The Clark & Telephone Vineyard PN gave me a long lasting impression, and this Las Alturas is very similar in style in its richness and intensity.
Ripe plum, blackberry jam, eucalyptus, fig, black tea, and Chinese medicinal herbs bursting on the nose. Palate has more texture and a more elegant feel with dark chocolate and spice. Firm and a bit dusty tannins. This tastes more like a blend of Zinfandel and Cab. Nice! But again this is not the type of PN I like. — 7 years ago
Would rate this 9.1 for the Black Cherry, damson plum and sandalwood spice nose, but lower for the palate, which shows nicely sweet fruit but lacks the spice and drive I’d really like to see from a good Vosne village wine in a vintage like 2010. Still, that nose tho... — 8 years ago
2014 vintage. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Eagle Summit Vineyard on Howell Mountain at 2100 feet elevation. Impressive full-bodied cab with real depth, beautiful black fruit, well-tamed tannin, great acidity and a long aftertaste. Powerful while maintaining elegance. Impressive effort from owners Heather & Josh Clark (Clark Vineyard Management) with famous winemaker Thomas Brown. 250 cases produced. — 8 years ago
Pale lemon. Exotic fruit notes of pineapple. Pomegranate. Ripe grapefruit. Low acid, low body. Med finish. Exotic fruits of pineapple pomegranate. Ripe lemon and grapefruit. Med finish. Classic NZ Sauvignon Blanc. — 8 years ago
Whoa Nelly cigar box cedar earthy maybe even a little nuttiness. She's a beaut Clark!! Thanks again @Todd Abrams this is killer — 9 years ago
This is a knockout wine, a stunner, a pitch-perfect expression of love for wine in general, and Loire Cab Franc in particular. It's wild in all the right places, and impressively refined where it counts.
Medium ruby color. Arresting and straight-up delicious nose that has a certain choreography to it. Specifically it reminds me of Jiří Kylián - finding freedom within a melange of classicism and visceral impetus. Exuberance in wine is rare enough, but exuberance with such focus and intention?
The classicist bent was my first impression - a correct nose of stewed bell peppers and coffee grounds (pyrazines), earthy dog fur with slight clove (brett), and a savory blackberry-cherry fruit compote.
Tasted blind, you would guess Loire, but you might wonder at the shifting nature, at how occasionally the bretty flavors rear up in a flourish, only to be overshadowed a second later by a warm, pure fruit. There is something haunting about the fruit here - it seems to contain memories of many different wines. The wildness is complex - dried leaves, dog fur, toasted mushroom, spiced clove, moist earth. The pyrazinic aromas have uncommon depth and character - stewed bell pepper, coffee, and nascent tobacco.
On the palate, the wine dances with an elegant 12.6% alcohol frame, vibrant acidity, and satiny tannins - the medium on which the finish is printed. There is a moment, mid-palate, where the individual components come together seamlessly - a strong argument for structural-aromatic integration in the Clark Smithian sense. On the finish, the flavors subtly unravel, then persist like a vocal ensemble with synchronized vibrato.
Get this. — 8 years ago
Absolutely love Amizetta, great winery above Lake Hennesy and just a hair too low to be called a Howell Mountain. The Clark family produce phenomenal cabernets year after year. This particular vintage is young but delivers a delicious fruity flavor with an oaky, vanilla spice on the nose. The tannins mellow drastically with aeration and time. I personally have a hard time waiting for that first glass, so by the second or third, it is right on time. Deep red bordering on purple make it seductive in a glass. — 8 years ago
Solid Pinot very smooth finish 91pts — 9 years ago
Once again a beauty. Aka, "She's a beauty Clark." This vintage is a guzzler. — 8 years ago
This comes from the personal label of vineyard manager Josh Clark and his wife Heather. Winemaker is Thomas Rivers Brown.
This is Samuel L. Jackson cast as Henry David Thoreau. A richly polished voice, with an attitude and a cadence that would even make gibberish entertaining. Beyond the ostensible hedonism, though, there's a substance that is layered, nuanced, and contemplative. But the former can certainly make it hard to focus on the latter.
Opens with some obvious, but not overpowering, malo butteriness which sets up perfectly for the blueberry pimp coat that takes center stage, surrounded by pencil shavings, crème de cassis, licorice, baked fig, and cigar box.
— 8 years ago
So glad I saved this to share with the perfect company. 2004 @pineridgewine 'Fortis', signed by former winemaker Stacy Clark, a woman I was very proud to work with for a number of years while with the ASW & PRW Family❤️ Dark lusty cherry, blackberry, licorice & molten chocolate. Balanced & Beautiful. #certifiablydelish — 9 years ago
Blair Campomizzi
Solid wine. Nice fruit flavors but with a good grounding of mineral. — 5 years ago