The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
News
Jeb Dunnuck 100 Points: “Checking in as a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2019 Proprietary Red Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard is one of the top wines in 2019 (at least at this stage). Offering an incredible nose of black raspberries, cassis, wildflowers, violets, and wood smoke, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, ultra-fine, seamless texture, great tannins, and a great, great finish. The purity is just about off the charts.”
Wine Description
The Story
What a great run we have had with this vineyard. We recently locked up our blocks long term, ensuring that we will be making this wine for many years to come, and we couldn’t be more excited. Stylistically, the 2013 is a combination of the 2012, which had higher acidity and tannin than any previous vintage, and the 2009, which had the most intense dark chocolate flavors. It almost has a sweetness to it, but the wine is bone dry. This extreme site provides incredibly seductive textures and pure sex appeal.
Our approach to winemaking has remained constant since our first vintage. We inspect every grape after it has been removed from the stem. We discard every one that doesn’t meet our standards; typically sacrificing six to eight percent of our fruit during this process. From that stage on, every wine is crafted to maximize balance and textures. Each of our vineyards imparts their fruit with such pure flavors that we strive to bring all of the components into harmony.
All of our wines are aged in new French barrels, including Remond, Francois Freres and Gamba for our Syrahs and Darnajou and Taransaud for Cabernet Sauvignon. We evaluate each barrel of wine biweekly, allowing the wines to dictate to us how they are treated in terms of racking, barrel stirring, sulfur additions and bottling.
While we are not open to the public, we enjoy hosting private tastings at our winemaking facility.
Wine Information
Winery Notes: “Dark chocolate, violets, tobacco, spring flowers, this wine is a hedonist’s delight. The Cabernet Franc provides robust tannins, where the Merlot gives an insane, mouth-coating lusciousness. This wine continually amazes us with how gracefully it ages. The 2012 Sugarloaf is just now hitting its sweet spot. 2019 will no doubt prove the same age-worthiness.”
Vintage 2019
Despite Extreme Weather, 2019 Is a “Perfect Storm” Vintage for Wine
The harvest was “near perfect” in Napa and Sonoma—and in some places in France, where lower quantities will make bottles even more sought-after. But not everyone is was left with a good taste in their mouths.
“This is turning out to be a near perfect harvest,” emailed Dan Petroski of Larkmead Vineyards in Calistoga. “An excellent vintage that will make wines with great structure.” He wrapped up picking late last week after working 20-hour days. A warm, late summer, followed by a cooling trend and a touch of rain last week, created ideal conditions. Whites are already fermenting, and the cabernet harvest is underway up and down the valley, according to Napa Valley Vintners.
There will be plenty of grapes—probably too many—as both Sonoma and Napa face a grape glut.
Yet the danger of possible power cutoffs could affect how good the wines are. Because downed power lines were blamed for destructive wildfires in 2017 and 2018, utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. cuts power when fire risk is high. That’s often the case at harvest time, when wineries need electricity to run crushers and temperature-controlled fermentation tanks. For those that lack generators or solar power, an extended outage can bring disaster.