Arietta
Château Benoit
Arbalest Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
Curiosity got the best of me. Steve Mnuchin and Jared Kushner bro’d out over a bottle of this 2015 Arbalest on Sunday. Apparently it’s newsworthy when a wealthy politician brings a ‘cheap’ ($22) bottle of wine to a bro out. I wonder what price gets the ‘politician drinks expensive bottle’ story (see Paul Ryan at Bistro Bis in 2011). No matter, it’s brilliant product placement — I’m surprised Trump didn’t tweet about it... “Did everyone see Poor Stevie’s wine? So Sad. My 2015 Meritage is So Much Better.”
The wine is made by Benoit Touquette. Here’s his background courtesy of critic Jeb Dunnuck, “Born in Lyon France and gaining his education from the University of Bordeaux, Benoit worked at numerous French wineries before getting a job (with the help of his friend and mentor Michel Rolland) in Napa Valley with Andy Erickson. He consulted for the likes of Screaming Eagle, Ovid and Arietta. Today, Benoit is the winemaker for Realm Cellars, Hartwell, and Kata, as well as numerous other labels, including his own project Fait-Main.” Who wouldn’t want to try a $22 bottle of wine from a winemaker with that kind of resume??
Dunnuck also scored the wine 91 points, calling it “Full-bodied, ripe and rounded, with a sexy, opulent style, lots of mid-palate depth, and a great finish, it's well worth your time and money and is a smoking deal at 20 bucks.”
The blend is 82% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. It needed about an hour to fully open up... one of my fellow tasters called it soapy... which I think was because of its noticeable herbaceousness. Focused black cherry, pipe tobacco, clove. Juicy, but dry, with lots of grip. I’m not doing backflips over it, but you could do much worse at $22. 90+ — 6 years ago
Arietta
On the White Keys Artists' Reserve North Coast Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc 2013
La Jota Vineyard Co.
Anniversary Release Cabernet Sauvignon 1994
Arietta
Claret Merlot Blend 2004
Blackberry, slight jamminess but overall good balance. — 10 years ago
Arietta
Artists' Reserve One Eleven Merlot 2016
Arietta Wines lunch with owner Fritz. We were able to taste through some current releases as well as some reserve wines Fritz brought with him personally. A treat to enjoy these Andy Erickson wines!
In the running for my favorite red out of the flight. Basically a copy of the normal Hudson merlot but wrapped in a velvet like structure. Glycerin and elixir like in how plush and sexy it is. Added density and heft. Built really big but lots of restraint. Would love to try this again in 10yrs. — 4 years ago
Leviathan
California Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2012
Leviathan is the creation of husband and wife team Andy Erickson and Annie Favia-Erickson. They also collaborate on their Favia label, each bringing a resume boasting serious cult winery experience. Andy has spent time as winemaker at Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Ovid, Dancing Hares and Arietta, with prior work at Harlan and Staglin, while Annie got her start with John Kongsgaard and Cathy Corison, before spending more than a decade as a viticulturist with David Abreu. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Jon Bonné said about the Ericksons, “Together they could probably create a 98-point wine in their sleep.” Their 2012 Leviathan is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 16% Merlot, and 14% Syrah all coming from Northern California, and mostly from Napa. There’s no dispute that this is rich and extracted, but there’s an underlying savoriness that balances out this fruit bomb. Blackberry, black cherry, licorice, mocha, cigar box, crème de cassis, and sweet tannins that carry with them that savory herbaceousness. — 6 years ago
Premiere Napa Valley
Arietta PNV Lot No. 96 Napa Valley Red Blend 2001
Color:raisin, Aroma:raisin, First Impression:raisin, Taste:still with acid and tannin. It should be kept for 5 years. Now I understood this. This is made of merlot rich with Syrah. @, Popina, 170611 — 7 years ago
Arietta
Hudson Vineyards Merlot 2012
Beautiful texture. — 9 years ago
Dominus Estate
Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1994
Bonus Wine #2 after Arietta wine dinner. a bit of barnyard on the nose. Consensus was this was past prime, but still a nice treat. Thanks @Dustin Cano ! — 9 years ago
Arietta
On the White Keys Carneros Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Honey suckle, orange blossom, papaya, green pineapple, lemongrass, yellow apple. — 6 years ago
Corra
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Wow!!! Tasted this years ago at industry tasting at Chateau Boswell in Napa: it’s better than I remember. Arietta, Bevan, Barbour, Realm...you name it, they were there. I thought CORRA was the “Best of Show”!!! — 6 years ago
Arietta
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Beautiful, smooth, dark, long finish. Life is too short for crappy Cabernet. — 7 years ago
Arietta
Napa Valley Cabernet Franc Merlot 1997
Mk. Very nice, floral. — 9 years ago
Pooneet K
Really exceptional. Have usually had these with more age, but this is delicious at this point. Surprising amount of green Apple and similar acid to go along with that. Excellent pairing and just a great wine. — 4 years ago