Dimes

9.0

Yeah one of the best cabs I’ve ever bought for less than $15 bucks hit it with that pesto and some big city blues — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

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. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.2

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!

Classically styled and balanced. Very reminiscent of Spottswoode’s SB. Floral with tart fruit and medium acidity. Lots of lemon-lime here but also melon. Crushed rocks. Vibrant. — 7 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.2

Andy Erickson doing some great things at blue chip Mayacamas. Really nicely balanced. It’s light on its feet, not a fruit bomb. Great acidity and freshness. Red berries, fresh savory herbs, with a core of minerals. — 7 years ago

with Bob and ADAM

Isaac Pirolo

9.0

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+ — 8 years ago

Matthew Hannam

9.5

I love this producer so much. — 9 years ago

Charlie Igoe

9.2

Padilla Rioja reserva 2011 was really nice, definitely buy again — 9 years ago

Ignacio Sarmiento

9.1

Deer Vallley - Stein Erickson — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.5

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!

As expected, an iron fist in a velvet glove type wine. Lots of similarities in profile and structure to the reserve merlot, with a more expansive mid palate. Very dark, but whereas the reserve merlot has red fruit to balance it, this is accompanied by sweet and cold blue fruits. This is a very pretty cabernet that has the stuffing to cruise for quite a while. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

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!

Made in a bordeaux Blanc style with the use of oak. Very creamy and soft with a rich kiwi, grapefruit and powdered lemon bar aromatics. Soft at first but a surprising amount of acidity at the finish. Lingering notes of stone and tropical fruits. Really enjoyed this. It’s as though someone blended Spottswoode’s SB with Aesthete’s SB. — 7 years ago

Chris Shott

9.0

¡Ay, Dios mío! — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.7

Great way to celebrate the 4th of July. What are you guys drinking today?
______________________________
2010 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
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Oakville, Napa Valley, North Coast, California, USA
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Tasting Note:
Received a three hour decant and tasted blind. Deep and dark purplish ruby red. Layered nose with anise, cassis, cherries and rich undertone of black fruits as well. Heavy tannins (8/10) and full bodied. A light touch of heat on the palate but not overwhelming. Rich and lush palate with dark spices, blackberries, blue fruits, cinnamon and some dark cocoa. Long and lingering finish. A real treat to finally try a bottle! Drink till 2030.
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One of the most prestigious wineries in the world, started by Jean Phillips in 1986 when she purchased a vineyard in Oakville that was cultivated by Ren Harris of Paradigm Winery. Now the estate is owned by Stan Kroenke who purchased the estate in 2006 with Charles Banks. This vintage was produced by Andy Erickson with Nick Gislason as his assistant winemaker. Made up of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc. Aged for alomst 24 months in 65% new French oak. Only 610 cases produced.
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Rating: 97 Points
Price: $$$$$$ - Retails on the secondary market for a minimum of $3,500.00. Release price from the estate was $750.00.
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#screamingeagle #july #july4th #cultwine @andy.erickson @paradigmwinery #cabernetsauvignon #redwine #wine #wein #vino #winelover #winelovers #wines #winetasting #winestagram #winesofinstagram #winerylovers #MillennialDrinkers
— 8 years ago

with Sean and India

Mark Flesher

9.4

Duuude. This wine doesn't mess around. Although a 2009, this one drank as if it was a 2013. This wine is right in the wheelhouse, and was one of the two wines in contention for the WOTN for me. I was getting flowers, blackberry, dark chocolate and almost a caramel note through this one. The wine was dense, full bodied, and finished still with some stiff tannin. Although I believe the 2012-2019 CT drinking window is accurate, I believe this one will hold much longer than 2019 on a whole. I feel as if this wine will go through 2025, and I really expect it to develop perhaps a bit in the bottle still for another 1-2 years. I loved the dark chocolate note to this wine. Always a treat to enjoy an Erickson wine! Thanks to @Shay Aldriedge for opening this guy! — 9 years ago

with Shay and Benjamin

Shay A

9.5

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!

Definitely the most fun wine on the table. Merlot and Syrah blend. I believe this is around the time John Kongsgaard was leaving and Andy Erickson was arriving. Quite wild, and both sweet and savory. Black cherry tart, peppercorn crusted rhubarb, red licorice, and a sweet smoke to the nose. Tangy red fruits, espresso and cocoa bits on the palate with a finish that shows tea leaf and fig. Delicious! — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.4

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!

This felt like it was just starting to hit its drinking window. Very pretty and aromatic. Potpourri, lavender, dusted dark cocoa bits, plum and savory smoke on the nose with underripe blackberries, baking spices and nutmeg. Lovely. — 7 years ago

Joe D'Angelo

9.5

The 2016 ‘Quarzo’ Syrah is drop dead stunning. Sourced from Ann Kraemer's Shake Ridge Ranch this instantly grabs your attention with its dark inky color and vibrant aromatics of ripe black cherries, fresh violets, smoked bacon, black olives and hints of earthy minerals all exploding from the glass. On the palate this is full-bodied, fresh and layered with a center of juicy dark fruits, black olives and violets that burst on to the long supple finish. This is a total gem of a Syrah from Andy Erickson and Annie Favia that is simply delicious now, but will certainly continue to evolve incredibly well over the next decade. — 7 years ago

Natalia Lugo

8.9

@Juliana Padilla 🤗 — 8 years ago

Paul

9.0

A great Okanagan Pinot Noir. Well delineated, well made and in balance. Flavors of red fruits. Medium body. Excellent example of a nice Pinot. — 8 years ago

Matt Grauwiler

9.0

Full bodied red blend that screams Andy Erickson. — 8 years ago

Ryan Mayes

9.2

Love the 2011 vintage of this wine. This is the third bottling from Marciano Estate. The winemaker is none other than the venerated Andy Erickson. Bought a half case a few years ago for $35 (regular price is $50) which is a massive discount relative to the other two wines from the estate (as well as the more recent vintages if this same wine, which I️ don’t think are nearly as good). Wish I️ had got more. Requires an hour long decant and then this sleeper opens up gorgeously. Nose is jam-packed full of blueberry cotton candy, berry stems, damp oak, crushed rock, steel and textbook. Palette is dark fruit forward, somewhat creamy and thoroughly enjoyable although less nuanced and complex than the nose. Full mouthfeel. Medium / long finish. Bravo! — 9 years ago