Received my classy, hand-signed note from Shae and Nigel in the mail today. Releases will be in 3 tranches, starting with the Spring offering next month.
The credit card is going to hurt after this is all said and done, but seriously looking forward to these releases. Amazing wines and fantastic people. Looking forward to seeing the other wines in the portfolio!
Spring Offering 2021 Kodō | 2021 Aphex | 2021 Hierothesion
Late Summer Offering
2021 Käännös (for those not already offered in 2023)
(2021 Anjea & 2021 Rhadamanthus were offered as futures in 2023)
With much excitement, we accepted. Now, two years on, we can reveal the inaugural bottlings of the Araujo’s tremendous gift.
The first of these, Aphex, is from Ecotone Vineyard. This vineyard, situated at the base of Howell Mountain, needs no introduction: it is the former Thorevilos Vineyard, a site that gained an immense following over the past three decades as a single-vineyard bottling under David Abreu’s eponymous label. This vineyard is like no other in Napa Valley – as charismatic as its founder, it yields dark, brooding, powerful wines that answer to no one, and will live forever. We are incredibly excited to be working with Ecotone and its new grape grower, Jack Bittner, and cannot wait to watch these wines evolve in the years ahead.
The second wine, Kodō, hails from the toes of Napa’s Mayacamas Mountain Range, in southern Oakville. This lesser-known site is a jewel of a vineyard, and though it will remain unnamed for the time being, Antonio Galloni’s recently released perfect score will attest to this vineyard’s pedigree. Kodō means heartbeat and in our minds, this area of Oakville, with its benchland platform, gravelly loams and cooling southerly breezes is the true heartbeat of Napa Valley.
It’s interesting they’ve gone from two to five single vineyard Cabernets in what seems like a short period of time. Plus at some point I imagine La Voleuse will be back. Now with the “entry level” cabernet plus the sauv blanc, it’s becoming quite a portfolio.
Definitely true. 2021 was a huge year for them snagging up a few more vineyards. May be a couple more years that La Velouse comes back online for an SVD.
I’m super happy for their amazing growth and the wines are absolutely stunning. I’ll buy all I can. Maybe a second mortgage wouldn’t be a bad idea.
What’s interesting is they still fly somewhat under the radar. For the quality and how well their wines typically review, I have to imagine that’s going to change sooner versus later.
First cab purchase was this past fall - Anjea/Rhad futures. Definitely curious if I’ll have a guaranteed allocation (edit: for this release) or have a shot at a first come first served secondary release / still be on the waiting list.
It was a futures offering in which you were offered wine to purchase in the current year that would ship the following year.
Given there were no 2020 wines to release, this wasn’t surprising for a relatively new brand.
For me personally, beyond wanting to support the people and their project, it’s not like I would have been drinking them upon delivery, so it’s essentially a 12-month off-site storage arrangement for free.
I bought a wish list 3 pack of Rhad 19 and then a futures offer for Rhad 2021, which I bought. I did get the letter and hope I will have access to more of the 2021s but not clear on that.
