Winemaker Notes
Blend: 68% Cabernet Franc and 32% Merlot.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose here shows lavender, dragon fruit, peppermint, milk chocolate, thyme and ivy. A linear, impeccably polished palate with lots of crunchy blue fruit, grainy tannins, fresh acidity and a mineral-driven finish. So refined. A blend of 68% cabernet franc, 32% merlot.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 H Block Proprietary Blend from winemaker Andy Erickson is easily the most complete in the lineup and it's beautifully balanced and lengthy. Black cherries, plums, dried earth, spice and licorice notes all emerge from this beauty and I love its mid-palate, balance and finish. Like the Cabernet Sauvignon, it's young and a touch closed, so give bottles 3-4 years of cellaring. The blend is 68% Cabernet Franc and 32% Merlot, all from the Hudson Vineyard in Carneros, aged 22 months in 78% new French oak.
Rating: 94+ -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Arietta's 2015 H Block Hudson Vineyards seems to have been missed during a past reviewer transition, so this is the first Wine Advocate review of it. As always, a co-fermented blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, it looks impressively primary at age 10. Leafy notes accent black cherries, both gliding easily over a rich base of dark chocolate and mocha in this full-bodied wine. Still somewhat restrained and even sullen, it seems to have more left to give, although the tannins are nicely softened. Rating: 94+
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Vinous
The 2015 H Block Hudson Vineyards is another seriously vivid, beautiful wine from Arietta. Floral, spiced aromatics, red-toned fruit, blood orange and pipe tobacco all take shape in the glass. This, too, has aged very well.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.