This Bordeaux-style blend is fruit-forward with notes of cherry, blueberry jam, and a hint of white pepper. It has notes of smooth raspberries and sweet confectioners’ sugar on the palate, with clean acidity and a medium-long finish.
Aroma: Cherry cola. Cherry, raspberry, chocolate powder, tootsie roll. Caramel and vanilla.
Palate: Bright clean acid. Pomegranate balanced with spices of nutmeg and white pepper. Integrated medium tannins do not dominate. Rhubarb and cherry.
Finish: Medium plus finish, cranberry, and plum skin. Slight tobacco, minimal bbq, and welcoming acidity.
Specs
Bordeaux Blend: 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Appellation: Paso Robles
Winemaking: 100% Stainless steel fermentation with twice daily punch-downs
Aging: 20 months, 4% new French oak, 11% new American oak, 6% new Eastern European oak
Alcohol: 13.8%
RS: 0.05%
TA: 5.20 g/L
pH: 3.71
Malic Acid: 0.01 g/L
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x 2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret, Paso Robles Case:
12x 2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret, Paso Robles
As a young boy, Ron Donati grew up in South San Francisco, the son of a first generation Italian-American family. One of his fondest memories was the sights and smells of his grandfather making wine in his basement. Like most Italian immigrants, Albino Donati made his own wine for the family dinner table. As an adult, Ron became a successful entrepreneur with a penchant for making quality products that were attainable to all, not just a select few. This same passion serves as the foundation and guiding mission of Donati Family Vineyard today. It is our goal to produce wines of exceptional quality regardless of budget.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, WA, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret - $40 = 22.21%
Love me some claret!
Interested to see if there are any rats. Seems like the description used every single descriptor possible.
Really like how long it was on oak.
Like all of the varietals and the numbers.
Just need a slight push to hit the button.
Suckling says:
90 Points. Pretty glossy and generous with some white pepper, dark chocolate, blackberries and tobacco. Savory plums, too. Rich and flavorful with dusty tannins on the medium-bodied palate. Quite resolved and savory with some vanilla spices looming in a medium-long finish. Generous in the end.
Enthusiast:
90 Points. Dark red-and-purple-fruit aromas are spiced in cigar box and caramel on the nose of this bottling. Woodspice is prominent on the palate, where roasted black plum forms the core. MK 12/31/22
Rattage here-
Straight out of the bottle, there were nice aromas of plum and strawberry and a hint of something dark like mocha or bitter chocolate. It was very muted at first but after half hour in the glass the aromas were very pronounced.
On the palate, I had to do a double take with the alcohol because it was very “hot” at first and my first few sips I didn’t love it because the alcohol was so “there there” but again, after half hour or so this faded away and the true palate flavors were in harmony with the alcohol. Plum again, mixed crush berries and again some not-unpleasant bitter notes like dark chocolate. They don’t tell us what the %% are of the varietals but per the bottle it is all 5 of the classic BDX varieties and I’d say there’s possible more Malbec?? than in a “usual” bordeaux blend, because of the bitter/astringent notes I get, but that’s just a guess. And to clarify, they aren’t unpleasant. The wine’s pretty balanced and doesn’t have that creaminess/high pH mouthfeel that I hate in some cheaper red blends. The finish is clean and lingering and has great acid/astringency and a good clean mouthfeel. If it’s around $12-$15/bottle that’s a pretty good deal and this wine could definitely lay around for a while without suffering, and it might even get a little better! I like it!
This arrived on Friday, so it was our Shabbat dinner wine (again!) Thank you, Casemates, for sending a red to make charming Leo happy. Dinner had already been planned – ribeyes grilled out, baked potatoes, and arugula with balsamic vinagrette.
When it arrived, I popped it open and had a little taste, then set aside the glass. I offered Charming Leo the glass a few hours later, which explains his notes. Here’s what he had to say:
Nose: Very similar to a “big cabernet.” If left to stand for a while, develops a sweet berry note similar to a fortified Cab or Zin.
Tasting notes: Imagine a “big cabernet,” but dialed back. Has most of the tannins of a Cab, but not as much of the grape/berry body. As such, it doesn’t bowl you over or overwhelm other parts of the meal. If left to stand for a while, unfortunately becomes almost completely tannic.
Pairs well with steak and potatoes."
What happened was that I handed him a glass that had been sitting out, and said, “Taste this!” and he did. He said, “Ooo, cab?” and I was like, “Well, no, but wow, yep, close!” and then showed him the bottle.
Now, what did I think? I admit to being more of a merlot person for reds. My first thought when I sniffed it was a lot of berry/cherry. Deep, deep color. On the palate, it was more tannin and less berry than I expected based on the nose. As charming Leo mentions, it was a fine match for ribeyes.
Tasting it again, it’s got a little bit of dark chocolate notes on the finish. I don’t know that I can say much more about that. Alas, right now I’m on a medication that affects my sense of taste, giving everything metallic flavors. This wine is a bit too tannic for me, but that could be about my sense of taste and not the wine. (Tho, I will admit that lately, I’ve been much more about sweet dessert reds and related things as well. Hmm!)
Hope this helps anyone on the fence. I think it’s a good buy if it’s in your ballpark of taste profiles.
Things seem pretty quiet here so I thought I would post that I am right now drinking 2013(!) Consumerus and it is excellent! Pretty crazy 10 years out. Anyway, back to your offer currently in progress …
2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret, Paso Robles
90 Points, Wine Enthusiast Magazine
90 Points, JamesSuckling.com
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$336.00/Case for 12x 2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret, Paso Robles at Donati Family Vineyard
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Friday, Jun 23 - Monday, Jun 26
2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret
4 bottles for $59.99 $15/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $139.99 $11.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2019 Donati Family Vineyard Claret - $40 = 22.21%
Love me some claret!
Interested to see if there are any rats. Seems like the description used every single descriptor possible.
Really like how long it was on oak.
Like all of the varietals and the numbers.
Just need a slight push to hit the button.
@mattykillpatty a previous vintage has been sold here twice. One of those had rats: https://casemates.com/forum/topics/donati-family-vineyard-claret
I bought that previous vintage twice.
Hopefully we’ll get rats for this one!
The above referenced chatter:
Suckling says:
90 Points. Pretty glossy and generous with some white pepper, dark chocolate, blackberries and tobacco. Savory plums, too. Rich and flavorful with dusty tannins on the medium-bodied palate. Quite resolved and savory with some vanilla spices looming in a medium-long finish. Generous in the end.
Enthusiast:
90 Points. Dark red-and-purple-fruit aromas are spiced in cigar box and caramel on the nose of this bottling. Woodspice is prominent on the palate, where roasted black plum forms the core. MK 12/31/22
fwiw
Rattage here-
Straight out of the bottle, there were nice aromas of plum and strawberry and a hint of something dark like mocha or bitter chocolate. It was very muted at first but after half hour in the glass the aromas were very pronounced.
On the palate, I had to do a double take with the alcohol because it was very “hot” at first and my first few sips I didn’t love it because the alcohol was so “there there” but again, after half hour or so this faded away and the true palate flavors were in harmony with the alcohol. Plum again, mixed crush berries and again some not-unpleasant bitter notes like dark chocolate. They don’t tell us what the %% are of the varietals but per the bottle it is all 5 of the classic BDX varieties and I’d say there’s possible more Malbec?? than in a “usual” bordeaux blend, because of the bitter/astringent notes I get, but that’s just a guess. And to clarify, they aren’t unpleasant. The wine’s pretty balanced and doesn’t have that creaminess/high pH mouthfeel that I hate in some cheaper red blends. The finish is clean and lingering and has great acid/astringency and a good clean mouthfeel. If it’s around $12-$15/bottle that’s a pretty good deal and this wine could definitely lay around for a while without suffering, and it might even get a little better! I like it!
Hey! I’m a little late, it’s a holiday.
This arrived on Friday, so it was our Shabbat dinner wine (again!) Thank you, Casemates, for sending a red to make charming Leo happy.
Dinner had already been planned – ribeyes grilled out, baked potatoes, and arugula with balsamic vinagrette.
When it arrived, I popped it open and had a little taste, then set aside the glass. I offered Charming Leo the glass a few hours later, which explains his notes. Here’s what he had to say:
Nose: Very similar to a “big cabernet.” If left to stand for a while, develops a sweet berry note similar to a fortified Cab or Zin.
Tasting notes: Imagine a “big cabernet,” but dialed back. Has most of the tannins of a Cab, but not as much of the grape/berry body. As such, it doesn’t bowl you over or overwhelm other parts of the meal. If left to stand for a while, unfortunately becomes almost completely tannic.
Pairs well with steak and potatoes."
What happened was that I handed him a glass that had been sitting out, and said, “Taste this!” and he did. He said, “Ooo, cab?” and I was like, “Well, no, but wow, yep, close!” and then showed him the bottle.
Now, what did I think? I admit to being more of a merlot person for reds. My first thought when I sniffed it was a lot of berry/cherry. Deep, deep color. On the palate, it was more tannin and less berry than I expected based on the nose. As charming Leo mentions, it was a fine match for ribeyes.
Tasting it again, it’s got a little bit of dark chocolate notes on the finish. I don’t know that I can say much more about that. Alas, right now I’m on a medication that affects my sense of taste, giving everything metallic flavors. This wine is a bit too tannic for me, but that could be about my sense of taste and not the wine. (Tho, I will admit that lately, I’ve been much more about sweet dessert reds and related things as well. Hmm!)
Hope this helps anyone on the fence. I think it’s a good buy if it’s in your ballpark of taste profiles.
Things seem pretty quiet here so I thought I would post that I am right now drinking 2013(!) Consumerus and it is excellent! Pretty crazy 10 years out. Anyway, back to your offer currently in progress …