Posts tagged: 2008

Crowd pleasing under 40.00 Napa Cab Blend

Petit Batard is the illegitimate offspring of the Xtant Cabernet.  A small production winery in the Napa Valley.  Jeff Gaffner (Hestan, Saxon Brown) has been making the wines for some years now and the “Dollar Cost Average” formula is always applied here.  I would call this a “Great wine for your Buck!”  The owners are […]

Tuesday November 26th, 2013 in , , , , , , | No Comments »

Napa Cabernet Blend Stunner Under $44

Scott Peterson (S.P. – Drummer) is a seasoned winemaker with a portfolio stretching almost 30 years making wine at an array of great wineries (Cardinale, Textbook, Pey-Marin, Mt. Eden, Anderson Conn Valley and others.  Scott is a big fan of Left Bank wines, thus his blends have always been Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc based.  […]

Friday June 28th, 2013 in , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Best Cab Franc in Napa by Araujo’s neighbor

Kenefick Ranch Winery has been flying below the radar, but not for much longer. Kenefick Ranch is owned by retired San Francisco neurosurgeon Dr. Thomas P. Kenefick, and his two children Caitlin and Chris Kenefick.  In 1978 Dr. Kenefick acquired 125-acre vineyard property at the foothills of the Palisades Mountains in Calistoga, planted to Cabernet […]

Monday April 22nd, 2013 in , , , , , , | No Comments »

“Down Under” Cabernet turns heads!

We have a US exclusive for the 2008 O’Dwyer Cabernet! Over the holidays we conducted an “International Tasting” and I was excited to see that O’Dwyer did very well in the challenge.  All wines were from the 2008 vintage. We had 18 tasters (and at least 2 bottles of each wine).  All wines were tasted […]

Monday January 14th, 2013 in , , , , , , | No Comments »

Penche Cab wins the battle of Napa Cabs!

Over Thanksgiving, I was still working, we had the “Battle of Napa Cabs” at my house.  My group of wine snob friends had selected their best Napa Cab or Blend (2008 vintage) for Frank’s Thanksgiving Battle. No one got killed, only a little embarrassed when their gem did not act as one!  The line-up was […]

Wednesday November 28th, 2012 in , , , , , | No Comments »

A new gem-in-the-rough from Paul Hobbs!

Paul Hobbs’ portfolio seems like the one of a globetrotter; add vineyard manager extraordinaire Ulises Valdez and you have one of the best combo “vineyardists” in the wine industry.   The Landy Estate is one of Paul’s latest ventures, and you can tell immediately who is at the helm of these great wines! Landy 2008 M.D.V.R. […]

Friday October 19th, 2012 in , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

This Zinfandel “Rocks”!

Carol’s career got an early and unusual start at only six years old. Her mom developed an “identify the scent” game using household herbs and spices that was the beginning of Carol’s path into the wine industry. It quickly became apparent that Carol not only had a great sense of smell, but she was remarkably […]

Friday October 5th, 2012 in , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Aurielle the next Napa Collectible – 94 Points (and counting)

Chad Alexander has been named one of the rising stars of the Napa Valley. At age 14 he started honing his skills at Hess. It was here that he discovered that winemaking would be his profession.  After graduating from college he soon landed a job at St. Clement winery before moving to Robert Craig where […]

Friday July 6th, 2012 in , , , , , | No Comments »

Paul Hobbs masterminds yet another gem!

The Laird Family is the largest (vineyard) land owner in the Napa Valley with over 2500 acres, but only produce a very small amount of wine themselves under the tutelage of Paul Hobbs. The Laird grapes (various designated vineyards) are used by wineries such as Levendi, Nickel & Nickel, Tor, and Kapcsandy, to name a […]

Thursday May 31st, 2012 in , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Paul Hobbs pulls another one out of his “big” hat!

The latest two releases of the Stewart wines are real stunners, and having Paul Hobbs as your quarterback only reiterates what a key guy he is to a winery!  For those who bought the previous vintage (which received rave reviews), I can tell you that the 2008 vintage will “rock your world!”  Paul does not […]

Monday May 7th, 2012 in , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »