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Cristaldi Scores

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Wine

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Rating

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

2022

Ab Astris Winery

Cabernet Franc

Aged for 36 months in 33% new French oak, this wine comes from Newsom Vineyards in Plains, Texas, located due west of Lubbock and just seven miles from the Texas–New Mexico border. It’s a well-built wine showing ripe currant and spiced plum fruit with cocoa powder notes on the nose, complemented by bright baking spice, sagebrush, Hatch pepper, and a meaty undertone. Medium-bodied on the palate, it reveals more spice character and a pleasant loamy earth minerality on the finish. Balanced and polished, with a lush texture. Ab Astris is a boutique, family-owned winery founded by Erin and Tony Smith, with Mike Nelson heading up winemaking. Their 12-acre estate, planted between 2018 and 2019, grows a range of varieties including Tannat, Souzão, Clairette Blanche, Petite Sirah, and Montepulciano.

2022

Ab Astris Winery

Tannat

Fermented in stainless steel and aged for 32 months in 40% new American oak. Yields were incredibly low in 2022. Winemaker Mike Nelson notes that the variety retains heat well—some years require no acid adjustment for his Tannat, while in others he adds a touch to balance. He envisions pairing this wine with venison, Tex-Mex, or barbecue, and it’s certainly built for that. The wine shows meaty richness and an iron-laced quality that underscores its medium- to full-bodied character, nuanced by dried prairie grass notes. Solid, firm tannins build with intensity on the finish, giving the wine structure, length, tension, and power. Ab Astris is a boutique, family-owned winery founded by Erin and Tony Smith. Winemaker Mike Nelson is dedicated to producing handcrafted vintages from their 12-acre estate, the Hill Country, and the Texas High Plains.

2022

Ab Astris Winery

Tempranillo

The 2022 vintage was a drought year in Texas, and typically Ab Astris would produce a single-vineyard designate, but not this time. In this vintage, winemaker Mike Nelson fermented the wine in bins and aged it for 30 months in a combination of neutral and up to 40% new American oak. The wine shows red berry fruit and baking spice character building in intensity across the medium-bodied palate, framed by fine, firm tannins and finishing with cocoa powder and vanilla notes. Ab Astris is a boutique, family-owned winery founded by Erin and Tony Smith. Winemaker Mike Nelson handcrafts vintages from their 12-acre estate, the Hill Country, and the Texas High Plains.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

2022

Producer

Name

Aged for 36 months in 33% new French oak, this wine comes from Newsom Vineyards in Plains, Texas, located due west of Lubbock and just seven miles from the Texas–New Mexico border. It’s a well-built wine showing ripe currant and spiced plum fruit with cocoa powder notes on the nose, complemented by bright baking spice, sagebrush, Hatch pepper, and a meaty undertone. Medium-bodied on the palate, it reveals more spice character and a pleasant loamy earth minerality on the finish. Balanced and polished, with a lush texture. Ab Astris is a boutique, family-owned winery founded by Erin and Tony Smith, with Mike Nelson heading up winemaking. Their 12-acre estate, planted between 2018 and 2019, grows a range of varieties including Tannat, Souzão, Clairette Blanche, Petite Sirah, and Montepulciano.

2022

Producer

Name

Fermented in stainless steel and aged for 32 months in 40% new American oak. Yields were incredibly low in 2022. Winemaker Mike Nelson notes that the variety retains heat well—some years require no acid adjustment for his Tannat, while in others he adds a touch to balance. He envisions pairing this wine with venison, Tex-Mex, or barbecue, and it’s certainly built for that. The wine shows meaty richness and an iron-laced quality that underscores its medium- to full-bodied character, nuanced by dried prairie grass notes. Solid, firm tannins build with intensity on the finish, giving the wine structure, length, tension, and power. Ab Astris is a boutique, family-owned winery founded by Erin and Tony Smith. Winemaker Mike Nelson is dedicated to producing handcrafted vintages from their 12-acre estate, the Hill Country, and the Texas High Plains.

2022

Producer

Name

The 2022 vintage was a drought year in Texas, and typically Ab Astris would produce a single-vineyard designate, but not this time. In this vintage, winemaker Mike Nelson fermented the wine in bins and aged it for 30 months in a combination of neutral and up to 40% new American oak. The wine shows red berry fruit and baking spice character building in intensity across the medium-bodied palate, framed by fine, firm tannins and finishing with cocoa powder and vanilla notes. Ab Astris is a boutique, family-owned winery founded by Erin and Tony Smith. Winemaker Mike Nelson handcrafts vintages from their 12-acre estate, the Hill Country, and the Texas High Plains.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

2022

2022 Ab Astris Winery Cabernet Franc

-

$

2022

2022 Ab Astris Winery Tannat

-

$

2022

2022 Ab Astris Winery Tempranillo

-

$

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