Cart 
 Harvest at Havens
We're witnessing some tragic business stories in the Napa Valley, none more than this one. When Michael Havens and his investors sold his struggling winery to a national importer a few years ago, the hope was that the new owner could turn things around. It didn't turn out to be the case, and when the bank (apparently owed millions) shut down the import company several months ago, thousands of cases of Havens' wines -- and a few of the best wines he made in the last decade -- were part of the distressed stock. When we got the call from The Liquidator, we were really looking for two remarkably inspired Havens wines. One was a Right Bank look-alike called Bourriquot. The other an absolutely superb Syrah from a single, hand-chosen block on Lee Hudson's incomparable ranch in Carneros. The wine, drawn from Hudson's "T Block", year in and year out was one of the best Syrahs in California -- taking full advantage of Hudson's rigorous farming, the cooler microclimate, and the remarkable volcanic soil of the site. But there's one more. This wine really sings in ripe, warm vintages. Why? Because there is never much risk of overripeness at "T" -- so in the warmer years, the wine not only had its wonderfully pure, explosive northern Rhone aromatics, but a fabulous kernel of deep, sweet, ripe fruit. If you were looking for the perfect warm-vintage scenario, 2003 was it. It came out at $50 and was worth every penny. When we opened the attachment containing The Liquidator's inventory, we did a quick "find" on Hudson. When we saw the 150 cases of 2003 "T", we began circling around, negotiating on multiple lots, doing a negotiator's rope-a-dope-- always returning to the prize. It took some time, but last Friday we landed it. 960 bottles of one of the top Syrahs ever made off of Lee Hudson's superb vineyard, and perhaps the most complex Syrah Michael Havens ever made off of the "T" block. As astonishing as the wine is the price -- or the half price. Release price was $50. Now it's being offered to WineAccess customers at $23.99/bottle (on cases). The wine is in absolutely pristine condition, never having moved from its temperature and humidity-controlled West Coast warehouse. Free shipping on 4.
The Counterintuitive Splash of Viognier The 2003 growing season began with a warm and dry spring, and continued with the typically cool, marine-influenced mornings throughout the summer. September brought more heat (not unlike the weather patterns of the northern Rhone), starting with a slight off-shore wind that nudged sugars to ripeness. The 2003 "Hudson T" perfectly displays the rare California combination of the light volcanic soil and the unusual microclimate, providing for a wine with great richness, structure and spice. A small lot of Viognier from an adjacent block at Hudson was crushed and co-fermented with the Syrah. While the initial rationale behind this Cote Rotie practice may have been simply to add some higher sugar fruit to the mix, co-fermenting Viognier actually makes a darker wine with more aromatic precursors, by a process called co-pigmentation. The resulting tannins are soft and fine, though substantial in total volume, all from this counter-intuitive historic practice. |
|
*Important: Shipping Policy
Purchases being shipped to CA will include sales tax. |
This offer is ONLY available for shipping to the following states: AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, LA, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY.