Winemaker Notes
The Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino shows a saturated dark violet color with ruby reflections; the nose offers cassis, blueberries and violets, along with a strong suggestion of soil tones. It combines density and sweetness on the one hand, with gripping, lightly saline flavors of mocha, dark berries, spice, and minerals; a palate-staining finish dominated by sweet black and blue fruits.
About Winery
Bodega Catena Zapata is one of Argentina's high-altitude Malbec pioneers. The Catena family began making wine in Mendoza in 1902. Nicolas Catena, third generation family vintner, was one of the first to see the potential of Mendoza's mountain vineyards for producing high quality Malbec. In 1994, he became the first Argentine to export a world-class bottling of Malbec under the Catena label. Nicolas is joined by his daughter, Dr. Laura Catena, in their relentless pursuit of world-class quality from the family's high-altitude vineyards. Laura has done extensive work in introducing Malbec and other varietal plant selections, soil and climate analysis, and sustainable practices throughout Mendoza. Head winemaker, Alejandro Vigil, has been at Catena Zapata since 2002 and works with Laura and Nicolas to make wines that express the family's vineyards and palate.
Winemaker Notes
The Opus One 2018 offers profuse aromas of blackberry, cassis and black cherry. Elegant notes of violets, white pepper and rose petals follow and together they deliver a very seductive bouquet. The seamlessly layered flavors build to a crescendo of fresh and juicy black-fruit, accented with hints of orange zest, licorice and dark chocolate. Beautifully balanced, the smooth round tannins and fresh acidity combine to create a soft, creamy mouthfeel and extend the flavors into a long persistent finish.
About Winery
Rising gracefully from the vineyards, Opus One winery stands in subtle celebration of the land and the open space that surrounds the estate. It remains an ongoing testament to the founders’ vision of a singular wine that transcends generations.
The estate vineyards of Opus One, comprised of four parcels, sit in the western portion of the famed Oakville AVA in Napa Valley. Two parcels, totaling 100 acres, are within the renowned To Kalon Vineyard. These are complemented by the combined 70 acres of the Ballestra and River parcels, which envelop the winery. In the vineyards, hand-harvesting and other traditional approaches are taken wherever they work best. When modern techniques benefit the winegrowing process, they are researched, evaluated and integrated into practice.
Winemaker Notes
The freshness of color, a rather dense purple makes one think of a year both vigorous and full-flavoured. In the mouth the structure of the wine reveals itself at once. The ripe tannins are immediately noticeable quickly giving way to sensations of smooth full-flavour. This is a well-balanced wine within a rather rigid framework. The wood is present though not in excess. Progressively the delicate and silky richness emerges but without blotting out the bittersweet trace of the well dissolved tannins.
Chateau La Mission Haut Brion
Château La Mission Haut-Brion is a world-renowned winery located in the prestigious Pessac-Léognan appellation in the Bordeaux region of France. It holds a special place in the history of Bordeaux wines due to its exceptional quality and long-standing heritage. The estate is known for producing top-tier red wines, and its wine is often regarded as one of the most sought-after in the region.
2017 | WA 96
The 2017 Brunello is a wine of light and energy. On the nose crispy notes of sour cherries, blood oranges and small red berry fruits are accompanied by scents of Mediterranean balsamic herbs and a touch of flint. On the palate energy, sweet fruit and silky tannins form a caressing sensation of elegance and equilibrium, leading us towards a long-lingering finish with a distinct savory touch, fresh and clean.
About Winery
Biondi-Santi’s history is the story of Brunello itself: founded in 1865 at Tenuta Greppo in Montalcino, the family perfected a special clone of Sangiovese Grosso and in 1888 released the very first Brunello di Montalcino, establishing a new benchmark for Italian wine. Across generations, they remained faithful to traditional methods—long fermentations, aging in large Slavonian oak casks, and a minimalist approach that lets terroir speak—producing wines of remarkable elegance and longevity. Today, Biondi-Santi continues to honor its heritage while embracing sustainable viticulture, preserving the legacy of a house that gave birth to one of Italy’s most iconic wines.
Winemaker Notes
The Antinori Tignanello is an intense ruby red wine with exceptional aromatic complexity. It opens with vibrant notes of ripe red fruits—especially cherries, strawberries, and blackberries—accompanied by delicate floral hints of violets, mallow blossoms, and roses. The bouquet is further enriched by subtle layers of roasted coffee, cocoa powder, and spices like pepper, licorice, and herbs. On the palate, it is vibrant and layered, with a silky tannin structure and a fresh, lengthy finish, showcasing both finesse and power
About Winery
Antinori Tignanello is a groundbreaking Italian wine first produced in 1971 by the historic Antinori family, whose winemaking roots date back to 1385. Tignanello marked a major shift in Tuscan winemaking—it was the first Sangiovese to be aged in barriques (small oak barrels), the first red wine in Tuscany to be blended with non-traditional varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and among the first from the Chianti Classico region to be made without white grapes. Originally labeled as a Chianti Classico Riserva, it became a Tuscan red table wine in 1971 and helped define the Super Tuscan category. Tignanello is produced exclusively from the Tignanello vineyard, located in the Tenuta Tignanello estate in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, with limestone-rich soils and a southwest exposure.
Winemaker Notes
This Cabernet is set each vintage as a Bordeaux blend, with soft and silky tannins and a plush, full mouth-feel setting it up for immediate enjoyment, although it's built to age and develop further complexity. Aromas of dried herbs, cedar, clove and lavender join flavors of dark red fruit led by figs, black cherry, currants, boysenberry, huckleberry, raspberry, and evident oak spice are joined with more traditional Knights Valley tones of black olive, wild sage and mocha chocolate. Fine acidity and balance with an elegant structure lead to a lingering, memorable finish.
About Winery
No winery or vineyard more thoroughly embodies the timeless appeal and seductive flavor of Napa Valley than Beringer Vineyards, Napa's benchmark producer since the establishment of the vineyard in 1876.
Now in its third century of crafting classic wines from Napa's finest appellations and vineyards, Beringer today is guided by the inspired partnership of celebrated Winemaster Emeritus Ed Sbragia and Winemaker Laurie Hook. Together, they craft Napa Valley wines that speak eloquently of the rich heritage of the Beringer Vineyard, while offering cutting-edge quality and contemporary elegance. The exquisite wines crafted at the Beringer Vineyards display a single minded dedication and pursuit of excellence instilled by its founder, Jacob Beringer.
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Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune-Villages Rouge is a classic, fruit-driven expression of a warm, sunny vintage that brought excellent concentration and structure to Burgundy’s reds. Pouring a vibrant, intense ruby-purple hue, the wine opens with an expressive and welcoming nose defined by succulent red cherry, wild raspberry, and a delicate touch of undergrowth, violet, and soft licorice spice. On the palate, the influence of the 2020 growing season is instantly clear; it reveals a fleshy, juicy texture packed with ripe red berry fruits that carry notable depth. Balanced by a bright vein of natural acidity and framed by refined, ripe tannins, this Pinot Noir maintains a lovely lightness on its feet despite its structural core. It concludes with a medium-long, clean finish accented by a gentle touch of toasty wood and earth, offering a highly elegant and beautifully balanced introduction to the region that is drinking brilliantly now but can easily be cellared over the next three to five years.
About Winery
Maison Joseph Drouhin was founded in 1880 in Beaune, Burgundy, by Joseph Drouhin, and has since grown into one of the region’s most respected wine producers. Over the generations, the family expanded its holdings to include vineyards across Burgundy—such as Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, and Côte Chalonnaise—and later established Domaine Drouhin Oregon in the Willamette Valley. Today, the estate remains family-run by Joseph’s great-grandchildren, who continue the tradition of producing elegant wines with a focus on terroir and sustainable practices, including organic certification for their Burgundy vineyards since 2009
2018 | JS 97This is one of the best SLVs I have tasted with total balance and structure that highlights what was possible in 2018. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and poised, with layer upon layer of fine tannins that give depth and beauty to this young red. Blackcurrant, blueberry and floral flavors. Tight at the end. Needs until 2025 to really show what it has.
2019 | WE 99
From a site planted in 1970 at the famous estate, this wine has beautiful perfume on the nose, and a supple yet firm structure. Dusty plum, dried herb and clove spice are interwoven between tangy cassis and notes of crushed rock. Enjoy best from 2029–2039
About Winery
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is a legendary Napa Valley first-growth estate established in 1970. World-renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon, it made history in the 1976 "Judgment of Paris," when its 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon famously bested top-tier French Bordeaux wines, putting California on the global winemaking map.
2002 | RP 92
A restrained, classic Bordeaux with cedar, graphite, and cassis. Solid but overshadowed by stronger vintages. Best for near-term drinking.
2005 | WE 96
Universally acclaimed, with deep cassis, graphite, and licorice notes. Dense tannins, superb delineation, and long finish. A wine for decades of aging.
2012 | WE 92
Elegant, mid-weight, with cassis, pencil shavings, and fine tannins. Approachable now, not a blockbuster but enjoyable.
2017 | WE 97
Impressive balance of plush fruit and firm tannins. Black fruits, graphite, cassis, and plum. Elegant, concentrated, and age-worthy.
About Winery
In 1826, Hugh Barton, already proprietor of Chateau Langoa, purchased part of the big Leoville estate. His part then became known as Léoville Barton. Six generations of Bartons have since followed, and continued to preserve the quality of the wine, classified as a Second Growth in 1855.
In 1983, Anthony Barton, the present owner, was given the property by his uncle Ronald Barton who had himself inherited it in 1929. Anthony Barton's daughter Lilian Barton Sartorius now helps her father in managing the estate. Together, they maintain the traditional methods of winemaking, producing a typical Saint-Julien of elegance and distinction. The Château Léoville Barton is the property of the Barton’s family and Lilian Barton Sartorius manages it with her two children, Mélanie and Damien.
2012 | JS 95
A hail-affected year but still produced a structured, elegant wine with notes of dark berries, chocolate, and spice.
2019 | JS 97
20th Anniversary bottling. Praised for refinement, plush tannins, and long aging potential.
2020 | Decanter 97
Bright, floral, and ethereal style with wild strawberry and rose notes. Considered one of the most elegant Testamattas.
About Winery
From a medieval castle, Castello di Vincigliata, acquired by his parents over 60 years ago, winemaker Bibi Graetz crafts his wines on a hillside overlooking the great city of Florence. Beginning initially with only a small, 5-acre vineyard on this hillside in Fiesole, in little under two decades, Bibi has become one of Italy's most ingenious winemakers adding "cult winemaker" in addition to "talented abstract artist" to his dossier.
Since the release of his first wines in 2000 and without any formal training, Bibi Graetz has managed to stir-up the Tuscan wine scene, and with the creation of Testamatta and Colore, has made his name eponymous with great Tuscan wines. Regularly scoring in the high 90’s with wine publications like Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, and James Suckling, coupled with his unique and artisanal winemaking approach, Bibi Graetz’s wines have garnered a loyal following among wine collectors and wine trade.
Sourcing grapes from parcels of old vines around Tuscany give the Bibi reds great depth and soul; while grapes from vines on the Isola del Giglio have provided proof that Tuscany can be known for beautiful white wines as well. This affinity for old vines allows for the concentrated yet elegant wines of Bibi Graetz making this portfolio a collectible from Tuscan producers. His passion for producing his flagship wines exclusively from traditional varieties of Sangiovese, Colorino, and Canaiolo for the reds and the indigenous varieties of Ansonica and Vermentino for his whites have resulted in very distinctive wines that consistently set his wines apart from those from the rest of Tuscany, and Italy.
Winemaker Notes
The winemaker notes for the 2019 HdV Californio Syrah highlight its balance and concentration from a cool vintage, describing a wine with rich black cherry, plum, and lavender cream notes, complemented by savory flavors of smoked meat, graphite, dark caramel, and spices like black pepper. It also shows a beautiful depth of black fruit, such as blueberry and blackberry, alongside notes of fresh fig, flowers, and mint.
About Winery
HDV Winery, or Hyde de Villaine, was founded in 2000 through a partnership between the Hyde family of Napa Valley and the de Villaine family of Burgundy, brought together by the marriage of Pamela de Villaine (Larry Hyde's cousin) to Aubert de Villaine. The venture produces single-vineyard wines from the esteemed Hyde Vineyards in Napa's Carneros region, blending Old World Burgundian techniques with New World Californian fruit through a philosophy of minimal intervention and respect for terroir.
Winemaker Notes
The 2019 HdV Belle Cousine is a 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot blend, noted for its bright, focused, and energetic character with notes of black cherry, black currant, dried rose petal, and graphite. This mid-weight red blend offers a balance of power and finesse, with a smooth, elegant finish featuring hints of spices, basil, and a touch of coffee.
About Winery
HDV Winery, or Hyde de Villaine, was founded in 2000 through a partnership between the Hyde family of Napa Valley and the de Villaine family of Burgundy, brought together by the marriage of Pamela de Villaine (Larry Hyde's cousin) to Aubert de Villaine. The venture produces single-vineyard wines from the esteemed Hyde Vineyards in Napa's Carneros region, blending Old World Burgundian techniques with New World Californian fruit through a philosophy of minimal intervention and respect for terroir.
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About Winery
Château Ausone, a Saint-Émilion estate with a rich history, is renowned as one of the oldest and most prestigious wineries in Bordeaux. Its history is intertwined with the Roman poet Ausonius, whose villa is believed to have stood on the site. The estate, now owned by the Vauthier family, has been producing exceptional wines for centuries, maintaining a reputation for density, complexity, and longevity.
We have compiled a selection of wine mix best pick for any occasion special for you. Our wine Bundle are meticulously crafted with flavour, quality, and premium selection.
Bundle Include :
1x 2019 Sojourn Cellars Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast1x 2019 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills
2015 | JS 99
Rich, complex, expressive; benchmark vintage.
2016 | JS 98
Stunning concentration, ripe blackcurrants, super-long finish.
2018 | JD 99
Powerful, textured, with fruit richness and freshness.
2019 | JD 98
Dense purple hue, cassis, graphite, tobacco; long aging potential.
2020 | Vinous 98
Muscular, blackberry, iodine, graphite; cellar-worthy.
2022 | JS 98
Structured, perfumed, powerful tannins; one of the most transparent Pape Cléments.
About WineryChateau Pape Clément owes its name to its most illustrious owner. A man of the cloth born in 1264, Bertrand de Goth became Bishop of Comminges, in the Pyrenees Mountains, at the age of 31; he later became Archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299.
He then received as a gift the property in Pessac, the Vineyard de La Mothe. Taken by a passion for the vine, he continually took part personally in equipping, organizing and managing the domain in accordance with the most modern and rational practices. Nevertheless, on 5 June 1305 the cardinals met in a conclave in Pérouse and appointed him to succeed Pope Benedict XI, who had passed away prematurely after only eleven months of reign. Bertrand de Goth took the name of Clement V.
Supported by Philip IV, it was he who decided in 1309 to move the papal court to Avignon, thus breaking with Rome and its battles of influence. During this same period, the weight of his responsibilities led him to relinquish his property, giving it to the Archbishop of Bordeaux. Henceforward, the vineyard was to be known to posterity under the name of this enlightened pope.
Management under the clergy brings modernity The grateful Church perpetuated Pope Clement's work. Each archbishop in turn turned to modernity and technical progress, to the point of the wine estate becoming a model vineyard. In addition to especially early harvests, which remain one of its special characteristics, Chateau Pape Clément is without a doubt the first vineyard in France to align vine stock to facilitate labour.
At the end of the 18th century, the Archbishop of Bordeaux was dispossessed of his property. The papal vineyard became part of the public domain.
8 June 1937 was a dark day in the vineyard's history, when a violent hailstorm destroyed virtually the entirety of the estate. Two years later, Paul Montagne bought it and gradually brought it back to life. Thanks to his efforts, the vineyard returned to its former rank and stood up to the surge in urbanization. His descendents, Léo Montagne and Bernard Magrez, perpetuate this secular tradition so that Chateau Pape Clément wines continue to delight the wine-lovers of today and tomorrow.
Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Caymus California Cabernet Sauvignon is known for its rich, dark color and intense aromatic profile. It offers notes of red berries, cassis, blackberry, and hints of spice and coffee. The palate is full-bodied, powerful, and concentrated, with ripe, firm tannins and a long, elegant finish featuring black cherry and blueberry. This vintage, celebrating Caymus' 50th anniversary, is crafted to be approachable in youth while still having the potential for aging.
About Winery
In 1972, Chuck Wagner started Caymus Vineyards with his parents, Charlie and Lorna, with a humble plan and an uncharted future. The Wagner family were farmers with deep roots in the Napa Valley – in 1857, Chuck Wagner’s great-great grandfather captained a wagon train to California from Bible Grove, Missouri. Working together for decades, Chuck Wagner and his parents established the family’s work ethic, appetite for innovation, down-to-earth sensibility, and deep appreciation of the pleasures of good food and wine enjoyed with family and friends.
Winemaker Notes
Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe tannins – as approachable in youth as in maturity. Since its founding in 1972, Caymus has become renowned as a consistent leader in the production of Napa Valley Cabernet. Grapes for this wine are farmed in a range of Napa’s sub-appellations – from Coombsville to Calistoga – with fruit from the valley floor creating lushness and the hillsides providing backbone. Diversification enables us to make the best possible wine in a given year, featuring layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe berries.
About Winery
In 1972, Chuck Wagner started Caymus Vineyards with his parents, Charlie and Lorna, with a humble plan and an uncharted future. The Wagner family were farmers with deep roots in the Napa Valley – in 1857, Chuck Wagner’s great-great grandfather captained a wagon train to California from Bible Grove, Missouri. Working together for decades, Chuck Wagner and his parents established the family’s work ethic, appetite for innovation, down-to-earth sensibility, and deep appreciation of the pleasures of good food and wine enjoyed with family and friends.
2008 | WA 94
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is the first example of this cuvee to include Merlot (about 14%) in the blend. The Merlot component has given the wine a cocoa/chocolate nuance to its black currant, licorice-infused fruit. The tannins are velvety soft and the wine is beautifully textured and full-bodied. It is ideal for drinking now and over the next 15 years.
2016 | WS 95
The 2016 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich, opulent Napa Valley red defined by lush aromas of blackberry jam, cassis, and cocoa. The palate bursts with ripe blackcurrant, dark cherry, and plum, layered with sweet vanilla oak, espresso, anise, and a long, velvety mocha finish.
2019 | WS 94
Flashy, with boysenberry and mulberry pâte de fruit notes that roll through, throwing off licorice snap and acai berry notes as well. Ends with a high-gloss toasty finish.
About Winery
In 1972, Chuck Wagner started Caymus Vineyards with his parents, Charlie and Lorna, with a humble plan and an uncharted future. The Wagner family were farmers with deep roots in the Napa Valley – in 1857, Chuck Wagner’s great-great grandfather captained a wagon train to California from Bible Grove, Missouri. Working together for decades, Chuck Wagner and his parents established the family’s work ethic, appetite for innovation, down-to-earth sensibility, and deep appreciation of the pleasures of good food and wine enjoyed with family and friends.
Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 The Matriarch rocks up with forthright notions of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries and mulberries plus hints of crushed rocks, dried herbs, iron ore and black soil plus a touch of Ceylon tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals impressive intensity with a firm texture of grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with an herbal lift.
About Winery
Sourced from select hillside estates, the Cabernet Sauvignon wines of BOND vividly demonstrate the range of Napa Valley's finest terroirs. From the more than eighty vineyards we have worked with over the past quarter century, we have slowly and vigilantly selected five sites. BOND became our covenant and shared commitment to produce only the best expression of the land. By way of this valuable experience, we had the opportunity to identify select properties that we felt had the potential to define the ‘Grand Crus’ of Napa Valley. These small hillside Cabernet vineyards, ranging in size from 7 to 11 acres, became the basis for the wines of BOND.
Winemaker Notes
One of the best values in the Sojourn portfolio, the 2019 Sonoma Coast Pinot noir brings together eight unique lots from sites that comprise several of our single vineyard designate bottlings. This 2019 blend showcases a higher proportion of Walala and Gap’s Crown Vineyard components, resulting in greater intensity and rich texture. The 2019 vintage offers balance and depth, with multiple layers of dark cherry, nutmeg and earth, leading to a long finish. It is drinking exceptionally well now with a fresh, complex bouquet that draws you into the glass. This wine is the real deal.
About Winery
Sojourn Cellars was founded in 2001 by two tennis friends, Craig Haserot and Erich Bradley, who shared a passion for great wine and tennis. They started with small bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon from exceptional vineyard sources. Over the years, Sojourn Cellars has grown into a boutique winery producing highly acclaimed Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Their hands-off winemaking style allows the character of the vineyard sites to shine through in the wines.
Winemaker Notes
ARIEL oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas of black currants, cherry, blueberries and chocolate, with soft tannins and a dry finish. Try this with manchego, carne asada, Texas chili, wood-fired pizza.
THE J LOHR STORY
Fifty years ago, Jerry Lohr embarked on a career change. What followed would reshape the landscape of the California wine industry and create one of the country’s most popular wine brands.
In the late 1960s, Jerry Lohr began an extensive investigation of California grape growing regions – searching for the ideal location for his first vineyard. Jerry was raised on a South Dakota farm; his agricultural roots armed him with an innate sense for the relationship between climate, soil, and location. His research and instincts led him to the Central Coast, an area just beginning to explore its potential for winegrowing.
Four decades ago, the California Central Coast had not yet emerged as one of North America’s world-class winegrowing regions. With little history or viticultural precedent, planting on the Central Coast was a gamble. One of a handful of early pioneers, Jerry Lohr was among the first to realize the inherent potential of Monterey and Paso Robles for producing high quality grapes and superb wines.
PIONEERING MONTEREY AND PASO ROBLES -JERRY LOHR LEGACY-It’s no coincidence that the Central Coast’s emergence as a world class winegrowing region runs parallel with the establishment and growth of J. Lohr Vineyards & Winery. Founder Jerry Lohr is one of the region’s pioneers and has played a larger-than-life role in bringing the area to prominence.
Jerry’s instincts led him to two regions located about 75 miles apart. In the early 1970s, he chose Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco district for its cool, windy climate and rocky soils as ideal for Chardonnay. In the 1980s, he recognized the potential of Paso Robles for growing Bordeaux varietals, especially Cabernet Sauvignon – given the area’s rich soils and dramatic diurnal temperature swings between warm days and cool nights.
After Jerry Lohr’s nearly decade-long search for the right place to plant his first vineyard, he chose a site in Monterey County that was to become the heart of the Arroyo Seco appellation. Jerry originally planted 280 acres in 1972 and 1973 near Greenfield. Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco appellation has proved ideal for growing layered, complex Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Brisk winds and fog off Monterey Bay, stony, well-drained soils, and a lack of damaging fall rains all combine to produce grapes with trademark fruit intensity and balancing acidity. In 1974, Jerry unveiled the first J. Lohr winery in San Jose.
In the early 1980s, Jerry Lohr saw the potential for great Cabernet Sauvignon further south. Borrowing a lesson from the French—that great Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon excel in very different growing conditions—Jerry began planting Cabernet Sauvignon and other red varieties in San Luis Obispo County’s little-known Paso Robles region in 1986. With the hands-on devotion of an artisan farmer, Jerry tended to the vines while diligently working toward the creation and development of an adjacent winery and barreling cellars; J. Lohr’s Paso Robles production facility was opened in 1988.
Winemaker Notes
Deep and inky purple red robe with dark blue edges. The nose is intense, spicy overlapping with layers of red and black fruit, and cedar notes. Elegant tannins open towards a mid-palate that combines finesse and concentration, round and fresh. Exceptionally long finish.
Blend: 64% Carmenère, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot
About Winery
Everything starts in 1994 when Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband Cyril de Bournet first arrived in Chile’s Colchagua Valley. They quickly realized its potential for producing world-class wines. This ideal setting, which was revitalized in 1995, was home to vines originating from pre-phylloxera rootstock brought from Bordeaux in the middle of XIX century. Member of a renowned family that has been dedicated for several generations to the production of high-quality spirits and wines, Alexandra with legendary wine expertise, brought exceptional French winemaking practices to Chile and pioneered the development of fine quality wines from the region. Today it is Charles de Bournet Marnier Lapostolle, seventh generation of the family, who holds the reins of the Winery. Together with him is Jacques Begarie, Technical Director & Winemaker, under the advice of the famous winemaker Michel Rolland, who is personally involved in the whole production of Clos Apalta. In its short history, Clos Apalta wines have consistently ranked highly (90+ points) among reputable wine trade publications, a testament of the rigorous standards implemented at the winery to produce outstanding wines. Clos Apalta's philosophy is as simple as it is ambitious: to express terroir in the wines, looking for excellence, elegance and character in a handcrafted wine that can talk about the amazing place that is the Apalta Valley.
Winemaker Notes
The wine is a deep, dazzling purple. Initially rather closed, the nose opens with airing to reveal elegant fresh fruit, blackcurrant bud and eucalyptus aromas. A fresh, clean attack leads into a full, powerful and silky mid-palate, building to an incredibly long finish on notes of brioche and liquorice. An intense and stylish vintage to come back to in a few years’ time.
About Winery
Second growth classified in 1855. With its terroir of big gravels located by the river Gironde, its classic and powerful style, Montrose is often called the Latour of Saint Estephe. Montrose needs time to express its incomparable delicacy. In the first decade, its fantastic potential is hidden behind a certain austerity. In the second decade, the wines open themselves. In the third decade, they explode, and the terroir expresses itself. In the hands of the family Charmolle from 1896 to 2006, it is now run by Martin and Olivier Bouygues.
Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet colored, the 2013 Opus One needs a little swirling before exploding with preserved black and blue fruits—blueberry compote, blackberry pie and blackcurrant cordial—giving way to notes of unsmoked cigars, new leather, beef drippings and menthol with wafts of roasted rosemary and rose oil.
About Winery
Rising gracefully from the vineyards, Opus One winery stands in subtle celebration of the land and the open space that surrounds the estate. It remains an ongoing testament to the founders’ vision of a singular wine that transcends generations.
The estate vineyards of Opus One, comprised of four parcels, sit in the western portion of the famed Oakville AVA in Napa Valley. Two parcels, totaling 100 acres, are within the renowned To Kalon Vineyard. These are complemented by the combined 70 acres of the Ballestra and River parcels, which envelop the winery. In the vineyards, hand-harvesting and other traditional approaches are taken wherever they work best. When modern techniques benefit the winegrowing process, they are researched, evaluated and integrated into practice.
