Winemaker Notes
Their true Bordeaux Right Bank wine. Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Franc. This wine is gorgeously fruit forward with a core of minerality.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Composed mainly of Merlot with a splash of Cabernet Franc, the ultra-sensuous 2015 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard reveals a medium to deep garnet-purple color and gorgeous nose of allspice, cinnamon, dried roses and lavender over a core of preserved plums, blueberry compote and mulberries. The elegant, beautifully poised medium to full-bodied palate weaves in an earthy element among the perfumed black fruits, framed by firm yet oh-so-finely grained tannins, finishing long and softly spoken. Very classy wine!
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Vinous
The 2015 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard is perhaps just a bit more open aromatically than the Proprietary Red, but it, too, has reached its tenth birthday in grand style. Supple contours and soft red-toned fruit caress the palate. Dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot play off a core of Merlot, adding layers of floral and savory presence. This is just sublime. The 2015 is incredibly elegant. It looks like it will be the first of the top 2015 to mature.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard is a medium-bodied, supple, elegant wine based on 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. It offers pretty notes of plums, flowers, and cedar wood, moderate concentration, and a supple, open-knit style on the palate. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
One of Napa Valley's most historic sub-appellations, Yountville spreads through some of the valley's ideal cooler sites and enjoys success with a handful of different and significant grape varieties.
Syrah competes strongly with Cabernet Sauvignon here for optimal vineyard real estate followed by Pinot noir, Pinot blanc and Sauvignon blanc.
This sub-AVA of Napa Valley is rich in the history that makes Napa Valley what it is today, and not just for red wines. Moët & Chandon entered the California winemaking business via Yountville in 1973 with the establishment Domaine Chandon. Their goal has always been to produce top quality méthode champenoise sparkling wines.
Christian Moueix, originally responsible for managing Chateau Petrus and La Fleur-Petrus in Pomerol, arrived in Yountville in the early 1980s. He formed a partnership with Rohin Lail and Marcia Smith, inheritors of Napanook vineyard from their father John Daniel of Inglenook in Rutherford. In 1995 Moueix became sole owner of Napanook and chose the name Dominus, which today produces some of Napa’s highest scoring, age-worthy Bordeaux Blends.