Winemaker Notes
Reflecting the unique character of Crown Point's mesa flat terroir, they harvested each block separately and fermented it in four-ton French oak and concrete tanks. With an average fermentation duration of 20 days, they transferred the wine to barrels for 22 months across 50% new French oak. Boasting a robust structure harmoniously balanced by a velvety texture, the wine is enjoyable now or will age gracefully in your cellar.
Blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The impact of French-born, Napa-trained Simon Faury, who was hired as winemaker for this ambitious estate in 2019, shows brightly on this Bordelaise blend. Roasted blackberry, judicious oak, savory walnut and light cocoa aromas lead into a palate where the expertly managed tannins are firm but forgiving. Savory yet fruit-driven flavors of blackberry, charred nuts and pencil shavings slide into an elegant finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Checking in as 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Merlot, the 2020 Estate Selection is sourced from the more loamy, flatter portions of the estate. It reveals another level of purity and precision, with awesome aromatics of crème de cassis, black raspberries, truffly earth, graphite, and spring flowers. This medium to full-bodied, pure, incredibly elegant red has ultra-fine tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It will have 20-25 years of longevity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Estate Selection is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. It has layered aromas of cassis, iron, grilled game meats, soy sauce and bitter chocolate with alluring, herbal undertones. The full-bodied palate has a deep core of spicy fruit, cashmere-textured tannins, seamless freshness and a long, latent finish. It will benefit from 3-5 years in bottle.
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Vinous
The 2020 Estate Selection is dark and enveloping in the glass. Black cherry, plum, mocha, spice and licorice all wrap around the palate. There's notable textural intensity and a darker fruit profile vis-à-vis the 2021, much of that attributable to a season marked by two late-season heat spikes. This forward, luscious Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend offers tons of immediacy. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot.
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James Suckling
A firm, concentrated, vivid, almost tangy wine with plenty of red and black fruit. Good acidity and generous tannins give a grippy texture to hold the deep blueberry, dark chocolate and black cherry notes. Drink now or hold.
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.