The Cult American Wine Selection

Description

Screaming Eagle ‘The Flight’ 2015

“Very deep purple-black, the 2015 The Flight (a blend of 61% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 37% Cabernet Sauvignon) opens with electric notes of black and blue fruit sparks—wild blueberries, fresh blackberries and crushed black plums—with nuances of lavender, violets, pencil shavings, tilled soil, yeast extract and a waft of cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied, it hits the palate with tons of energy and freshness supported by firm, finely grained tannins, finishing with tons of fragrant earth layers.”

Score 97            Lisa Perrotti-Brown – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Opus One 1992

The 1992 Opus One, a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Merlot, offers a beautiful dark ruby/purple colour, a big, spicy nose of cassis, lead pencil, and smoky oak, round, full-bodied, broad, fat flavours crammed with black fruits, soft tannin, low acidity, and a fleshy, full-bodied finish. This rich wine confirms just how fine these wines have become since the 1990 vintage.

Score: 92           Robert Parker, Wine Buyers Guide

Hundred Acre ‘The Arc’ Cabernet 2012

A perfect wine is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Arc Vineyard from Woodbridge’s property on Howell Mountain. This is an amazingly deep, rich, blueberry, blackberry and mulberry scented and flavoured wine with skyscraper-like texture, remarkable intensity, again great, great purity, and the new oak completely concealed by the lavish and extravagant amounts of fruit. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, as are all these wines, the Ark Vineyard is certainly another blockbuster wine with no hard edges that comes across like a flawlessly constructed dress from an haute couture house in Paris. It should drink well for 25-30 years as well.

The genius of Jayson Woodbridge is not in dispute. A bigger than life character, he has a certain personal flamboyance and no-prisoners-taken persona, but what he and his team do in the vineyards and winery speaks for itself. These are remarkable wines, with his Cabernet Sauvignons some of the very finest in the world, and his Pinot Noir projects all high quality and pleasing to a multitude of diverse palates.

Score: 100         Robert Parker, Wine Advocate