Bibiana González Rave is the founder and winemaker of Cattleya Wines. She is also the wife of star winemaker Jeff Pisoni. Born and raised in Colombia and trained as a winemaker in France, she moved to California in 2007 to settle into making extraordinary wines. In her words: “Since my early teenage years, my dream has been to make wine. At a very young age I was fortunate enough to begin learning how to make wine in France. I trained myself while working with some amazing winemakers who showed me the importance of loving the land, how to respect the farming itself, and to focus on the many details that go into making each drop of wine in each and every bottle.” She is the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay winemaker at Pahlmeyer and produces “Shared Notes” wines with her husband Jeff Pisoni. All those ingredients together and you have one of the best winemakers in the country!
Cattleya 2018 Syrah “Initiation” Santa Lucia Highlands
GGWC 79.99
FREE SHIPPING on 6 or more
Use code CATTLEYA during checkout
OK to mix with other Cattleya wines
The wine offers up an amazing bouquet of exotic fruit that jumps out of the glass. The color is bold and intense and the flavors on the palate just reflect the same – intense black stone fruit, a touch for floral quality and a hint of meaty-bacon fat. Densely concentrated, yet incredibly elegant at the same time. The flavors go on and on into a gorgeously long finish with silky tannins!
Winemaker Notes: “Dark and mysterious in the glass, this is Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah at its finest. Hesitant at first to show its hand, The Initiation unfolds with time, to burst with notes of blueberry, cassis, licorice, and bacon fat. Bright acidity and age-worthy tannin mingle with dark berry flavors to create a wine with immense aging potential.”
Jeff Dunnuck 97 Points: The 2018 Syrah The Initiation is another gorgeous wine from this estate that readers will love. Coming from a great vineyard in the cooler Santa Lucia Highlands, it offers a gorgeous perfume of blueberries, violets, leafy herbs, bacon fat, and sagebrush that develops and opens up beautifully with air. Possessing medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, seamless texture, incredible elegance and purity, and a great finish, it’s another classic 2018 that builds with time in the glass and will evolve gracefully for 15 years or more.”
for our Cattleya Virtual Wine Tasting!
Meet owner/winemaker Bibiana Gonazlez Rave!
Make sure to check out the other highly rated Cattleya wines:
CATTLEYA 2018 CABERNET “MEETING WITH THE MENTOR” NAPA 98 POINTS
CATTLEYA 2018 CHARDONNAY CUVEE # 5, SONOMA – 94 POINTS
CATTLEYA 2020 ALMA DE CATTLEYA SAUVIGNON BLANC, SONOMA
Call 415-337-4083 or email frank@goldengatewinecellars.com for availability and priority allocation!