2018 - A (near) Perfect Vintage

2018 Touché Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley

98 points (SteveHeimoff.com)

"This extraordinary Cab is a sensation. It combines tannic power with ripe blackcurrant and cassis fruit to create a joyous mouthfeel. A blend of grapes from Diamond Mountain, Mount Veeder and Atlas Peak, it shows the concentration of these mountain grapes, but also the balance, elegance and sophistication that En Garde always brings to their wines. The fruit is absolutely delicious, all blackcurrants, blackberry jam and licorice. The oak—100% new—is spectacular, providing the smoke, vanilla and wood tannins that a great young Cabernet needs. All of En Garde’s 2018 Cabs are wonderful, but this one exceeds even the glories of Bijou du Roi and the regular Cab. It has the extra elegance, finesse, voluptuousness and complexity to warrant its high score. I would drink this wine now, with a great steak, and would cellar it for at least a decade." - Steve Heimoff

2018 Le Bijou du Roi Cabernet Sauvignon - Diamond Mountain District

96 points (SteveHeimoff.com)

"The aroma and flavors are overwhelmingly of youthful black currants, while 80% new French oak provides additional notes of vanilla, clove spice and smoke. This is a lot of oak, but perfectly in keeping with the volume of fruit. The palate impression is sumptuous and impressive. So are the mountain tannins. They’re thick and crunchy, but oh, so ripely sweet. The magic act of great Cabernet is balancing all this power with elegance and finesse. This wine succeeds. I imagine drinking it with the best steak you can obtain.  Match char against char, meatiness against meantiness, sweet protein against sweet fruit. And yet the finish is thoroughly dry and long. A magnificent Cab, profound and indelible. Should age well for a decade." - Steve Heimoff

2018 Grand Vin - Diamond Mountain District

96 points (SteveHeimoff.com)

"This Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc typifies En Garde’s style of powerful ripeness, massive fruit, lots of oak and youthful precocity. The flavors are huge: black and red currants, intense and penetrating, with suggestions of violets, teriyaki beef and licorice. Those infamously hard Diamond Mountain tannins have been managed into submission, but they’re there, providing a structural framework accentuated by fine acidity. The result is altogether impressive. It’s not dissimilar from the winery’s Fountaingrove Cab, but considerably more concentrated and complex. Fine to drink now, with rich, fatty meats, and should develop in the bottle for at least a decade." - Steve Heimoff

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon - Mount Veeder

95 points (Steve Heimoff.com)

"Beautiful! Delicious and impressive. I have a certain expectation of Napa Cabs, especially when they’re grown on mountains, and this one, blended with a little Cabernet Franc, didn’t let me down. There’s impossible richness here. Masses of black currants, cherries and dark chocolate, wrapped into sturdy tannins, and brightened with metaphysical acidity. You taste the finish for a full minute after you swallow, so flashy and spicy. There’s also that elusive but identifiable Mount Veeder quality of iron minerality that adds grip and architecture. The wine feels important from the get-go. It’s so delicious, you could pop the cork and drink it now, young as it is, but it will develop additional bottle complexity for at least the next eight years." - Steve Heimoff

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon - Diamond Mountain District

95 points (Wine Review Online)

"Here’s a ‘wow' wine from one of Napa Valley’s best sub-appellations.  The mix of blackberry, cassis and red fruit is sublime, with touches of vanilla, nutmeg and moderate oak toast deepening the fruit impression.  The finish is long and already integrating, but the promise holds for a long life ahead.  If you’re envisioning pulling out some real trophies from your cellar twenty years from now, this is a worthy candidate" - Rich Cook

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon - Fountaingrove District

94 points (Steve Heimoff.com)

"A big, posh, plush wine. Almost all Cabernet Sauvignon, with a splash of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, it explodes in red and black currants, showing how ripe the grapes get in California’s warm, dry summers. Oak is apparent, but not excessive, lending spicy vanilla and wood smoke to the flavors. There’s some warmth from alcohol. It’s a delicious, complex Cab, drinkable now and over the next decade." - Steve Heimoff

94 points (North Coast Wine Challenge)

2018 Pinot Noir Passion de La Reine Reserve - Russian River Valley

93 points (PinotFile)

"Moderately dark garnet color in the glass. Nicely perfumed with aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, turmeric spice and unlit cigar. Similar to the Starkey Hill bottling in purple and black fruit profile but this wine is a bit more refined and grows on you over time in the glass. Toasty oak shows up in the background as a compliment and the tannic backbone is enough to escape flabbiness. The fruit is infused with many spices including cardamom that are more evident on the somewhat persistent finish. The alcohol is well-buried. A little more enjoyable when tasted the following day from a previously opened bottle." - Rusty Gaffney

2018 Pinot Noir Pleasant Hill - Russian River Valley

94 points (PinotFile)

"Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Well-appointed nose of black cherry, blueberry, and oak spice and toast aromas. The mid-weight core of dark cherry fruit explodes in glorious exuberance in the mouth. Flat-out delicious fruit with accents of spice and cola. Stereotypical Russian River Valley Pinot Noir that delights from entry to finish. Even better when tasted the following day from a previously opened bottle." - Rusty Gaffney

2018 Roma's Vineyard Pinot Noir - Anderson Valley

94 points (Sonoma International Film Festival Wine Competition)

2018 Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast

91 points (PinotFile)

"Moderate garnet color in the glass. Intriguing aromas of black plum black tea, black pepper and tobacco. Mid- weight in sap, offering flavors of black cherry and purple berry. A bit mysterious with a thread of oak in the background and some finishing purpose." - Rusty Gaffney

2018 Starkey Hill Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley

BEST PINOT NOIR (Winemaker Challenge Int'l Wine Comp.)

93 points (Sunset Magazine)

92 points (The Wine Advocate- RobertParker.com)

"Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2018 Pinot Noir Starkey Hill billows from the glass with fragrant notions of crushed Bing cherries, cranberries and fresh raspberries followed by hints of violets, milk chocolate, underbrush and dried Provence herbs. The palate is full-bodied and jam-packed with decadent red berry preserves layers with loads of invigorating herbal sparks and a plush texture, finishing long and perfumed. This was made from Clone 23 and Pommard and aged for 14 months in French oak, 20% new. 777 cases were made." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

92 points (PinotFile)

"Dark garnet color in the glass. Perfumed with aromas of blackberry, blueberry-pomegranate, black tea and spice. Very ripe, luscious and fullbodied, with flavors of blackberry jam and cassis. Easy drinking, with minimal tannins and a very long, fruitladen finish. The sheer immensity of very ripe fruit obscures any terroir or vineyard identity, but the toothsome fruit is hard to ignore." 

- Rusty Gaffney

91 points (SteveHeimoff.com)

"This single-vineyard bottling is considerably more opulent and generous than En Garde’s regular ’18 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Made from grapes grown in Sebastopol, it shows a rich array of cherry, raspberry and date fruits, wrapped into silky tannins touched with a bit of new French oak. The acidity is fine and refreshing; the finish is spicy and dry. On the downside is some heat from alcohol of 15.4%. This is the sort of thing that will annoy some people while leaving others untroubled. I, personally, don’t care, if the tradeoff of high alcohol is richness. I doubt if there’s much ageworthiness here, but who cares? It’s delicious to drink now." - Steve Heimoff