Winemaker Notes
The 9th vintage of our Napa pre-prohibition blend has come together beautifully. What is so remarkable about 2015 is the opulence and richness of the vintage without any roasted characteristics. We credit this to the vintage's consistent heat that never reached extreme high temperatures. Fragrant notes of strawberry coulis, ripe lingonberry tart, cardamom and warm, sandy minerality explode from the glass. The palate is full-bodied with richness to spare, and an incredible sense of layered depth. tannin's , as usual for this blend, provide a supporting role but do not dominate, allowing the powerful finish to linger.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 30% Grenache, 28% Mourvèdre, 18% Carignan,15% Syrah, and 9% Petite, the 2015 Ritual Heritage Blend comes from some seriously old vines and spent 20 months mostly in neutral oak. It’s awesome Rhône blend from California that gives up loads of darker berry fruits, ground pepper, lavender, incense and hints of cured meats. Deep, medium to full-bodied, elegant, and seamless, with ?ne-grained tannin, it’s a beauty that Rhône lovers shouldn’t miss. It has enough tannin to keep for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A Rhone varietal blend, the 2015 Ritual features a medium garnet-purple color and spicy, baked berry and kirsch-laced nose with hints of black pepper and fragrant earth. Full-bodied and packed with earthy/mineralinspired characters in the mouth, it o!ers ripe, rounded tannins and a lively backbone, "nishing on a peppery note.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.