Cristaldi Scores

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Composed of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, this wine is sourced from the Bavarian Lion Vineyard in Knights Valley, Sonoma County, and aged 18 months in 35% new French oak. It’s a ripe, round, and easy-drinking Cabernet that showcases bold mulberry fruit, crème de cassis, candied violets, and liquid graphite. Full-bodied and supple, it builds toward a finish marked by velvety yet lightly grippy tannins. Born and raised in Sonoma County, brothers Alex and Christian Ehret chose the Bavarian Lion Vineyard to source their single-vineyard, estate Cabernet Sauvignon for the Solar Ash project in Knights Valley.

Such a well-made 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon—remarkable for avoiding the brandied, liquored-up fruit so prevalent in many wines from the vintage. Instead, it delivers a red-toned core accented by black and blue fruit nuances, elegant oak spice, and supple, fine tannins, all supported by bright acidity and a satiny, full-bodied finish. Quite a fantastic wine at this price point—and totally crushable. The fruit for this Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is grown at high elevations on sloped, well-drained hillsides and aged in French oak barrels, 70% new. St. Francis Winery & Vineyards has been in operation for more than five decades, now farming over 400 acres of estate vineyards.

The Cabernet is aged 18 months in 55% new French oak and 10% concrete. This is an ultra-delicious wine in 2023, with super expressive aromatics: dark berry fruit, tobacco spice, violet, graphite, and little pops of blue fruit. There’s a cocoa-powder tannin quality on the rich, layered palate, along with a chalky mineral complexity that drives the lengthy finish, all fueled by bright baking-spice notes and wild herbs. Sourced from SJ Ranch, Del Rio, Oliver, Farrow, and Aperture Estate. That freshness factor in this wine is partly the vintage, but also the highly technical winemaking going on here, and time spent in concrete. Just wow.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Newman Vineyard in Knights Valley, aged for 19 months in 33% new Kádár Hungarian oak. Made similarly to their Cabernet Franc, this Cabernet Sauvignon carries the same elegance and lighter touch, expressed through a distinctly varietal thread of blackberry, black cherry, graphite, and fine cedar spice, all lifted by red floral tones. Super juicy and impressively long, the sinewy, power-packed tannin profile never overshadows the succulent fruit but instead provides seamless support throughout.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

Composed of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, this wine is sourced from the Bavarian Lion Vineyard in Knights Valley, Sonoma County, and aged 18 months in 35% new French oak. It’s a ripe, round, and easy-drinking Cabernet that showcases bold mulberry fruit, crème de cassis, candied violets, and liquid graphite. Full-bodied and supple, it builds toward a finish marked by velvety yet lightly grippy tannins. Born and raised in Sonoma County, brothers Alex and Christian Ehret chose the Bavarian Lion Vineyard to source their single-vineyard, estate Cabernet Sauvignon for the Solar Ash project in Knights Valley.

Such a well-made 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon—remarkable for avoiding the brandied, liquored-up fruit so prevalent in many wines from the vintage. Instead, it delivers a red-toned core accented by black and blue fruit nuances, elegant oak spice, and supple, fine tannins, all supported by bright acidity and a satiny, full-bodied finish. Quite a fantastic wine at this price point—and totally crushable. The fruit for this Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is grown at high elevations on sloped, well-drained hillsides and aged in French oak barrels, 70% new. St. Francis Winery & Vineyards has been in operation for more than five decades, now farming over 400 acres of estate vineyards.

The Cabernet is aged 18 months in 55% new French oak and 10% concrete. This is an ultra-delicious wine in 2023, with super expressive aromatics: dark berry fruit, tobacco spice, violet, graphite, and little pops of blue fruit. There’s a cocoa-powder tannin quality on the rich, layered palate, along with a chalky mineral complexity that drives the lengthy finish, all fueled by bright baking-spice notes and wild herbs. Sourced from SJ Ranch, Del Rio, Oliver, Farrow, and Aperture Estate. That freshness factor in this wine is partly the vintage, but also the highly technical winemaking going on here, and time spent in concrete. Just wow.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Newman Vineyard in Knights Valley, aged for 19 months in 33% new Kádár Hungarian oak. Made similarly to their Cabernet Franc, this Cabernet Sauvignon carries the same elegance and lighter touch, expressed through a distinctly varietal thread of blackberry, black cherry, graphite, and fine cedar spice, all lifted by red floral tones. Super juicy and impressively long, the sinewy, power-packed tannin profile never overshadows the succulent fruit but instead provides seamless support throughout.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

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