Showing posts with label White Hawk Vineyard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Hawk Vineyard. Show all posts

Saturday, October 15, 2022

Gala Family Celebration calls for for birthyear wine

Gala Family Celebration get-together opportunity for a birth-year wine

The family gathered at son Sean's and Michelle's to celebrate granddaughter Lavender's first birthday and got a surprise announcement. Opening her first birthday gift produced a t-shirt that read, "I'm going to be a Big Sister!

Notably, I had already pulled from the cellar and brought a bottle of wine from Sean's birth year for the occasion. 

Inglenook Napa Valley "Reunion" Estate Bottled Red Wine 1985

This label is from the storied label that was one of the original pioneers producing wine in northern California and Napa Valley. 

Inglenook was founded in 1879 by Finnish sea captain Gustave Niebaum and produced perhaps the best wines in the valley until it closed in the early 1900s due to Prohibition. 

Niebaum died in 1908, but his widow re-opened the winery in the '40s and the winery returned to its earlier eminence as a top Napa producer. 

Movie producer Francis Ford Coppola enriched with cash from the legendary Godfather movies, bought 1,500 acres of vineyards from the brand in the mid-'70s. 

Under his stewardship and direction, the winery kept producing high quality wines until it was sold several times in rapid succession in the years after this vintage went into bottle. 

Several decades of producing not up-to-par quality wines ended in 2014 when Coppola purchased the name of the winery (for a ton of cash) with the hope of returning the brand to its former glory. 

The flagship Napa Cab label for the estate is Rubicon which we saw manifested on the producer's vanity plate while at lunch down the road from the estate.  

This is the Bordeaux varietal from the historic label that I acquired at auction over the years, from son Sean's birth-year vintage to hold and open for some fitting occasion such as tonight. 

This Reunion label is sourced from the three historic Inglenook estate vineyards that sit on the magnificent expansive historic property on the edge of the Napa Valley up against the Mayacamas foothills on the west side of Rutherford. 

We visited and toured the estate (right) during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2009. 

This was awarded 91 points by Wine Spectator back in 1989 

Our Cellartracker records indicate we acquired several bottles of this label back in 2009. A decade later this bottle showed a stained label, good filled level and a somewhat soft cork that threatened to pull apart but with care was extracted in whole using a traditional waiter's corkscrew. 

The color was dark garnet colored, medium bodied, at 37 years this was showing its age but was still consumable - the tangy dark cherry and plum flavors were overtaken by a funky barnyard earthiness and wet wood that burned off after close to an hour - but was still a bit astringent with notes of tobacco, oaky spice cedar and black tea with modest tannins on the tangy acidic finish.

RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=208179

Lillian California Syrah 2016

An interesting wine I had never heard of or seen before, Ryan brought this premium artisan Syrah from his cellar. 

This is from winemaker Maggie Harrison who worked at legendary Sine Qua Non for eight years.

First released in 2004, she sources fruit for this small production artisan label from the prestigious White Hawk Vineyard in Santa Barbara County

She produces this Lillian Syrah and a some other labels from vineyards sources such as the Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, and the Stolpman Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Lillian wines are crafted from Rhone varietals — Roussanne, Syrah and Grenache, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Lillian shares a winemaker, winery, and tasting room with Antica Terra, in Dundee, OR, as noted on the label, but the wine is designated California Syrah, attributing the vineyard sources of the fruit. 

Ryan opened this bottle the night before and noted the fruit was more muted than when opened. 

Dark inky purple colored, medium full bodied, tight, structured, bold, forward, concentrated black fruits with notes of cedar and hints of cassis, pepper and smoke. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3042313

https://www.lillianwinery.com/

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Syrah

Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Syrah 2008

Trolling through the wine cellar, I uncovered several bottles of this Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Syrah. Records show I purchased 16 bottles of this label and have consumed ten, so there should still be a few at hand, buried in the cellar somewhere - perils/joys of having an extensive collection.

At nine years old, its probably at the prime of its drinking window and likely won't improve further with ageing so its time to drink up. We had a bottle with bbq at home the other night, then took a bottle to Daughter Erin and Johnnie's for Memorial Day bbq rib dinner - an ideal pairing.

My tasting notes indicate we last had this label on the 4th of July for holiday bbq dinner, just like this tasting.

As posted earlier, I chronicled my discovery of this wine and what I learned about this producer and label in an earlier blog posts.

Consistent with earlier notes ....

Dark inky purple, full bodied, thick, concentrated, chewy black and blue berry fruits with a layer of alcohol, tones of caramel and vanilla, turning to hints of black pepper and mint on a moderate tannin laced lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1201424

http://www.deepseawines.com/

Earlier blogposts:
http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/07/deep-sea-white-hawk-vineyard-santa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/02/deep-sea-white-hawk-vineyard-santa.html

Friday, July 3, 2015

Deep Sea White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah 2008


Deep Sea White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah 2008

Great tasty hearty wine for movie night at home, settled in with cheese plate, fresh fruits, french bread and some wine. 

I chronicled my discovery of this wine and what I learned about this producer and label in an earlier blog post.

Consistent with earlier notes. Dark inky purple, full bodied, thick, concentrated, chewy black and blue berry fruits with a layer of alcohol, tones of caramel and vanilla, turning to hints of black pepper and mint on a moderate tannin laced lingering finish.

In its seventh year, its not as balanced and polished as it was earlier hence losing a point, but still tasty and pleasant every day sipping, indeed. And with a good QPR.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1201424

http://www.deepseawines.com/

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Deep Sea White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah 2008

Deep Sea White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah 2008

We opened this tasty full throttle Shiraz for a casual weeknight sipper by the fire on a frosty cold winter night. Looking back through my Blogposts and tasting notes, its been ten months and tastings of six other wines from this producer since we last featured this Deep Sea Syrah, the label that started our whole discovery and exploration of this Producer. As posted earlier, like another Syrah that I hold in my cellar that I discovered under the same circumstances, I found this downstate at Friar Tuck's, a wine merchant with stores across Central Illinois cities and suburban St Louis, Missouri. A few years ago I discovered Flinders Run Flinders Ranges Shiraz there and went back and bought out all that they had. Downstate for a client meeting, last winter, I picked this up to to try with a carry out rib dinner back at my hotel. I went back the next day and bought out their complete inventory. On a return visit they had more and I bought it all again. Both labels offered a big fruity Shiraz in the style we love, not available in Chicagoland, (although their highly recommended  Cabernet and Pinot Noir, and their Red Blend can be found), at a high QPR - Quality Price Ratio. It might be that this was perhaps a Negociant release and thus unfortunately may have been one and done.

Deep Sea is a producer in Santa Barbara that speaks of their quest to feature wines that represent "maritime influenced vineyards of merit and singularity .... their origins and the impact of California's coastal climate. California's appellations are ideally influenced throughout the growing season by the unique climes created by the Pacific Ocean. The ethereal 'fog-like wave' on the label references the focus of Deep Sea wines showcasing the impact of this natural cooling on some of California's most recognized maritime appellations."
This Syrah is made with grapes from the White Hawk vineyard in Santa Barbara County.  It is aged for eighteen months in French Oak barrels. 
Dark inky purple, full bodied, thick, concentrated, chewy black and blue berry fruits with a layer of alcohol, tones of caramel and vanilla, turning to hints of black pepper and mint on a moderate tannin laced lingering finish.
RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1201424

http://www.deepseawines.com/

http://friartuckonline.com/

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Deep Sea White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah 2008

Deep Sea White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah 2008

Like another Syrah that I hold in my cellar that I discovered under the same circumstances, I found this downstate at Friar Tuck's, a wine merchant with stores across Central Illinois cities and suburban St Louis, Missouri. A few years ago I discovered Flinders Run Flinders Ranges Shiraz there and went back and bought out all that they had. Downstate for a client meeting, I picked this up last evening to enjoy with a carry out rib dinner back at my hotel. I went back today and bought out their complete inventory.

Deep Sea is a producer in Santa Barbara that speaks of their quest to feature wines that represent "maritime influenced vineyards of merit and singularity .... their origins and the impact of California's coastal climate. California's appellations are ideally influenced throughout the growing season by the unique climes created by the Pacific Ocean. The ethereal 'fog-like wave' on the label references the focus of Deep Sea wines showcasing the impact of this natural cooling on some of California's most recognized maritime appellations."

This Syrah is made with grapes from the White Hawk vineyard in Santa Barbara County.  It is aged for eighteen months in French Oak barrels. 

Dark inky purple, full bodied, thick, concentrated, chewy black and blue berry fruits with a layer of alcohol, tones of caramel and vanilla, turning to hints of black pepper and mint on a moderate tannin laced lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1201424

http://www.deepseawines.com/

http://friartuckonline.com/