David Arthur DAV Proprietary Red Blend 2016

David Arthur “DAV” Proprietary Red Blend 2016

Monday night dining at son Alec and D-in-law Vivianna’s, we ordered pizza’s from Pizza Monday Nights at Gia Mia in Naperville. 

Alec opened up his cellar for a red wine and I selected this Proprietary Red Blend, an introduction to a relatively new label from one of our long timer favored producers. 

Our CellarTracker records show we hold more than three cases of 20 different labels from David Arthur. We visited the estate up on Pritchard Hill Atlas Peak during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013 as featured in these pages in this blogpost - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.

I got to share with Alec how it is that we have fun with this label since David Arthur is actually named for the grandfather of the owner/producer Long Family - a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. 

Today it is co-owned and operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura runs the office and daily operations.

Not coincidentally, we were joined that trip by Sister and Bro-in-law Pat and Rodger, so wife Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana cattle farmer Ned Long would be with us on this trip.

In addition to wife Linda and I being joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it was only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit until this Long reunion trip together. The family reunion continued with a visit from Pat and Linda's niece Becky (nee) Long who lived near Napa and brought her family down to join us for a day in the region.

Farmer (in-law) Ned Long's daughters, Pat and
Linda at David Arthur Long Ranch

In addition to wife Linda and I being joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it was only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit until this Long reunion trip together. The family reunion continued with a visit from Pat and Linda's niece Becky (nee) Long who lived near Napa and brought her family down to join us for a day in the region.

During that estate visit and tasting, we tasted the portfolio of David Arthur Bordeaux varietal labels. This label, a Bordeaux Blend, was not released until three years later in 2016, however. 

Since Alec acquired a case of this label, he shared with me two bottles for our David Arthur collection, which I’ll exchange for like kind labels of equal value from our cellar. 

David Arthur DAV Proprietary Red Blend 2016

David Arthur’s website writes about this label. “ After nearly forty years of farming grapes on our Pritchard Hill Estate, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Next Generation of David Arthur Vineyards wine ~ DAV. We have created a new, modern wine that represents the bold personality found in each and every bottle of our Estate wines. This Bordeaux-style blend allows us to weave together the rich, concentrated elegance and power of our mountain-grown Bordeaux varietals as well as the best of surrounding vineyards within the Napa Valley. The wine is aged an average of 20 months in French oak barrels, blended with meticulous care and bottled at our vineyard estate. The result is a complex array of aromas and flavors that deliver plush, mouth-filling structure with soft, elegant tannins.” 

David Arthur’s brilliant winemaker Nile Zacherle crafts this new Proprietary Red which is available for a fraction of their iconic ultra-premium labels such as the 2007 Elevation 1147 Cabernet (Parker’s top 1147 vintage), which sells for $275 and up, yet rivals them in ratings!

Wine Spectator called Pritchard Hill “the Rodeo Drive of Napa Valley” and Wine Enthusiast says the area is “producing among the most profound wines in Napa Valley”. David Arthur sits in proximity to legendary neighbors Chappellet, Dalla Valle, Ovid, Bryant Family, and Colgin – labels often selling for a $1,000 or more. What a great value wine at less than $100!

Winemakers notes for this release - “A dark cerise color offering an array of fruit and spice aromas; bright cherry, red raspberry, baked cassis, and plum followed by notes of anise, baking spices, garrigue and cherry cola. The palate is soft and plush with fine-grained tannins offering beautiful acidity and structure. The finish is long and silky with flavors of candied plum, tamarind, brown sugar and molasses. Best 2018 to 2027.”

This release is from powerful 2016 vintage, rated a record high 98-point harvest according to Wine Advocate. It is an interesting and intriguing blend of Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Italian grapes Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. David Arthur creatively crafted their Meritaggio Brand/label combining Sangiovese with the Bordeaux grapes. We’ve collected and still hold several vintages of that label dating back to 1997.

This was a great compliment to the pasta and pizza and begs for a grilled beefsteak. 

This label release was rated 94 Points by James Suckling, 90 points by Vinous and International Wine Cellar, and 89-92 points by Jeb Dunnuck

Dark ruby garnet colored, medium to full bodied, complex, nicely balanced and integrated, full, round, bright vibrant lively ripe sweet black and red fruit flavors accented by notes of cassis, spice and tobacco with a long and flavorful finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5048796

https://www.davidarthur.com/

https://x.com/unwindwine

Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red

Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red for elegant refined casual sipping on holiday

For our getway week at our Destiny East Cove vacation rental in Destin, FL, we took several wines from our cellar, along with some artisan cheeses, to enjoy during our week away including this Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red.

We acquired this wine directly from the producer as it is not available in distribution in our hometown Chicagoland marketplace. It is available, however at Total Wine the super merchant stores on the east coast from Florida, including the nearest store in Pensacola, to Connecticut, as well as various Midwest cities including Indianapolis.

While best enjoyed with a grilled beefsteak, this was fabulous casual sipping with a selection of artisan cheeses. 

We first wrote about this wine when we received our shipment from the producer last fall in this featured blogpost - Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine.

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine 2013

This producer first caught my attention when buddy Bob brought it to our Pour Boys OTBN - "Open-That-Bottle-Night" 2022 in Charleston and I pegged it as WOTN - Wine of the Night, my personal favorite. Bob picked up the bottle at his local Total Wine beverage superstore in Boca Raton Town Center. I saw the label when there and also at the new Total Wine in Indy.

So, when son Ryan got their wine club promotional mailing and shared it I was eager to pick up a mixed case of their Signature Series Bordeaux varietals including this aged vintage release from their library close-out. My shipment just arrived and I was eager to try this. It did not disappoint.

Beau Vigne (pronounced bo-veenya), was founded by Ed and Trish Snider with their first vintage release in 2002. Translated from French it means beautiful vineyard in French.

Ed’s family has a long history in Napa Valley dating back to his Swiss Italian grandfather Martin Garzoli who arrived in Napa in 1913. He grew up on a ranch in Carneros and worked on farms in Napa and Sonoma. Martin made his own wines at home in the evenings. His son John Garzoli played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1955 and went on to coach football at St. Helena High School in the center of Napa Valley where children of many vintners attended school. A number of Ed’s former students are now in the wine industry.

In 2018, they sold Beau Vigne to Don Dady and Jason Kyle from Arizona. Jason was a former NFL football player, a long snapper for five different teams including the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to his wine interests, Jason is co-owner of Press Coffee Roasters with locations in Arizona.  Partner Dady is co-founder of Annexus, a financial company in Scottsdale and also owns Seven Apart Winery in Napa Valley just north of the city of Napa. 

Beau Vigne sourced fruit for their estate wines from their 10 acre Stags Ridge Vineyard at the top of Soda Canyon Road on the slopes of Atlas Peak at about 1650 feet elevation. The site was planted to 8 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and an acre each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Ed sold the vineyard and it is now a part of Seven Apart Winery’s estate. Beau Vigne continues to source grapes from there and other premium vineyards in Napa Valley.

Since 2019, Beau Vigne has partnered with Appellation Trading Company to distribute Beau Vigne as part of their portfolio of brands. 

Over the years, Beau Vigne has been crafted by several highly regarded Napa Valley winemakers. Their founding winemaker was Dave Phinney who went on to develop several successful brands, most notably, Orin Swift Cellars and the Prisoner portfolio of wines. One of our favorite winemakers, Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards has also crafted Beau Vigne wines. Today the winemaker is Julien Fayard.

Originally from France, Julien began his career as a winemaker producing quality rosé at his family’s winery in Provence. He worked at legendary Chateaux Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite in Bordeaux before relocating to Napa Valley where he was Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking for a few years before setting out on his own.

Julien earned his Master in Agri-Business from ESA France and his Master in Winemaking from Toulouse France. In 2011, he received his MBA from UC Davis. 

Recently, Beau Vigne became part of a select collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. They showcase wines from an elite group of premier Napa Valley producers who do not have their own tasting rooms. Select bottlings and vintages of Beau Vigne are available for tasting and purchased there. 

Beau Vigne bottles wines under three different brands; the Legacy Series, the Signature Series and the Discovery Series.

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2013

This 2013 is a Blend of Bordeaux varietals, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc. The producer cited it amongst the best wines Beau Vigne had made to date. That says a lot since Robert Parker awarded the 2013 Beau Vigne "Cult" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 96 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. He also awarded the Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet from this vintage a stellar perfect 100 points.

Winemaker notes: "When tasted, it was still locked and loaded. Dense and dark, with notes of soil incense, violets, black cherry and black raspberry elements are also still present. The wine is full-bodied, opulent, with great vigor and delineation. This is a sensational example what happens after nine years in the bottle."

The Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from this vintage, the same fruit that forms the foundation for this blend, was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker. 

Parker wrote about that wine: "Profound, with a stunning aromatic display of blue and black fruits, charcoal, graphite, and spring flowers. The wine has a flawless entry and mouthfeel, with a full-bodied density, opulence and an incredible finish of close to a minute."

He also awarded the 2013 Beau Vigne "Cult" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 96 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate . That wine too contains the same Cabernet Sauvignon as in this blend. That blend contained 98:2% while this one is 70:30. Parker wrote of that wine: "Similarly styled is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Cult, which is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. The biggest cuvée of any of these wines, the color is blackish/purple as a moonless night. It offers fabulous fruit and incredible density and richness, with lots of camphor, blackberry and cassis fruit, hints of espresso bean and chocolate as well as some background oak. This is a big, full-throttle, savory style of wine that should age effortlessly for 20-25+ years (RP)."

As a blend of the same fruit as those wines, it has a similar profile. Dark blackish purple colored, full bodied, dense, rich concentrated black fruits accented by a layer of camphor that initially may be a bit unnerving to some, with notes of cassis, expresso and dark bitter mocha with some graphite and oak on the full lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2010086

www.beauvigne.com

https://www.destinvacation.com/rentals/unit/the-cove