debate, which has included a zoom tasting with Jean during the long years of the pandemic.

First, a huge shout out to our host Aida, who generously and patiently allowed us to taste through the portfolio above and beyond what was expected on that day. Truly a memorable morning in a beautiful setting in St Helena on the estate amongst the vines of the the V. Madrone vineyard.

Flight 1 (7 Notes)

  • 2022 AXR Sauvignon Blanc ganzin 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

    We started off a morning at AXR with our host Aida, tasting a nicely chilled single vineyard sauvignon blanc underneath the canopy of a group of redwoods on the estate. the Ganzin is a super-charged and somewhat unique sauvignon blanc with a nose of tropical fruits, pear and grapefruit. The palate showcases a soft, medium body medley of grapefruit, pear, apricot and passion fruit with notes of pie crust, in a richly textured wine with medium long finish. This was surprisingly tasty and worth shipping a few bottles to the homestead for summertime sipping

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  • 2021 AXR Rosé 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    we followed up on the sauvignon blanc with the most recent Rose, which from what I can recall is mostly cabernet sauvignon based, with a few other Bordeaux varietals thrown in, and the grapes were harvested a few weeks earlier than those used in the red wines. This was very fresh on the palate with a medium body and flavors of orange peel mixed with red fruits. great acidity, finishing with moderate tannins which added a another dimension to the wine.
    Again, very well done

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  • 2021 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon Happy Canyon 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara

    A brand new wine in the lineup (I had to add it to the database) generously poured by our host Aida. I was surprised to see a cabernet from a well known Santa Barbara vineyard at AXR, and delighted to taste it. compared with the Napa offerings, this one is decidedly more medium in body and richness, with a nice elegance and good acidity. This is a very focused wine with strong cassis fruit core, integrated oak and plush tannins.
    I have only had the Crown Point Relevance in memory to compare this to, and this offering is certainly a few notches above, and likely more consistent with that winery estate bottle

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  • 2021 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    the napa valley designate cabernet is delicious on its own, with a mix of black and red fruits, mostly black cherry and blackberries with notes of red raspberries, chocolate, cloves and wild fennel. moderate body and length, nicely balanced. Drying tannins on the finish coat the gums. I also picked up some strawberry on the nose. small amounts of merlot, cab franc and petit verdot. New oak is limited to about 50%, I believe. It is just not in the same league as the single vineyard designates.

    The grapes for this wine come mostly from vineyards in Coombsville and Furtado (stage leap district).

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  • 2021 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon Denali 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    The 2021 Denali was the favorite amongst myself and my daughter. This comes from a steeply terraced vineyard in St Helena, a stones throw from Phelps Bacchus vineyard. This is a decidedly more floral and elegant wine with a rich nose of violets and blueberries. What follows on the palate is a powerful, jammy wine of blueberries mixed with creme de cassis, bitter chocolate and hint of licorice on the finish. It is well balanced with great acidity, which adds to the vibrancy of the wine. although it is rich, lush, and full bodied, it has a weightless quality in the mouth.

    I have only ever had the '17 in the recent past - this one cranks up the volume considerably. To borrow a line from James Suckling, this is a bottle that you would want to drink all to yourself

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  • 2021 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    It was hard to follow the Denali, but this is another well constructed wine from AXR. From a much cooler climate in the western foothills of Yountville, this wine offers up the usual blackcurrants and blueberries mixed with leather, spring flowers, dried earth, and balanced by a striking minerality and bitter chocolate on the finish.

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  • 2018 AXR axr ▲ napa valley 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    the flagship cabernet is a blend of the best barrels from Sleeping Lady, Denali and V madrone (the five acre vineyard on the estate). This is a big, rich and dense cabernet with a mix of black cherries, black cherries and cassis. This wine finishes with dense tannins (typical of the vintage) which adds a bit of structure and balance to the wine

    I also had the opportunity to taste the '21 AXR1 which is also a full throttle, jammy wine, but I suspect that 'palate fatigue' at this point in time would prevent me from scoring this any different than the '18. On this day, I preferred the 18, based upon structure and complexity

    As is often the case for my palate, I find the jammy, fruit front and center, "super cabs" a bit overwhelming, and I have trouble tasting the secondary flavors. However, based upon the comments of my fellow CTers, this is likely to evolve into something special

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Closing

Again, I cannot thank Aida enough for sharing her knowledge, thoughts, and wines on this day. Finally, my many thanks to CabLover1982 for his enthusiastic reviews of the wines of AXR over the past few years.

AXR should be on every ones list as a must visit in the future.

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