The 2017 Terroir Red Wine at just 260 cases is a wine designed to showcase what wines from the Napa Valley are all about; layers of fruit, texture and balance. Precision winemaking starts in the vineyard and moves to the caves. Enjoy this wine with roasted or grilled meats, or simply conversation with a group of wine friends!
Vintage and Winemaker’s Notes
It’s True the Winery is New, but the Soil is Old as Dirt.
While searching for a vineyard to represent Napa’s 16th AVA (Coombsville) they discovered their new estate home. Here, on 73 acres in the foothills of the Vacas southeast of Napa, they constructed a winery, complete with 16,000 sq. ft. of caves and stunning views from almost every perch, with the aim to create what can only be described as wine bliss.
As winegrowers, we chose the name because our belief is that the best wines are a revelation of place. A place that can be as small as a vineyard block or as large as an entire AVA. If that place has something to say − a nuance you can appreciate − Italics will go to great lengths to draw it out. To italicize it. Our limited production, top-tier wines, are held for Members of our Wine Club, and some sell out hours upon release.
If you’re a vine, there’s simply no getting away from the dirt you’re rooted in.
Specifications
Vintage: 2017
Blend: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc
Appellation: Napa Valley
Alcohol: 14.4%
Included in the Box
12-bottles:
12x 2017 Terroir Red Wine
3-bottles:
3x 2017 Terroir Red Wine
Price Comparison
$576.00 for Case (not for sale online)
About The Winery
Winery: Italics Winegrowers
Location: Napa Valley, CA
We are a luxury producer of Bordeaux varietals and blends from Napa Valley. Helmed by Proprietors Ken, Mike & Taylor Martin, they employ both estate and négociant winemaking to the same end: to highlight the best of what Napa Valley has to offer. The brand began over a decade ago with the launch of Thirteen Appellations, a blend of wines created from vineyards in each of Napa’s 13 sub-appellations. Over the years as Napa continued to sub-divide, Thirteen became Fourteen, Fourteen became Fifteen, and Fifteen became Sixteen.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Terroir by Appellations Red Wine - $60 = 16.66%
@kaolis
Ha! I was hoping you’d find something I missed. Even the tasting note posted in the description here is pretty useless. I’m intrigued, but unlikely to go in completely blind.
@kaolis@karenhynes Yeah, pretty mysterious and somewhat surprising considering how this community works. Are we supposed to be impressed with exclusivity?
Our limited production, top-tier wines, are held for Members of our Wine Club, and some sell out hours upon release.
@kaolis@KitMarlot To be fair, we do like when we get a shot here at an otherwise winery-only or club-only exclusive. But that doesn’t obviate the need for winery participation, or at least a bevy of rodents.
Well, some wineries have things come up, and maybe we’ll see them later. And/or some lab rats; sometimes glitches and delays happen with them. I’ll check back later.
@PatrickKarcher I wouldn’t hold your breath. This winery is a luxury Napa winery producing top-tier wines from their estate in Coombsville. (Make no mistake, this wine isn’t from that sub appellation, but their caves are!)
They don’t have time to answer things like RS and wine making techniques, they are busying helming the winery and explaining Terroir, counting Napa sub appellations, and selling out Wines to Their wine Club Members within Hours of release.
@PatrickKarcher apologies for the delays with holiday travel. I’ve posted some more notes in this forum and tried to answer the questions from the community.
Have a great thanksgiving! I hope you get a chance to try the wine!
I’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year, including this site for expanding my understanding of wine I like - and more importantly, the wine my wife likes. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The 2017 “Red Wine” by Terroir arrived during a very busy week for us and this review hasn’t allowed for optimal testing conditions, but here goes and please keep reading, because first impressions definitely changed after letting this one open up.
I popped the cork and poured this through an aerator into two Bordeaux glasses. The flavor of the fruit is overpowered by the aroma of alcohol and bite that lingered after each of my first few sips. Time to let mine sit and continue to open up. I’ve glanced over at my wife’s glass. It’s moving - not quickly, but definitely moving. She understands what I mean about the strong alcohol bite, but it doesn’t bother her nearly as much as it does me.
About a half hour later, the wife’s glass is nearly empty and I understand why. The key is to give this one a bit of time to open up. Take two for me starts out velvety smooth and rich and finishes with a more subtle spice. Patience is the key to this beauty. A few minutes go by and I realize the wine in my glass is gone.
…and my edited comment locked with a forbidden error. Meh!
Pop and Pour: I did try this before aerating. The alcohol was too overpowering for me - and I cut my comments from the review once I realized the key was letting this open up.
Oak: I could barely detect it. Wife doesn’t like oak. No complaints from her.
Tannins/acidity: This was well balanced once it had time to open up. Nothing bitter or too acidic.
Fruits: Good earthy red grape.
What to pair it with: This would have paired nicely with a traditional steak meal.
@degroens@InFrom an aerator can soften tannins and change, round out a fruit profile. So particularly in this case where you thought the wine was a bit hot, and you can’t hide alcohol in general, my humble, by running it through an aerator you’re going to emphasize the alcohol… not science, just casual observation on my part
@degroens@InFrom@kaolis
I think to best serve the community with rat reports it’s valuable to do a pop-and-pour sample. Even if only an ounce. That gives people like kaolis (and me) that track of information that we like.
But then running the wine, if needed, through an aerator is a perfectly good thing to do when you disclose it. It sounds like this wine needed it.
One word about alcohol impressions - I often find that letting the wine sit and breathe for a bit helps dissipate some of it and bring it into balance. Sometimes it doesn’t. Both outcomes are valuable information.
Keep on ratting!
I think these guys must be the same people that used to make the Fourteen Appellation wines years ago. Bought some of the 04 I think from WTSO, IIRC they pretty good. Back to your regular scheduled program.
@ScottW58
I believe you are correct. I’m still interested, but not sold without some more descriptive notes, figures, and some arm twisting from the winery. I do wish they’d make an appearance. Looks like they’ve sold a whopping 1 (case or 3 pack) thus far. This is a prime example of how winery participation makes a huge difference in this community.
@karenhynes@ScottW58 Agree. The blend looks nice, the AbV, by the numbers, is in check; but nothing else known. There is nothing here, and, reading between the lines, including the rat, that makes this the least bit compelling, especially at ~$30/btl.
@ScottW58 you are correct. We partnered in the Appellations program, founded 2002, and launched Italics Winegrowers with a cave space, production facility and hospitality room in 2014. Our vineyards are roughly 38 acres of vines and we source 3-4 tons per sub appellations from noted growers in Napa Valley. Terroir was a sub-brand built off our partnerships to highlight Cabernet and Cabernet blends in the Napa Valley. We felt there was a gap in the industry and wines kept climbing in price and quality kept dropping. Terroir was launched in 2017 to bridge that gap.
This sounds like a wine that could be in my wheelhouse. Cab heavy, Napa based, traditional blend, reasonable price if this is the real deal. But the lack of information has me puzzled. Is this a second (or third) wine from these folks? Special project? Any more information from people who have tasted? Any more specs from the winery? Someone needs to tell me something that makes me want to buy!
@kjcbike This is a second wine from our Appellations wine tier of select Napa Vineyards. The 2017 vintage was the first launch of this wine, and in 2018, we produced a Cabernet Sauvignon heavy (75%) wine from similar vineyards.
When blending the wine in late 2018 and bottling in June 2019, our goal was to make a red fruit leading wine with integrated oak and subtle spice. Noting to make this a table and crowd pleaser with lots of flavor and depth for a wine at this price point. Our goal was to make this wine drink like top tier wines without manipulating in the wine cellar, still giving this wine a sense of place.
-John, Director of Brand Development, Italics Winegrowers.
Perhaps I was a bit dismissive in my earlier reply, but are you really that dense in reading what people here want to know.
No one cares about your 2018 vintage, or your appellation series of grapes you won’t name the source.
You could’ve asked the person who made the wine, not the marketing guy, as to how to respond.
Instead you just parroted crap we could’ve inferred. Did you even bother to check out other offerings–you know, your competition? Some winemakers go to great lengths to describe their work.
@jtthree1413@KNmeh7@winedavid49 wow, can people lose their forum rights for toxicity? This is pretty cringe worthy. If you don’t like an offer check back in for the next one, no one is benefiting from your aggression
Kind of amazing that no additional info is coming, either form @winedavid49 or the winery. It seems quite obvious that those on this site want more info and don’t want to buy ‘blind’ - not sure what’s so hard to understand here
Got a surprise email yesterday that a bottle was on the way. Went to the tracking link and realized it was delivered the day prior but a package room error meant I wasn’t informed.
Unfortunately with impending travel that meant the only meal option to have it with was vegetable soup and hot dogs (the beauty of dinner with 3-y/o nephews). Fortunately had a wide range of tasters, so got some feedback from a few more casual wine drinkers as well.
Overall the feedback was good. No one mentioned (and I didn’t taste) that they noticed much tannin, but everyone noticed the fruit forward nature of the wine. The wine definitely doesn’t have a ‘big cab’ feeling to it. It was easy and approachable, even with minimal aeration and no aerator in sight. I’m generally not a big oak fan and I didn’t notice any in the wine.
Everyone seemed to get through their wine at a moderate pace, and I didn’t notice the alcohol bite that was mentioned (I didn’t ask anyone else since obviously the review wasn’t up last night). Unfortunately with 6 tasters I couldn’t come back for a 2nd glass an hour later like I normally do.
My first impression was that of an Argentinian Cab with less acid and tannin than I get with my Napa Cabs. I would have no problem drinking this during a meal in the near future - it definitely doesn’t require any ageing to be drinkable.
I always ask prices and I got $25-30 as a range for this group. I would probably pay $25 for it. I currently have way too much wine (including red blends) so I’m likely holding off here. Would be a different story if I could get a 3 pack for $25 each shipped…
Good morning community! It’s John Trant with Italics Winegrowers and Appellations Wines.
Thank you all for the feedback so far on the wines and I wanted to answer a few questions I found from the group.
General summary is this Wine was a program we launched in 2017, as a part of our Appellations wine program that highlights the nuances of Napa Valley. Terroir is a Cabernet heavy showcase of Bordeaux blends in California and specially Napa. Our portfolio consists of mainly limited production wines from our estate, however, we also wanted to make wines that taste great and do not break your bank.
Terroir is meant to highlight Napa and make great drinking wines for all wine lovers.
Oak program is large format French oak maturing and stainless steel fermentation. Oak treatment is just shy of a year to enhance fruit and not overpower too much with oak tannin.
RS is < 1 and considered bone dry.
Fruit from select vineyards used in our Sixteen Appellations red wine which are from some notable growers we have had relationships with for years. Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with merlot and Cab Franc to balance out the wine, highlighting more red fruit and some earthy structure from the Cab Franc.
On behalf of the winery, I thank you for the support! Happy thanksgiving!
@Skarsol yes, same brand. The Martin family came in as partners in Appellations then brought the brand over when the Italics vineyards were bought in 2014. Terroir was launched in 2017.
I think the negativity whenever someone uses an aerator is both unwelcome and unkind. It smacks with the kind of snobbery that wine enjoyment has been subjected to since napa hit the scene. Who cares if someone uses an aerator? How does it change your enjoyment of the wine? Who TF cares?! I use an aerator when I think the wine can benefit from it and I don’t the rest of the time. Taste is subjective and to ME aeration can and does make a difference. If it doesn’t appeal to you, great, your tastes are different and I don’t need to hear about it.
/end rant
@kevo152 At the risk of feeding controversy, I’m just going to say that you didn’t quite get the message I was trying to send. Use and aerator or don’t, I couldn’t care less. But if you’re evaluating a wine for the Casemates community, it’s fair to ask that a sample from a freshly opened bottle gets a few words. Even if those words are “damn, too tannic and closed on pnp so I aerated the crap out of that sucker”.
@klezman I think that is fair. It just seems to me that most times it comes across as an attack on someone’s personal wine drinking choices and I don’t think that is fair.
@kevo152 Oh, I agree that would be unfair. Personally, although I have a vinturi aerator, I almost never use it. Last time was for the Woot Cellars Bonus Level because it was tough as nails and we were ratting it.
Sometimes I do give bottles the Mollydooker Shake.
I’m still on the fence here. I’m compelled at the case price, but definitely don’t want/need a case. If anyone in Chicago is listening…I’m up for a split!
2017 Terroir by Appellations Red Wine
Tasting Notes
The 2017 Terroir Red Wine at just 260 cases is a wine designed to showcase what wines from the Napa Valley are all about; layers of fruit, texture and balance. Precision winemaking starts in the vineyard and moves to the caves. Enjoy this wine with roasted or grilled meats, or simply conversation with a group of wine friends!
Vintage and Winemaker’s Notes
It’s True the Winery is New, but the Soil is Old as Dirt.
While searching for a vineyard to represent Napa’s 16th AVA (Coombsville) they discovered their new estate home. Here, on 73 acres in the foothills of the Vacas southeast of Napa, they constructed a winery, complete with 16,000 sq. ft. of caves and stunning views from almost every perch, with the aim to create what can only be described as wine bliss.
As winegrowers, we chose the name because our belief is that the best wines are a revelation of place. A place that can be as small as a vineyard block or as large as an entire AVA. If that place has something to say − a nuance you can appreciate − Italics will go to great lengths to draw it out. To italicize it. Our limited production, top-tier wines, are held for Members of our Wine Club, and some sell out hours upon release.
If you’re a vine, there’s simply no getting away from the dirt you’re rooted in.
Specifications
Included in the Box
12-bottles:
3-bottles:
Price Comparison
$576.00 for Case (not for sale online)
About The Winery
Winery: Italics Winegrowers
Location: Napa Valley, CA
We are a luxury producer of Bordeaux varietals and blends from Napa Valley. Helmed by Proprietors Ken, Mike & Taylor Martin, they employ both estate and négociant winemaking to the same end: to highlight the best of what Napa Valley has to offer. The brand began over a decade ago with the launch of Thirteen Appellations, a blend of wines created from vineyards in each of Napa’s 13 sub-appellations. Over the years as Napa continued to sub-divide, Thirteen became Fourteen, Fourteen became Fifteen, and Fifteen became Sixteen.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, December 19th - Monday, December 23rd
Terroir by Appellations Red Wine
3 bottles for $89.99 $30/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2017 Terroir by Appellations Red Wine
Do we know the RS for this wine?
@alacercogitatus That would be a start, but let’s not stop there. So many unknowns here…
@rjquillin I mean, 63% cab sauv is a start but I need <6% RS. And maybe some oak aging.
@alacercogitatus <1/gl, made bone dry.
Rats?
@karenhynes I wish I this one
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Terroir by Appellations Red Wine - $60 = 16.66%
Link to the winery website, but no mention of this wine:
https://www.italicswinegrowers.com/
and their other wines as listed on CT, but not this wine:
https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?fInStock=0&Table=List&iUserOverride=0&szSearch=italics#selected%3DW2715326_1_K1c585c9f41a6e484ffc3a3471c49ac38
kind of a useless post huh?
@kaolis
Ha! I was hoping you’d find something I missed. Even the tasting note posted in the description here is pretty useless. I’m intrigued, but unlikely to go in completely blind.
@kaolis @karenhynes Yeah, pretty mysterious and somewhat surprising considering how this community works. Are we supposed to be impressed with exclusivity?
Guess this one didn’t.
@KitMarlot good point!
@kaolis @KitMarlot To be fair, we do like when we get a shot here at an otherwise winery-only or club-only exclusive. But that doesn’t obviate the need for winery participation, or at least a bevy of rodents.
Well, some wineries have things come up, and maybe we’ll see them later. And/or some lab rats; sometimes glitches and delays happen with them. I’ll check back later.
@PatrickKarcher I wouldn’t hold your breath. This winery is a luxury Napa winery producing top-tier wines from their estate in Coombsville. (Make no mistake, this wine isn’t from that sub appellation, but their caves are!)
They don’t have time to answer things like RS and wine making techniques, they are busying helming the winery and explaining Terroir, counting Napa sub appellations, and selling out Wines to Their wine Club Members within Hours of release.
@KNmeh7 @PatrickKarcher shiver me timbers!
@PatrickKarcher apologies for the delays with holiday travel. I’ve posted some more notes in this forum and tried to answer the questions from the community.
Have a great thanksgiving! I hope you get a chance to try the wine!
I feel adventurous - I could take a few if anyone in the Minnesota/South Dakota area picks up a case.
I’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year, including this site for expanding my understanding of wine I like - and more importantly, the wine my wife likes. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The 2017 “Red Wine” by Terroir arrived during a very busy week for us and this review hasn’t allowed for optimal testing conditions, but here goes and please keep reading, because first impressions definitely changed after letting this one open up.
I popped the cork and poured this through an aerator into two Bordeaux glasses. The flavor of the fruit is overpowered by the aroma of alcohol and bite that lingered after each of my first few sips. Time to let mine sit and continue to open up. I’ve glanced over at my wife’s glass. It’s moving - not quickly, but definitely moving. She understands what I mean about the strong alcohol bite, but it doesn’t bother her nearly as much as it does me.
About a half hour later, the wife’s glass is nearly empty and I understand why. The key is to give this one a bit of time to open up. Take two for me starts out velvety smooth and rich and finishes with a more subtle spice. Patience is the key to this beauty. A few minutes go by and I realize the wine in my glass is gone.
@degroens Impressions of oak, tannins, acidity, fruits?
@degroens S
@degroens
S?
…and my edited comment locked with a forbidden error. Meh!
Pop and Pour: I did try this before aerating. The alcohol was too overpowering for me - and I cut my comments from the review once I realized the key was letting this open up.
Oak: I could barely detect it. Wife doesn’t like oak. No complaints from her.
Tannins/acidity: This was well balanced once it had time to open up. Nothing bitter or too acidic.
Fruits: Good earthy red grape.
What to pair it with: This would have paired nicely with a traditional steak meal.
@degroens Awesome, thanks for the update! Very helpful.
VAN MURALS! GROUND SQUIRRELS! SPIT CURLS! AWESOME!
Why oh why does one feel the need to run a wine through an aerator… ?
@kaolis In theory, you get a decanted wine faster. YMMV.
With short notice on the need to post the review, I figured it was reasonable approach given the aroma when I pulled the cork.
Just out of curiosity, what would have been your approach?
Happy Thanksgiving!
@degroens @kaolis I’d have been interested to hear how it was right from the bottle, before aerating.
@degroens @InFrom an aerator can soften tannins and change, round out a fruit profile. So particularly in this case where you thought the wine was a bit hot, and you can’t hide alcohol in general, my humble, by running it through an aerator you’re going to emphasize the alcohol… not science, just casual observation on my part
@degroens and apologies for the way my initial post is worded…can you tell I’m not a fan of aerators in general?
and was too late to edit
@degroens @InFrom @kaolis
I think to best serve the community with rat reports it’s valuable to do a pop-and-pour sample. Even if only an ounce. That gives people like kaolis (and me) that track of information that we like.
But then running the wine, if needed, through an aerator is a perfectly good thing to do when you disclose it. It sounds like this wine needed it.
One word about alcohol impressions - I often find that letting the wine sit and breathe for a bit helps dissipate some of it and bring it into balance. Sometimes it doesn’t. Both outcomes are valuable information.
Keep on ratting!
I think these guys must be the same people that used to make the Fourteen Appellation wines years ago. Bought some of the 04 I think from WTSO, IIRC they pretty good. Back to your regular scheduled program.
@ScottW58
I believe you are correct. I’m still interested, but not sold without some more descriptive notes, figures, and some arm twisting from the winery. I do wish they’d make an appearance. Looks like they’ve sold a whopping 1 (case or 3 pack) thus far. This is a prime example of how winery participation makes a huge difference in this community.
@karenhynes @ScottW58 Agree. The blend looks nice, the AbV, by the numbers, is in check; but nothing else known. There is nothing here, and, reading between the lines, including the rat, that makes this the least bit compelling, especially at ~$30/btl.
@karenhynes @ScottW58 Yep, sales on this one…just weird.
@ScottW58 you are correct. We partnered in the Appellations program, founded 2002, and launched Italics Winegrowers with a cave space, production facility and hospitality room in 2014. Our vineyards are roughly 38 acres of vines and we source 3-4 tons per sub appellations from noted growers in Napa Valley. Terroir was a sub-brand built off our partnerships to highlight Cabernet and Cabernet blends in the Napa Valley. We felt there was a gap in the industry and wines kept climbing in price and quality kept dropping. Terroir was launched in 2017 to bridge that gap.
This sounds like a wine that could be in my wheelhouse. Cab heavy, Napa based, traditional blend, reasonable price if this is the real deal. But the lack of information has me puzzled. Is this a second (or third) wine from these folks? Special project? Any more information from people who have tasted? Any more specs from the winery? Someone needs to tell me something that makes me want to buy!
@kjcbike This is a second wine from our Appellations wine tier of select Napa Vineyards. The 2017 vintage was the first launch of this wine, and in 2018, we produced a Cabernet Sauvignon heavy (75%) wine from similar vineyards.
When blending the wine in late 2018 and bottling in June 2019, our goal was to make a red fruit leading wine with integrated oak and subtle spice. Noting to make this a table and crowd pleaser with lots of flavor and depth for a wine at this price point. Our goal was to make this wine drink like top tier wines without manipulating in the wine cellar, still giving this wine a sense of place.
-John, Director of Brand Development, Italics Winegrowers.
@jtthree1413
Perhaps I was a bit dismissive in my earlier reply, but are you really that dense in reading what people here want to know.
No one cares about your 2018 vintage, or your appellation series of grapes you won’t name the source.
You could’ve asked the person who made the wine, not the marketing guy, as to how to respond.
Instead you just parroted crap we could’ve inferred. Did you even bother to check out other offerings–you know, your competition? Some winemakers go to great lengths to describe their work.
And if you use the term top tier again…
@jtthree1413 @KNmeh7 @winedavid49 wow, can people lose their forum rights for toxicity? This is pretty cringe worthy. If you don’t like an offer check back in for the next one, no one is benefiting from your aggression
Kind of amazing that no additional info is coming, either form @winedavid49 or the winery. It seems quite obvious that those on this site want more info and don’t want to buy ‘blind’ - not sure what’s so hard to understand here
@tercerowines just added a post for this one to share more info on the wines.
Agree…too quiet!
Shhhh… It’s a secret. I guess?
We can bring the horse to water…
… but if we don’t know the horse’s zip code, we can’t make the transaction clear?
Got a surprise email yesterday that a bottle was on the way. Went to the tracking link and realized it was delivered the day prior but a package room error meant I wasn’t informed.
Unfortunately with impending travel that meant the only meal option to have it with was vegetable soup and hot dogs (the beauty of dinner with 3-y/o nephews). Fortunately had a wide range of tasters, so got some feedback from a few more casual wine drinkers as well.
Overall the feedback was good. No one mentioned (and I didn’t taste) that they noticed much tannin, but everyone noticed the fruit forward nature of the wine. The wine definitely doesn’t have a ‘big cab’ feeling to it. It was easy and approachable, even with minimal aeration and no aerator in sight. I’m generally not a big oak fan and I didn’t notice any in the wine.
Everyone seemed to get through their wine at a moderate pace, and I didn’t notice the alcohol bite that was mentioned (I didn’t ask anyone else since obviously the review wasn’t up last night). Unfortunately with 6 tasters I couldn’t come back for a 2nd glass an hour later like I normally do.
My first impression was that of an Argentinian Cab with less acid and tannin than I get with my Napa Cabs. I would have no problem drinking this during a meal in the near future - it definitely doesn’t require any ageing to be drinkable.
I always ask prices and I got $25-30 as a range for this group. I would probably pay $25 for it. I currently have way too much wine (including red blends) so I’m likely holding off here. Would be a different story if I could get a 3 pack for $25 each shipped…
Good morning community! It’s John Trant with Italics Winegrowers and Appellations Wines.
Thank you all for the feedback so far on the wines and I wanted to answer a few questions I found from the group.
General summary is this Wine was a program we launched in 2017, as a part of our Appellations wine program that highlights the nuances of Napa Valley. Terroir is a Cabernet heavy showcase of Bordeaux blends in California and specially Napa. Our portfolio consists of mainly limited production wines from our estate, however, we also wanted to make wines that taste great and do not break your bank.
Terroir is meant to highlight Napa and make great drinking wines for all wine lovers.
Oak program is large format French oak maturing and stainless steel fermentation. Oak treatment is just shy of a year to enhance fruit and not overpower too much with oak tannin.
RS is < 1 and considered bone dry.
Fruit from select vineyards used in our Sixteen Appellations red wine which are from some notable growers we have had relationships with for years. Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with merlot and Cab Franc to balance out the wine, highlighting more red fruit and some earthy structure from the Cab Franc.
On behalf of the winery, I thank you for the support! Happy thanksgiving!
@jtthree1413 atta boy! thanks for getting in.
@jtthree1413 What’s the history on the Appellations label? I thought it was a Reynolds/Renteria property.
@jtthree1413 When did nearly $50/bottle become “not break the bank”?
@jtthree1413 @klezman
About 10 years ago for me
@jtthree1413 Thanks for checking in. Is this a wine that has some aging potential? Hard to discern from the rats. Thanks!
@cbrehman it could be aged for 5-7 years without any issues.
@Skarsol yes, same brand. The Martin family came in as partners in Appellations then brought the brand over when the Italics vineyards were bought in 2014. Terroir was launched in 2017.
I think the negativity whenever someone uses an aerator is both unwelcome and unkind. It smacks with the kind of snobbery that wine enjoyment has been subjected to since napa hit the scene. Who cares if someone uses an aerator? How does it change your enjoyment of the wine? Who TF cares?! I use an aerator when I think the wine can benefit from it and I don’t the rest of the time. Taste is subjective and to ME aeration can and does make a difference. If it doesn’t appeal to you, great, your tastes are different and I don’t need to hear about it.
/end rant
@kevo152 At the risk of feeding controversy, I’m just going to say that you didn’t quite get the message I was trying to send. Use and aerator or don’t, I couldn’t care less.
But if you’re evaluating a wine for the Casemates community, it’s fair to ask that a sample from a freshly opened bottle gets a few words. Even if those words are “damn, too tannic and closed on pnp so I aerated the crap out of that sucker”.
@klezman I think that is fair. It just seems to me that most times it comes across as an attack on someone’s personal wine drinking choices and I don’t think that is fair.
@kevo152 Oh, I agree that would be unfair. Personally, although I have a vinturi aerator, I almost never use it. Last time was for the Woot Cellars Bonus Level because it was tough as nails and we were ratting it.
Sometimes I do give bottles the Mollydooker Shake.
I’m still on the fence here. I’m compelled at the case price, but definitely don’t want/need a case. If anyone in Chicago is listening…I’m up for a split!
Been a tough offer here,
Let’s hope UPS brings us better in the future…