Wine Advocate | Rating: 94
Although production is tiny (300 cases), Araujo's Eisele Vineyard Syrah is an ageworthy effort that is generally co-fermented with a small amount of Viognier (around 4%), and aged in French oak (50% new). The 2003 Syrah Eisele Vineyard reveals a wonderful blackberry, chocolate, and peppery-scented nose along with good subtlety as well as authoritative richness, power, and purity. It is a stunning Syrah that should last a decade even though it will provide immediate gratification.Author: Robert ParkerInternational Wine Cellar | Rating: 92
Good ruby-red color. Aromatic, high-pitched nose combines blackberry, flowers and nutty oak. Sweet and stylish, with subtly complex flavors of black raspberry, plum sauce, Asian spices and mocha, all lifted by a floral element. Intriguing syrah that's neither Rhone nor California in style. Finishes with very fine tannins and sexy spices. An excellent vintage for this bottling.Author: Stephen TanzerIssue: May/June 2006
Self | Rating: 90
Author: Mark FoxSelf | Rating: 94
Deeply colored with burgeoning yet already intense aromas of charcoal, chocolate, sweet plum and earth, hints of stone and minerals, and cherries jubliee. Great length with plush tannin and more than adequate acidity. This wine has always performed fairly well but as time has gone by it really has begun to strut its stuff. At present from a 375 the wine is truly a superb example of Syrah and reminds me quite forcefully that Napa up valley can truly make world class Syrah. 14.8% alcohol. Starting point for drink date is for a 375. From a 750 I plan on trying my first in 2009 and that quite likely may be a little early.Drink Dates: 2007-2015Author: Daniel BSelf | Rating: 95
excellent and lucious. can wait to try the great vintages. knockout, great fruit, well balanced.Author: KikiSelf | Rating: 94
Fabulous - both Kathleen and I enjoyed it very much. Drinking well now. Great balance and intensity without seeming heavy.Author: Howard JSelf | Rating: 96
This wine has really evolved beautifully. Now has dark fruit, plum and blueberry with scents of cloves slight pepper. Tannins well integrated to fruit yielding a nice lingering finish. Never expected this wine to evolve and improve like this.Author: Johnnymd
The mission statement reads, in part, "To produce organically grown fruit and with this fruit make a singular wine of the highest caliber and distinction." By all accounts, Bart and Daphne Araujo are succeeding magnificently. The flagship wine, the Cabernet Sauvignon from their own Eisele Vineyards, is hailed by critics and desired by consumers in every vintage. Though first planted to Zinfandel and Riesling in the 1880s, the Eisele Vineyard has been the home of world class Cabernet since 1964. The low-yielding vines lie on property just east of Calistoga, where the vines are protected by the Palisades Mountains and cooled by the breeze from the Chalk Hill Gap. The harvested fruit is rich and concentrated, lending intense character to the finished wine. Under the direction of winemaker Francoise Peschon, Araujo produces four wines each year: the Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard; Altagracia, a second estate Cabernet; Syrah Eisele Vineyard; and Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard. In some vintages, a Viognier may also be produced.
See other similar producers:Pride Mountain Vineyards,Ramey Wine Cellars,Altamura Vineyards & Winery
See other similar producers:Pride Mountain Vineyards,Ramey Wine Cellars,Altamura Vineyards & Winery
California is the heartland of wine production in the US, and the state that brought prestige to American wine thanks to the pioneers who built early wineries like Staglin, Beringer, Ridge, Mayacamas and Chateau Montelena in the 1800s. Its large geographic area ensures a great diversity in growing sites, varieties grown, and quality levels. Generalizations about the state's wines have numerous exceptions; however, a few key facts generally hold true—ample sunshine, dry weather during the growing season, and moderate winters prevail. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon continue to dominate the state's production—albeit in continually smaller percentages, as growers continue to diversify. More than 100 different varieties can be found throughout the state.
Collector Data For This Wine
- 439 bottles owned
- 110 collectors
- Average collector rating: 94
(Out of 110 collectors)