The first vintage of Downbeat Chardonnay is sourced high up in the Mayacamas Mountains overlooking Napa Valley on Bald Mountain Ranch . This special vineyard produces a Chardonnay that is light and refreshing with notes of baked brioche, hazelnut, apple, nutmeg and vanilla. Lemon leads on the palate with warm apple pie and cream. A clean mineral finish of chalk and limestone leave a light impression and you wanting for more. Pairs perfectly with a bright salad, chicken, fatty fish or any nutty cheese.
The 2014 Cabernet Franc is another striking wine from Bennett Vineyard in Coombsville. Enticing aromatics meld into a core of intense, flamboyant red. Varietal notes come through, but at present the new French oak is a bit dominant. It will be interesting to see how things shape up as the 2014 ages. Drink 2016-2020.
Stagecoach Malbec is dense, powerful and explosive. A host of savory notes play off the rich Malbec fruit nicely, dense, tannic Malbec with a lot of mountain character
Dark, powerful, and juicy, with terrific fruit intensity from start to finish. Black cherry, chocolate, plum, licorice, and spice infuse this pliant, super-expressive wine. The near-perfect 2016 growing season started early, saw ideal weather conditions throughout and wrapped up as the valley's first significant fall rainstorm arrived on October 14. Thanks to a relatively steady and mild July and August and then a series of warm days at the end of the growing season, vineyards were able to progress to perfect ripeness. Wines from the 2016 vintage are now quietly developing in cellars throughout Napa Valley and vintners are pinching themselves and smiling for the gift it appears Mother Nature has given them: a fifth consecutive vintage of stellar quality Napa Valley wines.
Stone fruits, flowers and black cherries, all of the things that make a farmer's market perfection for me live in this fine wine. Ethereal lightness with intensity, this wine pushes your imagination one way and then another. Is it Nureyev or is it Bruce Lee? Either way it is a combination of tightly wound power in an incredibly artistic wrapper. It glides with an elegance and grace across the palate
Hawaiian native and Pono Proprietor David Sedeno created the 2018 Ali'i Carneros Blanc de Noir - and at the Tasting Room, WE'RE LOVING IT! Aromas of bright strawberries, wild raspberries, and cantaloupe with lively bubbles from the Thomson Vineyard on Los Carneros Rd. 132 cases made.
Aromas of ripe blackberry and plum leap from the glass, as the flavors of lavender and black cherry Segway into herbal notes of dried sage. The substantial & dense coating tannins linger on the palate for more than 45 seconds and invites you to take another sip.
The 2018 Riley’s Rows Cabernet has a bouquet of orange pekoe, bergamot, and black olive with a display of cassis, graphite, and black plum skins on the palate. This wine has great structure and a long finish and wine punches way above its price point!
The 2019 Riley’s Rows Rosé was sourced from a small Syrah vineyard in Bennett Valley. The wine has a bright nose of wild strawberries and ripe citrus. The palate reveals notes of Chanterais Melon and Blood Orange.
The 2020 Riley’s Rows Sauvignon Blanc was sourced from the Redwood Valley Grape Ranch, which we own and farm in Mendocino County. The wine offers a bright nose of melon and citrus blossom. The palate opens with ripe Meyer lemon and resolves into a delightful Ruby Red grapefruit note. The goal with this wine is to offer a fresh style of Sauvignon Blanc with pretty fruit, great acidity, and a clean finish. As always, it is desired to make this a varietally-correct wine that is well made, delicious, and affordable. Pairs beautifully with fresh seafood like a sea bass or scallop crudo or sashimi.
The Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is among the finest examples of Napa Valley’s landmark 2016 vintage. The nose shows intense dark fruit with notes of tobacco, cigar box, cedar and fresh mountain herbs. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied yet energetic. An inviting hint of sweetness is balanced by vibrant blackberry, blueberry and ripe plum. Warm undertones of oak, savory spices and precisely wrought tannins contribute to a remarkable, beguiling finish that persists for nearly three minutes. This is a layered, opulent wine from a heralded vintage that will only continue to improve over the next 15+ years.
Upon opening, it shows youthful energy with vibrant, ripe dark fruit, purple rim. Complex flavors of blackberry, cassis, chocolate and spice, it shows excellent balance and bursting fruit that after a few hours, slowly reveals the underlying mountain tannins and high density. It was aged in a high percentage of new French oak and handled with utmost care so we hope you do the same in your cellar. Much like the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, it would benefit from bottle age but aerate for at least a few hours for early consumption. It probably will evolve into a vintage closer to 2013 or 2014. Hope you can lay it down for a long time, but if you need to try it now, aerate and sip over 2-3 days as on the third day, it truly shows how mouth coating and expansive it can be.
