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100 points James Suckling
Violets and blueberries with cloves and pine cones, following through to a medium to full body with tight, seamless tannins, like finely cut diamonds. It’s very closed and reserved at the end. Weightless. Needs plenty of time to open. Unique wine.
100 points Vinous
The 2018 Promontory is another riveting wine from the Harlan family and winemaker David Cilli. It has been nothing short of spectacular in two recent tastings. "What is a 100-point wine?" I am often asked. Well, it is a wine that is complete, where nothing sticks out, and where all the elements are in perfect balance. The 2018 Promontory is a great example. A wine of stature and breadth, the 2018 covers every corner of the palate. Beguiling aromatics and precise, sculpted tannins - so hard to achieve in a mountain wine - round things off in style. Dark fruit, gravel, spice, licorice and leather add subtle layers of nuance. Today, the 2018 comes across as a more refined version of the 2016. It is a magnificent wine in every way.
Wine Description
The Story
Wines from hillsides of Promontory reflect the many aspects of the territory: the native forests, the moisture of the ephemeral fog, and the minerality of the geologic underpinnings. These disparate facets in symphony provide a natural balance of freshness, energy, and tannin. We believe these traits, in wine, are the building blocks of great vitality and long life.
In an unmarked territory, concealed in the southwestern hills bordering Oakville, lies PROMONTORY - remote, raw, and replete with uncharted potential.
The quiet quest of a quarter century, the lands of Promontory manifest the hallmarks of an unparalleled winegrowing estate, diversity of soil, elevation, exposition and climate, all within a single and dramatic expanse.
Wine Information
Just after fermentation, the 2018 vintage of Promontory already reflected the gentle, extended growing season, showing uncommonly detailed tannins. During its many months in the cellar, the wine has retained its effusive brightness and fresh acidity while continuing to acquire elevated nuance and bringing forward its many facets. Blue-fruit aromas, as well as pleasantly resinous qualities, accompany a fresh, cool note that rises to greet the nose. The wine’s lifted and profound dimension emanate outward from a center of almost ethereal form. Although the fine-grained tannins introduce an element of restraint to this translucent radiancy, the intrinsic nobility of this wine persists at each stage of its measured procession across the palate to the finish.
Vintage 2018
The beginning of the season sometimes foreshadows the remainder, but this was not the case in 2018. An unusually warm winter leading into the growing season prepared the vines for budbreak in mid-February. This anomaly of warmth came abruptly to a halt at the end of the month, when 10 to 12 inches of rain fell by the start of April, returning conditions within the territory to their cool average. Moderate temperatures ushered in a consistently mild summer of fair days, cool nights, and blankets of fog; allowing the vines to ripen their clusters slowly and evenly. Although harvest began on September 10th, the activity was gradual and deliberate, consisting of 95 passes, the last of which took place on October 23rd, making the 2018 harvest one of our longest.