Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Isthmus is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. It has a medium to deep ruby color and scents of cedar and pencil shavings to begin, fleshing out to fresh currants, cast iron, exotic spices and floral notes. The medium to full-bodied palate is elegant with restrained, minerally fruits. It has a finely pixelated frame, soft and juicy, and finishes long and layered. Very classy!
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Wine Enthusiast
This blends 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the fruit from two estate vineyards, the Hamel Family Ranch on the valley floor and Nuns Canyon Vineyard higher up in the Moon Mountain appellation. Hearty, leathery and bursting in iron, clove and tobacco, the wine is full bodied, concentrated and refined in tannin—a good candidate for aging. Enjoy best from 2025–2030.
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.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.