Pre-Arrivals:
(These wines will be arriving Fall 2008 - Spring 2010. You may purchase these wines now, and will be contacted upon their arrival.)
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“Medium red. Intensely perfumed bouquet of spiced cherry, raspberry and blood orange, complicated by smoky minerals and fresh rose. Tangy, sharply focused red berry flavors are medium-bodied and refreshing, picking up a sweeter kirsch note with air. The blood orange quality returns on the long, juicy finish. Sexy and energetic wine-and much more sophisticated than some of this winery's pinot efforts just a few short years ago." 91 Points – Josh Raynolds – Stephen Tanzer’s The International Wine Cellar |
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“Bright red color. Ripe red berry and cherry aromas are complemented by clove, mace and cinnamon. Supple and round, with sweet red berry preserve flavors, soft tannins and building ripeness. Maintains admirable clarity on the long, juicy finish, which leaves behind a strong flavor of raspberry. For a rich wine, this is focused and fresh." 91 Points – Josh Raynolds – Stephen Tanzer’s The International Wine Cellar |
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“Bright red color. Powerful dark berry and candied cherry aromas are complicated by black cardamom, cured tobacco and dried flowers. Fleshy bitter cherry and dark chocolate flavors show an intriguing amaro-like bitterness, with chewy texture and slow-mounting tannins. Finishes with surprising energy and excellent lift, echoing the bitter cherry and tobacco qualities." 90 Points – Josh Raynolds – Stephen Tanzer’s The International Wine Cellar |
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“Saturated red color. Spicy nose offers a kaleidoscopic bouquet of red berries, cinnamon, clove, smoky minerals and fresh rose. Clean, sharply focused strawberry and raspberry flavors offer striking vivacity, with a racy mineral underpinning. Becomes deeper and sweeter with air, picking up candied cherry and blackberry notes and finishing with impressive lift and cut. Late-arriving tannins add structure to this suave midweight." 92 Points – Josh Raynolds – Stephen Tanzer’s The International Wine Cellar |
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“Dark red. Vibrant red and dark berry aromas are complemented by baking spices, licorice and musky underbrush. Energetic, sharply defined raspberry and wild strawberry flavors are nicely concentrated but the wine is light in body, with a surprisingly elegant personality and good lift. Gains energy on the finish, which is impressively spicy, fresh and long." 90 Points – Josh Raynolds – Stephen Tanzer’s The International Wine Cellar |
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“The 2006 Pinot Noir Reuling Vineyard is not up to the level of the 2005, displaying more of an Allspice, plum, and cinnamon-scented nose, which is totally different than the 2005. The blue and red fruits are there as well, and the wine offers nice sweetness and is certainly outstanding, but not as profound as its older sibling. It should drink nicely for 5-7 years.” – 90-92 Points – Robert Parker – The Wine Advocate |
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“The 2006 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard is fabulous. There are 500 cases of this Pinot Noir that does a California imitation of a Grands Echezeaux or Richebourg. The wine has a deep ruby/purple-tinged color and a gorgeous floral nose with forest floor and moss-like notes interwoven with acacia flowers, raspberries, and sweet currants. Light on its feet but full-bodied (the natural alcohol is pushing 16%), the wine has fabulous texture, expansiveness, and a remarkable finish. I suspect it is going to drink well for a decade as well.” – 94-96 Points – Robert Parker – The Wine Advocate |
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“Bright ruby. Knockout musky nose presents black raspberry, minerals and mocha. Uncommonly sweet and lush for the vintage but with fresh acidity and notes of spices and minerals giving terrific definition to the middle palate. The firm, ripe tannins are outlasted by rising fruit. Very subtle and long. A remarkable 2006 in the making.” – 94-97 Points – Stephen Tanzer – International Wine Cellar |
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“The 2005 The Maiden (still in barrel) displays plenty of spicy oak, a dense plum/purple color, silky tannins, beautiful creme de cassis, earth, and some hints of coffee bean in an opulent, restrained, but well-delineated style. This wine should drink well for 15 or more years.” – 92 Points – Robert Parker – The Wine Advocate |
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“Rich and expressive, with ripe, potent, concentrated tiers of spicy currant, fresh earth, mineral, sage and dried berry flavors that are tight, focused and concentrated, ending with a long, persistent finish. Drink now through 2011. 236 cases made.” WS 94 Points |
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"With the 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques (which by its position in tastings here the Rousseaus conspicuously rate as grand cru) we arrive at the first wine that is matured in new wood. Pure, sweet, fresh black cherry fruit, marrowy and enveloping carnal richness, mysteriously enticing florality, low-toned, chalky minerality and accents of black tea and star anise are featured in this remarkably seamless wine. Meat, minerals and mystery dominate a finish that is profoundly layered yet preserves sheer palate-cleansing refreshment and positively vibrates with vividly fresh fruit intensity. Rousseau owns around one third of this great site, meaning that there are over a thousand cases of this phenomenal wine to ransack the marketplace in search of, then sock away for at least a decade and preferably two. It is always the last-harvested site, says Eric Rousseau, and in 2005 his roughly twenty veteran pickers could certainly afford to wait and richly rewarded us for it." WA 94-96 Points |
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"There are 900 cases of the 2005 Cariad, the first vintage that Allison Tauziet worked at Colgin. A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the wine seems to have the most complexity of all the 2005s, with notes of subtle menthol intermixed with blueberry, black currant, cedar, spice box, a hint of chocolate, and scorched earth. Very complex aromatics are followed by an equally compelling wine in the mouth. Full-bodied, with beautiful integration of acidity, tannin, wood, and alcohol, this is a beauty that is already drinking well but can last 20-25 more years." WA 96+ Points |
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"The prodigious 2006 James Berry Vineyard (45% Syrah, 38% Grenache, and 17% Mourvedre) is one of this challenging vintage’s top efforts. Performing even better this year than it did in 2007, it reveals phenomenal concentration, a superb texture, and a stratospheric mouthfeel without great weight or over-the-top sensations. Black fruits, licorice, minerality, and floral notes are found in this intense, savory, broad, long effort. It should drink well for 10+ years." WA 94-97 Points |
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"From their 40+ acres of vineyard in the very northeasterly sector of Napa, just south of the quaint town of Calistoga, anywhere from 1,600 to 2,200 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard are produced. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele (a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot) shows wonderfully sweet black currant notes intermixed with some licorice, incense, crushed rock, and floral characteristics. It is deep, medium to full-bodied, with beautiful purity, virtually perfect integration of tannins, and extraordinary length which lasts over 60 seconds. This is an exceptional, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that is the vinous equivalent of haute couture. This sensationally pure wine (actually the first vintage of the estate Cabernet to have a little Merlot in it, but only 2%) borders on perfection. This is a gorgeously proportioned wine with beautiful floral and black fruit notes intermixed with some mineral and gentle background oak." WA 98+ Points |
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