We are incredibly excited to introduce to you our first Southern Rhone-style blend, and even more excited that is from Napa Valley grapes! The grapes for this wine come from great vineyards - farmed to impeccable standards and are in amazing soils and micro-climates for these varietals. We believe Napa is under-appreciated territory for Southern Rhone-style wines and hope that you’ll agree when you taste this. We decided on the name “Ritual” because this is the kind of wine that we can drink almost daily – it goes well with all kinds of food and doesn’t display overbearing oak, yet is complex and absolutely satisfying. This is classic in its presentation of cherry, raspberry, strawberry jam, baked earth, white pepper and floral elements, and with a tremendously sweet, full mouthfeel and richness. The tannins are there to provide focus, but the basic impression is that this is one hedonistic wine! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
The 2007 Ritual is a provocative blend of Rhone varietals - 55% Mourvedre (from Pope Valley), and the rest Grenache, Syrah, and Petite Sirah. Its deep blue/purple color is followed by notes of damp earth, forest floor, fresh porcini mushrooms, meat, tree bark, flowers, and blue as well as black fruits. Because of the ripe Mourvedre component in this full-bodied, chewy 2007, the tannins are sweet, not astringent. Drink this mouth filling as well as teeth-staining wine over the next 7-8 years.
Good bright red. Musky aromas of strawberry, pepper and exotic flowers, lifted by spices and an exotic suggestion of apricot. Sweet, lush and fat but with good lift and firm tannic support. The sexy flavors of strawberry, raspberry, tree bark, pepper and spices are unadorned by new oak (just one of the eight and a half barrels was new). Very subtle, delicate wine. The mourvedre vines are planted on red volcanic soil.
Tightly wound, firm and vibrant, with a focused core of mineral and sage-laced wild berry and blackberry fruit that folds in nicely with the minerally, earthy notes. Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah. Drink now through 2015.
