Winemaker Notes
Aromatically, this wine leads with a salty citrus edge with earth tones that have exotic hints of North African spices. From there is a depth of jasmine and beautiful citrus driven tropical fruit, reminiscent of squeezing a lime wedge over the fruit of a half-cut Papaya. You can’t hide the ever so present ripe grapefruit component that we often refer to as Squirt…the infamous grapefruit soda. This is a super interesting wine. It has a harmonious balance of ripeness but a ton of verve and energy on the palate. A base of salty citrus, ginger and white pepper mingle with grapefruit that all lead to a savory zesty finish drenched in minerality. This wine touches both sides of the Grüner spectrum, bright, fresh and vibrant along with texture and a fullness that showcases what makes Edna Valley white wines unique.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
When his pioneering wine family sold off its large brands, John Niven started his own small project, and the early results are stunning. Best is this Gruner Veltliner, which begins with clean and sharp aromas of lime skin, white pepper and green apple peels. The palate is tense and green in pome and citrus fruits, with a touch of briny kelp that coasts into the acid-driven finish. Editors' Choice.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Cadre Band of Stones is an excellent example of New World Grüner Veltliner. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows attractive and lasting aromas and flavors of earth, flowers, and ripe stone fruits. Enjoy it with thinly-sliced, roast chicken thighs in salad mix of garden greens. (Tasted: August 5, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Tasting Panel
Smooth, aromatic and showing bright acidity, herbs and minerality; fresh, bright and juicy, long, pure and balanced.
Fun to say and delightfully easy to drink, Grüner Veltliner calls Austria its homeland. While some easily quaffable Grüners come in a one-liter—a convenient size—many high caliber single vineyard bottlings can benefit from cellar aging. Somm Secret—About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States.
California’s coolest wine growing area, Edna Valley excels in the production of high quality Central Coast wines like Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Rhône Blends and aromatic white wines. It has a cool Mediterranean climate and an incredibly long growing season, giving late-ripening varieties plenty of opportunity to develop great phenolic complexity.
Its northwest to southeast orientation creates a direct path for cool Pacific air and fog to penetrate the valley from the Los Osos and Morro Bay area inwards. Low hillsides of both calcareous and volcanic soils are home to much of the vineyard acreage of the Edna Valley.