From the heart of the Napa Valley, a classic Cabernet Sauvignon overflowing with Oakville typicity. Garnet hue gives way to a beautifully balanced and focused nose, with a pleasant offering of blackberry preserves and vanilla bean, but also a more intriguing dark side...something like fresh asphalt after a first rain. On the palate, fresh fruit abounds, structured around nice chewy tannins that carry an unusually long finish. Pure Oakville. Pour more.
In its inaugural release, the Mirror ’21 drinks as clean and vibrant as rays of white light through prism glass! Being the Musqué clone of the variety, the aromatics are more citrus and tropical driven, not grassy like its kin clones. Pungent white flowers comingle with gooseberry and a hint of pineapple. The palate washes clean with a forward burst of citrus, grey stone salinity and a peaking acid midpalate. Possibly what I love most about these sprightly whites is the overall texture and finish that carries well into the back palate and begs for another sip. I’m craving Baja-style grilled shrimp and spritz of lime or Crab Louie at an outdoor poolside lunch.
This multifaceted, single vineyard Chardonnay from a high elevation vineyard west of Sonoma Carneros shines with a core of yellow pit fruit accompanied by touches of lemon, roasted nuts and minerals that runs from the first whiff to the long, focused finish. Especially solid, texturally rich mid-palate. The oak is well integrated with just hints showing on the nose and finish. After four years of working with this diverse, windswept site, the Calesa Vineyard continues to reign again in 2022 by pushing varietal limits. While drinking early, I am confident that this wine will see well beyond 2034. Bottled Unfiltered and Unfined.
A breezy and bright rosé reflective of its origins on those sunny windswept slopes of the Calesa Vineyard in Petaluma Gap. Wafts of cherry skin, strawberry purée, and red hard candy pique the nose, while layers of lavender oil and sea salt slip over the tongue. Some wines have grip, this one has charge… it’s almost electric.
Dark fruit, brooding with black olive, toasted oak, and black licorice. A touch of violet opens to an energetic lift on the mid palate – stewed cherries and roasted capsicum – with tapering tannins and great acid structure. A meal eater’s wine, sure to pair perfectly with almost any braised short rib or grilled tri-tip that’s worth setting a fine table and inviting friends.
In King of the Hill, the 2018 Mirror Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon makes no game of it. Draped in deep garnet, with strapping tannins on broad shoulders, and an elixir like cologne of crushed herbs and clove. Beautiful from the start it strides the tongue with a bevy of dried cherries and star anise, a slight sweetness on the entry with Balaton-like acidity and pleasant astringency building through the mid palate. The long linger evidences youth, brawny and bold. Only rest and deep time will tame this one. I believe cellared correctly, this wine will live out to 2039 or longer.
