Archive for the ‘Cult Wines’ Category
This garage wine project from Andy Erikson and Anie Favia is once again outstanding, and for the money is IMO one of the best red blends from all of California.
Leviathan is made by the incredibly talented husband and wife team of Andy Erickson, (Staglin, Hartwell, Favia, Ovid, Dancing Hares, Jonata, Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle and Arietta), and Anie Favia (viticulturist for Abreu and Screaming Eagle). You can find many wines on this site that have been influenced by Andy and his wife Annie.
Proprietor: Leviathan Wines
Vintage: 2007
Appellation: 100% California
Varietals: 47% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Syrah, 14% Merlot
Tasting: Beautiful dark black/red in the glass. concentrated flavors of baked Cherry, blackberry, raspberry, scorched forrest floor, toasted oak, black pepper, roasted beef, coffee, and chocolate. On the palate the wine is intensely flavored, full bodied, round, with soft tannins, bright lively acidity and great balance, with a beautiful long velvety finish.
It is really hard to find a more pleasant red wine from California in the mid $40.00 range than this one. Get it and enjoy!
Rating: 93+
Tierra Roja, is very small vineyard, and a very special wine. Located in the eastern hills of Oakville, the property is surrounded by other ultra premium wineries such as Rudd, Screaming Eagle, Joseph Phelp’s Bacchus, Dalla Valle’s Maya, Plumpjack, and more. Linda Neal the proprietor has been growing grapes the Tierra Roja Vineyard since 1987. The first vintage of Tierra Roja was the 2004 vintage and was released in September of 2007 to much acclaim from those that were fortunate enough to get their hands on it. Linda Neal the owner of Tierra Roja has over 20 years of vineyard management experience and is actively involved in the vineyard doing a lot of the work herself. The winemaker for Tierra Roja is David DeSante who has a reputation for detailed planning, and execution, leaving nothing to chance.
If you are a collector of fine wine, you should seek Tierra Roja out, as it is quite memorable.
Recently tasted the 2006 Armada from Cayuse Vineyards in Walla Walla, and it blew us away. Their fifth vineyard, Armada, planted in 2001, contains 3 acres of Grenache, 3 acres of Syrah and 1 acre of Mourvedre. With four feet between vines and five feet between rows, 2178 vines were planted per acre—nearly double the standard vine quantity—and easily marks it as the highest density vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley. Cayuse Vineyards is bio-dynamically farmed and even the most labor intensive tasks are performed manually.
Recently enjoyed this wonderful red blend of which most is Merlot with Paul and our wives. Since the 2003 inaugural release Blackbird Vineyards has been receiving high scores from some of the industry’s best wine critics.
Proprietor: Blackbird Vineyards
Vintage: 2006
Appellation: Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District
Varietals: 86% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Note: Aged for 20 months in French oak barrels of which 70% are new and 30% are older.
I read an article about the Blackbird winery in November 2008 issue of the Robb Report and had been looking for it ever since in Houston. Blackbird wines can be found at Brix Wine Bar in Houston and you can find a link to their web site in the Blogroll on the front page of this site.
Paul and I recently enjoyed the 2006 Amuse Bouche with our wives on a night out in Houston and it was spectacular. The name Amuse Bouche is a French noun meaning “amusement for the mouth”, and that it is 
. Each vintage is quite literally, a work of art. The 2006 bottle artwork was created by Louisiana artist George Rodrigue, best known for his famous loup-garou or Blue Dog. This Pomerol-style Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend is made from some of the best grape sources in the Napa Valley. The winemaker is Heidi Barrett who Robert Parker has called “the first lady of wine.” If you have ever had a wine made by Heidi Barrett, you know that they always display impeccable balance.
Recently Paul and I enjoyed the 2005 Bressler Cabernet which is new to the Houston area, and is distributed by Red4Wine. The Winemaker is the very accomplished and respected Mia Klein, and the Vineyard Manager is David Abreau. For those that follow this site or premium wines from California, you will notice that wherever David is involved quality wine is sure to follow.
Paul and I really enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Colgin IX Estate at Brix Wine Cellars in Houston last night. The 2005 IX Estate is the fourth release of this proprietary red blend.
The winemaker is Allison Tauziet and the vineyard manager is David Abreau who is considered the premier viticulturist for premium grapes in Napa Valley.
Posted on 2009 07, 09 by pcook
Well, I decide to hang with someone special tonight… My wife! So, we end up at Brix for steak night and end the night with a great wine from Ovid called Experiment no. K1.5. A red blend, this wine has a large percentage of Cabernet Franc, with various smaller allotments of petit verdot, merlot, and Cabernet sauvingnon. This little wine really packs a punch even though it I only 14.5% alcohol by volume.
If you can find this wine, give it some time to open up. It was a bit tight when we opened it up, but soon showed a great nose full of bright floral notes.
The nose continued it’s fruity component with some rasberry and blueberry filler. Some nice black pepper and spices round out a nice nose.
The mouthfeel is well balanced with nice acidity and dark fruits. The finish is also well balanced and long.
In my opinion only, this wine needs a few years to get there. While being well balanced, it is a long opener and needs some time. However, I really like it…
92+ Paul
Last night Paul and I had the 2005 Dancing Hares for about the third time since release. It is an exceptional wine, that can be enjoyed now with decanting or laid down for the next ten years. Andy Erickson is the winemaker of Dancing Hares as well as Leviathan, Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Ovid, Staglin, and others. The rest of the accomplished team at Dancing Hares is consulting winemaker Michel Rolland who has extensive experience making wine in over 13 countries, and well known Vineyard Manager David Abreau who has grown fruit for Sloan, Colgin, Blankiet, Viader, and Harlan to name a few. Needless to say this is a very talented team.
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