Reviews

The 2015 Surrealist is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. It delivers maturing, tertiary notes of unsmoked cigars, incense, fragrant soil, and crushed rocks over a core of blackcurrant pastilles, black cherry preserves, and preserved plums, plus a touch of dried mint. The full-bodied palate is firm, grainy, and lively, with muscular fruit leading to a lingering ferrous note on the finish of this wonderfully sophisticated wine.

The 2015 Leopard is composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah, and 11% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet colored, it needs a little swirling to reveal notes of charcuterie, tapenade, and black pepper with a core of blackcurrant cordial, prunes, blueberry compote, and menthol, plus a hint of tobacco leaf. The full-bodied palate is rich, firm, and grainy with a lively backbone, finishing long and energetic.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon No 1 is deep garnet in color. It prances out of the glass with flamboyant scents of redcurrant jelly, warm cassis, and black cherry compote with hints of dried roses, cigar box, and sandalwood plus a waft of bay leaves. The full-bodied palate is firm and grainy with just enough freshness and loads of evolving fragrant layers, finishing long and earthy.

Medium ruby-garnet colour. This has sumptuous, spicy aromas of damson plum, black cherry, earth and underbrush. A well-endowed Pinot Noir, coating the palate with concentrated black cherry, spiced plum, and a tapestry of fine cedar tannins...

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is immediately seductive, revealing heady brown spices, perfumed purple florals, sweet cedar and elegant tobacco accents. Nothing shy here. A positively siken texture, laced with creamy blackberry and black cherry fruit, brown sugar...

Medium ruby-garnet colour. This has sumptuous, spicy aromas of damson plum, black cherry, earth and underbrush. A well-endowed Pinot Noir, coating the palate with concentrated black cherry, spiced plum, and a tapestry of fine cedar-like tannins and exotic brown spices, with a pop of red liquorice. All this is underscored by a lively vein of savoury turned earth notes and elegant pine forest accents. A joy to drink. Sourced from DeLoach’s 6.87-hectare Demeter biodynamic certified vineyard, planted to eight different clones, aged 16 months in 32% new French oak. The harvested clusters were smaller than is typical, a result of the low-yielding 2015 vintage in northern California.

Complex aromas and flavors of red berry, sandalwood, vanilla, floral and mineral are alluring, made all the more appealing by the elegant frame and vivid structure. Silky and harmonious enough to drink now, but this should really sing in five to seven years. Offers a fine, smoky finish.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir La Bienvenue Estate Vineyard reveals a nose of crushed blackberries, wild blueberries and black raspberries with touches of fertile loam, bay leaves and black truffles. Medium to full-bodied, it offers a great intensity of black and red berry flavors with stacks of earthy undertones and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing on a lingering mineral note. 

Complex aromas and flavors of red berry, sandalwood, vanilla, floral and mineral are alluring, made all the more appealing by the elegant frame and vivid structure. Silky and harmonious enough to drink now, but this should really sing in five to seven years. Offers a fine, smoky finish. Best from 2023 through 2040. 

A blend of 67% Petite Sirah and 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 Proprietary Red Knockout has an opaque purple-black color and nose of baked plums and blackberry preserves with spice box, violets, licorice and sandalwood. Full, rich and concentrated in the mouth with a firm, chewy texture, it's long, layered and quite earthy on the finish. Only 78 cases produced.