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Cristaldi Scores

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Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

2021

Wölffer Estate Vineyards

Caya (White Horse Label) Cabernet Franc

This is a dynamic and expressive Cabernet Franc—super clean, laser-focused, and structured with firm, mineral-laced tannins. A core of red berry and dark cherry fruit anchors the wine, layered with espresso bean, leather, and tobacco notes. There’s a brooding energy here, like the slow-build intensity of a Hitchcock film—compelling, suspenseful, and impossible to turn away from. Composed of 87% Cabernet Franc and 13% Merlot from the estate’s oldest Merlot vines planted in 1990. Aged for 20 months in 40% new and 60% 1- to 3-year-old French oak barriques. 1,286 cases produced.

2023

Boundary Breaks

Cabernet Franc

A full-bodied Cabernet Franc blend (87% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot) sourced from sustainably certified vineyards on the east side of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes AVA, this opens with vivid red berry fruit layered with vanilla and cedarwood. But it’s the structure that takes center stage—soaring, firm tannins that initially grip the palate before gradually yielding to more delicate notes of dusty rose, earth, and spice. A wine with impressive mouthfeel and power, it clearly needs time in bottle to unwind and show its full potential. Aged for 10 months in natural French oak before bottling.

2023

Uplift

Uplift Vineyard, Petite Sirah

The 2023 Petite Sirah is a powerhouse—bold, rich, and full-bodied with robust, driving tannins. It’s thoroughly hedonistic, bursting with decadent blackberry, spiced plum, fig jam, and blue fruit layered with vivid dark chocolate notes. Blood orange acidity brightens the lengthy, baking-spice-driven finish. Grown in sandy loam soils, the wine was fermented in large oak fermenters and aged for 16 months in 30% new French oak barrels. Uplift farms 55 acres within the Hoover’s Valley, which runs through the Llano Uplift, one of the more impressive repositories of rare earth minerals found in the USA. Claire Richardson is Winemaker.

2023

Uplift Vineyard

Vigneron Blend

(Barrel Sample) The Vigneron Blend is a bright, spicy, and tension-filled red, offering pure currant and cherry fruits, tobacco, and white pepper spices. Medium-bodied, it builds richness on the palate with assertive, very fine, and balanced tannins that provide structure and depth. There’s been a dynamic shift—a watershed moment—in the production of these wines since Napa-based consultant Jean Hoefliger began consulting with Uplift Vineyard in 2022. The transformation is evident, and this wine is a testament to that evolution, promising an exciting future for these wines.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

2021

Producer

Name

This is a dynamic and expressive Cabernet Franc—super clean, laser-focused, and structured with firm, mineral-laced tannins. A core of red berry and dark cherry fruit anchors the wine, layered with espresso bean, leather, and tobacco notes. There’s a brooding energy here, like the slow-build intensity of a Hitchcock film—compelling, suspenseful, and impossible to turn away from. Composed of 87% Cabernet Franc and 13% Merlot from the estate’s oldest Merlot vines planted in 1990. Aged for 20 months in 40% new and 60% 1- to 3-year-old French oak barriques. 1,286 cases produced.

2023

Producer

Name

A full-bodied Cabernet Franc blend (87% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot) sourced from sustainably certified vineyards on the east side of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes AVA, this opens with vivid red berry fruit layered with vanilla and cedarwood. But it’s the structure that takes center stage—soaring, firm tannins that initially grip the palate before gradually yielding to more delicate notes of dusty rose, earth, and spice. A wine with impressive mouthfeel and power, it clearly needs time in bottle to unwind and show its full potential. Aged for 10 months in natural French oak before bottling.

2023

Producer

Name

The 2023 Petite Sirah is a powerhouse—bold, rich, and full-bodied with robust, driving tannins. It’s thoroughly hedonistic, bursting with decadent blackberry, spiced plum, fig jam, and blue fruit layered with vivid dark chocolate notes. Blood orange acidity brightens the lengthy, baking-spice-driven finish. Grown in sandy loam soils, the wine was fermented in large oak fermenters and aged for 16 months in 30% new French oak barrels. Uplift farms 55 acres within the Hoover’s Valley, which runs through the Llano Uplift, one of the more impressive repositories of rare earth minerals found in the USA. Claire Richardson is Winemaker.

2023

Producer

Name

(Barrel Sample) The Vigneron Blend is a bright, spicy, and tension-filled red, offering pure currant and cherry fruits, tobacco, and white pepper spices. Medium-bodied, it builds richness on the palate with assertive, very fine, and balanced tannins that provide structure and depth. There’s been a dynamic shift—a watershed moment—in the production of these wines since Napa-based consultant Jean Hoefliger began consulting with Uplift Vineyard in 2022. The transformation is evident, and this wine is a testament to that evolution, promising an exciting future for these wines.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

2021

2021 Wölffer Estate Vineyards Caya (White Horse Label) Cabernet Franc

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Boundary Breaks Cabernet Franc

Still Wine

$

2023

2023 Uplift Uplift Vineyard, Petite Sirah

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Uplift Vineyard Vigneron Blend

Still

N/A

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