2007 pirouette - 93+ Points “Medium purple in color, it sports an incipiently complex nose of Asian spices, incense, violets, mineral, black currant, and blackberry.   This leads to a full-bodied, mouth-filling wine with ample ripe tannin, excellent balance, and 4-6 years of aging potential.  Drink this pleasure-bent offering from 2014 to 2027."

2007 pirouette - 93 Points “Good deep red-ruby. Raspberry, licorice and an enticing floral quality on the nose. Lush, smooth and sweet, but with lovely violet lift giving energy to the dark raspberry and cocoa powder flavors. Very broad, generous wine with sexy oak treatment. Finishes with substantial broad tannins and lovely length. Has the guts to age, but there's nothing hard about this beauty today. Part of this wine was fermented in 400-liter oak barrels."

2007 Pirouette - 92 points "Supple and inviting, from the nose of flowers and dark fruits, to the chocolatey tannins that lick the back of the throat, this is a fully-realized, smooth and most accessible red wine.

 

Working with a select group of growers to ensure low yields and even ripening, Pirouette is sourced from vineyards on the Wahluke Slope (34%) that give the wine its ripe black cherry and blueberry flavors and rich mouthfeel.  Grapes from Horse Heaven Hills (18%) add elegance and structure.  To enhance complexity, the winemakers selected grapes from a handful of diverse Columbia Valley vineyards, including Dionysus (a perennial favorite), to give the wine its layers of flavor and supple texture.

 
After two earlier appearances in Napa Valley, Philippe Melka returned in 1994.  He swiftly rose to prominence and is now widely recognized as one of the leading craftsmen of his trade.  Melka’s talents are the consequence of an ideal juxtaposition – the geologist’s feel for terroir, the traveler’s familiarity with far-flung wineries and estates, and a vintner’s passion to produce the very best.
 
Melka graduated from the University of Bordeaux, France, where he received a degree in geology in 1989.  In his final year, he took a course in Terroir and Viticulture, and thereafter aspired to become a winemaker.  After earning a second degree in Agronomy and Enology, he began to apply what he learned during stints at prestigious wineries in Australia, Italy, California and France (Petrus, Haut Brion and Dominus, among others).
 
Since his return to Napa Valley, Melka’s technical expertise has contributed to the production of several highly acclaimed wines from a number of elite estates, including Marston, Seavey, Constant, Lail, Bryant Family, Caldwell, Quintessa, 100 Acre, and Vineyard 29.
 
Some of the most exciting wines crafted by Melka are from his own labels, Metisse & CJ.  These meritage blends pay homage to Melka’s French influence (new oak aging, extended skin contact and gentle handling techniques) as portraitures of classic structure, balance and elegance.
 
Melka’s blends are also influenced by the effects of terroir on each harvested lot.  Although subtly nuanced to most, they are prominent and critical to Melka the geologist.  It is the creative touch of Melka the winemaker, by which his wines exude the complexities and full flavors that distinguish his talents from the rest. 
 
Phillipe Melka and his wife, Cherie, reside at Melka Cellars in Napa Valley. Cherie is an accomplished wine professional and laboratory manager at Silver Oak.
 
 
Agustin Huneeus, Sr. embarked upon his legendary career as a winemaker over four decades ago.  He founded premier wineries both in California and Chile, and guided others to worldwide acclaim. He is perhaps best known for his artistry and innovative techniques resulting in critically acclaimed wines crafted in the Bordeaux tradition.
 
Wines and wineries achieving prominence under Agustin’s hand include Veramonte (Primus) and Concha y Toro of Chile, and Franciscan Oakville Estate, Mount Veeder, Estancia and Quintessa of California. He is considered a trail blazer with his Cuvee Sauvage, Napa Valley’s first wild-yeast fermented Chardonnay, and Magnificat, one of Napa Valley’s first Bordeaux style proprietary blends.
 
To most vintners, a wine is a Chardonnay, perhaps, or a Zinfandel, or a Merlot. To Agustin, a wine is the embodiment of a place. Its heritage, its terrior, - its ‘somewhereness’, in his words – matters most. Meritage wines, those artful blends that pay tribute to the winemaker rather than to the variety, exemplify the Huneeus principle of “attaching wine to a place.” Agustin’s famous Quintessa, a 100 point winner (1999), testifies to the wisdom of his philosophy of allowing the vineyard to express itself.
 
Agustin served as Chairman of the 1996 Napa Valley Wine Auction, and was awarded the Distinquished Service Award by the Wine Spectator Magazine that same year. He is the former president and current chairman of Franciscan Estates, a winery he brought from obscurity to world prominence.  Along with his winery at Long Shadows Vintners, Agustin retains ownership in Veramonte and Quintessa. He resides at Quintessa Estates with his wife, Valeria, who holds a Ph.D., and is a scientist and viticulturist in her own right.

2007 PIROUETTE - 93+ Points "The 2007 Pirouette is a Bordeaux-style blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc with the balance Petit Verdot and Malbec.  It was aged in 70% new French oak for 22 months.  Medium purple in color, it sports and incipiently complex nose of Asian spices, incense, violets, mineral, black currant, and blackberry.  This leads to a medium to full-bodied, mouth-filling wine with ample ripe tannin, excellent balance, and 4-6 years aging potential.  Drink this pleasure-bent offering from 2-14 to 2027."