2012 Leviathan Proprietary Red 750 ml

Andy Erickson’s Midas Touch and the Cream of California’s 2012 Crop

Andy Erickson’s winemaking pedigree is second to none. His client roster reads like the greatest Top 10 list of all time: Screaming Eagle, Arietta, Dalle Valle, Dancing Hares, Harlan/BOND, Ovid, Saintsbury, Spottswoode, Staglin, and Hartwell. So what happens when a 100-point winemaker has carte blanche to make his own decisions? In Erickson’s case, he takes what he’s learned achieving single-vineyard perfection, he leverages his connections to source the best grapes from throughout California, and he crafts a new wine of “biblical” proportions.

In this case, Erickson worked in partnership with his talented wife, the renowned viticulturalist Annie Favia, whose own resume includes work with John Kongsgaard, Cathy Corison, and David Abreu. To give you a snapshot of the respect Annie has earned: When the vines at Screaming Eagle were ripped out, it was Annie who was asked to manage the replanting.

In 2003, the husband and wife duo put every Napa Valley power couple on notice. They released two wines that would establish a new label in Annie’s name, Favia, their first joint venture. For these two, the most coveted fruit in Napa is a mere phone call or handshake-deal away for them. With that kind of buying power, Andy Erickson doesn’t need to make a wine that fetches under $100 a bottle.

In 2004, Erickson put out the first vintage of the uncanny “Leviathan,” a small-lot passion project, and the only Bordeaux blend Erickson has ever made for under $100 that we know of. Ever since, if you want to taste what the best of any particular California vintage tastes like when crafted by arguably the most acclaimed winemaker in Napa, there’s a good bet you’re chasing a Leviathan. Especially if you don’t want to break the bank.

Recognizing that “all of California has experienced a qualitative bonanza,” Robert Parker singled out 2012 as “a superb vintage of flamboyant and dramatic, concentrated wines” in his Wine Advocate report. That description also perfectly captures this 2012 Leviathan Proprietary Red. Take it from Parker’s onetime protégé, Antonio Galloni, who called the 2012 Leviathan “a full-throttle,” “fabulous” “crowd-pleaser,” gushing about its “ripe, opulent and juicy” expressions of the vintage, before tacking on 92 points.

The 2012 Leviathan Proprietary Red hits all the marks — a stunning snapshot of the 2012 California harvest. Beautiful deep-ruby in color, with elegant perfumed notes of violets, dried herbs, and red berry aromas. The attack arrives in a flood of rich, bold flavors that gush with vibrant red berry and concentrated black raspberry. Round and rich, with sweet oak and cinnamon spice, robust tannins are caressed by mouthwatering acidity and the finish is long and pleasing.

If you have the means to sample one of Andy Erickson’s single-vineyard masterpieces from the likes of Screaming Eagle or Harlan, you shouldn’t hesitate to do so. But if, like us, you’re not stocking your cellar with too many $1,500 bottles, there’s one way we know of that you can still experience this acclaimed winemaker’s Midas touch — behind a label that’s a labor of love, and working with the best fruit harvested in Parker’s “superb vintage of flamboyant and dramatic, concentrated wines.” This is it: $35/bottle, for the savviest WineAccess members out there, and the ones who hit that “BUY” button first.