La Ronciere Selva Oscura Sparkling Extra Brut is made from 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay.
Selva Oscura was born to further complement La Ronciere’s cold-climate wine program. Only early, thin-skinned varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can ripen in the cold, rainy Araucanía Province. Grape maturity often comes with great difficulty, but the resulting wines reach the bottle with intense freshness and vibrant aromas. Planted in volcanic soils and surrounded by ancient forests, this is a place where vines have developed under adversity and grown to deliver unique wines, with inspiring character and personality.
Review:
Morande Black Series Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Malleco represents the exploration of one of the most extreme valleys in Chile for wine production. A new wine frontier, an ideal terroir to produce high-end Chardonnay in Chile, with a different style from other outstanding origins such as Limarí –which offers wines with marked minerality– or Aconcagua Costa –which delivers sharp acidity and great power. The Traiguen area in the Malleco valley produces wines of great tension and fruity austerity, as well as complexity, balance and finesse. A very typical style of Chardonnay marked by elegance, verticality on the palate and subtlety on the nose and mouth.
The wine offers a bright pale yellow color, intense and elegant aromas of citrus fruits and green apples as well as hints of nuts, such as hazelnuts and roasted chestnuts. A tense and fresh acidity on the palate, and a vertical structure in the mouth. Very fine and complex, its long persistence highlights the austere character of its fruit and a delicate minerality.
Shellfish and fish of intense flavor, such as smoked salmon, swordfish, giant perch, and white meats, poultry.
Review:
"Fresh and pure on the nose with green fruits and lots of star fruit, a hint of flint and a slight creamy edge. Subtle and bright with a tense mid-palate that creates a creamy but fresh mouthfeel. Medium- to full-bodied and long. Drink now."
- James Suckling (February 2023), 94 pts
Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins – as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa’s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. This Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries.
Archery Summit Estate Pinot Noir Dundee Hills is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Archery Summit Dundee Hills Pinot Noir touts all the hallmarks of this storied appellation. It begins with hints of ripe plum skin, ocean air, baking spices, and cocoa powder dustiness on the nose. The palate is just as expressive, with fresh, juicy red fruit backed by graceful tannins, a complex brininess, and a mouth-watering acidity. Finishing with spiced oak and a mouth-coating basalt minerality, this wine is great now and will be for years to come.
The Dundee Hills Pinot Noir touts all the hallmarks of Archery Summit's storied appellation. It begins with brambleberry, ripe rainier cherry, blackberry blossoms, cocoa powder, and spice on the nose. The palate is just as lively, with fresh, juicy red fruit backed by graceful tannins and acid. Finishing with spiced oak and a mouth-coating minerality, this wine is a case study in the magic of the Dundee Hills.
Yet, thanks to water reserves in the soil itself and some timely viticultural movements, the vineyards persevered through the heat and water limitations. The dryer season accelerated picking times, making the fruit ripen a bit earlier than normal. September rewarded us with cool nights and the lower-than average yields set us up to make wines with abundant character, intensity and balance. The winery is so grateful for the moisture-abundant, microbially-rich and chemical-free soils that lovingly nudged the vines towards the finish line.