California
California is one of the most renowned wine regions in the world, known for producing exceptional wines that reflect the unique character of the region.
One of the most famous vineyards in California is the Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi Winery, which produces a range of high-quality red and white wines, including the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, the Fumé Blanc Reserve, and the Chardonnay Reserve. The estate is committed to sustainable farming practices and is known for its focus on traditional winemaking techniques.
In California, there is also a strong focus on producing organic and biodynamic wines, with vineyards such as the Frog's Leap Winery and the Benziger Family Winery using these practices to produce exceptional wines that reflect the unique terroir of the region.
Overall, California is a region known for producing exceptional wines, with famous vineyards such as Harlan Estate, Dominus, Opus One, Screaming Eagle, Robert Mondavi and many others. With a focus on sustainable and organic farming practices, and a commitment to traditional winemaking techniques, wines from California are gaining increasing recognition and popularity among wine enthusiasts worldwide.
California
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California | 7 | - | HK$6,020.00 | |||||
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Delight your palate with the Kutch Trout Gulch Chardonnay 2021 - an exquisite ensemble of viticulture finesse. Crafted by the expert hands of winemaker Jamie Kutch, this marvellous creation heralds from the renowned Trout Gulch Vineyard in California's cooler Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyard's marine shale soils impart a unique mineral edge. The Kutch Trout Gulch Chardonnay 2021 is hand-harvested whole cluster pressed, fermented naturally, and aged in neutral oak casks for 12 months followed by an additional six months in stainless steel. The result? A perfectly balanced wine, shimmering with bright acidity, lithe structure, and compelling hints of citrus, green apple, and saline minerality. With Kutch's non-interventionist approach, this chardonnay beautifully expresses terroir in its purest form. A must-have inclusion in any fine wine collection, the Kutch Trout Gulch Chardonnay 2021 is certainly a testament to the grandeur of California Chardonnays. |
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California | 1 | 98 (WA) | HK$4,085.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (98)A massive, gorgeously rich and decadent version of this cuvee, the 2014 Estate Cuvee (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Syrah and 15% Petit Verdot) is reminiscent of a 2005 Pomerol with its huge bouquet of cassis, toasted spice, graphite, damp earth and leafy herb aromas and flavors. Thick, full-bodied, unctuous and palate-saturating, yet still with purity and grace, it's an insanely good Bordeaux blend (or close) from Paso Robles that will have two decades of overall longevity. |
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California | 2 | 99 (JD) | HK$4,730.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (99)A wine that flirts with perfection is the 2016 Estate Cuvée, which is 52% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Petit Verdot, all of which spent 15 months in new French oak. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with a masculine bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock-like minerality, and lead pencil shavings, it reminds me of a top 2010 Pomerol with its opulence, power, and purity. Hitting the palate with full body, a layered, seamless, multi-dimensional texture, and present yet polished tannins, this beauty is one of the finest examples of this cuvée yet produced. Give bottles 2-3 years and it will keep for 15+. |
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California | 99 | 98 (JD) | HK$3,905.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (98)The flagship 2017 Estate Cuvée (49% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 21% Petit Verdot) spent 15 months in 90% new French oak, and I certainly blew the barrel review on this wine. It offers a brilliant bouquet of crème de cassis, crushed violets, lead pencil, chocolate, and a rocking sense of minerality. Deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and seamless on the palate, it's about as polished and sexy as they come in the vintage. |
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California | 1 | 100 (JD) | HK$4,230.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)The 2018 Estate Cuvee checks 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot brought up in 90% new French oak. Tasting like the straight Cab, yet with more sex appeal, it offers a huge nose of crème de cassis, white flowers, crushed stone, graphite, and crushed flowers. This carries to a full-bodied, gorgeously textured red with incredible balance, no hard edges, a thrilling mid-palate, and a great, great finish. It's going to benefit from 5-6 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades or more. Hats off to winemaker Stephan Asseo on another incredible wine, as well as, I suspect the wine of the vintage. |
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California | 1 | 100 (JD) | HK$4,800.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection from Paso Robles, the 2019 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot that was raised in 81% new French oak. Incredible cassis and black berry fruits as well as violets, chocolate, graphite, and who knows what else emerges from the glass, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a concentrated yet weightless mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s more seamless and approachable than the more backward, structured 2018 and will have two decades of prime drinking. |
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California | 1 | 100 (JD) | HK$4,810.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection from this talented team, the 2021 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Petit Verdot that was raised in 80% new French oak. Absolutely incredible aromatics of crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, ground pepper, and graphite give way to a full-bodied red with a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and that rare mix of power and elegance that's so hard to come by. It shows the pure, layered, elegant style of the vintage, and this beauty offers pleasure today yet will ideally be given 3-4 years in the cellar, and it will evolve for two decades at a minimum. |
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California | 1 | 92 (VN) | HK$2,500.00 | |||||
Vinous (92)Bright violet. Potent aromas of ripe red and blue fruits, floral pastilles, woodsmoke and minerals develop a spicy nuance in the glass. Sweet and fleshy on the palate, offering intense black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that become livelier with air. The very long, sharply focused finish features supple tannins and subtle, lingering notes of ripe red berries and candied rose. |
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California | 1 | 93 (DC) | HK$3,140.00 | |||||
Decanter (93)Tobacco, tar, dark chocolate, floral touches, bitter blood orange, scrubland herbs - so much going on the nose, really aromatic and expressive in a dark, sticky way. Gorgeously lifted and lively, full of bright and crunchy red fruits that you're just not expecting after the nose, this is direct but it has a pristine quality to it. Tannis are fine and the whole taste is just so clean. Juicy, mouthwatering and joyful, really bright and playful, I love the whole lifted tone, almost verging on tangy and sour but just keeps the depth. You get a bit of saltiness too on the finish. I like this a lot, especially the touch of metallic, iron-filing, blood on the finish. Characterful. The first vintage to use an optical sorted at harvest. Ageing 14 months in French oak (65% new and 35% in one year old). |
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California | 1 | 96 (WA) | HK$6,110.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)The 2017 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain is very deep purple-black colored and gives expressive black cherries, kirsch, warm blackberries and boysenberry scents with touches of sawdust, red roses, camphor and cinnamon stick plus a waft of stewed tea. Full-bodied, the palate reveals a lot of depth with tons of red and black fruit layers and savory accents, framed by ripe, firm, grainy tannins, finishing with a refreshing lift and some mineral notions coming through. |
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California | 1 | 96+ (WA) | HK$6,235.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96+)Made from 100% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain was aged for 22 months in oak, 65% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with a lifted, perfumed nose of red roses, kirsch, red plums and red currant jelly, followed by hints of mulberries, pencil shavings and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with taut, muscular red fruit, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with loads of earthy sparks. 547 cases were made. |
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California | 1 | 98 (DC) | HK$7,998.00 | |||||
Decanter (98)Such a fantastic nose of delicious currants, this wine is elegant and refined. The palate does not disappoint and displays harmonious notes of liquorice and baking spices on top of the luscious black fruit. A wine to go wild for. |
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California | 2 | 100 (JD) | HK$18,215.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee comes from a mix of terroirs (Howell Mountain, Stags Leap, Oakville, Calistoga) and is brought up in 75% new French oak. Heavenly notes of red and black currants, dried tobacco, sandalwood, flowers, and spice give way to a full-bodied, concentrated, yet weightless texture that carries awesome tannins, no hard edges, and just flawless balance. This majestic, regal wine is going to drink brilliantly for 25 years or more. |
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California | 1 | 100 (WA) | HK$16,330.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (100)Lail's 2021 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon blends lots from several high-end vineyards, including Heimark (Calistoga), Vine Hill Ranch (Oakville) and Steltzner (Stags Leap), plus Lail's own Mole Hill on Howell Mountain. It's an exciting wine, starting from the pulse-quickening aromas of raspberries and black cherries tinged with dark chocolate. In the mouth, this full-bodied beauty is richly concentrated, with a sensuous texture somewhere between silky and velvety, while the softly dusty finish shows terrific length and a spine-tingling hint of licorice. To reduce this wine to deceptively simple yet hard-to-pin-down words, it's complex, harmonious and elegant, yet it's enough of its place that it could only come from Napa Valley. |
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California | 1 | 94 (JS) | HK$6,335.00 | |||||
James Suckling (94)This is a solid cab with a backbone of ripe and chewy tannins and lots of wet earth, black currant and autumnal leaf character. Full and powerful. This needs a few years to soften. Better in 2019. |
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California | 4 | 95 (JD) | HK$6,280.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (95)Moving to the 2015s, the largest production cuvee from younger vines is the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon and it includes 3% Cabernet Franc and spent 18 months in 65% new French oak. Possessing terrific richness in its dark fruit, tobacco and Graves-like minerality, this beauty is full-bodied, concentrated and layered on the palate. It’s a beautiful base cuvee that does everything right. |
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California | 2 | 96+ (RP) | HK$10,195.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate - Robert Parker (96+)The opaque purple 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Black Label) has a Château Latour-like nose of cedar wood, graphite, oodles of creme de cassis and forest floor, stunning concentration, power and structure. This is an amazing wine, and with 1,635 cases produced, has reasonable availability. This all is produced from the so-called clone 7, which became better known across the street and up on the Vaca hillsides as the Eisele Vineyard clone. This wine should really be laid down for 7-8 years and probably has a good 40-50 years of potential longevity. |
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California | 2 | 94 (WA) | HK$7,820.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (94)The 2013 Firebelle Proprietary Red is a blend of 76% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. This wine shows loads of roasted espresso notes mixed with white chocolate, plum, black cherry and currant. The wine is ripe, opulent, full-bodied and a very sexy, lush example of 2013 to drink over the next 15 or more years. |
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California | 2 | 93 (JD) | HK$7,700.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (93)The Merlot-dominated cuvee of the estate is the 2015 Firebelle and it checks in as 71% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in 65% new French oak. It offers a terrific bouquet of black cherries, leafy herbs, lavender, and dried violets, medium to full body, loads of minerality, and a fresh, focused, beautifully balanced style. It’s ideal for drinking over the coming 15 years. |
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California | 1 | 94+ (JD) | HK$9,475.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (94+)A blend of 60/40 Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the 2015 LMV Salon is a cuvee that’s moving towards being a Cabernet Franc-dominated release as the estate plants more Cabernet Franc. Cassis, spring flowers, chocolate and a rocky, river bottom-like earthiness all flow to a full-bodied, concentrated, tannic 2015 that has exceptional purity and a great finish. Give bottle 3-5 years and enjoy over the following 15+. |
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California | 1 | 97 (JD) | HK$10,215.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (97)Another head-turning wine from this project, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Project 18 got a handful of expletives in my notes. A plush, sexy, full-bodied 2018 delivering pure dark fruits, hints of menthol and tobacco, a deep, layered texture, and a blockbuster of a finish, it leans into the hedonistic end of the spectrum yet also has balance and class. Drink this brilliant effort over the coming 15-20 years. |
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