Pine Ridge Encantado Red Blend Napa Valley 2010
I recently received an e-mail from Wines Til Sold Out touting a heavily discounted wine under what appeared to be a second label from an esteemed Napa Valley producer, only it wasn’t.
According to WTSO, an online discount wine retailer, the wine being offered was not a second label but the same juice and basically the same wine from one of Napa’s premier Silverado Trail wineries. This clever marketing tactic piqued my interest.
Finca Villacreces Pruno 2010
Recently there has been a lot of buzz about this wine because of an interesting trifecta of superlatives. The estate of Finca Villacreces, in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain, lies on some very desirable land adjacent to one of the most famous Spanish wine producers in history: Vega Sicilia. Lauded by critics and highly sought after by collectors, the wines of this estate typically sell for several hundred dollars per bottle. Now you might be thinking that the Finca Villacreces Pruno 2010 is out of reach, but alas, it probably isn’t.
Ardente Winery Cabernet Sauvingon ‘Grande Riserva’ 1997
Today I am excited for two reasons: This is my first post and I am drinking a 1997 Napa Cabernet. I thought to myself,”How better to inaugurate this blog than to open a Cabernet Sauvingon from one of Napa’s best vintages?”
The Vintage
Considered legendary by most, and overrated by some, Napa Valley’s 1997 vintage is certainly a memorable one. Many Napa cult Cabernet’s command significant premiums for the 1997 vintage versus other vintages. According to Napa Valley Vintner’s, which publishes a vintage recap on the growing conditions and the success of the harvest, “A temperate summer with moderate, steady temperatures allowed the fruit to reach optimum maturity with good hang time for the full development of character and flavors.”
