Mission Codename First Flight
Today we have a truly unique, one-of-a-kind opportunity from an ALL-TIME Wine Spies favorite - Hawk and Horse!!
To get their INAUGURAL VINTAGE 2006 Cab for a STEAL, straight from the winery library to you - at a monstrous 75% OFF!?
If it doesn’t sell out before you finish reading this.
And if you were one of the few who didn’t buy their 2012 any of the times we offered it last year, you MUST get on board here. Act fast though - the popularity level on this one is going to be soaring, albeit we get only one-shot at this small hidden stash.
For anyone new here, there are 2 things you need to understand about this wine.
First, the winemaker - Dr. Richard Peterson. Heard of him?
If not, you’ve heard of Screaming Eagle and Heidi Barrett. Get this - before Heidi came on board it was her dad, Dr. Peterson who led the first four vintages of Screaming Eagle into cult stardom. Then Heidi Barrett took over. That’s not all.
Richard also took André Tchelistcheff’s post at Beaulieu Vineyards, helped develop Atlas Peak Vineyards, and he presides over numerous institutions including the American Society for Enology & Viticulture, The Wine Institute, Society of Wine Educators, and American Institute-Wine & Food. Oh, and he wrote “The Winemaker” an award-winning autobiography.
That experience… WOW, unmatched!
Second, we have the Red Hills AVA.
A little-known (for now) region named for its red volcanic soils. It sits just north of Napa, in Lake County - about 10 miles north of Howell Mountain as the crow flies. Here grows some exceedingly high-quality Cabernet without the “Napa tax”. There’s good reason why visionaries such as Fred Schrader, Stéphane Derenoncourt, and Andy Beckstoffer have been quietly investing in vineyard land here. This gem comes from an 18-acre Demeter Certified Biodynamic® site perched at 2,200 feet elevation.
At 15+ years old you might think it’s on the way out, tired, and probably losing its fruit. WRONG. Like Tom Brady, it’s just entering a PEAK level of performance!
We were SHOCKED at the vibrant, youthful rubies and crimsons, along with the still present flamboyant, gushing, ripe fruit profile it retained through all those years. Still a load of blackberry and black currants too on the nose. With all the mind-bending complexity you’d hope for in an aged Napa Cabernet rolling out on the palate. Pencil-shavings, worn saddle leather, baking spices, scorched earth, all there to back the gobs of fruit in reserve. The finish is complex as any world-class Cab could be, with that extra mile of another good decade of prime drinking ahead.
While it has the grace of age adorning its silky-smooth ways that warrant sipping on its own, it still has abundant youth to enhance a special meal too.
No press of note, except for a couple of local gold medals back when, as they were a brand-new winery that apparently hit the ground running thanks to “Doc Eagle”. This drinks like the finest aged Bordeaux or Napa examples we’ve had. But you’d never find those wines with pristine provenance, from a bygone vintage, at this price. EVER.
Given their previous Cabernets were our all-time most popular over our 15 years in the business of fine wine - we think this will sell out fast.
Tasting Profile
Blackberry, black currant, pencil-shavings, sweet spice
Look | We were SHOCKED at the vibrant, youthful rubies and crimsons |
---|---|
Smell | Blackberry, black currants, flamboyant, gushing, ripe fruit profile retained through all those years |
Taste | Pencil-shavings, worn saddle leather, baking spices, scorched earth, all there to back the gobs of fruit |
Finish | Complex as any world-class Cab could be, with an extra mile of another good decade of prime drinking |
Pairing | Its silky-smooth ways warrant sipping on its own, with abundant youth to enhance a special meal too |
What the Winery Says
2006 Red Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
- Consulting Winemaker
- Dr. Richard Peterson
- Vintage
- 2006
- Varieties
- 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petite Verdot
- Appellation
- Red Hills, Lake County
- Vineyard
- 100% Hawk and Horse Estate
- Soils
- Cortina gravel, bale sand, Pleasanton clay
- Alcohol
- 14.3%
- pH
- 3.55
- Aging
- 19 months
- Barrels
- 80% new French oak