Bogle Phantom Red Blend

Bogle Phantom Red Blend for Burgers - Oh My!

Summer means burgers on the grill and bbq. What's a wine lover to do? For grand-daughter Marleigh's birthday party, son Ryan grilled burgers and dogs on the grill. I took over this Bogle Phantom Red Blend which was a perfect accompaniment.

My wine snobbery, I'd prefer to call it sophistication, pooh-poohs wines from the inner central valley of California, often released as bulk wines, relegating them to pizza wine, or as in this case, burger wines.

The Bogle family have farmed their property for over a hundred years in Clarksburg in the central valley North Central California. Clarksburg has its own AVA - Agricultural Viticulture Area or appellation. They started growing wine grape on their property of 1500 acres. The area proved well suited for grapes which do well in the fertile soils and climate of warm days and cooling breezes that roll up the valley from the nearby San Franciso Bay. They grow grape varietals Merlot, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Petite Sirah and Riesling. 

They eventually started producing wines sourced from their Estate as well as from suppliers across the state. Today they have a dozen labels, sourced from grapes from the estate and a wide range of sites. Their sources include well known high profile wine regions as Sonoma and the Russian River Valley, as well as lesser known areas, not as high profile or as prestigious such as Amador County Lodi, Mendocino, Eldorado County, Monterey, Oakley and Clarksburg. These areas have and are know for their own specialties such as El Dorado and Amador County in the Sierra foothills, known for high quality Zinfandels. The result is quality wines of great value that provide high QPR - Quality Price Ratios.

Bogle is a family operation run by Warren Bogle, President and Vineyard Director who grew up working the fields with his father Chris. He studied agricultural business at California State University, then took over the business in 1997 at the young age of 21. He is assisted by sister Jody who manages Public Relations who also grew working in the fields with younger brother Warren. After a career in Education, and working in the tasting room on weekends, she joined the family business full time in 1999. She has grown the business through her promotional efforts as well as international distribution. They were joined in 2006 by Ryan Bogle who graduated with a degree in Business and Economic and a post-graduate degree in accounting and now serves as Chief Financial Officer of the company.

I keep several Bogle labels on hand for every day drinking, with pizza, burgers and BBQ. This label, Phantom is one of my favorites and is a dependable go-to wine for such occasions that provides great value QPR.

Phantom is a complex sophisticated Red Blend comprised of Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

According to Bogle, which give the Phantom brand its own website, Phantom is "the mysterious apparition of ripe berry and relentless spice, returns to haunt wine lovers."


Bogle Phantom Proprietary Red Blend 2013

Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated with forward brambly blue and black raspberry fruits with tones of mocha chocolate and a layer of vanilla with hints of pepper, spice and cinnamon on a rich full flavorful finish with silky smooth fine grained tannins.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2385626

http://www.boglewinery.com/

http://phantomwine.com/wines/

Conundrum California Rosé 2017

Conundrum California Rosé 2017

This is the first Rosé wine reviewed in these pages, and my first in several thousand tastings notes published in my wine journal here and on unwindwine.com.

Conundrum was a project from Chuck Wagner of Caymus legend that has become a major brand with Red, White and this Rose' wine that are sourced from various suppliers throughout California - Napa, Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Benito, Solano and Tulare Counties.

Conundrum was founded in 1989 with Conundrum White, Conundrum Red came along in 2011. Today, Charlie’s grandson, Charlie Wagner II, manages Conundrum and is Winemaker for this wine.

 This Conundrum Rosé is made primarily from Valdigué, a unique and rare grape varietal grown in limited quantities, sourced from near Paso Robles in Central California. The varietal was originally thought to be Gamay until its provenance and pedigree were validated.

This is moderate, light, crisp and refreshing, an ideal summer wine for sunny days on the veranda. Golden, rust-orange, rose colored, light, dry, modest notes of strawberry, hints of pear and tropical fruits with lively acidic finish.

RM 87 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2970209

http://www.conundrumwines.com/wines/



  

Mr Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

Mr Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

Friday night wine and cheese evening in front of a movie, we chose our favorite casual sipping wine, Shiraz, from the cellar. I pulled this Mr Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004. Linda prepared a selection of artisan cheeses, nuts and fresh pear slices. 

Unlike earlier tasting notes where blueberry was predominant, tonight the black berry lead with accents from plum and more red fruit notes. The plum and red fruit notes were more subdued and less sweet than previous tasting according to my notes, the sweeter blue tones subsiding. Perhaps this is due to bottle or lot variation, or aging deeper into the tasting window, or both. The remainder was consistent with previous tasting notes posted back in 2014. "Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, rich, complex, full forward sweet black and blue berry fruits, accented by a layer of mineral and tones of graphite on a lingering tongue coating full tannin finish."



RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=128274

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/09/mr-riggs-mclaren-vale-shiraz-2004.html

Prodigo Riserva Sangiovese di Romagna DOC 2013

Prodigo Riserva Sangiovese di Romagna DOC 2013

For casual midweek, holiday eve dining at our favorite neighborhood trattoria, Angelis' Italian, we normally do BYOB but tonight ordered their Tuesday Night Wine Special, this Prodigo Riserva Sangiovese di Romagna DOC.

Decent QPR (quality price ratio) in this casual everyday sipper ... 100% Sangiovese - garnet colored, medium bodied, red cherry fruits with notes of smoke, tar, wood and spice on a modest finish. Best with some tangy Italian sauces with pasta or Italian sausage.

RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2470300

http://www.angeliscatering.com/
 

Double Diamond Diamond Mtn Meritage - Thurston Geologist Premium Red 2012

 Double Diamond (Midsummer Cellars) Diamond Mtn Meritage 2000 - Thurston Geologist Premium Red 2012

 Just returned from a week in Florida and the Magic Kingdom, son Ryan and Michelle invited me over to dinner. Ryan grilled bbq ribs on his new incredible Spectrum Series Webber Grill. He served a Thomas Thurston "The Geologist" Premium Red. I brought a Double Diamond Diamond Mtn Meritage.

Thomas Thurston "The Geologist" Premium Red 2012

According to the producer, "The Geologist was inspired by the dramatic volcanic and fluvial geology of eastern Washington’s viticulture regions. The front label shows a key component, the Snipes Mountain growing area, with its unique ancestral Columbia River conglomerate soils directly overlying ancient weathered basalt. The Geologist captures in the bottle this viticultural legacy as well as recognizing the professional inspiration of one of our family members; geoscientist, Michael Yeaman. This is the fifth vintage of this blend and was aged 22 months in French oak and three years in the bottle before release. Limited production of 104 cases with release October 2016."

This is a blend of:

• CABERNET SAUVIGNON (49%) – Upland Vineyard
• MERLOT (27%) – Crawford Vineyard
• CABERNET FRANC (15%) – Burgess Vineyard
• PETITE SIRAH (9%) – Zephyr Ridge Vineyard

Ryan said this had been opened for a day and had closed down since initial opening. It was bright garnet colored, medium bodied with bright expressive Bing Cherry fruit accented by bright acidity and a layer of smoke. The structure was a bit flabby masking the potential complexity of the blend. I sense and wonder if this would integrate and show better after a couple more years of settling.

RM 88 points. 

Double Diamond Diamond Mountain (Midsummer Cellars) Meritage 2000

Since Ryan married a Diamond, I have fun collecting 'Diamond' labels and sharing them with him and wife Michelle. The Double Diamond Brand was marketed by Schrader Vineyards for several vintage releases from 2002 onward to this day. We hold a half dozen releases of Shrader Double Diamond during this period. This particular release in 2000 was 295 cases produced by Midsummer Cellars of Sebastapol, CA. The blend was 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 25% Petit Verdot. 

Midsummer Cellars is Rollie and Sally Heitz who started Midsummer Cellars that year, 2000 with the goal of making small lot handcrafted wines of distinction that reflect the terroir of and individuality of their vineyard sources.

Today, Midsummer Cellars produces only vineyard-designated Cabernet Sauvignon from three vineyards -- their own Cañon Creek Vineyard, as well as the Tomasson, and Clark-Claudon Vineyards; all of which show their distinct characteristics in the wines created from them.

Rollie Heitz has a lifetime of winemaking experience having grown up in the business at his family’s Napa Valley winery. He learned how to make fine wines while working alongside his father, Joe Heitz, for several years before deciding to leave the family business and establish his own winery in 2000.

Today, Midsummer Cellars is located at the base of the foothills north of Saint Helena, just off the Silverado Trail. The winery is small --  with beautiful vistas to the east -- and within this small space we are able to produce true wines of distinction that we hope you will enjoy.

So this was the inaugural vintage release of Rollie Heitz with grapes sourced from this  Diamond Mountain vineyard. I picked this up at auction from a lot of only three bottles so its not likely you'll see or find this soon.

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied with bright expressive black berry and black cherry fruits with a layer of tar, leather, smoke and tobacco leaf with moderate tannins on the finish. 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=442292

http://midsummercellars.com/

P.S. I wrote to Rollie Heitz to see if we could meet during our upcoming trip to Napa. He promptly responded with the following note:

Good Morning Rick,

We actually just closed down Midsummer Cellars last month and have opened a new venture "Tenuta Montorsolo.

We have purchased a small vineyard, winery and home just outside of the small town of Todi in Umbria and we will begin making wine there beginning with the 2018 harvest.

I'm sorry that we missed you.  If you find yourself heading to Umbria please look us up.

Thank you,

Rollie

In a message dated 7/6/2018 5:06:47 PM Pacific Standard Time

We wish Rollie and company the best in their new venture in Umbria! 

Cakebread Cellars Napa Chardonnay at Il Postino NYC

Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay at Il Postino NYC

For the second time in as many months, I found myself in NYC and a special dinner at what is becoming one of my favorites dinesites there, Il Postino Ristorant Italiano. Once again, the food and service were spectacular in a classic cosmopolitan setting, ideal for a special business dinner.


As with my last visit, I ordered the Dover Sole, one of my favorite dishes, although I am happy with a less extravagant regular sole, or SFO native Petrale, or my absolute favorite, Sand Dabs, also known as Rex Sole, which is primarily found on the middle west coast Pacific from Monterey (CA) up to San Francisco.

Tonight, they prepared the dish to my request, in a lemon caper

butter white wine sauce. It was spectacular, just the way I like prefer. I might have opted for a lighter Sauvignon Blanc but I opted for a Chardonnay in consideration of my guests and mates who were having Calamari, Pasta and Shrimp, and Pasta with Lobster.

From the winelist we ordered Cakebread Napa Valley Chardonnay and Sonoma Cutrer Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2015.


Cakebread Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015

The 2015 Cakebread Napa Valley Chardonnay consists of 90% of the grapes came from the cool-climate Carneros district at the southern tip of the valley, with 40% of the fruit from Cakebread estate Carneros vineyards. Situated down at the bottom of Napa Valley where it meets Sonoma, off the San Pablo Bay estuary, the cool breezes and fog waft in, giving Carneros a long, cool growing season. This allows the fruit to fully ripen while retaining the bright acidity that gives Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay its freshness and vitality. For this vintage, Cakebread blended fruit from Carneros with chardonnay grapes from just north of the city of Napa that yield especially luscious wines resulting in a elegant and complex chardonnay.

The 2015 vintage produced a light crop with small chardonnay berries and clusters yielding bright, intense varietal flavors.. A warm, dry winter brought early bud-break, and consistently mild summer weather, with a few late-season heat spikes, led to the earliest harvest in Cakebread Cellars forty-five vintages dating back to their inaugural release in 1973.

Straw colored, medium-full bodied this has aromas of green and golden apple, pear and citrus with hints of mineral. Complex and crisp with nice depth and balance, the long finish highlights notes of pear with hints of lemon, peach, vanilla, and spicy oak.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2470938

https://www.cakebread.com/

Pride Mountain Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016

Pride Mountain Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2016

We dined at Seafire Grill in Midtown NYC and ordered this Pride Mountain Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016 with our seafood entrees.  Seafire Grill has been on my to-do list for quite a while so it was nice to get this in this trip.

I ordered the roasted Nova Scotia Halibut in beurre blanc sauce with lemon gnocchi, fava beans, and kale chimichurri (left). I was hoping for more boldness and rich flavor in the beurre blanc sauce but it was too subtle and benign to spruce up the mild fish. The fish preparation was excellent and the full gnocchi was a nice complement to the Halibut. 

Similarly, the cous cous starter was rather bland and uninspiring. The tuna tartar starter was the most expressive and enjoyable of our selections. All the better to order a rather bold forward Chardonnay to fill in the blanks. The Pride Mountain Napa Chardonnay turned out to be more modest as well, hence not overpowering to the more delicate subtle dishes, although that was not planned. 

Unlike the food, the atmosphere at Seafire Grill was boisterous and outgoing, bordering on overhearing, almost difficult to have a conversation, overly cosmopolitan and certainly lacking intimacy.

Pride Mountain Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2016

Pride Mountain Vineyards are most noted for their mountain grown Cabernets from their vineyards high atop Spring Mountain. 

This Chardonnay is sourced from three different vineyards in Carneros down at the bottom of the Mayacamas Mtn range that separates Napa and Sonoma Valley. The area with its cool breezes and fog that wafts in from nearby San Pablo Bay is known for Burgundian varietal wines, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

Pride has long term supplier agreements with its growers there, hence, while not Estate grown, there is a history to compare this wine over many vintages for collectors and brand loyalists. 

While this is aged in 25% new French oak, the oak is subdued and well behaved, straw colored, light medium bodied, fresh, crisp lively acidity, moderate fruit tones of pear, citrus, melon and hint of spice.  

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2802580

https://www.pridewines.com/

Lewis Sonoma RRV Chardonnay 2004

Lewis Sonoma RRV Chardonnay 2004

We're huge fans of Lewis Cellars' Cabernets and picked up a selection of these RRV (Sonoma County Russian River Valley) Chardonnays from auction - someone no doubt worried they're late in their drinking window and need to 'thin' their cellar holdings. Our private tasting at the Lewis Napa Chateau was one of the highlights of our Napa trip last summer.

We opened this and it was a perfect complement to grilled lobster tails served on a ramekin of buttered croutons.

Cellartracker's tasting notes give this thirteen year old mixed reviews - some saying its drinking well and others saying its past its prime. This could be bottle variations, cellaring variations, or differences in preferred style and taste. In any event, this was holding its own and drinking very nicely.

This is clearly crafted in the California versus the classic Burgundian style with layers of big rich oak, straw colored, medium bodied, note of of creamy vanilla, green apple, hints of nut and stone, nice acidic balance for crisp pleasurable drinking. Its density calls for drinking with food and was perfect with our buttery lobster.

RM 90 points. Connoisseur's Guide gave this one 93 pts.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1072448

http://www.lewiscellars.com

Sea Smoke, Ducru, Quilceda Creek, Peter Michael Belle Côte Premier Dinner Flight

Sea Smoke, Ducru, Quilceda Creek, Peter Michael Belle Côte Premier Dinner Flight

For an impromptu Saturday evening wine dinner, we hosted Dr Dan and Linda to grilled steaks, scalloped potatoes and grilled vegetables.

Before dinner we had a selection of artisan cheeses with honey roasted walnuts.

After dinner we had Linda's homemade dark chocolate mousse cake with fresh cream and berries.

Dan brought a couple of fabulous ultra-premium bottles from Peter Michael and SeaSmoke and I pulled from the cellar two favorite bottles to round out a spectacular wine flight, Ducru Beaucaillou and Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley red wine Bordeaux varietal blend.

Peter Michael Belle Côte Knights Valley Sonoma County Chardonnay 2013

Before dinner, with a selection of artisan cheeses we tasted this exquisite limited release ultra premium Peter Michael Sonoma County Chardonnay. Butter colored, medium-full bodied, silky smooth, elegant and polished. With his rich history and roots back in Berkshire, England, where I worked for thirteen years, I regret I never connected with Peter Michael and his California wine activities.

Robert Parker gave this release 99 points and said it is 'flirting with perfection'. Parker writes of this wine showing "almost stony liqueur of rocks, lemon butter, and white peach', and describes it as a 'full-bodied, intense wine with loads of tangerine oil, pineapple jam and that wet stone minerality .... extremely massive, rich, super-concentrated".

James Suckling gave this wine 94 points saying, "This is very open and fruit driven with papaya, mango, and hints of nuts. Lychee too. Full-bodied, fresh and flavorful.... Persistent finish. Lovely purity".

James Laube of Wine Spectator gave it 93 points and cites it "Oozing with complex flavors of honeydew, toasty oak, fig, apricot and tangerine, this is enlivened by snappy acidity and ends with a long, expansive flavor". 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2029455

Transitioning from the pre-dinner course to dinner Dan brought and opened this Sea Smoke 'One Barrel' Pinot Noir. This is a select ultra-premium limited production label from this premier producer that has a cult-like following. This label is only released in years producing fruit worthy of the designated label.  Most years, the winery chooses what they consider their best barrel of their estate-grown Pinot Noir and bottle it as the One Barrel label.


Sea Smoke "One Barrel" Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2014

Sea Smoke produces a line up of ultra-premium estate wines from their vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills appellation at the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley in the California Central Coast wine region.

The name Sea Smoke refers to the marine fog that wafts in from the Pacific Ocean that actually surrounds the area in three directions, to the west, south and southeast. The fog has a profound effect on Sea Smoke wines as the vineyards benefit from the cooling influences of this marine layer from the Pacific Ocean which is about 16 miles away.

The AVA's (appellation) coastal valleys, formed by the Purisima Hills to their north and the Santa Rosa Hills to their south, funnel the cool Pacific breezes up through the vineyards. This ventilation helps to maintain healthy vines by reducing the incidence of fungal infections, while also cooling the vines down in the hot afternoon sunshine.

 With a latitude of 34 degrees north, Sta. Rita Hills lies closer to the equator than any European wine region, but, rather than seeing an increase in temperature as a result, the region's strong maritime influences keep daytime temperatures within bearable limits. The fog also acts as a climatic moderator, lowering the temperatures during the hot summer months. The combined effects of the ocean breezes and fog significantly extend Sta. Rita Hills's growing season, giving its grapes extra time to develop full ripeness.

From the winery: "Each year we select the best barrel of our estate-grown Pinot Noir; every bottle of ‘One Barrel’ produced is from that single, special barrel. It is a unique combination of vintage, vineyard location, Pinot Noir clone and barrel cooper —never to be repeated. Two hundred and eighty prized bottles, from One Barrel."

I am not a huge fan of Pinot Noir and am less discriminating in this type of wine. Never-the-less this was garnet colored, medium bodied, polished and silky smooth, complex with harmonious flavors of dark berry, cranberry, dusty rose and hints of strawberry with mild smooth silky tannins on the finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2324581

https://www.seasmoke.com/

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1989

This has been one of my favorite Bordeaux wines going back to the early eighties when I collected this label in large format bottles for son Ryan's 1982 birth year that we eventually served at his wedding. As such, we collected a vertical collection of this label for all the kids' birth years and still hold more than a dozen vintages of this label dating back to those early eighties releases.

Tonight, this bottle was from a original wood case (OWC) that I acquired upon release around 1991-92. Back then, we could carry wine as carry on luggage on the airplane and I remember many times carrying a case of wine on board back from San Francisco during the many years I commuted there to Silicon Valley for work.

As a long time friend and 'Pour Boy' wine buddy, Dan has grown accustomed to this wine too and hence I serve it often when we're together for occasions such as this.

This is actually a tasting note for this wine from earlier this year in February. "Tonight was consistent with my notes from a decade ago. Garnet color -

medium-light delicate body; floral perfume, black cherry and berry fruits with layers of anise, tobacco and black tea and a hint of leather, with floral continuing on a modest tannin finish. Tasting alongside the 2009, an interesting comparison to the 2009, very different profile between the two vintages, but showing some signs of similarity in the terroir character of the label."

RM 91 points.

I've been saving many of my 1989 vintage wines for fellow Pour Boy and wine buddy Bill C and his son Matt for his birth year. Note Bill, there are six more of these left from this vintage OWC (and an full, still unopened OWC of Pichon Lalande 1989! - there's a party there!).

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/02/otbn-2018_25.html

Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Red Wine Blend 2005

Trolling the cellar for another bottle for after dinner sipping and to accompany Linda's dark chocolate mousse cake with fresh berries and whipped cream, Dan and I selected this Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Red (Bordeaux varietal blend). Dan had never had Quilceda Creek so this was a special treat to bring together and introduce one of our favorite wines to wine 'brother' Dr Dan!

My last review of this dozen year old vintage was back in 2011 when I wrote: "Deep, dark purple color - medium-full bodied - complex, soft polished bouquet and tastes of ripe black and red berry fruits, a soft layer of mocha and vanilla with a smooth moderate tannin finish. Nice easy drinking wine when the call is for a sophisticated red during the hot weather. Nice complement to grilled tenderloin and roasted potatoes - and to the chocolate berry desert. The soft smooth character of this wine seems to be contrary to the the blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot. This wine is consistently enjoyable."

Tonight this tasting of this label was consistent with that experience and was a perfect selection for the occasion. I marveled at how good this wine was and thoroughly enjoyed it as one of the highlights of the evening, large accolades, indeed, against such a exquisite line up of extraordinary wines!

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=437099

Collection of birth year wines held in OWC - original wood cases, from release, shown below.

 

Marco Di Guilio Pym Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Marco Di Guilio Pym Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

We went to our favorite local Italian Trattoria, Angelis Italian for Saturday night dinner and took along BYOB this just received Marco Di Guilio Pym Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. I acquired this wine at auction over the winter from Winebid.com who used to have an office and warehouse in nearby Elmhurst, IL and by regular arrangement, they would ship my wine there for pick-up. I arranged to pick up this and other purchases over the (Christmas) holidays only to learn they had closed the facility and shipped my wine back to California. I am only now receiving this wine and able to try it.

We discovered winemaker Marco DiGuilio and his artfully crafted vineyard designated select Napa Cabernets back around the turn of the century. We still hold several vintages of his Mt Veeder Progeny Vineyard, Diamond Mountain Mark K Vineyard and just obtained this Pym-Rae Vineyard Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. Wow! This was the most expressive and vibrant of all the labels we have tasted. It blew me away vastly exceeding my preset expectations based on the other labels.

Marco was born and raised in San Francisco where his parents settled after emigrating from Tuscany and become successful Bay Area restaurateurs. As can be imagined, wine was an everyday part of their North Beach household life and Marco inherited his family's appreciation for great wine and food.

Marco studied winemaking and viticulture and graduated with a degree in Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis in 1985.

He worked for two years at Buena Vista Winery, then was cellar master at Pine Ridge Winery for more than four years, moving to be production manager at Atlas Peak Vineyards, and in 1994 became winemaker for Pezzi King Vineyards, then Pepi Winery in Oakville. While at Pepi Wines, he took on the Lokoya brand after the death of celebrated winemaker and mentor Greg Upton. It was at Lokoya that Marco's reputation for making world class Cabernet Sauvignon was first established.

Marco then turned his attention to his personal projects such as Vintage Wine Estates and Bin to Bottle where he consults with many leading quality brands from Napa and Sonoma, and his other favored projects and releases from Lookout Ridge and Marco DiGiulio Wines.

Marco Di Guilio Pym-Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I wrote earlier that this Pym-Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon was the most expressive and vibrant of all the Marco Di Guilio labels we have tasted. It blew me away vastly exceeding my preset expectations based on the other labels. Upon further research it is remarkable to learn that I hold wine from this property dating back to the early 1990's under a different label which is the one of the largest holdings in my collection - Robert Craig.

The property historically was better known as the the Robin Williams Napa Valley vineyard and estate. The name Pym-Rae is a hommage to the late Robin Williams as that was the name Robin Williams gave to the vineyards. The inspiration behind the odd sounding Pym-Rae is quite simple. It combines the middle names of Robin William’s 2 eldest children, Zachary Pym Williams and Zelda Rae Williams.

While the Pym-Rae vineyard was cultivated in about 1990, it was not an active winery. The grapes were sold to various local producers including Robert Craig, Vineyard 29 and Rombauer. Robert Craig was winemaker for Robin Williams wines for more than a dozen years and when he started producing wines under his own label he sourced his Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon from there. We hold vintages of Robert Craig wines including this Mt Veeder label back to the inaugural release in 1993, and more than two dozen vintages of his labels since!  

Robert Craig's website notes the end of their supply of fruit from this wineyard; "Bob Craig consulted on the development of the late Robin Williams’ 17-acre Pym Rae vineyard in 1990 and, since then, we have received the majority of the fruit from this terrific property. The vineyard is one of the highest in the AVA, topping out at over 1800’ in elevation with a distinctive blue shale subsoil and shallow, sandstone topsoil. The vines are mature which translates the soils and minerals straight into the finished wines. The sparse yields of less than 2.4 tons an acre make for dense wines that are expressive of the vineyard site. Our final vintage from this lovely vineyard will be the 2015 vintage and we will miss it. We harvested our first crop from our own vineyard in October of 2016 which neighbors the Pym Rae site."

The entire Pym-Rae property totaled 640 acres, purchased by Robin Williams in 1994. He referred to the estate as Villa Sorriso, which is translated to “Villa of Smiles.” The sprawling 640 acre estate is situated at the end of Wall Road, which takes its name from Duane Wall. Duane Wall was the popular sales rep for Nadalie for years. Nadalie is the producer of French oak barrels. The magnificent property covering over 600 acres was planted with 18,5 acres of vines in 1990 over very steep hills.

The vines were planted in the grape varieties of Bordeaux: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Merlot. The vineyards are situated in the heart of the Mount Veeder Appellation in Napa Valley at an average altitude is of 500m (1500 feet), allowing a certain freshness in the vines and giving balance in the wines. Until now, all grapes harvested had been sold to different wineries of "Napa Valley".

According to Cellartracker, there are listed Marco Di Guilio Pym Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon releases for 2005 and 2004. There are only a few tasting notes published on the site (which has more than 5 million tasting notes of hundred of thousands of labels). 

In 2014 and 2015, wine from the vineyard was featured in the label, Pilcrow Cabernet Sauvignon, Pym Rae Vineyard, from this boutique winery. This premium label was featured on their website at https://www.pilcrow-wine.com/ and apparently still offers some of the 2015 release for $95. Stay tuned as I am trying to acquire some and will report on such accordingly.

In January 2016 the property was acquired by the Tesseron family, owners of Chateau Pontet-Canet and Tesseron Cognac. They acquired Villa Sorriso and created the "Tesseron Estate".

The Pym-Rae Tesseron Estate came with a massive, stunningly beautiful, home that was designed by David Gast and Associates and built in 2003. The 2 story Italian styled villa was the home of Robin Williams and includes a movie theater, 5 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a tennis court and infinity pool in the 20,000 square feet home.

Today, the Tesseron’s of Château Pontet-Canet have adapted the local conditions of Napa Valley and Mt Veeder and have entrusted the responsability of the vineyard to the young, Thomas Comme, who works in tight collaboration with his father, Jean-Michel Comme, the Régisseur of Pontet-Canet.

Since 2016, the vinification has been carried out by the usual team to produce highest quality wines to express the special magnificent and historic terroir of this estate. The 2017 vintage will be the first year where Alfred Tesseron and Melaine Tesseron exercised full control of the vineyards and wine making.

Marco Di Guilio Pym-Rae Vineyard Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

 

This 2005 Mt. Veeder Pym-Rae Cabernet was dark inky blackish garnet colored, full bodied, powerful and massively structured. Upon opening the fruit flavored exploded from the bottle into the glass. The forward rich fruits are layered with blackberry and blueberry accented by a tone of chocolate with nuances of smoke and spice, turning to an incredibly long finish.

I wish I could find more of this label and will watch for it and buy all that I can find. Watch for the new releases from Tesseron Estate as they come on the market in the coming years.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1498521