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A number of years ago, Pat asked me to create a wine to honor his son, Daniel, who has grown up here on the estate. A daunting task for a winemaker but a fitting gift from a vintner father to his young son. Now 12 years old, Daniel spent a day a week with me last summer learning some basic aspects of vineyard canopy management, cellar work, and wine chemistry. It gave me a chance to see his respect for and appreciation of the amazing property that his father has created. I know he is pleased with the tribute that Pat has bestowed on him.

Beautiful purple color. Volumes of rip bramble fruit and sweet spice aromas. Heady smells of black currants, red and back licorice candy, and tasted nuts emerge. The tannins spread across the palate like butter on toast.

Complex, elegant, and developed in style; it reveals itself layer by layer. Soft tannins, lower alcohols, late-ripened fruit and woodsy smells.

Dark smelling, meaty, and loaded with essence of black fruits. Like the 2004, it has an inherent smokiness. The wine is very soft, immediately mouth-coating (like ink!), and very long.

It’s deep red with a tinge of purple. The intense jammy and spicy nose gives it a racy quality. Bramble fruits fill the mouth. It is warm, but the tannins and flavors keep it in balance.

The complex aromatics bring together the classic dark Syrah smells of wild blueberries and smoked meat, matching their intensity with higher toned aromas of candied violets and crushed stone. Rich, seamless, and mouth-coating on the palate . . .

The wine is a saturated red-black color and the nose is wonderfully integrated already. is typical of the Villa Vista, the mouth is focused toward the front and mid-palate with the length provided by mouthwatering acidity and supple tannins.

Cabernet Franc remains a rarity here at Kuleto Estate. On first pass, the aromas are largely woody and woodsy. But with just a little air, aromas of cassis, black licorice, clove, black pepper, and beef fat emerge. In the end, it’s the non-fruit components of Cabernet Franc that make it such a compelling and food-friendly wine.

Roses and toasted almonds come to mind on first whiff. Later those of orange marmalade, wild fennel, and jasmine tea appear. The wine fills the mid-palate and is incredibly flavorful and warm.