Q4 2021 - PREMIUM Club Shipment

 


Thanks for being a member of the PREMIUM Wine Club! 

The wines in this shipment have been hand-selected by our Tasting Panel.

They have been crafted to be decanted and enjoyed now, or be cellared for future enjoyment. 

We do recommend waiting a few weeks to allow the wine to recover from any 'bottle shock' in transit. 

Then feel free to enjoy one bottle, and cellar the other for a later date. 

Have fun!  

 

 Talisman Wines


Talisman Wine – 2016 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir (Reorder)

Talisman is completely focused on (obsessed with?) Pinot Noir; very small lots of single vineyard Pinot Noirs. Lovingly crafted expressions of different vineyards mostly in Sonoma County; one in Napa County and one in Mendocino county. They partner with their growers, a much more personal relationship than just “buying grapes”. They have specific blocks (or rows) that they source from, work together on, make farming and picking decisions together, and craft exquisite wines from their grapes. They vinify and age their Pinots virtually identically to showcase the vineyard site; elevation, soil type, age of vines, weather that year, etc. It’s a fascinating comparison of Pinot personalities!

Production: 314 cases

Appellation: Sonoma Coast

Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir

Barrel Aging: 19 months 54% New French oak

Tasting notes: Pinot noirs are always fascinating from Wildcat Mountain! At once bright, minerally, edgy and rich. With unique aromas and flavors of cedar, strawberry jam, clay, black tea, rose hips, red fruits, balsamic and even a hint of jalapeno. The texture is graceful and lingers on seemingly forever with accents of coffee, tobacco, black raspberry and dark plum… divine.

  

Majuscule Wine

Majuscule Wines - 2018 Mount Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Reorder)

Appellation:  Mount Veeder, Napa Valley

Fermentation: Open-top fermenters

Barrel Aging: 18 months in French oak (50% new & 50% used once)

Flavor Profile: The lively and intense nose leads with a hint of fresh violets and dark fruits. On the palate, flavors of bright red cherries, blackberries and black currant are highlighted with subtle cranberry. With a full-bodied mouthfeel and moderate tannins, the flavors progressively include a subtle spice component with dark chocolate, pepper, licorice, and cedar.

Varietals & Source: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon comprised of clones 115 and 169 from the Wildcat Vineyard, located 1,800 feet up on Mount Veeder. The vineyard was planted with red Bordeux varietals by Lisa Chu in the 1990s and produces rich, intense grapes with soft tannins. The vineyard's hilly topography, microclimates and long growing season make it challenging to farm, but the additional effort yields wines that are consistently elegant and memorable.

Aging Potential:  Will age well over the next 10-15 or more years

 

Rudius Wines 

Rudius - 2017 "Kaley Elizabeth" Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon (Reorder)

  • BACKGROUND Growing up in the South with a family of lawyers, Jeff pulled a wild card when he began working in a Memphis-based wine shop. His passion for Rhone varietals became apparent at that point, as did his desire to move forward in the industry. What allowed him to chase his dream was an internship with Lynn Penner-Ash in Oregon. After making a shift to Napa, he worked every corner of the wine industry until in 2001, he became Thomas Brown’s assistant winemaker for brands including Schrader, Tor, Maybach, and Outpost. In 2005, he sold his first home in Napa in order to attain the start-up capital needed to achieve his ultimate goal: Rudius Wines. This wine geek isn't just passionate about his morning walks in the vineyard but is also an avid golfer, a die hard Alabama football fan, and knows the perfect pairing for any pork product.

    LIMITED EDITION 180 cases

    VINEYARD Napa Valley AVA, eastern Oakville hills vineyards.

    WINEMAKER Jeff Ames, who has made multiple 100-point wines for TOR, as well as having made wine for Schrader, Maybach, Outpost, Tayson Pierce, Anthem and others. 

    TASTING NOTES The 2017 ‘Kaley Elizabeth’ will draw you in with an opulent profile that is classically Oakville — rich black cherries, cassis and elderberry. Pronounced accents of warm, Middle Eastern spices and crushed slate are bound by lengthy hillside tannins that filled your palate, carrying the wine to a long, compelling finish. The Kaley Elizabeth is undoubtedly the most age-worthy wine in our portfolio. This year’s Kaley shows the best of both the eastern Oakville hillside and the beauty of the interplay between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

    Our 2017 Kaley Elizabeth Cabernet will be a bit more reserved on release than previous vintages, but is still intended to age with grace, more so than any other wine in our portfolio. Over the coming decade, you will find that the distinctive hillside tannins lengthen and soften, giving the wine an even more sumptuous mouthfeel than on release. We recommend that you cellar ‘Kaley’ for at least 12 - 18 months to allow this young wine to come into its own, but don’t be afraid to enjoy a bottle on an upcoming special occasion. ‘Kaley’ will reveal her layers after a few hours in the decanter, but a 3-18 year rest in your cellar is ideal.