Arietta “On the White Keys” 2016
The latest vintage of the Arietta on the White Keys lands precisely on target, hitting the notes we look for in serious white wine, with a rather textbook growing season coming on the heels of a prolonged drought.
The blend of 84% Sauvignon Blanc and 16% Semillon is woven together like fine fabric, the high, floral and tropical tones of the Sauvignon Blanc being held up by the deep, viscous, honeyed character of the Semillon. Whole cluster pressed, the juice was fermented in a combination of Stainless Steel barrels, neutral oak, and new French Oak. Only a small number of barrels were allowed to complete malolactic fermentation, which allows the natural acidity and freshness of the wine to stay in the foreground.
A recent vertical tasting of On the White Keys showed the great promise of these wines for bottle aging, back to the first vintages made more than a decade ago. The 2016 will be no exception. Years in the bottle will add depth and interest to the wine, but right now the fresh, pure fruit character is seductive. Our longtime sources of fruit for the White Keys are hillside Sauvignon Blanc from the Farina Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain, and Sauvignon Musque and Semillon from the Hyde Vineyard on the Napa side of Carneros.
Blend: Sauvignon Blanc 84%, Sémillon 16%
Fruit Sources: 68% Sonoma Mountain, 32% Napa/Carneros
Elevage: Barrel fermented and aged for nine months in 52% new French Oak, 28% second use French Oak, and 20% stainless steel
Production: 580 cases
On The White Keys, “Artists’ Reserve” 2016
Our Arietta White Wine “On The White Keys” Artists’ Reserve experienced an unusual elevage in the 2016 vintage. We selected five barrels of unoaked White Keys in July 2017 and racked them into new French oak barrels. After an additional eight months aging, we bottled this Reserve wine in February 2018. The result is one of the most intense Reserve White Keys we have ever made, brilliant, penetrating and refreshingly dry, reminiscent of the 2012 Artists’ Reserve. The combination of bright natural acidity and supporting oak tannins suggests an evolution in bottle for another three to six years, possibly more
Arietta winemaker Andy Erickson notes: “A blend of 81% Sauvignon Blanc and 19% Semillon, the Arietta White Wine “On The White Keys” Artist’s Reserve receives an additional six to twelve months of barrel aging, which expands the spectrum of tropical fruit aromas from pineapple and mango, to lychee, passion fruit, and kiwi. In addition to the vibrant fruit appear layers of orange blossom, black tea and vanilla bean. The acid and structure of the wine are immediately appealing, and will certainly help the wine to age, as a recent ten-year vertical tasting demonstrated to our team. Inspired by the best dry white wines of Bordeaux, the Arietta On The White Keys Artists’ Reserve showcases what traditionally styled blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blends can achieve in California.”
Blend: 81% Sauvignon Blanc, 19% Semillon
Production: 116 cases
2016 Arietta Red Wine Quartet
Arietta Quartet is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot from carefully chosen vineyard blocks in the Napa Valley. Aged for 20 months in French oak barrels (61% new), Arietta Quartet is approachable upon release, but rich enough to age well for ten years or more. The label features a drawing of the instruments of the string quartet by eight year old Libby Hatton, a future proprietor of Arietta, over a manuscript fragment of the famous Cavatina movement from Beethoven’s String Quartet Opus 130.
The Arietta Red Wine Quartet 2016 benefits from two new vineyard sources at the southern end of Napa Valley, both providing Cabernet Sauvignon, and both managed by the superb viticulturist, Mike Wolf. This change makes more attainable our continuing quest for the most exquisite balance of ripeness and freshness in the Arietta wines.
Arietta winemaker Andy Erickson notes: “The 2016 Quartet is the result of a stellar vintage in the Napa Valley. The long, mild growing season produced wines of great depth, intensity, and balance. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot is as satisfying and complex as the ratios suggest. The dark red-purple color calls to mind fruit and spice notes in the same color spectrum. And indeed the wine delivers, with mouthwatering aromas and flavors of freshly picked blueberries and raspberries, as well as measured oak tones and hints of pot de crème and freshly turned soil. This young wine continues to open in the glass, with the red-blue fruit notes giving way to riper black fruits, graphite, fresh-cut hay, and smoked meat. The palate sensation is cool but intense, with the multifaceted perfume lingering on the finish. The 2016 Quartet will continue to gain in complexity, and will easily age for a decade or more.”
Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Fruit Sources: 42% Coombsville, 38% Carneros, 18% Calistoga
Elevage: 22 months in French oak barrels, 61% new
Production: 1,461 cases
Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Our goal in producing Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon has always been to make a wine of balance and persistence, mindful of the styles and traditions of Great Growth Bordeaux. Coming on the heels of a prolonged multi-year drought, the 2016 growing season was defined by near-ideal conditions. In most vintages including 2016 we source Arietta’s Cabernet Sauvignon entirely from our 1.7 acre block of Clone 337 Cabernet in the Meteor Vineyard, in the heart of the Coombsville appellation just east of the city of Napa. The lower than average Napa temperatures, moderately sloping southwest exposure, and well drained soils allow for a longer ripening season, and flavor intensity at lower sugars.
Arietta winemaker Andy Erickson describes 2016 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon: “The Arietta 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a shining reflection of this stellar vintage. The wine shows a dark black-purple hue, a striking opacity, and an effusive, rich aromatic profile. Notes of wild berries, kirsch, and crème fraiche, as well as earthy tones of slate, gravel, and soil, rise from the glass as soon as the wine is poured. On the nose and palate, the wine exhibits true varietal character, including the full spectrum of Cabernet aromas and flavors: black fruits, baking spices, savory herbs, and pencil lead. The texture is precisely polished and rounded, but with serious tongue-grabbing flavor on the mid-palate, and a finish that lingers for more than a minute. With all its intensity and depth, the wine is incredibly well mannered and balanced, and will cellar for many years to come.”
Blend: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
Fruit Sources: 97% Coombsville, 3% Oakville
Elevage: Aged 22 months in French oak barrels, 76% new
Production: 109 cases
Arietta Merlot Hudson Vineyards 2016
The sources of the Arietta Merlot Hudson Vineyards are the superb southwest facing G and I Blocks in the Hudson Vineyards on the Napa side of Carneros.
Coming on the heels of a prolonged multi-year drought, the 2016 growing season was defined by near-ideal conditions. Rain in March and early April allowed the vines to start the spring with ample moisture in the soil, made for healthy canopies and balanced vines. A dry, mild summer, with only one short heat event, helped the fruit ripen with deep color, intense aromatics, and ample natural acidity. Some growers are commenting that the quality of the wines is perhaps on par with the much-heralded 2013 vintage.
Notes from winemaker Andy Erickson: “The 2016 Arietta Merlot, as is true with most vintages, is 100% Merlot. The grapes come from the oldest vines planted on Hudson Vineyards, from a block Lee Hudson has referred to as the “Merlot Cathedral.” The vines indeed are statuesque, deeply rooted, and able to ripen the fruit gradually and fully. The wine from 2016 showcases the strength of this great terroir, presenting the full spectrum of Merlot character. Notes of blue and black fruits dance with aromas of baking spices, cocoa, pot de crème and graphite. On the palate the combination of fresh acidity and rounded but structured tannins is palpable. This wine is a reminder of just how impressive Merlot can be when grown on the right soils, in the cooler climes of the Napa Valley. It will be pure pleasure to taste this wine over the years as it develops in the bottle.”
Blend: 100% Merlot
Fruit Sources: 100% Hudson Vineyard, Carneros
Elevage: Aged 22 months in French oak barrels, 61% new
Production: 285 cases
Arietta Red Wine H Block Hudson Vineyards 2016
Coming on the heels of a prolonged multi-year drought, the 2016 growing season was defined by near-ideal conditions. Rain in March and early April allowed the vines to start the spring with ample moisture in the soil, made for healthy canopies and balanced vines. A dry, mild summer, with only one short heat event, helped the fruit ripen with deep color, intense aromatics, and ample natural acidity. Some growers are commenting that the quality of the wines is perhaps on par with the much-heralded 2013 vintage.
Notes from winemaker Andy Erickson: “This blend of 70% Cabernet Franc and 30% Merlot takes the expression of the Hudson Vineyard terroir to a new level of complexity. The core of the “H Block” cuvée comes from thirty-year-old Cabernet Franc vines planted on a rare volcanic outcropping just above the Hudson “Merlot Cathedral.” The 2016 vintage was cofermented, taking just the heart of the Merlot block and harvesting it on the same day as the Cabernet Franc. As usual, native yeast fermentation, and a long, carefully controlled maceration helped to meld together the two varieties, bringing forward the best of what they have to offer. After aging for twenty months in two-thirds new French oak, the wine was bottled without fining or filtration to preserve the power and subtlety of the vintage. Aromas of lavender, orange blossom, and anise are in harmony with the ripe Napa Valley fruit profile. Solid and well textured, the wine flows across the palate, blackberry, currant, and black cherry flavors mixed with hints of dried flowers, flint, and black licorice. This vintage of “H Block” will certainly age for decades to come.”
Blend: 70% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, co-fermented
Fruit Sources: 100% Hudson Vineyard, Carneros
Age of Vines: 29 years
Elevage: Aged 22 months in French oak barrels, 68% new
Production: 411 cases
Arietta Red Wine Variation One 2016
Arietta Red Wine Variation One is a rare and innovative blend of Merlot and Syrah from the Hudson Vineyards on the Napa side of Carneros. The blending of “wild” Syrah with “civilized” Merlot creates a complex and layered wine with a unique aromatic profile.
Coming on the heels of a prolonged multi-year drought, the 2016 growing season was defined by near-ideal conditions. Rain in March and early April allowed the vines to start the spring with ample moisture in the soil, made for healthy canopies and balanced vines. A dry, mild summer, with only one short heat event, helped the fruit ripen with deep color, intense aromatics, and ample natural acidity. Some growers are commenting that the quality of the wines is perhaps on par with the much-heralded 2013 vintage.
Notes from winemaker Andy Erickson: “The power and richness of the 2016 vintage is on display in the Arietta Red Wine “Variation One,” a blend of roughly 60% Syrah and 40% Merlot from Hudson Vineyards. Both of these varieties thrive in the cooler Carneros appellation of Napa Valley, and on Hudson’s clay loam soils, making this untraditional blend a novel twist on the concept of a terroir-driven wine. The opaque, densely packed, earth-driven character of the Syrah is tamed by the bright, juicy, rich, fruit-driven flavors of the Merlot. The aromatics are endlessly complex, as notes of flint, smoke, and gravel weave together with aromas of fresh blueberries, blackberry pie, black cherry and chocolate. The palate is weighty, full-bodied, but balanced, with dark fruits, herbs and minerals serving up a multi-layered crescendo on the finish. Not surprisingly, this wine will easily age for more than two decades, but don’t wait that long.”
Blend: 61% Syrah, 39% Merlot
Fruit Sources: 100% Hudson Vineyard, Carneros
Elevage: Aged 22 months in French oak, 55% new
Production: 109 cases
Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon “88 Keys” 2016
The Arietta “88 Keys” is a selection of Cabernet Sauvignon that is only offered in exceptional vintages. The 2016 vintage delivers in spades, as the wines are incredibly dark, aromatic, and layered. We carefully evaluated each barrel of 2016 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon and chose the three barrels that showed the most depth, purity, and expression. We then reassembled the blend and aged this ultra-cuvee in barrel for an additional eight months. At bottling, the wine has a noteworthy intensity, vivid varietal definition, and a rounded, burnished quality to the tannins.
Just as the name “88 Keys” highlights the broad spectrum of tones available on the piano, the namesake wine displays a wide array of aromas and flavors. On the palate, notes of fresh-cut cherry, red raspberry, and blueberry jump from the glass. The level of energy and focus are remarkable after such an extended elevage. On the palate, the red and blue tones give way to a concentrated core of ripe fruit, earth tones, graphite, and sage. The firm structure is immediately evident, but the corners have been gently rounded by the added time in barrel. The wine is muscular, but more like a highly toned dancer moving quickly across the stage—so many details and subtle nuances hidden just below the surface. As it unwinds with time in the glass, it unfolds and expands, revealing variations on the theme.
While exciting in its youth, the 2016 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon “88 Keys” is a wine which will develop for ten to fifteen years or more, and reward those who wait.
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 337
Fruit Sources: Coombsville
Cooperage: aged 30 month in 100% New French Oak barrels
Production: 57 cases