The real star is the nearly 1,000 case-lot of the Paradise Hills Vineyard Proprietary Red. The dense, opaque plum/purple-hued 2006 Paradise Hills Vineyard exhibits a beautiful, sweet bouquet of melted chocolate, burning embers, blackberries, mocha, espresso roast, cassis, and cherries as well as stunning concentration, and formidable, but velvety, beautifully integrated tannins. This wine comes across like a hypothetical blend of California, a great Graves, and something from further north in Bordeaux, such as a Pauillac. Full-bodied and powerful, it requires 2-4 years of cellaring, and should evolve for 20-25+ years.
This sensational estate is situated on the hillside behind Dominus’ large Napanook Vineyard. Created by Claude and Katherine Blankiet in the mid-nineties, I have liked these wines since their debut vintage. They now have 16 acres under vine, and the winemaking is overseen by super-star viticulturists David Abreu and Martha McClellan-Levy as well as consultant Michel Rolland. Their secondary label, called Rive Droite, uses a large portion of their Merlot crop, and the flagship offering, the Paradise Hills Vineyard Proprietary Red is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.
The real star is the nearly 1,000 case-lot of the Paradise Hills Vineyard Proprietary Red. The dense, opaque plum/purple-hued 2006 Paradise Hills Vineyard exhibits a beautiful, sweet bouquet of melted chocolate, burning embers, blackberries, mocha, espresso roast, cassis, and cherries as well as stunning concentration, and formidable, but velvety, beautifully integrated tannins. This wine comes across like a hypothetical blend of California, a great Graves, and something from further north in Bordeaux, such as a Pauillac. Full-bodied and powerful, it requires 2-4 years of cellaring, and should evolve for 20-25+ years.
This sensational estate is situated on the hillside behind Dominus’ large Napanook Vineyard. Created by Claude and Katherine Blankiet in the mid-nineties, I have liked these wines since their debut vintage. They now have 16 acres under vine, and the winemaking is overseen by super-star viticulturists David Abreu and Martha McClellan-Levy as well as consultant Michel Rolland. Their secondary label, called Rive Droite, uses a large portion of their Merlot crop, and the flagship offering, the Paradise Hills Vineyard Proprietary Red is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon.
Score: 95+
Robert Parker (RP),
The Wine Advocate (WA),
December 2009
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.
