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Home / Wines
Wines
Winemaker Craig MacLean has created two more fabulous wines, our 2004 Merlot and 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. People with very discerning palates believe these new wines are even better than the wonderful 2002 wines. We blend Cabernet into the Merlot, and Merlot with the Cabernet.
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2005 Merlot
Our 2005 Merlot is a blend of 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. All of the grapes are from our vineyards.
The Merlot grapes are from our 5.5 acre Hardman Vineyard near Silverado County Club, which we developed and planted in 1997. The Cabernet grapes are from our 3.5 acre Kreuse Canyon Hillside Vineyard planted in 1997 in southeast Napa, and from our Monticello Vineyard planted in 1999.
Tasting Notes
It’s not always easy to explain why some vineyards are great for certain varieties, but the Ahnfeldt Hardman vineyard is certainly an amazing Merlot vineyard year after year. The 2005 vintage is a wonderful example of the power potential of this vineyard. Dark ruby red color, saturated rim, cherry, black cherry, toasty oak with notes of cassis, vanilla and raspberry. The entry is full, round, and intense with loads of fruit and a great mid-palate. The mouth coating tannins and moderate acidity create a lingering finish.
Purchase: 2005
Past Vintages: 2004 | 2003
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2003 Merlot
Tasting Notes
Black cherry, milk chocolate and toasty oak lead the way, followed by raspberry. The entry is smooth, round and full. Silky tannins lead to a long, velvety finish. While the wine is intense and concentrated, it is superbly balanced and shows all of the characteristics one expects from a great Napa Valley Merlot. |
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2004 Merlot
Tasting Notes The seamless entry is followed by bursting flavors of black currant, vanilla, cocoa powder, cinnamon stick, lavender, with a slight mint note. The wine has excellent texture and superb balance throughout its evolution, which leads to a smooth long finish. Great fruit concentrations with loads of velvety tannins. |
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2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from our Monticello Vineyard, and our Kreuse Canyon Hillside Vineyard. The Merlot grapes are from our 5.5 acre Hardman Vineyard near Silverado County Club. The Cabernet Franc comes from the six rows of vines at our Monticello Vineyard.
Tasting Notes
With dark ruby red colors, saturated to the rim, the aromas are dominated by bright black cherry, cola berry, and toasty oak. Other nuances include tobacco, earthiness, and rose water. The entry is big, lush, round, with medium to full body. The evolution is concentrated with impeccable balance and showing excellent middle palate. The finish is long with mouth coating tannins.
Purchase: 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Past Vintages: 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
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2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes With flavors of cherry, black cherry, cedar, rose water, subtle earthiness and cassis, the entry is round with a medium to full body. The evolution is smooth with mouth filling tannins and excellent balance. This well structured wine has a medium to long finish with reverberating flavors. This wonderful wine has loads of fruit, balance, and quality tannins which make it very approachable now, yet able to age. |
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2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes
The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is dark, ruby-red in color, with aromas of cherry, red current, raspberry, dark chocolate, black pepper and anise. On the palate, the wine is velvety, smooth, viscous, and elegant, with lingering fruit and fine grain tannins on the finish. |
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2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes
The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas of cherry, blackberry, milk chocolate, cloves, black olive, oak. The tannins are firm yet smooth on entry. Mouthfeel is round and balanced with moderate acidity. The wine finishes smooth and long with mouth-coating tannins. |
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2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Our 2006 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of 83% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Semillon, and 2% Sauvignon Musque.
Tasting Notes
This classic Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is smooth, a bit viscous, with aromas and flavors of grapefruit, sweet green apple, and kiwi; and a nice intensity of varietal flavors with great balance.
Purchase: 2006 | 2005
Past Vintages: 2005 |
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2005 Sauvignon Blanc
Tasting Notes This classic Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and refreshing with aromas and flavors of grapefruit, citrus, and honeydew melon,is a bit viscous and well balanced.
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2005 Quid Pro Quo
Tasting Notes
This Merlot based wine showcases the three vineyards that comprise the blend. Merlot is the foundation for the blend with cherry and black olive aromas, silky tannins, leading to a long finish. The two Cabernets Sauvignons add structure and classic Cabernet aromas of black current and licorice. The Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot add complexity and further delineate the terroir of these wonderful vineyards.
Purchase: 2005 |
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2006 Provocative Napa Valley
The 2006 Provocative Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 10% Syrah.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from our Kreuse Canyon Hillside Vineyard. The Merlot grapes are from our Hardman Vineyard near Silverado County Club, and the Petit Verdot is grown on our Monticello Vineyard. The Syrah comes from the Carneros region.
Tasting Notes
With dark ruby red colors and a hint of purple at the rim, the bouquet is brimming with sweet cherry and milk chocolate, as well as caramel and cinnamon in the background. There are also hints of currant and sandalwood. The entry is smooth and balanced with medium body and flavors echoing the bouquet. The evolution is seamless with fine-grain tannins and ample acidity. The finish is very pleasing with a good length and balance.
Purchase: 2006 | 2005
Past Vintages: 2005 |
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2005 Provocative Napa Valley
Tasting Notes
Provocative is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are from our Kreuse Canyon and Monticello Vineyards as well as another. The Cabernet Franc is from our Monticello Vineyard and the Syrah from the Napa Carneros Region. The wine was aged in French Oak and bottle in July 2007.
Provocative is dark and ruby red purple with great saturation and hue. There is a wonderful bouquet of cherries, mint, toasty oak, cassis, lavender flowers, cloves and black currants. This delicious Cabernet has a very smooth entry and the evolution on the palate is round, viscous and displays finesse and refinement.
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Details, details, details How
do we produce the best Merlot in Napa Valley? The same way we produce
our Cabernet Sauvignon. With fanatical attention to detail at every
stage. We blend Cabernet into Merlot and Merlot into the Cabernet. The
grapes for both wines come from our own vineyards, which provides us
with complete control. During the growing season we prune, train and
thin the crop obsessively. After harvest the grapes are crushed
and fermented in tanks and bins. Fermentation generally takes ten to
fourteen days. The juice is drained from the grape skins and placed in
French oak barrels. (We use the same oak for both our Merlot and our
Cabernet.) The grape skins are then pressed and that juice is also
placed in French oak barrels. A small portion of the crushed grapes and
juice are kept in bins for approximately 30 days to extract additional
flavors and tannins from the grape skins. The wine is aged in
barrels for over twenty months. (Again, both varietals are similarly
aged.) Over that time, the barrels are racked several times. When
our winemaker feels the wines are ready, the Cabernet and Merlot are
blended with each other to give each wine complexity and additional
flavors. After bottling, the wines are aged in the bottle for a
number of months before they are released so that no wines with "bottle
shock" reach our customers.
The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc grapes come mainly from St. Helena and Yountville vineyards. Over 80 percent of the vines are more than 20 years old. The whole berries are pressed, settled, and then fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in wood tanks and thereafter in stainless steel tanks.
Mike Seitz, Bruce Ahnfeldt, and Kris Weber
sort cabernet grapes during the 2002 harvest
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