"The 2000 Arietta (equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc) tastes like an over-sized, phenomenal Cheval Blanc. It has blossomed beautifully since I tasted it last year. A dense purple color is followed by scents of cocoa, underbrush, chocolaty black cherry and black currant fruit, minerals, truffles, and graphite. A big, thick, chewy, tremendously long, intense, well-balanced red, I would love to taste it alongside the 2000 Cheval Blanc. It should hit its prime in 3-4 years, and last for two decades. There are approximately 800 cases. Winemaker and part owner, John Kongsgaard, produces these wines in partnership with auctioneer, Fritz Hatton. They are all fashioned from fruit grown in the “H Block” of the Hudson Vineyard, the highest point on that large ranch. The vineyard is planted in white volcanic ash-dominated soils. The Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend is the Arietta and the Syrah/Merlot blend is named Variation One. These striking offerings have a European sensitivity for elegance, structure, and delineation, but are clearly products of California, as evidenced by their prodigious ripeness as well as intensity. They are expensive, but impressive efforts that should be long-lived." - Rated 96, Robert Parker
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