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2007 Rockledge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Sourced from the extremely rocky Rockledge Vineyard, planted by Jim Barbour in the early 1990s, this vineyard is a veritable phenolics machine, and it always yields what is unmistakably a hillside wine! A blast of clove, cinnamon, dark cherry, chocolate and anise greet the nose, emanating from a wine with a rich, red hue tinged with purple. This wine is lush and concentrated on the palate, with copious amounts of fine tannins providing structure and age-ability to the dark, rich Cabernet flavors, while enhancing the finish, which is long and graceful. Aged in 100% new French Oak for 23 months. 195 cases made.
Review: Wine Advocate #186, Dec 09
The elegant, flowery, but backward 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockledge Vineyard offers up scents of gravel, burning embers, black and red currants, and a hint of bay leaf. Fleshy with soft tannins, this cuvee will benefit from several years of cellaring, and should drink well for 20+ years.
This tiny estate has a small production, but the quality of its wines is very high. - Robert Parker – 91+ points
Review: International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 2010
Deep ruby-red. Currant, licorice and chocolate on the ripe nose. Juicy
and spicy in the mouth but not yet expressing itself. There's a candied
quality to the dark berry and licorice flavors but the wine's sweetness is
quite restrained. Finishes with big, slightly rough tannins that will
require some aging. - Stephen Tanzer - 90+? points
Review: Wine Spectator Insider, Mar 17, 2010
Serves up a complex mix of spicy currant, blackberry, cedar, herb, dill and black licorice. Full-bodied, intense, focused and balanced, firming on the finish. Drink now through 2017. James Laube - 90 points
2008 Scarpa Syrah
Napa Valley
92% Syrah, 8% Petite Sirah
The inaugural vintage of Scarpa comes predominantly from high above Oakville in the eastern hills at the Krupp Brothers Vineyard with a small amount from the very complimentary Farella Vineyard in Coombsville. One look at this black-purple wine, and you know it is serious. It is a quasi-black hole of a wine, with dark, brooding aromatics of black olive, blackberry, black pepper, anise, bacon fat and chocolate. On the palate, Scarpa is stout, rich and full-bodied, with dark flavors that mimic the nose. The finish is long and expansive, leading to the conclusion that this wine may last a very long time. Aged in 50% new French Oak for 16 months. 145 cases made.
Review: Wine Spectator Insider Vol. 6, No. 30 | July 21, 2010
This gorgeous wine is dense and chewy, slow to show its goods, with firm,
minerally dried berry, sage, herb, graphite and blackberry fruit, but as it
does, the flavors are tighter and more complex, focused and alluring. Best
from 2011 through 2019. 145 cases made - James Laube - 94 points
Review: International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 2010
Good full ruby. Liqueur-like aroma of black
cherry lifted by violet; slightly porty. Boasts excellent fruit intensity
but comes across today as extremely primary, even unformed. Finishes tight
but long, with the violet note repeating. Hirby was planning to bottle this
the week after my visit, and I'd expect this wine to require at least
several years of aging to express itself. - Stephen Tanzer - 90-92 points
