Dream Trip - Napa On A Mission - All My favorites Plus A Few New Ones
Napa Valley
Tasted Thursday, April 1, 2021 - Sunday, April 4, 2021 by LiteItOnFire with 1,120 views
Introduction
There are close to 70 wines/16 Wineries I need to add (and doing this out of order) so please be patient as I will continue to add all week as this takes a lot more time than I realized when I started this. I will also update the summaries and this opening intro as I learn more about doing the stories.
As I am writing this story, I realize a few things, ok more than that but I can only process a few things at a time.
1) I have no affiliation, connection, ownership, interest, no free wine except at a tasting like everyone else although I may get to taste additional bottlings or samples based on my buying history with that winery or others
2) I am a very hard but fair grader although with this trip it may not seem like I am - but I take this seriously for me as I spend a lot on wine; can't always remember a few years down the line my thoughts as releases come out or drink timelines or the profile so it allows me to look back; so these notes, scoring etc are more for me and friends than a general PA - and with this trip in particular I put together what I felt are the best wines in Napa (along with a few new wineries that I never had but were referred to me (I will indicate these so it helps to know if it was/is already a favorite or it was unknown at the time of the tasting) and therefore i would expect to rate these all super high as I expect phenomenal things from them or I would not have put them on this trip (of course I wasn't able to book all favorites but this is a super majority for sure)
3) While many critics may score higher or in some instances much higher, these are my scores and mine alone- which may improve over time ESPECIALLY barrel samples or recently released wines in bottle which could be hidden behind the structure and I am not sure if or what the final showing will become
4) I try and take all personal bias based on relationship, cellar inventory, etc out of my notes and only provide my palate objectively based on my tasting preference if that makes sense (I try not to prejudge)
5) At the time of this tasting, I rated around 750 wines. I tend to only drink wines I think are excellent and rarely order wines or have wines if its not the case (I will always taste but then tend not to drink more and rarely rate) so therefore of the 750 ratings, my wines and ratings in general should skew higher as I am not rating wines like the critics that have to rate all wines- why drink what you don't like? Reason I state that is of the 750 wines, only 38 were ranked 96 and above:
100: 0
99: 1
98: 4
97: 8
96: 25
I state this because people have privately outreached, in and outside the business, surprised I did not rank some of the wines higher. I get the reaction but please know anything above say a 92 for me is EXCELLENT.
Our first flight in nearly 18 months, socially distanced and needed if only for a short tome to escape life. Without having a pulse on 2018 nor 2019 and with a focus to zero in on my cellar holdings going forward - it was more of a mission than a typical laid back journey as there were too many goals to hit and not nearly enough time.
1) learn more about 2018 and 2019 vintages and how they impact winemaker style, wine profile and when and how to drink
2) dig into new winemakers/wineries that have either been recommended or I have researched and bought or had a one off bottle
3) Introduce good friends to bada-s wine
4) laser focus my going forward purchasing - adds/subtract wines/wineries and/or increase/decrease quantities
5) figure out as much as I could about the 2020 vintage
6) catch up with some of my favorite recent wines, wineries and people
7) chase down one of my favorite vineyards and wines, Thorevilos, in the 2019 vintage to see how the new winemaker styles compare/contrast to Abreu
8) capture as much as I could as I am working my way into the C.R.A.F.T Club
There is zero chance I could pick a favorite but left confident I nearly achieved every goal I set out to hit except #7. All notes are super high level and more impressions and callouts for me and/or friends as I am not a professional taster nor could spend the amount of time I wanted with each wine and ~75 wines in 72 hours is a crap ton. I hope for those interested it proves helpful. Well here goes...
Flight 1 - Impensata & Kinsman Eades (4 Notes)
What a great first night in Napa to hit the ground running- have two wineries that delivered in 2016 two of my top wines of the vintage tastings back to back! They were the 2016 Kinsman Eades & 2016 Memento Mori Dr Crane.
One of my favorite winemakers - and I could not be more excited to taste the nuances of the 2018 vintage on their Kinsman Eades wines as well as their exciting new project Impensata. The tasting completely blew away all expectations and was a crowd favorite of the trip.
The wines were not decanted rather slow ox and were tasted in winery groups- Impensata two wines followed by Kinsman Eades two wines.
Do yourself a favor and sign up for both winery mailing lists- killer juice.
Flight 2 - Misc wines directly after the tasting (3 Notes)
Following the Impensata Kinsman Eades tasting we ordered a couple of bottles and then had the pleasure to enjoy a birthyear birthday bottle for one of our friends in the group- what an amazing surprise and delicious wine to celebrate and close out the dinner. Very thoughtful and graciously shared by all. Yum.
Flight 3 - Memento Mori Flight (3 Notes)
What a fun treat to taste 2016 & 2018 flagship blend alongside the 2018 VHR. Having tasted this in barrel previously, I was super excited to see how this has developed now in the final blend in bottle.
Unfortunately I was so excited about the first tasting, I forgot to check in with a time update to make sure these were open and decanting ahead of time- which is a must for these really well built wines. If you haven't had a chance to taste Memento Mori, you are missing out.
SO I suck and while these were very good and would kick butt of so many other wines, we could not dig into these as much as we would have liked. Thank you Memento Mori for truly awesome wines- I will reproduce this tasting with my own bottles with the same group in the coming months with proper decant time.
Quick note, 2016 Kinsman Eades & 2016 Memento Mori Dr Crane are two of my wines of the vintage- and there was stiff competition so it was no small feat.
Flight 4 - Unicorn (1 Note)
Whatever I type here will only take away from the excitement of Santa finally coming to town coupled with me finally tracking enough rainbows to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Worth the hype and wait- sign up on the Macdonald wait list now.
Flight 5 - Abreu- A favorite winery, year in and year out (3 Notes)
I don’t know if there is a more gracious host with his time than Brad Grimes. We had an incredible day tasting the very first vintage and the most recent vintage of Las Posadas along with 2012 Rothwell Hyde that is drinking in a perfect spot right now- all complementing an incredible lunch. What a treat, beautiful setting, with great hosts (BG & SK), so thoughtful and an unforgettable experience had by all. Just Wow. A highlight of the trip.
If you ever have a chance to taste an Abreu wine, run to the opportunity as they are just that good year in and year out. I have dropped a few of the other higher priced wines to focus more on the wines I love- this is one of them.
Flight 6 - Christopher Tynan - Surprise of the trip (5 Notes)
This is the surprise winery tasting of the trip. I have never really heard of Christopher Tynan before (maybe whispers from his time at Colgin), as winemaker or from his own winery and I assume nor have many of you... but that will change.
His first vintage, 2011, might not have been the ideal launch pad announcing his arrival on the scene and since his wines are built to age, not AFWE or left bank St Julian Grand Cru style rather a fantastic take on Napa with incredible structure and stuffing yet rich and powerful but not overbearing- all the right things in all the right places.
Realizing how negative the 2011 vintage is across the board, with little to no exceptions, why put his reputation on a wine he knew was great yet would get lost in the vintage? So he held back the wines and waited to release the 2011 in favor for the 2012s. Since the wines are two years in barrel and another two in bottle, it wasn’t until 2016 before the wines were released, now add to that the wines are built to last that means there have only been a handful of vintages even out there, more less ready for prime time.
He makes two badass wines, a Cabernet coming from the MG vineyard and a Syrah from the Judge vineyard. Yep more obscurity as they are not from Beckstoffer or other more well known vineyards. In addition, he will release a handful of one off wines as he feels there is value. Good news is in 2018, he will add a third wine, a cabernet from three vineyards which will help get the wine in other members hands.
The Syrah is not a Napa Syrah rather a Northern Rhone, Hermitage in some vintages and Côte Rotie in others (at least from the vintages we tasted).
All I can tell you is sign up on the list now as these wines are killer and there are not enough to go around.
Added note: if you normally buy one wine grab two, if you normally buy three wines buy 6. Due to the scarcity and so few are produced, I tried to buy these wines immediately after I left but there is literally no where you can buy them.
Flight 7 - Brion
In my quest to track down a favorite vineyard, Thorevilos which previously was only made by Abreu, I was truly curious of the new wineries take on the vineyard style. Through research, Brion was one of the handful of wineries producing a 2019 label with the grapes so on my Napa list it went, along with a few others.
Interesting approach to their winery which is to pair up winemakers with what they feel are the vineyards best match. in the 2016 lineup we tasted 4 wines, made by three different winemakers (interesting concept). Sure I am game lets see what the winery is all about.
We came in a bit hot from Tynan but still in a great place to complete the day's tasting itinerary. We were greeted by an exceptional host and a glass of 2010 Dom. Now how can I get my kids to welcome me to the door with Dom, ok I would probably take a White Zin from Franzia at this point while being locked up with these nutjobs... ok enough about me back to the wine. We toured a beautifully restored barn and a gorgeous property before ending at what can only be described as stunning courtyard like oasis pre-set with four wines glasses with slivers of artisan cheeses to accompany the wines. Just beautiful.
Flight 10 - Maybach (3 Notes)
Sometimes you have a wine and say to yourself - this is killer. Then you have another wine and say to yourself wow this is badass. Then you have the third wine and an idea pops into your head on how you could secretly try to figure out how to pull A Strange Brew and get all up in there without anyone noticing so you can have all the wine to yourself ... but then the wife gives you ‘I am with stupid look’ and you are immediately transported back to reality that maybe it wasn’t a good idea - that was how the 2019 barrel sampling tasting went. These wines may be among one of their best vintages to date with so much going on already it’s hard to ignore just how good these will be (of course caveat as these are not the final blend and therefore what we taste in bottle may not be the same profile) although perhaps not the longest lived.
Flight 11 - Matt Morris - Great QPR - CHARBONO GRAPE - Second Surprise Winery of the Trip (3 Notes)
This was a referral from a friend, and to be honest I would never have even tried the wine if it wasn't from a fellow wine drinking friend with similar tastes/palates. I had zero clue, what a Charbono grape is, flavor profile or frankly if it was any good. I have heard enough fads to not only be weary rather stop buying them as I was continually disappointed 99 out of 100 times. This is not a Fad, it is here to stay.
The winery, like Christopher Tynan winery from the day before, was a complete surprise. While Matt is not the winemaker, he is the person that became passionate about the varietal some years ago when buying affordable wine and finding an older bottle in the 'for sale' bin and like any of us who started drinking wine without money, heck yeah a cheap napa wine for the same price as a more generic but not Boones Strawberry Hill, things are looking up! With little expectations, he pop'd the cork and did a double take- how is this wine drinking so well with decades of age? Why in an 'off' vintage are there no green notes... with this experience he led off in search for others and it would always be at the 'sale' or cheapest price on wine lists.
Once this similar experience happened over and over again he began to think of this as maybe not just a hobby but maybe there could be something to it. So he found the few vineyards in the United States that still grew the grapes [and skipping ahead] asked one of the top winemakers, Benoit T from Realm/Fait Main, what he thought they could do with it if the money was spent to improve the farming (less emphasis on quantity and all on quality) and winemaking practices and approaches. BT was in and so the brand was created and they loved the results. Fast forward, Francois Pinchon joined as the winemaker and fell in love with the grape.
Like with most tastings on the trip we did not get to spend a lot of time but with the time we had, the entire group was floored at the quality, depth and substance this grape and the wine delivered.
100% worth taking a look as the wines range from $45 - $90.
Flight 12 - The All New Vice Versa - WOW (5 Notes)
I have been buying from Vice Versa for a number of years and have always been confused on the different levels but have always enjoyed their wine. I say confused as I never knew what to buy, FOMO or not, based on my palate vs wallet vs known/unknown wine purchasing decision making process that at this point in my life falls somewhere between the golf handicap algorithm and weather forecasting.
I call it like I see it, so if this comes off harsh, it is not meant to, rather a honest assessment of YoY changes and from what I can tell is paying dividends to its members! There are never perfect split down the middle win-wins and in this case, we the buyers are on the right side of winning (shhh don't tell them).
OK CAVEAT the following is not exact and may be an exaggeration of sorts but its a good illustration of the concept. Previously they would take their best barrels and put them in the Mag 7 (which is an excellent wine and deserves to be up there in the high-end wine discussions every vintage), then the next best and put in BBS SVDs, then the next best in the SVD, then the next best in the flagship/cuvee and the next best in the Petit and the rest sold (I actually don't think all of the SVDs went into the last two but it helps with my exaggerated illustration). I had issues with this because I have limited space, budget, palate preference and then comparison to other SVDs from other wineries... great idea in principle but it was also to overwhelming for my simple mind and I said to myself, why not make it simple and put everything into their SVDs and work to make their SVDs and Mag 7 the best wines in Napa... well apparently I am not as dumb as I look, although I probably am.
So fast forward to 2019- WTF just happened. We are seated at the tasting, we started with a couple of very nice 2018 wines, one being a top vineyard expression for me LPV, and they were very good. I literally turn to our amazingly generous host and ask about the above diatribe and why would they do that etc but he cuts me off mid sentence, in his sexy French accent, "just wait" and then followed by "try this" which the third glass was being poured around the table. Not one to let a new wine sit in the glass uncomfortable, I obliged which mind you I was already enjoying the wines before me. Everyone around the table did a WTF reaction with me nailing the Dr (wait will I be canceled for the construction of that sentence on this platform?) Crane- the wine was/is MAGNIFICANT (and no it was not the Mag 7) and not the same as any Dr Crane I had tasted from VV before. When I turned to look at Patrice, and our eyes met - yep with this glass of wine read into whatever you want, he just smiled knowingly and nodded. They decided to remove the 52 layers and go with a BMF Mag 7 and the rest BMF SVDs with no middle person (wait can you use that as a descriptor as I know you cant use man or women and I am trying to be neutral) ok moving on. He obviously, like a magician, orchestrated this on purpose to get our reactions as this is the first vintage with this structure. Next came the second 2019 barrel sample and this one I could not pick out as it was absolutely fantastic and thought for a second it could be To Kalon but since its been so long since I had a BMF To Kalon, well actually the previous morning but stay with me here, of this magnitude I skipped over it and had zero idea where it was from. Now all of the best barrels (minus a few in Mag 7) are now in the SVDs but they also added better components of the vineyards as well. Yes I doubled my order.
An amazing tasting hosted by such gracious, passionate, living life to the fullest couple managing an exceptional team (Maayan is a beast winemaker)- and it has only gotten better. Thank you for allowing us into your lives for a fantastic tasting!
Flight 13 - Arkenstone - OG Kaplan (6 Notes)
Having a man crush on Kaplan, or more specifically his wines (Memento Mori, Vangone, Maxem - Pinot/Chard insane QPR CA take on Burgs unlike anything I have seen elsewhere (can't recommend those enough- spin through CT to see if those are your style as they just that good (not the big round in your face profile rather insanely nuanced with tremendous lift and precision and a damn long finish) - ok I am back from the public announcement. I never really had an Arkenstone wine so off to the mothership for more info.
The grounds, winery and hosts were wonderful. We ended up tasting most of the 2017s but unfortunately for the most part that vintage, with minor exceptions to date, doesn’t seem to mesh with my palate preference (although for Kaplan wines, if you can get your hands on 2017 Maxem jump at the chance). You can tell, as there is no surprise as Kaplan is the winemaker, that the full lineup are really well made. The wines have his style built in from the first sip to the last, providing great balance, lift, structure and overall fruit/minerality- and the two wines that we tastes, one from 2018 and one from 2019 were right inline with expectations or in the case of the 2019, above.
Flight 14 - La Pelle - The Man Behind The Man (2 Notes)
Second to last tasting of the trip, last one for the night and after what has been an absolute blockbuster two plus days, the surprises just keep on coming.
Maayan, an insanely talented winemaker that came to the US to make his way in arguably the most difficult complex wine market in the world would find himself at the reins of arguably the number one cult wine in the world, Screaming Eagle. After making sure to help transfer the reins to the then new winemaker, he left to accomplish two things (1) dive into an opportunity to learn about the entire Napa Valley wine regions/vineyards, (2) learn from arguably one of the top winemakers and (3) be in a position to launch his own label in the not to distant future once he was able to meld all of his previous and soon to be future knowledge together. So he took the position as Melka's Director of Winemaking for Melka's consulting clients... this man is insanely brilliant, probably a genius and is offering his portfolio of wines between $75 - $175? It feels very much like the Macdonald’s theory of pricing their amazing wine.
I was first introduced to his wines without knowing he was instrumental in their creation, Vice Versa and more recently Dana Estates. I could not get over how good these wines were, both in construct and the handling of the tannins- powerful yet refined. Did a bit of research and found Maayan was the mastermind behind a new label called La Pelle. I was too late to buy the 2016 regular Cabernet but did get in on one of the last reserve packs he had. Like many of us do, the wine shows up and it’s put away in the wine fridge or cellar never to be heard from again but then in ‘19 I opened a Vice Versa and the memory of La Pelle was triggered so I had to taste his own wine style with vineyards his partner farmed. I wasn’t at all familiar the vineyards but knew Maayan was an expert in his craft.
[Fast forward to this trip and he said something that was really interesting, he said he makes wines all over the world and in so many vineyards as you never should stop learning- as you don't know what you don't know and thereby by continuing to expand knowledge, you will only become better and better at your craft- well said and I am a firm believer of that in life or work. Not sure I would want to work in all of those countries and have no personal life but hopefully he gets to a point where he can manage effectively with a great team and get some of that personal life we all strive for vs having your best friends be grapes- not judging just saying.]
ok back to the original thoughts- Well to be honest I wasn’t expecting an amazing nose and powerful wine with enhancing tannins that was built like a brick sh-t house. From what I understood about Screaming Eagle it is more of a nuanced feminine wine skillfully built; Vice Versa and Dana, vineyard dependent, are fuller and deeper but this wine was a mix of both - powerful yet refined, rich but with acidity to balance and overall structure to reward time in the cellar. My first thought was this will be bad a-s with time and not to touch for a few years. This made we want to dive in deeper to learn more as I had something special it just will take a while to unlock its goodness. So add it to the next trip I did (yoda) in Napa with great Q&A as I was not familiar with his personal style, the vineyards nor any other wine vintage. Maayan is super personable, generous with his time and beyond passionate about wine- he literally lives and breathes it 24/7. It’s there where I was able to taste the 2017 regular cabernet and was shocked at how good it was, not for a ‘17 but for a wine in general- and at $75 (really). Since then I bought from La Pelle and then acquired another case or two from retail. This is one of the handful of 2017s I have bought and am very satisfied and so are the friends I open them with.
Since then I never left well enough alone and I keep opening the ‘16 reserve in hopes my three year hold was wrong and by some magic the wines would magically be ready two years early- you could just tell although they were locked up these were well made special wines. Should have stuck to my guns as these wines are aging very slowly - but I liked them so much I bought one more six pack. So far so good.
Now couple the just released 3 SVDs of vineyards (a couple of weeks ago) I am still not familiar with and the desire to taste the 2018 reserve, this was a stop I had to have on the trip and it didn’t disappoint. My hope was I could taste one of these fast enough to be able to order more before they sold out. Surprisingly in a vintage that IMO requires time, the one SVD I did taste was already yummy with 30 minutes in the glass (for sure it will be better in the cellar but we all loved it as is and for $125 -sign me up again for another purchase of a good now and and a mid term cellar worthy gem... what you are sold out WT-!. Good news is the 2018 Reserve did not disappoint and got the attention of everyone around the table. This one will need good nap time but will drink well for years.
Great QPR and worth signing up for the mailing list as to not miss the up coming releases which I believe are later this month or next.
Closing
With the objectives accomplished, the next trip will focus on our favorite wineries with more time spent focusing on the individual wines. Thank you to all of the wineries that graciously hosted our group; shared not only their wines but their stories and knowledge, allowed us to have constructive debates and counterpoints but were many times more open then I would have imagined going in. What a great community- we cant wait to come back (although they may not feel the same way:)
2018 Impensata Merlot
USA, California, Napa Valley
(4/1/2021)
NEW WINERY FOR OUR GROUP
2018 was a killer vintage for those that figured it out (those that didn’t it’s already obvious), a top vineyard manager Abreu, great terroir (Thorevilos), one of the hottest winemakers out there and the winery’s unique approach to not only making the best Merlot in Napa but have it stand on its own with the best representations from all over the world- very lofty goals but the results are already showing they are headed in the right direction- will they get there, too early to tell but I am intrigued and willing to take a ride on the journey with them as they figure it out.
This is not a Napa Merlot that is made every year and you scratch your head wondering why, this is a badass version that is on its way to legendary greatness as the vintages continue to be masterfully crafted. This winery and their wines will only get better and better (that was obvious as we tasted the second wine and everyone around the table were nodding their heads). I was desperately trying to stop others in my group from drinking their pour as I wanted to spend time with it in my glass but by the time I realized what was happening it was already too late.
Not having great experiences with Napa Merlot, I hesitate to provide future insight (guess) on the development however note to myself: hold this baby for another two years (2023) with a good decant.
While the wines are not for sale yet (thank you for allowing us the opportunity to tastes these), I would highly suggest signing up for the wait list as we will see great things from this winery and team of superstars. With new winemakers/wineries/vineyard managers/vineyards it sometimes can take a few years to produce a good more less great wine- with only 1-2 vintages under their belts, it seems like that extra time is not needed- can't wait to taste the 2019s if the 2018s are already at this level.
Unfortunately I am unable to rate as there must have been a hole in my glass as each of the four Kinsman wines were somehow gone before I was truly able to go through my rating process. Didn't figure this out until the third wine was poured (Kinsman Rhad) and even then barely had enough time to ponder. I will have to get another shot at these soon. So good!
Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2018 Impensata Proprietary Red Wine Engelhard Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, Calistoga
(4/1/2021)
2018 killer vintage for those that figured it out (those that didn’t it’s already obvious), top vineyard manager Abreu, great Calistoga terroir previously used in some expensive bottlings, one of the hottest winemakers out there - how did they do? This is a badass Calistoga wine that is already excellent- powerful, complex and unique (for me anyway) profile that demands attention as you look in the glass pondering all of the flavors that just washed over you. Really cool (yet technical term right there). This winery and their wines will only get better and better. I would tuck these bad boys away for a few years but nothing wrong with checking in on it now with a proper decant.
While the wines are not for sale yet (thank you for allowing us the opportunity to tastes these), I would highly suggest signing up for the wait list as we will see great things from this winery and team of superstars. With new winemakers/wineries/vineyard managers/vineyards it sometimes can take a few years to produce a good more less great wine- with only 1-2 vintages under their belts, it seems like that extra time is not needed- can't wait to taste the 2019s if the 2018s are already at this level.
Unfortunately I am unable to rate as there must have been a hole in my glass as each of the four Kinsman wines were somehow gone before I was truly able to go through my rating process. Didn't figure this out until the third wine was poured (Kinsman Rhad) and even then barely had enough time to ponder. I will have to get another shot at these soon. So good!
Read 8 Comments / Post a Comment / 5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2018 Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Rhadamanthus 96 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
(4/1/2021)
I am so pissed I tasted both Kinsman ‘16s at a restaurant a year or so ago. As unlike most people, I actually hope I don’t like new wines, winemakers or wineries - could be S&M thing or upbringing but usually its a time/budget/cellar space equation. Damnit that '16 vintage destroyed nearly all other wines in 2016 and turned me into a boy band groupie stalker of Kinsman Eades (and now I have to add Impensata to the list). I was familiar with Kinsman’s take on Araujo and most recently had the killer 2015 Eisele Syrah during the Super Bowl (so good). Because of all of this, Kinsman and their projects became a keystone for the trip - and wow did they exceed already lofty expectations. This gem from Diamond mountain is excellent to drink now and later. Full complexity you would want wave after wave of dark fruit, stones, lift and powerful yet, no clue how, mouth coating tannins. Damnit, so so good.
Hold for a couple of years as this baby has the potential to head north a point or three. Wow.
Highly suggest jumping on the waitlist now as this winery is killing it.
Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / 6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2018 Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon La Voleuse Du Chagrin Geeslin Vineyard 96 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Calistoga
(4/1/2021)
NEW WINE
I am so pissed I tasted both Kinsman ‘16s at a restaurant a year or so ago. As unlike most people, I actually hope I don’t like new wines, winemakers or wineries - could be S&M thing or upbringing but usually its a time/budget/cellar space equation. Damnit that '16 vintage destroyed nearly all other wines in 2016 and turned me into a boy band groupie stalker of Kinsman Eades (and now I have to add Impensata to the list). I was familiar with Kinsman’s take on Araujo and most recently had the killer 2015 Eisele Syrah during the Super Bowl (so good). Because of all of this, Kinsman and their projects became a keystone for the trip - and wow did they exceed already lofty expectations.
Nigel already having worked for Araujo/Eisele Vineyards had this vineyard in his top cuvee and knows it like the back of his hand and it shows, boy does it ever. There is no learning required as it’s already hitting homers on its first at bat. Did it point to the left side bleacher with bases loaded for the Grand slam... not sure only time will tell but man it is delicious. It is a symphony of dark fruit and espresso with a spine to keep things really well structured. Its not as dominate/brooding as the Diamond Mountain that still needs a couple of years napping, it is already an insane wine. A 96 now but with time in cellar room to grow.
Drink now, hold, invite me over- basically drink now and later. Wow.
Highly suggest jumping on the waitlist now as this winery is killing it.
Read 15 Comments / Post a Comment / 6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue