Dunn Howell Mtn Cab with grilled beefsteaks

Dunn Howell Mtn Cab with grilled beefsteaks

Fellow ‘Pour Boy’ Bill with Beth visiting from Charleston, we had leftover beef tenderloin on toast points with cheese, with twice baked potatoes and salad, followed by chocolate cheese cake desserts.  

Bill opened this vintage legendary Napa Cabernet he brought from his home cellar that he acquired at the winery.

Dunn Family Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 

This is from one of our favorite producers who is a legend in Napa Valley and beyond. 

Randy Dunn is known for age-worthy long-lived Napa Cabernets, especially the flagship premium Howell Mountain label.  If you’re acquiring wines to commemorate a special vintage year for a future date, such as a birthyear, you select a producer with a track record for producing long lived wines, and select wine from a region that had a good harvest of quality fruit suitable for producing long-lived wines. 

Hence we hold a collection of such wines from Randy Dunn, the legendary, independent Napa Valley winemaker known for pioneering producing powerfull structured, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignons. 

Randy Dunn helped shape the modern identity of Napa Valley. After studying enology at UC Davis, Dunn became the first head winemaker at Caymus Vineyards in 1975 where Caymus launched its legendary ultra-premium Special Selection Cabernet.

In 1978, Dunn and his wife Lori bought property atop Howell Mountain where he was instrumental in getting established the Howell Mountain AVA, which in 1983 became Napa’s first official sub-appellation.

While modern Napa moved toward micro-sorted, plush, high-alcohol wines, Dunn maintained his traditional style, crushing fruit with bits of stems intact for raw structure, and aging wines no less than thirty months in oak, crafting balanced, elegant, lower alcohol wines designed for the dinner table.

Dunn Vineyard’s Howell Mountain property is planted with 24 acres of Cabernet vines aging between 10-37 years.

We visited the Dunn Vineyards estate up at Angwin on Howell Mountain during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008. We were hosted by Kristina Dunn that day but we had the privilege to meet winemaker, producer, patriarch and Napa Valley pioneer Randy Dunn. 

While not one of the larger holdings in our cellar in terms of number of bottles, it may be one of our broadest holdings in terms of number of vintages in our vertical collection of this label, and the flagship premium label Dunn Howell Mtn Cab.  We also collect Randy Dunn's "Feather" label that he produces for the Long Shadows Vintners Collection Series in Washington State. 

Our Cellartracker records indicate we have a vertical collection of several mixed cases of each label from more than two dozen vintages dating back to 1981. 

Selections from Vertical Collection of Dunn Napa Valley Cabernets

With Randy Dunn at Dunn estate high atop Howell Mountain.

His influence extends far beyond the family brand/label which we hold spanning several decades, as well his collaborative label (s) under different brands/labels. We written about Randy Dunn and his Family brand and his Long Shadows Vintners Collection “Feather” label in these blogposts as examples -  

Tomahawk Ribeye and Vintage Wines for Celebration dinner

Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit

Super Bowl party wine - Long Shadows Feather

Dunn Vineyards and Caymus #40 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, 

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 

We debated about the tasting window of this wine, at sixteen years. We agreed it has a decade or more at the apex of its drinking window, and it may actually benefit from further aging in the bottle to settle and integrate the bold concentrated tannins and fruits. 

In any event, I remember memorable tastings of this label dating back three decades and beyond, and the distinctive tasting profile of this label, which were exemplified in this bottle. 

Stephen Tanzer of Vinous shared these same sentiments and summed it up perfectly in his review when he wrote: 

“The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is classic Dunn. Graphite, herbs, incense, tobacco, licorice and coffee infuse the 2010 with notable depth. There is an exotic quality to the 2010 that is hard to fully capture with words, but that lends tons of allure. This Cabernet Sauvignon is just starting to be approachable, although it clearly has the stuffing and pedigree to drink well for many decades to come. One of the very best wines of the vintage, the Dunn Howell Mountain has always been magical. It is all that and more on this night. Readers lucky enough to own it are in for a treat.” Vinous Review Date: 07/2023.

Interesting that we debated about its complexity, being 100% Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Notably, Tanzer wrote, “With its healthy acidity and great palate-staining length, this splendid Cabernet really calls for another decade in the cellar. It may have an aging curve like a top vintage of Château Latour." (5/2020)

This top vintage release was rated 98 points by James Suckling, 97+ points Stephen Tanzer of Vinous, and 95 points by Wine Advocate.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, concentrated, dense, complex, powerful but masterful in its approachability, classic Dunn Howell black currant and black berry fruits accented by notes of cinnamon spice, graphite, herbs, cigar box and licorice with hints of cedar, with chewy but polished tannins on a tongue puckering finish. 

RM 95 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/1607418

http://www.dunnvineyards.com/

@dunn_vineyards  

Clark Claudon Estate Cabernet with BBQ

Clark Claudon Estate Cabernet with BBQ 

With left over BBQ Beef Brisket from earlier in the week, (Sharko’s BBQ with Yakima Valley Syrah), I pulled from the cellar an aged vintage Napa Cabernet. What a delightful surprise to find this exceeding expectations for a superb food wine pairing - accentuating and amplifying the enjoyment of both. 

We hold two decades of vintages in our ‘vertical collection’ of this label, dating back to the inaugural release in 1994. It’s times like this that we are rewarded for having a deep, aged cellar collection. 

I wrote about this producer and wine in detail in these pages in an earlier posting, which is excerpted and updated here: 

Clark-Claudon Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

In an earlier, similar situation, we also posted: we opened an old favorite wine from our extensive collection from one of our favorite producers, with BBQ Beef Brisket and mashed potatoes, and a selection of cheeses and sourdough bread, previously in this earlier blogpost:

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Clark-Claudon Vineyards located in the Vaca Mountain range high above Oakville, Napa Valley, was founded in 1993 by Thomas Clark and Laurie Claudon Clark. The couple had lived and worked in Napa Valley for 20 years as grape growers but eventually decided to make wine under their own name. 

The Clark-Claudon estate is situated on the ‘backside’ of Howell Mountain in an area known as Pope Valley. We have fun with this label as fellow Pour Boy Bill and Beth C's maiden name is Pope. Clark-Claudon's 17 acres of vineyards are carved out of a 117 acre property located on the north east side of Howell Mountain between Ink Grade and Howell Mountain Road, from 800 ft to 1,200 ft elevation. It’s shallow, mountain soils, cool evening breezes and excellent sun exposure are ideal for a low yield of small, intense Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes. The 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon are planted with clone 7 which grows well in hillside rocky soil and produces small berries with concentrated flavors. A small vineyard block is planted to Petite Verdot. After completing their initial vineyard planting, Clark decided to leave the remaining 100 acres of forests, creeks, meadows and ponds in their natural state which serves as a preserve for native birds and wildlife.

Interesting, following my discussions in another earlier blogpost, I wrote about the terroir and appellation, and specifically about the line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, due to effects of the fog from the valley that reaches up to that ceiling level. 

We have another such-situated Napa/Howell Mountain Cabernet. Similar to the Viader Napa Valley Cabernet Red Blend from earlier tastings, and the Blue Hall Vineyard Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that we drank the other night, this Clark Claudon Napa Cab vineyard is at 1000 foot elevation on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain. 

That terroir distinction doesn't apply here as the Clark Claudon property is on the backside of Howell Mountain which never sees the fog that is experienced on the Napa Valley side of the hill. 

We have been collecting this label since its introduction back in 1993 and hold two decades of vintages since. We first met Tom Clark and Laurie Claudon-Clark during our Napa Wine Experience 1999 when we hosted them at one of our wine producer dinners. That night, held at what was then Pinot Blanc Restaurant in St Helena (see picture above), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old 1989 Bordeaux, BYOB from our home cellars. 

During our Napa Wine Experience visits of 1997 through 2000 we hosted gala tasting dinners with the "'Undisccovered Dozen', emerging new wine producers to watch", featured in an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. Many of these producers released their inaugural vintage releases in or about the 1994 vintage. Those producers and winery visits included Plumpjack, David Arthur, Clark-Claudon, Robert Craig, Del Dotto, Elan, Paradigm, Pride Vineyards, Snowden, Nils Venge and White Cottage and are featured variously on my winesite http://www.unwindwine.com. A complete index of my tasting notes of these wines over the years is on the site at this link to California Producers Index. These producers make up a foundation of our wine cellar collection even today. In many of these wines, we still have vertical selections, several dating back to those early release vintages.   

We love the distinctive unique Clark-Claudon packaging with the tall slender bottles. An interesting and trivial wine-geek's observation about the Clark-Claudon branding and packaging; as mentioned, we hold close to a score of vintages of this label. 

All our vintage holdings but this one, the 2004 release, are packaged with the wax cap inside the rim of the bottle, topping the cork, as shown left. This one, 2004, has a 'traditional' foil top of the bottle (shown below). Not sure why?

This release was awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast who wrote, " ... it really needs time. Give it until after 2008, if you can keep your hands off, and will come into its own after 2010."

A decade later, going on seventeen years, this release is holding its own very nicely and showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. The fill level, label and most importantly the cork were in perfect condition.

Wine Enthusiast wrote, "The 2004 Clark-Claudon Napa Cabernet Sauvignon blends fruit from all over the winery's estate, combining multiple expressions of the fruit. The higher portions of the estate yielded fruit that was rich, deeply colored with intense tannins. The lower portions of the estate produced softer, more perfumed wine."  Tonight's tasting was consistent with previous tastings in 2015, 2016 and most recently in the Spring of 2021. In 2016 I wrote it was more expressive than earlier tastings. I sense this is at its peak, not likely to improve further, but grand and capable of aging several more years none-the-less.

At nineteen years, the fill level, label, foil and most importantly the cork were all still in pristine condition.  

Like before, the room filled with dark berry fruit aromatics as soon the cork was pulled. This was dark garnet colored, rich, full, concentrated, but nicely integrated and elegant black berry and black currant fruits with accents of cassis, mocha, floral and notes of spicy oak and hints of black cherry on a lingering fine-grained silky tannin finish.

What I did not expect was an extraordinary ‘bourbon barrel’ sprite in the wine that was a perfect complement to the tangy BBQ brisket and sauce. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=229261

In seeking to replenish this bottle with a more recent vintage of this wine, I looked in distribution and found none in Chicagoland, but got this response when searching national beverage superstore Total Wine - "We could not find this item at Pensacola, FL (our select store), But we found it at Denver, CO." We'll be reaching back to the producer directly, as well as looking in the secondary market. 

I’ve recently picked up a couple new labels of this producer on-line which I am holding and am eager to try - their ‘Eternity’ label and Three Stones Vineyard release.

A couple days later, we opened another vintage release of this label, for a mini vertical comparison tasting. 

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

The 2001 vintage proved to be in that ‘Goldilock’s zone’, not too old to be past its prime drinking window, and not too young, such that it was now fully integrated and showed maturity from aging. 

Like the slightly younger release from a few days earlier, the label, wax capsule (caplet?) (in lieu of foil), fill level and the apparent cork seemed to be in pristine condition, albeit for the age, at twenty-four years. 

In light of the wax capsule or caplet, I set aside the also two pronged cork puller and attempted to extract the cork using a traditional waiter’s hinged cork screw. Alas, the cork pulled apart leaving the last quarter remnant in the neck of the bottle. I was able to extract the remains, intact using the Ahso. I should’ve known better and used the ahso from the start. 

The tasting profile was similar to the later vintage release, above, although the vibrant fruit and spice sprites were slightly subdued, giving way to some graphite, hints of smoke and leather tones, perhaps revealing vintage differences, as well as the additional four years of age. 

At twenty-one years, this was at the end of its optimal tasting window, and starting to decline going forward, hence time to drink in the near term of the next year or so.  

This release was rated 92 points by Wine Advocate, who compared it to “a great vintage of Chateau Margaux, tannic, backward, with a Bordeaux-like structure as well as a deep, rich, full-bodied personality.”

RM 90 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/436561

https://www.clarkclaudon.com

@ClarkClaudon 

Earlier tasting posts ...   

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/01/clark-claudon-howell-mountain-napa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/festive-holiday-dinner-showcases.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/05/clark-claudon-napa-valley-cabernet.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/03/clark-claudon-napa-cabernet-2004.html

Spring Valley Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Spring Valley Vineyards secret reveal Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Linda grilled steaks with roasted potatoes and haricot verts with grilled onions. I pulled from the cellar this negociant remarketed Napa Cabernet from the Sping Mountain District.  

This follows the enjoyable Fantesca Spring Mountain District Napa Cabernet we had just the other night.

I’ve written about this premium label that was sold in the secondary market through the private label negociant brand in previous blogposts, revisited, excerpted below. 

Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 150 Spring Mountain Cabernet 

This write-up of this label is a repeat of an earlier post where I wrote about Ninety Plus Cellars and their Negociant model of wine marketing. They buy surplus juice or bulk wine or bottled product, and then private-label it with their branding featuring an anonymized 'Lot' reference number tied to the source of the wine. Such arrangements are typically done under a non-disclosure agreement to shield the original brand/producer. In this case, Ninety Plus Cellars, Lot 150, is a Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This case is especially interesting in that when one pulls the cork of these bottles, the cork reveals the true source of the wine, Spring Mountain Vineyards. Apparently, in this case, the wine was already bottled but not yet labeled for distribution. It was then acquired by Ninety Plus Cellars who packaged it for retail sale under their negociant general brand that masks the supplier. The packaging, however, reveals the original branding of the producer on the original cork in the bottle. According to the Ninety+ Cellars website, the "Source Label Price" for this wine was: $79.99, hence the need or practice of anonymity or not disclosing the original source of the wine. The Ninety+ price is about half of that - high QPR (quality-price-ratio) indeed.  

For the Lot 150 release, the rear label of the Ninety Plus packaging speaks to Spring Mountain District as the source for the product, without attribution to a particular grower or producer.

When I purchased the first original bottle, I imagined who the source of this wine might be, thinking about the different Spring Mountain District suppliers of Cabernet Sauvignon. Spring Mountain Vineyards was one of those potential suppliers that I considered, but I presumed it would never be revealed or confirmed as the source. But, imagine my surprise when, upon pulling the cork, they were revealed to be the producer. 

In this case, Ninety Plus Cellars apparently bought what they call “sparklers” - bottled wines that have not yet been labeled. Producers will bottle their wines, but hold off applying the labels until release so as not to risk the labels being soiled during aging, thereby reducing their market value. Apparently Spring Mountain Vineyards sold the bottled, unlabeled produce in the after market for resale in the rebranded private label. 

Typically, producers desire remaining anonymous so as not to diminish the price point of their wines, by selling them through a rebranding reseller such as this. In this case, that approach was undermined by already having processed the bottles with brand identifying corks, revealing their true identity/source. Alas, a great value find for the consumer, obtaining this premium brand at the secondary private label market price!  

This is not the first occurrence of this happening as I recall at least one other occasion where the product was bottled and the cork revealed the original producer source of the wine. On at least one other occasion, the source was pretty much revealed or confirmed based upon the published detailed percentages of the blend of the wine.

I've written much in these pages about Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 101 which I enjoyed immensely, and lamented often the mis-fortune of not knowing the source so as to be able to purchase more product in subsequent vintage releases of the label. Since, in my experience, Ninety + tend to have more misses than hits to suit my personal taste, I tend to buy a bottle and try it before I load up on any label. Here is another case where I went back and bought more, and then did so again. 

Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 150 Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

This is a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot aged 22 months in French Oak. 

Back in 2020 I wrote, “Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, firm structured backbone, complex concentrated blackberry and black currant fruits with layers of firm bone dry tannins with notes of oak, spice, hints of dark mocha, anise, leather and dust.’

“Needs a bit more time to settle and not for the feint of heart with the rock hard tannins but if you like that style (which I do) then this is a great find at a good QPR (quality price ratio) value.”

Tonight five years later, at a dozen years, the important fill level and cork were still pristine, the hard tannins were indeed relaxed, but the fruits had also integrated and matured and seemed much sweeter than earlier, surprisingly, almost excessively so.  
 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2793688

https://store.ninetypluscellars.com/lot-150-cabernet-sauvignon-spring-mountain-district-napa-valley-california-2013-p419.aspx

Clark Claudon Napa Cab with grilled beefsteaks

Clark Claudon Napa Cab with grilled beefsteaks 

Summer grilling continues with beefsteaks served with sweet corn on the cob and fresh pasta with tomatoes, onions, squash, corn and fresh homegrown herbs. Notably, I’ve written in the past that when we lived in California, years ago, early in my career, despite the culinary riches of that state, I missed and longed for good beefsteaks, succulent fresh sweet corn and tomatoes, which we enjoy so much, sourced  here in the midwest.  

To accompany the steaks I pulled from the cellar an aged vintage Napa Cabernet from one of our favorite and most deeply held producers. 

Clark Claudon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 

We hold nearly two dozen vintages of this label and at twenty-three years this bottle was holding on, still hanging onto its drinking window, but the fruit may be starting to fade giving way to non-fruit earthy tones, but still has a few years remaining. 

The label, ‘capsule’, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were pristine, showing now signs of diminution whatsoever. I put capsule in quotes because their unique packaging features a wax ‘cap’ on the top of the cork, (shown left), rather than a traditional capsule, or the annoying dipped wax collar on the top of the entire neck of the bottle, which while looking dramatic is a pain to remove. 

We’ve featured many vintages of this label in these pages and have written about our collection and this producer often, encapsulated and excerpted here below. Following is an updated re-post of earlier posting about this wine and this producer - Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.

The producer, Clark-Claudon estate is situated on the ‘backside’ of Howell Mountain in an area known as Pope Valley. We have fun with this label as fellow Pour Boy Bill and Beth C's maiden name is Pope. Clark-Claudon's 17 acres of vineyards are carved out of a 117 acre property located on the north east side of Howell Mountain between Ink Grade and Howell Mountain Road, from 800 ft to 1,200 ft elevation. It’s shallow, mountain soils, cool evening breezes and excellent sun exposure are ideal for a low yield of small, intense Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes. 

Their 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon are planted with clone 7 which grows well in hillside rocky soil and produces small berries with concentrated flavors. A small vineyard block is planted to Petite Verdot. After completing their initial vineyard planting, Clark decided to leave the  remaining 100 acres of forests, creeks, meadows and ponds in their natural state which serves as a preserve for native birds and wildlife.

Interesting, following my discussions in recent blogpost about the terroir and appellation specificity line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, we have another such-situated Napa/Howell Mountain Cabernet. Similar to the Viader Napa Valley Cabernet Red Blend from earlier tastings, and the Blue Hall Vineyard Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that we drank the other night, this Clark Claudon Napa Cab vineyard is at 1000 foot elevation on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain. That terroir distinction doesn't apply here as the Clark Claudon property is on the backside of Howell Mountain which never sees the fog that is experienced on the Napa Valley side of the hill. 

We have been collecting this label since its introduction back in 1993 and hold two decades of vintages since. 

We first met Tom Clark and Laurie Claudon-Clark during our Napa Wine Experience 1999 when we hosted them at one of our wine producer dinners. That night, held at what was then Pinot Blanc Restaurant in St Helena (pictured left), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old BYOB 1989 Bordeaux. 

During our Napa Wine Experience visits of 1997 through 2000 we hosted gala tasting dinners with the "'Undisccovered Dozen', emerging new wine producers to watch", featured in an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. Many of these producers released their inaugural vintage releases in or about the 1994 vintage. Those producers and winery visits included Plumpjack, David Arthur, Clark-Claudon, Robert Craig, Del Dotto, Elan, Paradigm, Pride Vineyards, Snowden, Nils Venge and White Cottage. These producers represent a large portion of our collection cellar holdings to this day and are featured variously throughout these pages. 

A more complete index of my tasting notes of these wines over the years is on the site at this link to California Producers Index. These producers make up a foundation of our wine cellar collection even today. In many of these wines, we still have vertical selections, several dating back to those early release vintages.   

We love the distinctive unique Clark-Claudon packaging with the tall slender bottles and wax caps mentioned above, an interesting and trivial wine-geek's observation about the Clark-Claudon branding and packaging. We know of no other producer employing this packaging concept. 

As mentioned, we hold close to a score of vintages of this label. We’ve recently acquired several more labels from this producer to augment our vertical collection of this, their primary estate label.

Wine Enthusiast gave this release 91 points and a *Cellar Selection*.

Both Wine Enthusiast and Connoisseurs Guide both advised to hold this release for several years CG writing “this one promises to develop famously if allowed to rest in a quiet, dark spot for the next five to eight years or so.”

Wine Enthusiast wrote, “From lower Howell Mountain, this 100% Cab has bigtime tannins and tremendous authority. It's dry, shut down and slightly rustic now, with an edgy feel, but the core of ripe Cabernet fruit suggests that it will blossom and improve by 2008, and then hold until at least 2015. *Cellar Selection*”

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, rich, full, concentrated, but nicely integrated and elegant black berry and black currant fruits with earthy accents and hints of black tea, cassis, creosote and notes of spicy oak and hints of black cherry on a lingering fine-grained silky tannin finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=436562

https://www.clarkclaudon.com

@ClarkClaudon 

Something earlier tasting posts of this label  ...   

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/01/clark-claudon-howell-mountain-napa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/festive-holiday-dinner-showcases.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/05/clark-claudon-napa-valley-cabernet.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/03/clark-claudon-napa-cabernet-2004.html

Kinsella Estate Dry Creek Valley Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet

Kinsella Estate Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet 2018

Son Alec and wife Viv hosted Philippe, friend from Provence, who we’ve known since he stayed with us as a foreign exchange student when they were in high school, so we met up together for a reunion with pizza and wine. 

We visited Philippe in Aix-en-Provence in 2019, a trip we chronicled in these pages in several posts. 

Four days in Provence - Aix - Meyrargues 

La Presqu'Ile Restaurant à Bédarrides Vaucluse France 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape 

A visit to Château La Nerthe

Alec wanted to showcase an example of American wine for our French friend so he pulled from his cellar this limited production boutique label from Sonoma County. He shared an earlier vintage of this label a while back and I wrote about it and its interesting producer at that time, excerpted below.  

This is the label of Kevin Kinsella who founded Kinsella Estates in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valleyin 2007. Kevin bought a 12-acre vineyard in the foothills of the western edge of Dry Creek Valley and hired legendary winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown to lead his project.

Kinsella is founder of the private venture capital fund, Avalon Ventures, which funded the first big data company, multiple billion dollar pharmaceutical companies, the first touch screen for the Apple iPhone, the first mega social gaming company and the radically new stealth vessel for the Navy SEALS. Avalon has participated in and helped develop more than 120 different companies. As a consultant to the Peruvian government, Kinsella developed the first international marketing plan for the remarkable Andean grain, quinoa. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Kinsella is also a Tony Award winner as he gained further fame and fortune as the largest individual investor in the musical Jersey Boys, which became a worldwide smash hit becoming the 12th longest running musical in the history of Broadway playing to nearly 23 million people worldwide in five locations worldwide over a decade. 

The musical Jersey Boys not only provided resources to pursue his passion for wine but also was the impetus for the name of one of the three vineyards on the estate named after the musical. 

Kinsella Estates is situated in a private valley in the foothills of the western edge of Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley near Healdsburg, situated at an elevation of 500 feet above the Russian River. The valley provides a warm climate that seldom sees a winter frost, some hills even grow citrus trees. The valley runs east-west and is planted with 12 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon vines on steep eastern hillsides made of loamy, metamorphic soil.

The estate has three vineyard blocks; the six acre Jersey Boys Vineyard, Spencer Vineyard is four acres, and two acre Heirloom Vineyard (formerly Tamara Vineyard), a steep sloping 17-year-old parcel wedged between an arroyo and a knoll of Spanish oaks, 

The Kinsella Estate property is a bit unique spot because the Dry Creek AVA is known primarily for the predominant varietal Zinfandel and not much Cabernet. This vineyard however gets plenty of sunshine to provide appropriate terroir for the Bordeaux varietal. 

The Heirloom Vineyard was planted in 2001 with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Jersey Boys Vineyard was replanted in 2008, utilizing four Cabernet Sauvignon clones, with two thirds of an acre planted to Wente clone Zinfandel and eight rows to Petit Verdot. 

With the purchase of the the 12-acre vineyard estate, his business instincts took over. "Part of the philosophy of venture capital is to go with the best people you can," explains Kinsella, who hired talented winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown as winemaker in 2007. Prior to Kinsella, since 2000, Brown had crafted 37 individual bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon for Schrader Cellars. Twenty of those releases earned ratings of 95 points or higher on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale, including a pair of 100-point 2007s. Ninety-one is the lowest score in the bunch.

Working with Thomas Rivers Brown are viticulturist Kelly Maher and Josh Clark of Clark Vineyard Management. Josh is the son of Tom Clark of the family wine label Clark-Claudon. Josh says he started in this business at age 12, when he would spend the day with “the vineyard as his playground", and where he “practically grew up on a tractor.” Josh took over the family business in 2003 that Tom Clark, started in 1978 so that Tom could focus on the Clark-Claudon label. Notably, we hold twenty vintages of the Clark-Claudon label in our cellar collection dating back to the inaugural vintage 1994.

Kinsella Estates is the only vineyard property Josh farms in Sonoma County with the rest of his clients being in Napa County. Josh says Kinsella vineyards receive even sunlight throughout the day and the soils are well drained to accommodate Cabernet.    

 

The Kinsella team quickly set their sights on making the best-tasting Cabernet from Dry Creek, an area better known for Zinfandel. Success came swiftly with their very first vintage, the 2008, scoring 95 points at Wine Spectator.

Kinsella Estates produces 2,000 cases annually and has no plans to expand outside of what the vineyard has to offer, as Kinsella prefers to remain a single estate production. "Buying grapes to supplement a label would be considered absurd in Burgundy or Bordeaux," he says. Instead, he wants the Kinsella story to be about a single estate. "I have no need for other varietals," Kinsella says. "No need to amp up production. I'd be very happy just to do this perfectly." 

Kinsella Estates Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

The premium label comes packaged in an extra heavy bottle (as heavy as I have ever seen in a standard 750ml!) forged to hold an embossed coin emblem with the Kinsella moniker and motto, "Su Una Stretta Di Mano" which is also on the rear label. 

"Su Una Stretta Di Mano" (on a handshake) is a line from the Broadway show, Jersey Boys, but expresses perfectly the enduring bond forged among us, the sun, rain and soil, our excellent winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, our dedicated vineyard team... and our customers, who by buying and enjoying our wine - our passion - have joined that circle of friendship.'

“Our wines let the fruit speak for itself - an expression of the terroir, the exceptional clones and the seasonal variation of sun and water in our vineyard. Kinsella Estates wines showcase beautiful expressions of the vineyard blocks from which they are made. Characteristics of the wines include expressive floral and dried herb aromas combined with bright fruit flavors and seductively smooth tannins.”

The Jersey Boys Vineyard was replanted in 2008, utilizing four clones specifically chosen by Thomas Rivers Brown. This vineyard receives even sunlight throughout the day and the soils are well draining. All of the Kinsella vineyards are irrigated solely by their water reservoir, Spencer Lake

Producer’s Notes - “The 2018 Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a deep garnet hue as well as a smokey nose of red and black currants, toasted bread, spring flowers, spice box, and dried, cedary herbs. This bold, fruit forward Cabernet shows plenty of richness and depth on the palate, with velvety tannins and a nicely balanced mouthfeel. Rich flavors of chocolate, cloves, leather are complimented by hints of tobacco and leaves you with a fantastic finish. Enjoy this vintage of Jersey Boys after a hour long decant.”

Winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown’s Winemaker Notes: “The 2018 Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a deep garnet hue as well as a smokey nose of red and black currants, toasted bread, spring flowers, spice box, and dried, cedary herbs. This bold, fruit forward Cabernet shows plenty of richness and depth on the palate, with velvety tannins and a nicely balanced mouthfeel. Rich flavors of chocolate, cloves, leather are complimented by hints of tobacco and leaves you with a fantastic finish. Enjoy this vintage of Jersey Boys after a hour long decant.”

“Pure 100% cabernet Sauvignon, this vineyard continually astonishes. Loads of loamy soil notes followed by blue and black fruits give this cabernet massive depth and beautiful integrated tannins. Milk chocolate, crème de cassis and tobacco give this massive wine the depth you come to expect with Napa cabs, but it is all Sonoma County, all from our magnificent little private valley which sees sun all day! We buy no fruit; we sell no fruit.”

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, intense, bold, concentrated rich forward black fruits accented by notes of menthol, cedar, cinnamon and clove spices with hints of cassis and leather on a bright acidic finish, the ‘legs’ cling to the glass. Almost a bit obtuse, give it some time for it to settle and become a bit more approachable. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/m/wines/3874859

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3542037

https://www.kinsellawines.com/

2018 Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - https://kinsella-estates.obtainwine.com/collection/wines 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/12/kinsella-dry-creek-valley-cabernet-2017.html

Pizza and Fleury Napa Cab Hawaiian Sunset

Pizza and Fleury Napa Cab Hawaiian Sunset

Another night in paradise, the family gathered on the lawn to watch the Hawaiian sunset with pizza and a bottle of fine wine. Somewhat of a son Ryan’s family tradition, on their last night at the south island resort, they watched the sunset together on the lawn with pizza dinner. 

Ryan brought from his home cellar this bottle of ultra-premium Napa Valley Cabernet. 

Fleury Estate Winery Howell Mtn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Ryan obtained this rare highly allocated label as a member of the Fleury wine club and has amassed a vertical and horizontal collection of their various labels. We first met Brian and Claudia Fleury at a Del Dotto event in their earliest days when they were just starting Fleury Estate back in 2000.

The Fleury Estate lies just south of St. Helena in Rutherford with a tasting room, winemaking facilities and a 11 acre estate vineyard. Fleury Estate Winery also owns 50 acres of premium vineyard land in the key locations of Napa Valley with vineyards in different appellations and elevations which enables them to craft consistent, high quality Napa Valley wines year after year. 

I featured Brian and Claudia Fleury and their Fleury Napa Valley estate wines in thess pages back in 2018 in the blogpost Fleury Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Duo. I wrote about when we first met Brian and Claudia Fleury at a Del Dotto Estate Winery event (see below) back in 2002. From that meeting we acquired some Fleury Estate Lauren Bryce Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from what I believe was their inaugural vintage release. How surprising then and what fun to hear son Ryan speaking of this wine and about he and some of his buddy's acquiring some of the highly allocated select wine for their cellars. Fleury Estate Napa Cab is a favorite of him and several of his colleagues who have extensive collections of numerous releases of this label.

Fleury Estate Winery owns 50 acres of premium vineyard land in different appellations and elevations that they note allow them to "craft consistent, high quality Napa Valley wines year after year". Their primary Fleury Estate Vineyard located in the heart of Napa Valley just south of St. Helena in Rutherford, is also home to the Fleury tasting room, winemaking facilities and 11 acre estate vineyard.

They also own and manage 30 acres in the St Helena Vineyard, and six acre Howell Mountain Vineyard high up in Deerpark.

Their vineyards are planted to all the Bordeaux Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec.

Dark garnet inky purple colored, full bodied, dense, concentrated yet elegant and refined, tongue coating blackberry and hints of blueberry fruits, notes of cassis, black tea, cedar and graphite with tangy acidity and velvety smooth tannins on a long lasting finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?2519948

https://www.fleurywinery.com/