Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Crown Point Estate Selection exhibits a heady aromatic array of baking spices, ripe red and black fruits, with deep intonations of earth and minerals. The palate is elegant and bright, with appealing acids and nuanced notes of savory mocha and dried herbs. Polished and seamless, the tannins finish with a comet-like trail of textural opulence highlighted by glossy flavors of baked berry pie and warm toast. Recommended drinking window: now through 2030s.The 2016 Estate Selection is representative of all five red Bordeaux varieties. The selection process starts in the vineyard and continues on through the winemaking process: only the best lots make the final blend. All blocks were harvested & fermented separately. The individual components were blended after 12 months in barrel. Total time in 225 liter French oak barrels was 26 months.
Blend: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Deeply colored, the 2016 Estate Selection checks in as 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec that was brought up 26 months in 75% new French oak. Deeply colored, it has a smoking good bouquet of crème de cassis, smoke tobacco, lead pencil, camphor, and hints of chocolate. This gives way to a powerful, opulent Cabernet Sauvignon that has plenty of sweet tannins, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, no hard edges, and an awesome finish. I’d happily put this beauty in a lineup of top Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Estate Selection is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec. Deep ruby-purple, the nose is plush, open and youthful, with savory aromas of blackcurrants, tobacco leaves, olives, dried flowers and cast iron. The palate is silky and seamless, with an extraordinary interplay of savory and floral character. Its refinement, uniqueness and length confirm the outstanding quality of the 2016 vintage, and this promises another two decades of aging potential in the cellar.
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Wine Enthusiast
There’s an impressive amount of complexity on the nose of this bottling by winemaker Adam Henkel, from crushed graphite and concentrated black strawberry to cinnamon pastry, licorice and a brush of herbs. The sip is intense, with leathery but chiseled tannins presenting flavors of charred black currant, licorice, black olive, dried flower and white pepper
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Crown Point Estate Selection is a masterful wine with outstanding focus and staying power. TASTING NOTES: This wine is attractive from start to finish. Its powerful black fruit is met nicely with licorice and oak. Give this one a year or two in the cellar before popping the cork. Pair with a grilled Chateaubriand. (Tasted: April 11, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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.
On the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley, the rolling hills of the tiny Happy Canyon AVA produce top quality reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and whites from Sauvignon blanc. The region’s low-nutrient soil grows smaller vines and in turn, higher quality wine grapes.