Brassfield Estate Eruption High Valley 2016
Insanity! A veritable volcano of easy-drinking love! Please, for all that's good and right, listen when we say freeze what you are doing and grab some of this riotously flashy, exuberant blend from just north of Napa Valley. The legendary David Ramey was consulting winemaker on this project and what Brassfield is doing in those high-elevation sites (up to 3K feet) is astounding...the quality on everything we have tasted is just off the hook (we are fresh back from a recent visit and barrel tasting with new winemaker Kevin Mills). A screaming-wicked buy and one to have around in large quantities for all-the-time drinking, yessir...!! A PERFECT crowd-pleaser, straight-up delish, powerful, polished red. Go go go! Oh, did we mention 93 points from Tastings?
** not to be a bummer dude, but this WILL sell out. At this price? C’mon!
We hear you..."so what's it like?!" Well, first off, you have the uber-excellent 2016 vintage here, singing its warmth and power across the lands...great vineyards and a winery holding nothing back when it comes to making serious juice. The Eruption blend (a nod to the rich volcanic soil terroir) is an eclectic blend that reminds us a bit of The Prisoner but with more masculinity, structure and not as over-the-top. But this wine is not shy...it explodes with dark cocoa, juicy blue and black berries, plum jam, violets, toasted cracked peppercorn, chocolate cherry, mouthcoating and long, with all manner of secondary notes...savory sweet herb and baking spice...just a superb wine that blows away most everything else in its price range (the original price range)! All we can say is DON'T MISS.
While it lasts….!
"Brassfield Estate Winery & Vineyards are located in the western section of High Valley at High Serenity Ranch on a truly distinctive and remarkable winegrowing property. Our valley floor vineyards sit at 1800 ft. elevation. The higher vineyard blocks rise to nearly 3000 ft. The temperature fluctuation on this unique property is always one of the most amazing experienced in California."
Technical Details
Country: United StatesRegion: California
Appellation: Lake County
Blend: 40% Petite Sirah, 21% Syrah, 12% Malbec, 11% Mourvedre, 11% Grenache, 5% Zinfandel
Varietal: Red Blends
Vineyard: Volcano Ridge
Aging/Cooperage: Aged in French and American oak barrels (30% New) for 8-10 months before being blended and bottled without filtration.
Alcohol: 14.8%
PH: 3.75
TA: 6.1g/100mLs
About The Producer
"In 1973, Jerry Brassfield purchased the original 1,600 acres as a cattle ranch and wildlife preserve. Over the next three decades Jerry acquired additional contiguous properties. Today, the Brassfield Estate includes over 2,900 acres across both the eastern and the western sections of High Valley, as well as the Round Mountain Volcano.
In 1998, the different sections of the ranch were investigated for their potential to produce outstanding estate-grown wines. The vineyard development started in 2001 has grown to a state-of-the-art farming operation as well as our winemaking facility."
Pairing Suggestions
Roast pork, barbecued meats, and spicy bean or meat chili.
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