2007 Wellington Victory Reserve 750ml

This vintage of Victory has intense and complex aromas of black currant, blackberry, kirsch, mocha, cedar, toffee, pipe tobacco, dark chocolate, violets, and anise.  It has a smooth, supple entry, is rich but never heavy, has mouth watering acidity that leads to a firm, slightly chewy yet not harsh finish that promises great things to come.  The fruit lingers on the palate long after swallowing. This wine will show its best side at the dinner table – with tannins and acid that cleanse the palate and invite another bite of food.  There are so many different layers of flavor that the food match possibilities are almost unlimited, but it will really shine with steak and with the cheese course.  

It will be interesting to see how a wine develops over time after opening, but for those who like to decant, yes it will benefit from decanting (and you won’t have to worry about the sediment).  Cellaring will be duly rewarded; there is no reason to doubt that this wine will develop nicely for several more years and hold long after that.

2008 Wellington Victory Reserve 750ml

The 2008 Victory has forward aromas of cherry, boysenberry, sandalwood and cedar, with licorice, mocha, leather and celery seed.  All of the structural / textural components are in harmony.  The entry is soft and full, leading to a supple mid-palate with enough acid to keep it fresh, followed by a long, flavorful finish with enough tannin to ensure longevity on the palate and for bottle aging.  The descriptor I keep coming back to is “seamless balance”.  I believe this wine delivers both intensity and elegance – a more difficult target than over the top intensity without finesse.

This wine is the result of several months of blending trials and tastings.  Every year we select our most concentrated and interesting batches of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot  and Malbec) and do blending trials.  If it is apparent that we can blend a wine that is dramatically better than our single vineyard Cabernets, we will proceed with the project.

After many tastings, we have chosen Cabernet from the best cuvées (batches) from the Handal-Denier Vineyard in Dry Creek and the Karren Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain, Merlot from our estate vineyard, Cabernet Franc from Baron Vineyard and Petite Verdot from J&J Vineyard, both in Sonoma Valley.  Further blending trials and tastings were conducted to fine tune the exact blend.  All of the individual lots were aged in French oak (approximately 60% new) both prior to and after blending.  The wine was aged in barrel for 18 months and bottled unfined and lightly filtered.  It is certainly enjoyable now, but will continue to soften and improve slowly in bottle for many years to come.