The 2023 Black Magic leans toward the darker, more brooding end of a wine’s fruit profile. Very complex notes of spiced black plum, cassis, along with hints of cardamom, anise, a sense of petrichor, with notes of bitter chocolate, espresso, and graphite. It’s somehow intense and powerful, yet elegant and lithe on the palate. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The 2023 Pure Magic shows immediate notes of warm lilac, violet, lavender, and leather aromas, along with back notes of cinnamon and clove, then opens into the fruit spectrum – spiced plum, red currant, and black cherry. The hallmark of the wine’s entry is freshness, vibrancy, and depth. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The 2023 Vaca Ridge Cabernet offers up a decidedly different aromatic profile than the rest of the 2023 Cabernets. This clearly shows its origins in the eastern Oakville hillside and the red rock iron-rich soils that dominate that side of the valley. This wine shows wet earth, iodine, leather, and cedar. On the palate, this has a much more compressed tannin profile than the wines from the west side of Oakville, with blood orange, Cloves, and black fruits. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The 2023 Beckstoffer To Kalon has perhaps a little bit more black fruit in it than it typically does because of how late the vintage was and how cold the vintage was, but it still has the shading of red fruit that is so classic in this vineyard. This has the aromatics that kind of remind me of the classic wines from the mid-70s in Napa, where you have a bit of umami as well as earth allied to the powerful fruit. On the palate, this is all silk and polish. There was not a hard edge to be found anywhere on this wine, from the beginning to the end, it’s completely round and seamless. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The nose on Dr. Crane is always super unique with its almost crystallized expression of fruit. This does not have the intense black fruit that Vine Hill does, and it expresses its red fruit completely differently than To Kalon does. This has spicy raspberry, vibrant rose petal, African spices, dry earth, and dark chocolate. The lift and the freshness on the palate are part of what makes this one so unique. It’s almost as if all the fruit within the wine was given an electric shock. One of those true wines where, if you’ve seen the soil within the vineyard when you try the wine, you can taste the soil. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The 2023 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet is quite possibly my favorite Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet from Tor to date. This year’s version has copious black fruits, a stacked mid-pallet, and has an aromatic profile that I’ve come to associate with the best vintages out of Vine Hill Ranch, which is the slow-smoked bark on a brisket from Texas, Franklin Barbecue. As dense and rich as this wine is, it has remarkable smoothness on the finish and follow-through with more ripe blackberry, black cherry, and just a tiny bit of Dr Pepper. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
Our 2021 Melanson has an additional level of richness and a slightly higher level of black fruits over the typical red fruit spectrum that Pritchard Hill typically provides. An amazingly rich and seamless mid to back palate that shows off its mountain terroir. This will be the longest-lived Melanson we have ever made, an homage to the majesty of Pritchard Hill. Deep, dark, and opulent. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The 2023 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay shows a bit more lanolin and richness than in previous years. It’s a little thicker and denser on the palate. This wine displays magnolia blossoms, daffodils, Asian pear, and just a touch of honeydew melon, along with the slightest hint of ginger. To me, this is a wine that pairs perfectly with something like lobster or perhaps fatty Ahi. –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
The 2023 Beresini vineyard shows honeysuckle, violet, and notes of oyster shell (think white Burgundy) minerality. On the palate, it is medium in weight with great length, and perhaps a little bit more silky than in previous years. The acidity in this wine is incredibly well integrated. It is there, and you can perceive it because of the freshness on the palate, but it is not something that stands out. I tend to view Beresini as a wine to be served with heavier seafood, like crab and butter. However, this year’s version is more of a wine to be paired with sushi or shrimp (shrimp tempura would be perfect). –Jeff Ames, Winemaker
