Mike R

9.3

Delicious - a wonderful gift from @Shay A - all smiles — 5 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Another wine from our ARNYCA Cellars and Jack Winery with Steve Distler. Bottle number 8 of 60.

Medium to deep ruby red. Layered nose with truffles, woody, a bit stinky, black cherries and earthiness. Medium plus dry tannins (6.5/10) with a medium plus body. A little vegetal and earthy on the palate with dark red fruits coming through. Well rounded with acidity holding up. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2027. — 6 years ago

with Sean, India and 1 other

Shay A

9.5

Steve, the owner of Arnyca, took us to Torc after our tasting for dinner. He had the chef bring out a custom menu which meant the chef sent out whatever the chef was feeling. I am STUFFED. Steve opened his ‘13 Arnyca alongside a surprise bottle, and this ended up being the comparison.

For what it’s worth, this was a tough choice blind. The table ended up favoring the Arnyca ‘13 over this (the Favia ‘13 is a 98 pointer), but I suspect this Favia will long outlive the Arnyca. It’s also double the price. If you love Cab Franc, buy both to compare. They share similar dark fruit notes of black cherry and currant, but differ after that. Favia has more blue fruit while the Arnyca has more red fruit and herbs. Arnyca is 100% Cab Franc, while Favia is 80-85% Cab Franc. Big difference. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

After my first sip, my words were “I wish I had more of this.” Holy smokes. This is hands down one of the best rosés I’ve had out of Cali (alongside the Arnyca rosé). The acidity is so sharp out of the bottle. Love that! So many rosés are flabby and creamy. Kiwi and strawberry in the nose. Watermelon, cantaloupe, and plum skin on the finish. This is the epitome of refreshing rosé. I need to give credit to @Shawn R for gifting me this bottle from when we were together at his house a few months ago. Loved it, brother! Perfect by the fire pit. 👌 — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

One of the best rosés I’ve had in quite some time. 66% Grenache, 34% Mourvèdre. Bigger style with lots of complexity and depth to it. It’s as though someone took two of my favorite rosés, Arnyca (lighter style) and Antica Terra (super heavy style) and combined them. In the glass it has an absolutely gorgeous deep ruby color. Aromatically, it has spicy red fruits like rhubarb with watermelon, peppercorn and sea salt. It tastes remarkably like a gummy version of rhubarb, showing more spice at the finish. Not made in the crushable style, this deserves and commands some thought (and food)! My thanks to @Bill Bender for the wine and introducing me to the potential of this producer. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.4

What an incredible second day here in Napa. Jesus started us off with an amazing tasting at Davies/Schramsberg, Crocker & Starr gave us our cab franc fix, Montagu & Addax put on a double tasting, and Hourglass knocked it out of the park at the end of the day! I won’t post each wine we tasted, but I’ll highlight the best from each spot.

We are all die hard Cab Franc fans, so a stop here was a must after @Carl Fischer introduced me to this cab franc last year. First, the property itself is flat out gorgeous. Quaint and quiet. Awesome history here as well.

This cab franc is a BABY. New release. Red and black fruits are still fighting to take over...didn’t get much blueberry off of this like I did the ‘12, but age plays a part. Violet, lavender, black truffle and a touch of spice. A benchmark for Napa Cab Franc, alongside Arnyca and Detert. The Post 1 bottle is their current release (2013) Cabernet that is their purest expression of Cabernet from the Estate. This is serious Cabernet...tannic, structured and could compete with top end mountain wines. — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.4

Absolutely lit 🔥. Love this new wine Steve!

Deep purplish ruby red. A bit tight to start on the nose but increases in intensity with air. Dark and spiced nose with dark cocoa, licorice, graphite, toasted oak influence and blackberries. Medium plus tannins (7.5/10) with a full body. Great backbone coated with black and bramble berries, powdered cocoa, pencil shavings and baking spices. Long finish. Drink till 2040. (94+) — 5 years ago

with Sean and India

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.4

One of the extra bottles from the Jack Winery and ARNYCA Cellars tasting last night with Steve Distler.

Deep purplish red with ruby edges. Well balanced nose with layers of earth, red currants, tobacco, damp earth and a touch floral. Medium dry tannins (6/10) with a medium plus body. Quite a bit of acidity with bramble, black currants, cherries and earthiness. Long finish. Drink till 2024. — 6 years ago

with David, Sean and 1 other

Shay A

9.7

A “thank you” from Steve of Arnyca after dinner. Holy smokes, this was like drinking liquid honey. So much texture and weight. Honeyed almond, dried apricot, and molasses. My first D’Yquem. Hope to find an ‘88 for my 30th later this year. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

I keep going back and forth between Montagu's rosé and this, but the most recent head to head goes to Arnyca. Arnyca, who has my favorite cab franc, just released this for their first rosé...what a start!

Great balance between tart fruit (raspberries, rhubarb) and sweet fruit (peach, pineapple, kiwi). Very aromatic. Crisp acidity from start to finish...the finish has a "soft" feel, as though you're tasting the skin of the fruit on the inside of your cheeks, and then drops off with a granite/crushed rock note. I'll be buying this rosé every year 👌 — 7 years ago