Theorem Vineyards
A wonderful visit. Theorem is a small production operation making about 2500 cases of wine a year. We had a formal tasting with food that was a top-shelf event. In general, we liked their wines and purchased some. The views from the vineyard are also spectacular
2019 Theorem Moon Mountain Sauvignon Blanc
A tart wine with lots of acid on the nose and taste. I tasted grapefruit and green apple. It was a fairly typical Sauvignon Blanc and well made. A lot of the wines from this vineyard is overseen by Thomas Rivers Brown who is an up and coming winemaker in the Valley
2019 Moon Mountain Chardonnay a favorite purchased 1 case $58/bt
A stunning wine. Just what the doctor ordered. On the nose rich fruit with mild vanilla and oak smell that carries over to the taste which is a velvet mouthfeel. The wine is earth terroir-driven and is a good balance of earth and fruit. Alcohol was moderate at 14% and acid was high. Oak was nicely light and not obtrusive. Everything was just pleasant and well-balanced and the style we like. My wife and I drank our second bottle last evening with the same result. Just a stunning wine and in our world a reasonable price. I highly recommend it.
2019 Moon Mountain Syrah $95/bt
This was a typical Syrah. On the nose lots of firm fruit and on the taste very nice acid structure and a good finish. Tannins were well balanced.
2018 Voir Dine Cabernet Diamond Mountains favorite purchased 2 bottles $195/bt
Another favorite and one of their “marquee” wines. I am enamored with Diamond Mountain wines and this was no exception. It had a unique floral nose with again a mild earthy terroir smell and flavor. The mouthfeel again was pure velvet. Tasted a fair amount of chocolate and cigar box here. A nice long finish. Fairly high alcohol at 14.8% but you would never know it due to the outstanding balance in this wine.
Amulet Estate Patrick Quigley winemaker
We had a very nice tasting with Patrick and spent a lot of time discussing winemaking philosophy particularly Cabernet. Patrick is the winemaker who put me onto the idea that due to sunlight and heat in California it is difficult to make lower alcohol wines in that harvesting them early means according to him harvesting before the grapes have properly matured losing a certain layer of complexity.
2019 Amulet Estate Platt Vineyard Chardonnay $175
The nose was interesting, with a lot of fresh bacon fat smell and some smoke. Lots of fruit on the nose and taste and tart. Had apple and pear flavors and well-balanced acid along with the fruit. Comes from vineyards on the Sonoma Coast and has 14.2% alcohol
2018 Amulet Estate Beckstoffer Vineyards George III Vineyards $175
From an old famous vineyard, the nose starts with a heavy leather as well as grassy and musky flavor that carries over to the taste. Has a nice velvet mouthfeel and is overall very well balanced with high acid and tannin. Very age-worthy.
2018 Amulet Estate Stellsnier Vineyards $175
Not as heavy nose presentation but still smells of leather. A more tart wine, I noted time to pucker up. Moderate tannins and a nice finish.
2018 Amulet Estate Oakville Ranch $175
This wine is all-mountain grapes from 2700 Ft elevation. The nose and flavor taste is very strong with leather and a lot of pucker-up tannins. But at the same time very balanced with good fruit. Will be very age-worthy.
2018 Amulet Estate Mockingbird Cabernet $300
This is a blend of all their best barrels. There was a soft nose with to me some vinyl smells. There was a huge amount of tannin along with good fresh fruit flavors. My read is a minimum of 10 years of aging.
2019 Amulet Estate Platt Vineyard Pinot Noir $150
This vineyard is adjacent to one of Kistler Pinot vineyards. The wine has a light cherry smell and taste. To me it was bitter. It was also tart and had a normal amount of fruit. To me a typical pinot but nothing outstanding.
Corison Napa Valley
Cathy Corison is highly regarded in Napa Valley. She was one if not the first female winemaker in the Valley. She is dedicated to making wines that are lower in alcohol and high in complexity. Regrettably, I did not like her style that much understanding many of her wines are highly rated by many professional reviewers. After a discussion with another winemaker, I had an epiphany regarding trying to make complex wines with lower alcohol levels that would be closer to White Burgundy wines in France and the issue and problem is sunlight. Napa Valley is blessed with adequate sunlight most days. In France a little less so. In my mind, in order to get lower alcohol wines, you have to harvest them earlier because if you don’t because of the constant sunlight those wines in Napa continue to mature which eventually leads to higher sugar/alcohol. If you pick early you pick in the middle of the maturation cycle which results in lower complexity. In France, it takes longer for the grapes to mature hence you get more complexity. So my theory the bottom line is grapes in France take longer to mature and mature better due to the longer length of time but because the grapes have less exposure to sunlight and hence heat they mature with lower sugar/alcohol levels. In Napa, because it is “hotter” the grapes mature with higher sugar/alcohol levels and if you pick the grapes too early yes you lower the sugar/alcohol but you lose complexity. My theory is probably rubbish but that’s how I explain what I tasted. In the end, Cathy Corison is making good to great wines in a different style. I would recommend a visit and tasting to see if you like the style. Hopefully, your “salesperson” is on Lithium!
2020 Corazon Gewurztraminer $40
First off our “salesperson” guide was over the top enthusiastic extolling the virtues of Kathy every 2 seconds to a fault. Again if we were told the wines were spectacular enough we should eventually believe it, right. Starting with a Gewurztraminer and then following with Cabernets might not be the best idea. Gewurztraminer to some extent is an acquired taste. With the right food match, it is a great wine. I just don’t think it was the best way to start a Cabernet tasting. The wine itself was your basic simple Gewurztraminer with some bitter aftertaste.
2018 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet $100
The nose and taste were a little musky showing an earthy terroir. I detected chocolate and some mild vanilla from a moderate oak presence. Had a mild finish. I agree with the winemaker it had some good minerality. It was a good wine. Just not the style I like but did have lower alcohol at 13.5%.
2017 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet $110
The nose was very interesting. I did detect Herbs de Provence mentioned by the winemaker. The wine had good fruit and I detected peppermint in the wine so there was complexity. Due to the peppermint, I felt that there was what I called a “candy” taste that I really don’t like in wine. Again it is not a bad wine, just not my style.
2016 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet $130
Nice spicy, floral nose with jasmine that carried over to the taste. Had a nice velvet mouthfeel. Good tannic structure and will age well. This shows that these wines do age well and maintain their fruit. Was one of the better wines from this vineyard.
2018 Corison Sunbasket Vineyard Cabernet $195
The wine had a lot of similarities to the 2016 Cabernet above. There was a very complex spicy nose. The taste had good fruit and tannic structure. A good age-worthy Cabernet. I just felt the price point was a little high for what you were getting.
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