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Kapcsandy Family Winery
A Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Red Table wine from

Napa, North Coast, California, USA

Kapcsandy Family Winery (Napa Valley) 2005 State Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Format: 3 x 750ml

Cost: $249.99 Per Bottle

Availability: 2 cases 10 for B.C.

Robert Parker gives this wine 95+ Points and here is what he had to say about it.

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the opaque purple-hued 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon State Lane Vineyard is a rich, full-bodied effort displaying notes of cedar, truffles, black currants, coffee, chocolate, and spice. With sweet tannin, full-bodied power, and impressive purity and length, this rich, backward, Bordeaux-styled wine does not ignore the wealth and extravagant fruit of Napa Valley. In short, the best of both worlds. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.

What a great success story Kapcsandy Family Winery is. I first met Lou Kapcsandy when he was the owner of a construction company in Seattle. A Hungarian immigrant (he fled the country during the 1956 revolution), he gave up his business to follow the grapevine – so to speak – with his son, Louis, and wife, Bobbi. The family moved to Napa, purchased Beringer’s old State Lane Vineyard (often a component part of that winery’s Private Reserve bottling), completely replanted it, and brought in well-known Bordelais Denis Malbec to work with Californian Rob Lawson to craft undeniable Bordeaux-styled blends of elegance and longevity. The rate at which they have achieved success is shocking. From their tightly spaced vineyard (2,700 vines per acre), new state-of-the-art winery, and Draconian selection process, they are producing three outstanding cuvees. Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer first gave them advice on planting the vineyard, but they moved on, and the vineyard now seems to be producing fruit at a level of quality never before seen from this site on the Yountville Crossroad.

Outstanding Boutique

Syrah

Radio-Coteau (rā´dē ō´ - kō´ tō).

A colloquial Northern Rhone expression suggesting "word of mouth". The literal translation of "broadcasting from the hillside".

Eric Sussman first heard the expression 'Radio-Coteau' while living and working in Burgundy. Upon his return to California he took this translation to heart. The name 'Radio-Coteau' naturally reflects Sussman's commitment to capturing reflections of soil, seasons, people and place.

E Sussman THE STORY:

Eric Sussman was born and raised in New York State. He developed his passion for wine- growing while studying agriculture at Cornell University in the late eighties and was inspired by wine's unique connection with its place of origin. Eric set out to work with and learn from world-class producers near and abroad.

He made his way to Washington's Yakima Valley where Eric spent several years among the vineyards and cellars of a small artisan producers. Working and managing the estate vineyards through the organic certification process and assuming responsibility for winemaking, he experienced firsthand the relationship between vineyard practices and wine quality.

Sussman continued his travels into France in '95 and '96 where he spent two exceptional vintages. In '95 he worked in Boredaux at the highly acclaimed Châteaux Baron Philippe de Rothschild, and to top that in '96 he spent his time working side by side with Domaine Comte Armand and Domaine Jacques Prieur in Burgundy. Returning to the United States in '97, Eric headed for northern California and collaborated on the wines at Bonny Doon. Continuing his travels north along the coasthe settled in western Sonoma County where Sussman spent the next four vintages ('98 to '01) gaining valuable experience as the associate winemaker at Dehlinger.

Starting in 2002, Eric has focused on the wines and vineyards of Radio-Coteau From their debut vintage Radio-Coteau have won many accolades and comments from the wine critics across the globe.

Robert Parker on Eric Sussman

"(Eric) Sussman appears to be on a fast track to success with his hand-crafted, vineyard-based Pinot Noirs, Syrahs, and Zinfandels. All of the following wines are fermented with native yeasts, aged on their lees in French oak with no racking, and are bottled without fining or filtration."

Issue # 162 ~ Dec 2005

Syrah Cherry Camp

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Radio-Coteau Syrah

'Cherry Camp' Sonoma Coast

2005

VARIETAL: 100% Syrah

REGION: Sonoma Coast, California

PRICE: $100.15 Per Bottle

FORMAT: 750 ml

AVAILABLE: 3 Bottles available

CELLARING POTENTIAL: 10+ years

PRODUCTION: 340 cases

93 POINTS:

"Inky violet. Explosive blackberry, boysenberry and candied cherry scents are pure and luscious, with no funky notes getting in the way. Broad, deep and velvety, with powerful dark berry liqueur flavors and very soft tannins adding gentle support. Finishes with building intensity and an impressively long echo of boysenberry. Really sexy stuff."

- May/June 2007

94 POINTS:

"The 2005 Syrah Cherry Camp is spectacular. The wine smells of black truffles, acacia flowers, blackberry, and cassis, with some camphor and creosote. It has fabulous fruit, full body, sweet tannins, and a beautiful multi-layered mouthfeel and finish. This is a sumptuous Syrah to drink over the next decade".

Artadi 'Pagos Viejos' 2005

Old Vineyards Yield

Mother Nature's best Tempranillo

In April 1998 Robert Parker wrote:

"This estate qualifies as a fabulous discovery. These are brilliant wines that merit considerable attention"

and again, a couple years later in February 2000:

"With good argument, Artadi could well be considered the most exciting enterprise in Rioja.".

Reporting in November 1999 Stephen Tanzer wrote of Artadi:

"These are some of the most exciting of Rioja's new-wave wines."

In Robert M Parker's recently released book 'The World's Greatest Wine Estates', Artadi is short-listed alongside such legendary Spanish estates as Vega Sicilia, Alvaro Palacios, and Pingus.

THE STORY

Jual Carlos Small Pic

Artadi was created in 1985 by the dynamic visionary winemaker Juan Carlos López de la Calle. His objective was to seek and nurture the concept that Tempranillo, when cultivated at high altitude, cropped low and from old vines, produces extraordinarily rich, deeply colored, and profound wines. This spectacular 75 hectare estate in Rioja Alavesa is bounded to the north by the mountains of the Sierra Cantabria and to the south by the River Ebro. Here, the secret of great wine lies in the soil.

Pagos Viejos translates as 'old vineyards' and the wine is crafted from Artadi's best plots of old Tempranillo vines (approximate age being 75 years old). Each lot is vinified separately and only the best make it into the final blend. The wine is then aged for 18 months in new French oak. The high altitude vineyards of Artadi benefit from a clay and limestone composition producing some of Rioja's most exciting wines.

Wine Advocate logo

Artadi 'Pagos Viejos'

Rioja DOCa 2005

VARIETAL: 100% Tempranillo

REGION: Rioja,SPAIN

PRICE: $102.00 Per Bottle

FORMAT: 750ml

AVAILABLE: 3 Bottles

CELLARING POTENTIAL: 4-18 years

95 POINTS

"The 2005 Pagos Viejos is already in bottle but has not been released. It is just slightly more muted but lovely nonetheless. Already complex both aromatically and on the palate, it has superb materials while appearing to be more structured than the 2004. Purchasers will need to be a bit more patient with this 2005 and should consider drinking the 2005 Vinas de Gain in the interim. Kudos to Bodegas Artadi for this tour de force!"

Issue #169 Feb. 2007

93 POINTS

"Ruby-red. Smoky raspberry and cherry aromas are complicated by minerals, lavender and rooty sassafras. Suave red and dark berry flavors are complicated and deepened by exotic spicecake and sweet licorice. Impressively integrated tannins add gentle support. Pulls off the trick of outstanding concentration with finesse and finishes with superb precision and length. While still young, this is lovely today."

Sep/Oct 07