2007 Pantagruel – Hagen Heights Vineyard, Napa Valley A Cabernet Franc from deep alluvial gravel influenced by the great wines of the St. Emilion gravel plain where I worked from 1993-1998. (82 cases)
2007 The Arsenal – Greer Vineyard, Rutherford, Napa Valley A classic Rutherford true-bench Cabernet Sauvignon of great density and structure from a vineyard bordering Scarecrow and Staglin. (27 cases)
2007 Kaliholmanok – Bel Canto Vineyard Spring Mountain, Napa Valley A dense, expansive mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from the highest point on Spring Mountain. (52 cases)
2007 Neruda – Brix Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley A muscular Cabernet Sauvignon from the most aristocratic appellation in Napa Valley. A balanced wine made for long aging. (77 cases)
2007 St. Ralph the Liar – White Cottage Ranch, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley Cool climate mountain density perfectly expressed in a vineyard where I have made wine since 2001. (270 cases)
2006 Incubo Chateauneuf-du-Pott, Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley The rarest and most personal of my oeuvre is the 2006 Incubo from the 1/3 acre petting vineyard in my front yard. My family and I farm this vineyard with our bare hands (sometimes in our pajamas). No extravagance spared in our quest for vinous perfection. (14 cases
I know a lot of people have given them high praise.
Princing is $90/bottle except for the Incubo ($120). It would be nice to get some impressions from people who have tried them. Which is not to be missed?
I’m a buyer…still a bit scared, though. This is gonna be an expensive one!
But the wines are fabulous…my fav is the St. Ralph the Liar. The Cab Franc was extremely well received at our tasting as well (w/ Charlie, Gene, Bill Tex, Jack, Will, Molly…)
I really enjoyed the Neruda, I thought it had great structure, power, and depth but without overwhelming your palate with fruit. That one stood out the most to me. I know Jack liked the Kaliholmanok a lot… since he likes Spring Mountain.
All the wines… especially the Pantagruel (cab franc) have a really beautiful delicate floral nose on them. Some have more expressive notes of fruit or gravel but that soft nose is with all of them.
If I had to place them in order… (can’t believe I still have my notes on my desk… time for a cleanup)
Neruda which I thought was far above the other ones when it comes to the “complete package” in wine.
St Ralph the Liar
(closely behind 2) The Arsenal
Pantagruel
Incubo
Kaliholmanok
Seems pricey, but also incredibly small case production.
A relative term. His own wines are less expensive than most of his clients. Free shipping at 6 bottles. Half a case costs about $540 pre-tax. You could do a lot worse.
Take “Arsenal” for example. That vineyard is surrounded by Scarecrow, Moresoli, Staglin and a block of Insignia. managed by Gary Moresoli himself. Compare Pott’s wine price to those neighbors and suddenly it is looking pretty good, especially since most are 27 cases in production. Or…there were…in 30 minutes it is already 1/3 gone.
I’m sure the wines are good, its just tough to buy these days on the premise of "look at where my vineyards are who they are surrounded buy.
I agree you could do a lot worse for $540 per half case, you could also probably do better as well. I would love to try one, from the praise it has received on this board I would probably be a buyer after trying.
For my coin, the Pantagruel and Kaliholmanok are the wines not to miss. Pricey indeed, but they are in miniscule quantity and are of very high quality…IMHO.
Plus, Aaron is a really nice guy to boot. I want to show support for people that take time out of their schedule to taste you on their wines at their crib. Plus he floated me a half bottle of a really good zinfandel at Rutherford Grille when I was in Napa two weeks ago.
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