The 2007 Madrona Ranch is a compelling, creamy-styled red offering an assortment of aromas, including white chocolate, graphite, forest floor, blackberries, cassis and blueberries. Pure, multilayered and super-rich, without any... Read More
The first release from the 20-acre Thorevilos Vineyard (co-owned by David Abreu and Ric Forman) is the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Thorevilos, a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. It is a dense,... Read More
The 2010 Cappella, ( 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Merlot) reveals a dense purple color, and even greater aromatic and flavor dimensions than the 2009. Notes of sweet creme de cassis,... Read More
While I am not surprised that the 2001 Thorevilos turned out to be perfect, the 2001 Madrona Ranch was more of an eye-opener in that it has become even more extraordinary than I predicted eight years ago. A prodigious wine, with... Read More
The 2004 Thorevilos (200 cases) exhibits a deeper purple hue, and the nose is more restrained and closed than the Madrona Ranch's. It offers up hints of minerality, earth and spice. The wine hits the palate with lots of richness... Read More
As outstanding as all the Abreu wines are, if I had to choose one that stands apart from the others it would be Thorevilos. The 2008 Thorevilos is the most complete and deeply satisfying of Abreu's 2008s because the balance... Read More
The Cappella, which usually has at least 35-30% Cabernet Franc in it, looks absolutely fabulous now that the 2013 Cappella is finally in bottle. They only made about 206 cases of it, so it's a small cuvée from this vineyard... Read More
The 2005 Thorevilos comes close to perfection, a beautifully ripe, weighty, but with a European, almost Bordeaux-like structural profile. The sensational nose of acacia flowers intermixed with blueberry liqueur, blackberries,... Read More
The 2012 Cappella, probably has less Cabernet Franc than his other cuvées but at least 25-30%. This wine has closed down since I had it from barrel last year, but that probably reflects more on its post-bottling dormancy. A wine... Read More
The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch (90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot) exhibits a saturated purple color in addition to a gorgeous bouquet of espresso beans intermixed with licorice, incense, blueberries... Read More
The 2006 Thorevilos exhibits an extraordinary floral aroma backed up by scents of blueberries, blackberries, espresso roast, and an incredible liqueur of rocks-like component. The compelling floweriness, blue and black fruits,... Read More
Abreu's first venture with Cabernet Sauvignon was from the Madrona Ranch, which is essentially the lower hillsides of Spring Mountain, just northwest of St. Helena. The dense purple-colored 2006 Madrona Ranch (55% Cabernet... Read More
Once again, the 2012 Thorevilos struts its enormous potential. A deep purple color is accompanied by wonderfully sweet blueberry, blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with notes of licorice, spring flowers and forest floor.... Read More
The 2007 Thorevilos is monumental, and stands out as one of the most singular and greatest Napa red wines I have ever tasted. An expansive fragrance of subtle barbecue smoke intermixed with graphite, blueberries, espresso, white... Read More
The 2002 Madrona Ranch possesses an opaque blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, enveloping, massive aromatic profile consisting of spring flowers, charcoal, lead pencil shavings, blueberries, raspberries and blackberry... Read More
The 2008 Madrona Ranch opens with an incredibly expressive bouquet. Espresso, mocha and licorice meld into dark red fruit and sweet exotic spices in this superb wine. The 2008 is an extraordinarily polished, refined wine for the... Read More
The 2009 Proprietary Red Howell Mountain wraps around the palate with masses of blue and black fruit, smoke, tar, incense and licorice. A dense, resonant wine, the 2009 stands out for its extraordinarily vivid fruit and equally... Read More
The 2008 Howell Mountain is fabulous. Blackberries, savory herbs, graphite and mint are some of the nuances that are woven together in a fabric of notable class and sheer personality. The tannins are quite firm and suggest the... Read More
A candidate for wine of the vintage, the gorgeous 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch (93% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) boasts an inky/purple color as well as a sumptuous perfume of violets,... Read More
Finally in the bottle, the 2011 Proprietary Red Cappella is showing even better than it did from barrel last year (a common occurrence at Abreu). The 2011, which includes more Merlot than usual because of the cold growing season,... Read More
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch is an extraordinary wine that has a European structural profile imposed on the incredibly rich, pure fruit of Napa. Incense, creme de cassis, licorice, toasty oak, and spring flowers are... Read More
Initially reviewed in December, 2010, the 2009 Madrona Ranch has turned out to be spectacular. Lots of mulberry, blackberry, cassis, roasted coffee, chocolate and toast aromas are all present in the extremely perfumed bouquet.... Read More
The 2010 Thorevilos seemed more tannic and backward than the 2009, which is somewhat of an anomaly in my tastings of these two vintages. Lots of espresso roast, white chocolate, blueberry, black raspberry and floral aromas jump... Read More
The single-vineyard offering from Thorevilos is usually a blend of 80-85% Cabernet Sauvignon with a good dosage of Cabernet Franc added to finish out the wine, and occasionally a touch of Petit Verdot. This pure, steep hillside... Read More