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The 2017 Arise offers a rich attack with sweet, plush tannins and notes of cherry, plum, and smoked duck in a long finish of coffee, plum, and blueberry. An ideal 2016 harvest season resulted in rich fruit of uncompromised character. The 2016 Arise is Blackbird at its core of supple winemaking. Blend: 55% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. RP 92 pts, WW 92 pts, WS 90 pts -
The dark and intense fruit aromas jump out of the glass with ripe plums, blackberries on the vine, and tones of sweet mint. The mouthfeel is full, balanced by gentle acids and rich tannins. Flavors are reminiscent of dark chocolate covered cherries and spicy black pepper. The long finish shows cigar box and cedar spice. A vintage that will age well into the next decade. RP 97 pts., JS 93 pts. -
It's not often you come across a white pinot noir, which is why we strive to make our wine with a delicate touch to allow the unique properties of this red grape to come through as a white wine. We hand-pick our pinot noir grapes typically about a week earlier than when we pick for our red wines to preserve acidity. Then they are whole bunched pressed very gently which allows us to minimize maceration and have little color pick-up. All of the color and most of the tannin in red wine comes from the skin so if you press right away and press lightly you can extract the clear juice, creating a beautifully light-in-color white wine with red wine characteristics. Finally, we allow it to settle out in a tank overnight and then it is clean racked to ferment in stainless steel at a low temperature to retain aromatics. Like our white wines, it’s sur lee aged and bottled in the spring. 100% Pinot Noir. -
Plenty of blueberry and blackberry character with hints of spices. Medium body. Fresh finish. Hints of chocolate add to the complexity. JS 91 -
Bright medium ruby. Sexy perfumed lift to the aromas of cassis, black cherry, raspberry, mocha, menthol, licorice and violet. Wonderfully broad and mouthfilling but conveys an impression of weightlessness; all in finesse but there's no shortage of stuffing here. Intense flavors of red and darker fruits, milk chocolate and spices show a clever light hand with the oak (70% new French). Richer and more pliant than the 2015 version, and also better balanced. The very long, slowly mounting finish saturates the palate with a complex perfume of fruits, flowers and spices and noble tannins. Like the Merlot, this is not an obvious powerhouse but a classy, utterly seamless wine with a light touch. V 94 pts, WS 94 pts, JD 93 pts.
