The Wine Cult » Cult Wines

“Blackbird Vineyards” Houston TX Wine Tasting

jheck — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:42:33 +0000

The WineCult recently attended a Blackbird Vineyards wine tasting at WineStyles in Spring,TX and their President, Paul Leary was the guest speaker. TheWineCult first learned of BlackBird Vineyards in the November 2008 issue of the Robb Report, and started our pursuit of finding, and tasting it (See previous BlackBird reviews on this site). The philosophy of Blackbird’s winemaker Aaron Pott is to make hand crafted, terroir driven, Pomerol inspired wines using Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon varietals in the Oak Knoll District if Napa Valley California. Blackbird also has an extensive cooperage program in place using 100% French oak barrels from several different cooperages including Bossuet, Saury, Taransaud, Sylvain, and Sequin-Moreau.

The tasting: We started with the 2009 Arriviste Rose’, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. On the nose red currant and bright red cherries. A vibrant palate of fresh strawberries, peaches, and minerals, with a nice weight on the mid palate.

PC 90, JH 91

2008 Arise – Napa Valley Propriety Red Blend. The blend for the Arise changes from year to year with the 2008 being a blend of 42% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Deep dark, and rich color, with a concentrated bouquet of black cherry, plum, forest floor, tobacco, Spanish cedar, star anise, menthol, and baking spices. The medium to full bodied palate shows layers of dark fruit,with elegant balance, velvety texture, and a nice generous finish. 1570 cases made.

PC 94, JH 95

2007 Arise – Napa Valley Propriety Red Wine Blend. The 2007 is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine spent 20 months on French oak of which 70% is new, and 30% seasoned.

Beautiful aromatic bouquet of black currant, black cherry, blackberry, Spanish cedar, Asian spice, rubbed sage, black pepper, and coffee, with a concentrated palate of dark and red fruit with a nice smokey component. The tannins are finely grained and well integrated and the palate is well structured and balanced.

PC 92 JH 93

2006 Contrarian – Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine. The 2006 Contrarian is a blend of 38% Cabernet Franc, 34% Merlot, and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine spent 20 months on French oak of which 48% is new, and 52% seasoned.

On the nose beautiful dark plum, black cherry, black currant, raspberry, licorice, coffee, mocha, and white pepper. The palate holds layers of black currant and blackberries, with tobacco, and earth. The wine shows great structure with an impeccable balance and long finish. 414 cases made.

PC 93, JH 93

2007 Contrarian – Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine. The 2007 Contrarian is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 34% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine spent 20 months in French oak barrels of which 70% is new, and 30% seasoned.

This beautiful full bodied wine shows complex layers of blackberry, black cherry, black currant, forest floor, truffle, leather, graphite, sasparilla, Asian spice, and Spanish cedar. The palate is full, and round with a silky smooth mouth-feel, great balance, and generous finish. 538 cases made.

PC 94+, JH 95

2006 Illustration – Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine. The 2006 Illustration is a blend of 86% merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine spent 20 months in French oak barrels of which 82% is new, and 18% is seasoned.

Elegant and full bodied with black cherry, dark plum, black currant, roasted meat, leather, smoke, tobacco, and spice box. Velvety smooth palate and elegant structure. (Paul said ” Velvet painting of Jesus”) 1,195 cases made.

PC 93, JH 94+

2007 Illustartion – Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine. The 2007 Illustration is a blend of 70% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, and 5% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% malbec. The wine spent 20 months in French oak barrels of which 70% is new, and 30% is seasoned.

Beautiful, elegant fruit of black cherry, currant, tobacco, coffee, forest floor, fresh mint, and licorice. Well concentrated and balanced palate, with approachable structure and tannin leading to an incredible finish. 1,324 cases made.

PC 94+ JH 95+

2004 Hundred Acre

pcook — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 02:41:29 +0000

Hello, this is Paul… On a warm Texas evening 22 years ago yesterday, I married my childhood love, Carol. Tonight while hanging out with some friends, both old and new, we were happily surprised when the owner of the local Wine Styles, brought us a little anniversary present. The 2004 Hundred Acre! Wow, it is fantastic.

I’m handing the iPhone over to James to write the review.

This wine has concentrated fruit of baked blackberry, black cherry, current, and dark plum. Black pepper, Spanish cedar, mushroom, tobacco, and forest floor round out the nose.

On the pallet there is a beautiful mineral content, with a great fruit and tannin balanced full mouthful. The finish is long and thick.

Go out and find all you can afford; this wine is an excellent representation of Shiraz and hard to beat.

96 JH – after drinking it longer
95 PC – after drinking it longer 96+
97 DH

This wine is exceptional!

1995 Chateau D Yquem – Sauternes

jheck — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:09:14 +0000

Okay so we have been slacker’s and posted nothing for months. It certainly isn’t because we are not drinking some really special wines. Recently we enjoyed a bottle of the 1995 Chateau D Y’quem for a dear friends special birthday, and man was it ever special.

Y’quem is the dessert wine that all others are judged by, and some experts say the best white wine in the entire world.

At Y’quem they proudly boast that only one glass of wine per vine is produced. The grapes are picked one by one at perfect maturity. In 2006 a 135-year “vertical” (containing every vintage from 1860 to 2003) was sold by The Antique Wine Company in London for $1.5 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a single lot of wine. Yquem’s success stems largely from the site’s susceptibility to attack by Botrytis Cinera, the “noble rot”. Y’quem is a wine with an extremely long life, bottles of 100 years and older may be found in excellent condition if properly kept.

Tasting: The nose is like a complex beautiful perfume of honey suckle, dried figs, dried apricot, peaches, pear, pineapple, lemon zest, litchi nuts, vanilla, soft leather, and earthy mineral notes. A very seductive sumptuous, mouth coating pallet with impeccable balance. The finish goes on for several wonderful minutes. The 1995 is intense, unctuous, and still showed youth, and could be aged and enjoyed for many years to come.

Rating: 95 PC, 96 JH

2007 Leviathan

jheck — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:48:11 +0000

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+

2005 Tierra Roja – Cabernet Sauvignon

jheck — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:58:25 +0000

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.

Proprietor: Tierra Roja Vineyards

Vintage: 2005

Appellation: Oakville, CA

Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Production: 250 cases (6 bottle cases, wood or carton)

Tasting: The wine is dark purple in the stem. Beautiful blackberry, dark cherry, blackcurrant, cassis, red plum fruit, with cinnamon graham crackers, toasted oak, white pepper, caramel, lavender, scorched earth and minerals, followed by a nice floral component. Tierra Roja is rich and elegant with beautiful balance, and texture on the palate yet full-bodied and intense. This wine is a classic for the collector or for those that just like to drink incredibly good wine. This wine is evidence that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

I think it was Benjamin Franklin that said something like that. As Heidi Barrett would say this is a 1,2,3,4,5,6 wine. If you don’t know what I am referring to, you can check out this interview of her with Gary Vaynerchuck at TheWineCult’s Facebook below.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=199205951194&id=188458559342

Rating: 96 JH, 95 PC

PS – Linda will be at The Austin Wine Merchant on December 26th from 2:00 to 3:00 tasting some of her wine. You can go to their web site at http://www.theaustinwinemerchant.com/

2006 Cayuse Syrah – “Armada”

jheck — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:11:13 +0000

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.

Christophe Baron started Cayuse Vineyards in 1996, and is also the viticulturist and wine consultant at Reynvann Family Vineyards and it is being well received in the cult wine community.

Note: Aged 30 months in 20% newRostaing barrels. Made with indigenous yeasts and bottled unfinned and unfiltered.

Review: An intense full-bodied wine with a brawny bouquet of blueberry, cherry, smoked wild game, pencil lead, lavender, pepper, liquorice, with a beautiful earthy mineral component.The wine shows great balance and an extremely long finish. The Armada is a totally gratifying wine to be cellared for years, and will improve to near perfection IMO, if you can stay away from it, and deny your inner hedonist.

The Armada was opened for about 1.5 hours for this review, and could have benefited from more time. PS This is a tough mailing list to crack!

Rating: 99 JH, 98 PC

2006 Blackbird – “Illustration”

jheck — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:34:02 +0000

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.

The wine is bottled completely unfined and unfiltered. 1,195 cases are made. the sorting is done by hand with a double and sometimes triple picking of the best fruit.

Tasting: Beautiful rich ruby color in the stem. On the nose jammy bing cherries, red currant, blackberry, cocoa, comino, graphite, and toasty oak.

The wine has beautiful, fresh bright acidity, with great balance, lush velvety tannins, and a generous long finish.

Rating: 94 PC, 95 JH

2006 BlackBird – “Contrarian” Red Wine

jheck — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:34:55 +0000

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.

Proprietor: Blackbird Vineyards

Vintage: 2006

Appellation: Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley

Varietals: 38% Cabernet Franc, 34% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon

Note: Aged 20 months in French oak barrels of which 48% is new, and 52% is seasoned. The wine is unfilterd and unfined. The winemaker is Aaron Pott. Only 414 cases made.

Tasting: dark brooding layers of blackberries, black cherry, raspberry, black currant, cassis, followed by menthol, graphite, Spanish cedar, tobacco, cinnamon, white pepper, crushed rock, tea , vanilla, and a nice floral component. The palate is full, round and opulent, with fleshy sweet tannins impeccable balance, and an extremely long generous finish. This wine is drinking well now, but will improve with cellar time, and can be enjoyed for the next 8 to 10 years

Rating: 96 JH, 95 PC

2006 Amuse Bouche – Merlot

jheck — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:09:02 +0000

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. This web site has posted many wines made by Heidi as we are a big fan of her’s.

Vintage: 2006

Proprietor: Amuse Bouche

Varietal: Merlot, Cabernet Franc

Appellation: Napa Valley, CA

Notes: About 500 cases produced.

Tasting: Blueberry, plum, cherry, dewberry, cassis, pepper, followed by Spanish cedar, chocolate cocoa powder, lavender, violets, leather, tobacco, baking spices, mushroom, hazelnut, star anise, sage, and a hint of vanilla. The 2006 Amuse Bouche is drinking incredibly well at this time with little coaxing or time needed to show it’s hedonistic personality, all it needs is a fine stem and some great company to share it with. The wine shows great length and impeccable balance. This vintage scored well by recognised wine critics, but not near what I think it deserves, but of course their ratings were completed quite some time ago.

Rating: PC 96, JH 97

2005 Bressler Vineyards – Cabernet Sauvignon

jheck — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:10:42 +0000

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.

Proprietor: Bressler Vineyards

Vintage: 2005

Varietal: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, 3% Petite Verdot

Appelation: St Helena, CA

Notes: Aged 24 months in new French Oak. Cooperage from Taransaud, Nadalie, and Treuil. Only 527 cases of 750ml bottles produced. Released January, 2009

Tasting: Dark cherry, blackberry, raspberry, eucalyptus, menthol, dark chocolate, forrest floor, smoke, cedar, with hint of cinnamon, lavender, and toasted oak. This wine has a very concentrated palate and the tannins are silky smooth, giving way to an opulent rich mid palate, great balance, and a very generous long pleasant finish. This Cabernet has plenty of backbone and quality fruit for ageing, but is approachable and can be opened now.

Rating: PC 94, JH 95