From arguably the oldest vines in California, the Mission vines at Deaver Ranch were planted by John James Davis in 1854. While the Mission variety may be considered obscure by today’s standards, back in the day, it was the common variety being cultivated in California. It’s a versatile variety which served multiple purposes. Anymore, it’s rare to find a serious dry wine made with Mission. Thankfully, Tegan Passalacqua has been known to occasionally make such a wine from these historic plantings.
Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of several hours. The 2019 pours a pale garnet color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of confected cherry, watermelon Jolly Rancher®️, strawberry, rhubarb, semi-dried hay and soft minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. There is something unexplainable about how remarkable this wine is. There’s humility to it A wine full of wisdom. I wish I had more to try down the road alas, I was only allocated a single bottle. However, I am so grateful for the one and to be able to share it with some old friends and some new friends. Drink now through 2034+. — 2 months ago
From magnum. Slightly deeper ruby , thin ruby rim . Quite a lot more dense and darker fruits , cassis , violet , red plum , blackberry, warm earth . On the palate this is denser and more tannic , more body , dark cassis , summer fruits , violets , hedgerow fruits . Hugely elegant and long , balanced and refined . Mineral and earthy but bright and vivacious . Again shows pretty similar to last year , more dense, intense and bigger boned than La Mission , but still supremely refined and balanced . Come back in 10 -15 years , and will surely show well for another 15-20 — a day ago
Quite bright medium ruby , ruby pink rim . Quite elegant and reserved , some red cherry, violet , summer fruits , scorched earth , touch of spice . On the palate quite elegant also , summer fruits, blackberry , blackcurrant , red plum . Good balanced acidity , herbal touches on the medium length , saline tinged finish . Quite polished but still grippy tannins . This is showing well , especially with food , but has a relatively long future , from now and over the next 5-10 years. A very successful second wine . — 6 months ago
Fruit forward and very jammy. Silky and velvety smooth. Full bodied. Rich, excellent! — 10 months ago
Really good and really interesting history for this varietal. #berserkerdaybuys — 2 months ago
"Odedi"
Getting ready to leave France, so let's go out with a bang! It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday.
Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.
Fruity nose of black currants, black plums, black cherries, tobacco, cedar, light vegetables, licorice, chocolates, coffee and light peppercorn.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry on the palate with black currants, cherries, plums, light oak, spices, chocolates, licorice, light vegetables, black pepper, tobacco leaf, earth and black tea.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This 8 year old Merlot based blend is still very young. In most vintages, it is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend, but in the 2017 vintage it was a little different.
Spicy and entertaining. Well balanced and complex, but a little tight and restraint right now. Much earthier than I expected it to be.
Needs 5 years in the bottle to mature properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years.
A good food wine right now, that will pair nicely with a big piece of steak.
A blend of 56% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. Aged in (70% New) French oak barrels for 18 months.
14% alcohol by volume.
92 points.
$450. — 3 days ago