Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Arise Proprietary Red is a blend of 55% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and opens with fragrant black cherries, black raspberries and warm plums scents with hints of underbrush, dried herbs, raspberry leaves and spice box. Medium-bodied and elegantly styled in the mouth, the palate has great vivacity with a grainy texture and long, lively finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Blackbird Vineyards Arise is an excellent example of vineyards and winemaking synchronization. TASTING NOTES: This luxurious and well-structured wine is perfectly poised to be an integral part of a fine dining scene. Its aromas and flavors of ripe red and black fruit, a touch of oak should pair it superbly with a seared ribeye. (Tasted: July 8, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Big and ripe, with good cut to the notes of dried green herbs that accent the dark plum, dried berry and chocolate nib flavors. The lithe finish offers lively minerality. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2022.
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.