Latest / Sips, Suds, & Smokes / Of course all of the good wine is on Howell Mountain

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Of course all of the good wine is on Howell Mountain · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  > Announcer>On the next episode of Sips, Suds
• 0:03
  > Brent>and Smokes, Here are the wines we're going to be discussing today. So from Mayacamas Vineyards, we have the, uh, Mayacamas Vineyards 2023 Mountain Chardonnay. The Mayacamas Vineyards 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Mayacamas Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. We always end up with stuff that's, you know, new release. We rarely ever get anything with age on it. Thank you so much. Um, and from Arkansas, we have the arkenstone Estate Blanc 23, the Arkansas Estate Red 22, and the Arkenstone NVD Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. Yeah, it does not suck to be in the basement today.
• 0:47
  > Harm>So I am very aroused.
• 0:53
  > Announcer>We'll be right back after this. Brought to you almost live from the dude in the basement studios.
• 1:21
  > Announcer>Why? Because that's where the good stuff is. It sips, suds and smokes with your smoke and host the good old boys. And now it's sipping. Hey.
• 1:59
  > Brent>Yes. It's sipping time again. Welcome to this SIPS episode where everything good in life is worth discussing. As always, we are the best thing on.
• 2:09
  > Harm>You know, actually a friend of mine just texted me the best looking BLT I've ever seen. We need to do a BLT review show. Look at this picture.
• 2:19
  > Brent>No, no need to slip a burger in there somewhere.
• 2:22
  > Harm>No, no, this, I. I'm looking at that bread, those tomatoes. That is millionaire bacon on that thing.
• 2:27
  > Harm>Yeah, I want this. We need to do a bacon rice tomato show.
• 2:30
  > Brent>I actually have summer. I actually have some Evan Williams bacon that they sent us in the fridge.
• 2:36
  > Harm>Oh, I think we found our activity between shows.
• 2:39
  > Brent>Which next whiskey show we do, I'm gonna cook and we'll be able to eat it while we're doing whiskey.
• 2:43
  > Brent>So, yes, this is Made Man Bob. And joining me today, our good old boy, Justin.
• 2:49
  > Bob>Pleasure to be here and, uh, always exciting in the basement.
• 2:53
  > Brent>Always exciting when there's good wine and good old boy Harm.
• 2:56
  > Harm>Thanks for having me, Bob. This is a great day to be in the basement. Yeah, some, uh, of these wines today.
• 3:01
  > Brent>My God, this doesn't stink. This is a pretty good day. So. So our sip segments are all about wine, distilled spirits, tea, coffee, and anything else you can sip. And here are the wines we're going to be discussing today. So from Mayacamas Vineyards, we have the, uh, Mayacamas Vineyards 2023 Mountain Chardonnay. The Mayacamas Vineyards 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon the Mayacamas Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. We always end up with stuff that's, you know, new release. We rarely ever get anything with age on it. Thank you so much. Um, and from Arkanstone Estate, we have the Arkanstone Estate Blanc 23, the Arkanstone Estate Red 22, and the Arkenstone NVD Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. Yeah. It does not suck to be in the basement today. Well, as always, we're gonna rate these using our signature sound. So we're gonna have Justin pick one out of. Pick 1 out of 5 and give us one of them.
• 4:05
  > Bob>Okay, Five sips.
• 4:07
  > Harm>No, don't do that. We're gonna be using that.
• 4:10
  > Harm>We're gonna be using that today on this show. Pick one we're not using.
• 4:14
  > Bob>Okay, one sip.
• 4:16
  > Harm>There you go. Definitely not using that today.
• 4:19
  > Bob>Oh, my God. Give me a glass of water to wash out my mouth. Totally gross.
• 4:32
  > Harm>You know, it's not politically correct to do that accent anymore.
• 4:34
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 4:34
  > Harm>Even though it's in my family.
• 4:36
  > Brent>Yeah, I know.
• 4:36
  > Harm>I hear it.
• 4:37
  > Bob>Valley girl.
• 4:38
  > Harm>No, the one. The Ganga Din. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 4:41
  > Announcer>Valley.
• 4:42
  > Harm>Valley girl. I went to my 40th high school reunion the other day a couple weeks ago, and a girl I had a crush on.
• 4:48
  > Brent>Wow. You graduated?
• 4:49
  > Harm>I know. They let me graduate. Um, one of the girls I had a crush on back then, she's a lawyer now.
• 4:55
  > Harm>She's funny as hell, but she used to that valley girl accent when everybody else doing that. For sure, for sure, for sure.
• 5:01
  > Bob>Totally.
• 5:03
  > Brent>All right, well, let's have, um, Justin tell us about our first winery and our first wine.
• 5:08
  > Bob>All right. At the crest of Mount Veeder at 2400ft above the Napa Valley floor, 50 acres of vines have been quietly telling their story for over a century.
• 5:23
  > Brent>Really?
• 5:23
  > Harm>Sexually, apparently. It's a sexy voice you got there.
• 5:26
  > Brent>Isn't it, though?
• 5:27
  > Bob>Thank you. The winery itself was built in 1889 by John Henry Fisher, a German immigrant and pickle merchant.
• 5:35
  > Brent>Awesome.
• 5:36
  > Bob>My kind of guy. You can't say that.
• 5:38
  > Harm>Sexy.
• 5:38
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 5:39
  > Harm>I don't know.
• 5:40
  > Brent>Pickle merchant.
• 5:40
  > Bob>Pickle merchant. Who hand cut stones from the surrounding mountain to construct it. That same stone building is still in use today. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake forced Fisher out, the property sat dormant till 1941, when Jack and Mary Taylor purchased it and renamed it Mayacamas, a Wapo word said to mean the howl of the mountain lion. And replanted the vineyards with cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay then in 1968, at, uh, 30 years old, Bob Travers took ownership after his apprentice at heights Cellars. His 1971 vintage was selected for the famed Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976, the event that announced California winemaking to the world. The vineyards sit on weathered volcanic rock and ash at elevations between 1800 and 2200ft. The first wine we're going to talk about is Mayacamas Vineyards 2023 Chardonnay. It's 13 and a half percent alcohol. By volume, it's a Mount Veder Appalachian, Napa Valley. It's 100% Chardonnay.
• 7:02
  > Bob>The 2023 was harvested by hand in early September.
• 7:06
  > Bob>Cluster sorted. Hull cluster pressed 95% and tread pressed 5%. Fermentation was composed in assorted neutral oak and bottled early in August 2024. Now, 2023 was an amazing vintage year. This is no exception. On the nose. Well, the color is like a really straw, almost clear color, like a light, light yellow. The nose. I got, uh, white and yellow flowers and lemon pledge.
• 7:40
  > Harm>Although now hurt you, Justin.
• 7:43
  > Bob>Now that the wine has been in the glass for a while, the lemon pledge is faded off. But it was a note, uh, when we first poured it on the palette.
• 7:52
  > Bob>Pears, apples, lemon peel on the mid palate. It's very complex nuances of like fine teas and fancy Japanese citrus and lemongrass. And the finish is long leaves. The back palette like a mineral spring. Just beautiful. What did you think? Um, good old boy Harmeet.
• 8:19
  > Harm>Well, thanks for coming to me, Justin. I don't have that sexy voice right now, but I'm gonna work on it for my review. When I do the neck, when I, when I do the third line, um, the nose is like you. You said whitening. I wasn't listening to you. I got candied, uh, lemon peel. I did not think lemon pledge. I got a hint of pear on the palette.
• 8:38
  > Announcer>White.
• 8:38
  > Harm>Ah, flowers. Um, and I don't know, can I, can I taste that? Foot tread pressed wine is. Who does that anymore? Who's stomping on grapes anymore?
• 8:50
  > Bob>That's me in my summer.
• 8:52
  > Harm>It's only 5% tread press.
• 8:53
  > Bob>Raw doesn't pay what it used to.
• 8:55
  > Harm>Yeah, only 5% tread pressed. But I think I got that foot fungus now.
• 8:58
  > Bob>It just pay me.
• 8:59
  > Harm>In wine, there's no off nose.
• 9:00
  > Brent>You have a scent of Dr. Scholl's is what you're saying. It was really sexy girls from Hooters that were tread pressing it. That's what makes it special.
• 9:10
  > Harm>That's what makes it special. Ah, let's do boob pressed wine. Let's do that.
• 9:15
  > Bob>I like it.
• 9:17
  > Harm>Justin's ruin the show with his whole sexy voice.
• 9:18
  > Harm>Now I've got this on my head. All right, Pears on the palette. Lemon, uh, peel those. I mean, there's some apple there, but I don't know, it's more towards pear. A lot of citrus. Um, and the finish is saline. I get that, that, um, that salty, beautiful sea air. And I guess it's coming from the soil there because this is high up. It's volcanic soil. So this must be coming, the minerality must be coming from that. It's absolutely beautiful and, um, really drinkable, even at, uh, only three years old. And Mount Veeder stuff can last a lot longer than that. Even their whites. What do you think, Bob?
• 9:58
  > Brent>I think it's absolutely delicious. And I'm not a big white guy, but.
• 10:03
  > Harm>Which is ironic because you're a big white guy.
• 10:05
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 10:05
  > Brent>Isn't that funny?
• 10:06
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 10:07
  > Brent>Um, pears, green apples, lemon peel. Beautiful, beautiful mouthfeel. The minerality definitely comes out. It's that salty, dry river stone kind of feel on the palate. Really well done. Really, really well done. This is a beautiful Chardonnay.
• 10:28
  > Brent>Mhm.
• 10:30
  > Harm>Yeah. You know, I had Bob bring out a spit bucket when we started. I haven't used it this time and I actually had to refill this white wine. This is great.
• 10:38
  > Bob>Yeah. I can't keep it in my glass because I keep drinking.
• 10:41
  > Harm>It keeps disappearing.
• 10:42
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 10:43
  > Brent>But we're going to be rating The Mayacamas Vineyards 2023 Chardonnay a, uh, well deserved.
• 10:49
  > Brent>Four sips.
• 10:51
  > Harm>That's classified.
• 10:54
  > Brent>We'll be back. Hey. And we're back. And we just finished talking about that delicious, uh, 2023 Mayacamas Vineyard Chardonnay. Four sips. That one fantastic Chardonnay. Really one of the best ones I've had in a while.
• 11:11
  > Bob>Goes down so easy.
• 11:13
  > Brent>Really well done. So we're going to move on to our next wine from the folks at Mayacamas. So we have The Mayacamas Vineyards 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon.
• 11:21
  > Brent>This is 14% ABV. The Appalachian is Mount Veder in Napa Valley. It's 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is comprised of grapes from 11 estate vineyard sites and one grower site. Each is harvested by hand between August 31st and September 9th at the winery. The clusters were sorted by hand and de stemmed. Fermentation occurs at lower temperatures in a mix of concrete tanks, stainless steel tanks, and oak puncheons. With an average maceration time of about 19 days. The wine was aged in neutral, uh, fodder and 500 liter puncheons for 20 months and 225 liter neutral French barrels for 12 months. So let's see here. Uh, it's got a beautiful bright ruby garnet edge to it.
• 12:11
  > Harm>Clear edges.
• 12:13
  > Brent>Very clear.
• 12:13
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 12:14
  > Harm>This is young. We killed a baby Mayacamas and a lot of Mount Veeder wines are, uh, they're definitely cellar worthy. They need a long time to develop in the bottle. We are drinking it way too young.
• 12:28
  > Brent>Yeah, well, gotta do what you gotta do. But beautiful nose on it.
• 12:33
  > Harm>Oh, it's what's available now retail though.
• 12:36
  > Brent>Beautiful, beautiful nose. Just like walking into a flower shop. And on the palate, let's see M.
• 12:46
  > Brent>Mhm. Dark red and black fruit, black cherries, plums, a little bit of BlackBerry. There's a nice minerality on the front of the palette on the teeth. Their tasting notes have graphite. I'm not getting graphite.
• 13:05
  > Harm>I didn't get graphite at all. I looked at their note too.
• 13:08
  > Brent>I think I'm getting more river stone. You know, I'm getting more of that, you know, earthiness to it. When um, I think graphite, I'm thinking more steely.
• 13:18
  > Harm>I think pencil lead. Yeah, yeah. You get those pencil shaving notes in Bordeaux often?
• 13:24
  > Brent>Yeah, uh, there's not here, but this one got a great, great mouth feel to m. Stays with you for a while. This is, this one is delicious now, but like you said, um, I mean
• 13:38
  > Harm>it's five years from now.
• 13:39
  > Brent>It's a 20, 21, but I'd say give this a few more years. You can drink it now and you're not going to be disappointed.
• 13:45
  > Harm>You can drink this 30 years from now.
• 13:47
  > Brent>This one is going to just get better with time.
• 13:49
  > Brent>This is a beautiful wine. What do you think?
• 13:50
  > Harm>Harb? It's absolutely gorgeous. Like you said, it's still um, it's got that beautiful garnet color and you said it was um. What did you say on the nose?
• 14:00
  > Brent>Like black cherries, plums. Um, I got a little bit of BlackBerry on the front palette.
• 14:05
  > Harm>That's the palette, the nose. So I got like sandalwood.
• 14:08
  > Brent>Ah.
• 14:09
  > Harm>And BlackBerry and a little bit of mulberry on the. It's like really perfumey. Super perfumey.
• 14:14
  > Brent>Yeah. I got violets.
• 14:16
  > Harm>Yeah, I'll give you violets too. Uh, on the fruit you were right. On the, on the palate, red and black fruit. No, uh, graphite at all. There is a um, herbal note towards the finish, I don't know what it is. It's got a great grip on the palate.
• 14:34
  > Harm>You feel its size. You feel it. You feel. Um, comes in pretty early with a grip, and so those tannins need more time to integrate. I think five years too young for this wine. Um, just gorgeous finish, too. It just goes on and on. Uh, we need a steak.
• 14:49
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 14:50
  > Bob>Uh, that'd be nice.
• 14:51
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 14:51
  > Harm>Justin, what do you think?
• 14:52
  > Brent>A big tomahawk.
• 14:53
  > Bob>I got early 90s, early 40s housewife,
• 14:58
  > Harm>and I've never tasted a early 40s housewife, but that's really gross.
• 15:02
  > Brent>Yeah, that's weird.
• 15:04
  > Bob>No, that's on the nose. Smells like her.
• 15:08
  > Brent>Okay.
• 15:09
  > Harm>I have tasted 90s elsewhere, and I
• 15:11
  > Bob>also got, like, the Napa leather like they have in the late 90s Ferraris, like the 308, the Testarossa. Gonna get that on the palette. I got rich fruits.
• 15:24
  > Harm>You live an interesting life.
• 15:26
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 15:26
  > Bob>I did get graphite.
• 15:27
  > Brent>It's all in his mind, but he lives there, so.
• 15:30
  > Bob>And I got classic Mount Veeder notes. You know, that beautiful thinness that follows onto the palette that that appellation's known for. It has those classic characteristics. And the finish was a lot of French oak.
• 15:54
  > Announcer>So good.
• 15:56
  > Harm>Yeah. No lies detected.
• 15:58
  > Brent>Yep.
• 16:01
  > Harm>I think I, I. What did you say about the Ferrari?
• 16:05
  > Bob>So in the, in the late 90s, they had, like, the testeros and the three. It kind of smells like the 308 Napa leather. That was standard in that in the late 90s models.
• 16:15
  > Harm>I was in grad school. I had nowhere near a Ferrari, so
• 16:19
  > Bob>I was in a carpool.
• 16:21
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 16:21
  > Bob>And it was a dermatologist. Had a 1998 308.
• 16:29
  > Harm>Okay. Yeah. I'm gonna start comparing my wines to, ah, leather and cars, too. Uh, I was invited to a, uh, really hoity toity party at Net Worth was throwing. And, uh, because they don't know I have no net worth, um, it was an airplane hangar at Fort Lauderdale. And, uh. Oh, yeah, one of those private parties. They're trying to lease me a jet.
• 16:49
  > Bob>Yes.
• 16:50
  > Harm>I said, would you like to lease your yacht?
• 16:51
  > Harm>Because they think I have an owner yacht.
• 16:53
  > Bob>Right.
• 16:53
  > Harm>So we got into an Aston Martin DB9. My wife said this is the car we would have sex in because the smell was so good in there. So I can.
• 17:01
  > Brent>I can notice he doesn't have the
• 17:02
  > Harm>car, so I don't have the car, so I don't have sex.
• 17:04
  > Harm>There you go.
• 17:05
  > Bob>Right. Okay.
• 17:06
  > Harm>Can't afford an astronaut.
• 17:07
  > Bob>At least you know the path to joy.
• 17:08
  > Harm>I know, I know.
• 17:09
  > Bob>Now it's just financing it.
• 17:13
  > Harm>We have a rating, Bob.
• 17:15
  > Brent>Yeah, we're swear we're going to be giving the Mike Hummus Vineyards 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon A well deserved forceps. That's classified. So that takes us to our last one from Mayacamas. We'll have Harm tell us about that one.
• 17:32
  > Harm>So we have no idea, uh, about the vinification of this last wine or this third wine from Mayacamas.
• 17:37
  > Harm>Uh, this is the Mayacamas Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV. Its Appalachian is Mount Veeder Napa Valley. We don't have any vinification notes. I'm assuming it's very similar to the 2021.
• 17:52
  > Harm>Um, the color here is much more opaque and a little more cloudy than the 2006. The edges, so you got this opaque purple. The edges are violet.
• 18:02
  > Harm>They're not even going to brick yet. I would expect a, uh, what, 20 year old wine to start having brick edges, more orange, starting more show more age. Yeah, this wine is still young. No, this wine is still young and vibrant. It's got 10 to 20 more years in it.
• 18:15
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 18:16
  > Harm>Um, on the nose, incense. BlackBerry, blueberry, anise, flowers. Um, there's a, uh, underneath everything, pomegranate and red cherries. And oh my God, this is just. There's a hint of like this, um, I guess that volcanic soil coming out as well on the palate. Big fruit, high acidity, black cherry, mulberries, black plum. Um, it's going and going. My mouth is watering right now. Um, the oak is starting to show right now at the end. Uh, there's a lot of grip coming. It comes in later.
• 18:58
  > Harm>So you see the tannins are more mature. Uh, and it's uh. We need a steak. Bob, what do you think?
• 19:07
  > Brent>It's absolutely fantastic. I'm with you. I'm shocked looking at it. The color on it, it's showing literally no signs of age.
• 19:17
  > Harm>But when you, when you decanted, there was, there were sediments quite a bit.
• 19:21
  > Brent>Not that much, really. Not that much. Uh, I would have expected more, uh, honestly.
• 19:26
  > Harm>So Bob decanted these wines two hours
• 19:28
  > Brent>before we started the show, but absolutely fantastic. I mean, oh, the nose on it is just like heaven. But the palate, like you said, the grip on this thing, it just, it grabs your soul and just squeezes you. It's fantastic.
• 19:43
  > Harm>It wants you to tell it.
• 19:45
  > Brent>We'll be back.
• 19:50
  > Bob>Hey.
• 19:50
  > Brent>And we're back and we're still discussing this absolutely fantastic. My commas vineyards 2006 cabernet sauvignon. I'm just, I'm, I'm. Yeah, this one is just. This is everything that you want in a, in a properly cellared, well made California Cabernet. This is, this is fantastic.
• 20:10
  > Harm>So when you buy Mayacamas, don't drink it.
• 20:12
  > Harm>Literally put it down to five, ten years. Five to ten years at least.
• 20:15
  > Bob>So the, the color is really dark. I got, um, some fruits in the background, but I got a really strong note of high end cigar box on the nose which was very appealing to me.
• 20:27
  > Harm>You know, I, I should have picked that up. You're actually right. Definitely. Cigar box.
• 20:32
  > Bob>I'm sniffing a lot of cigar boxes, so.
• 20:34
  > Harm>Yeah, 100. Correct.
• 20:36
  > Bob>And then the palette, like rich blueberries, maraschino cherries. The finish was French oak with a whisper of fruit. And it's just beautiful.
• 20:50
  > Brent>Yeah, the oak is there, the cedar's there, the dark fruit is there. There's.
• 20:55
  > Harm>I don't say beautiful whisper. Maybe on the finish. No, I still feel, I still feel the um, the acidity and, and ripe fruit. Even on the finish. I don't think it's more, I think it's more than the whisper, but more important. Smoking too many cigars.
• 21:09
  > Bob>No, I think that's why I'm glad that three people are drinking this cuz we're going to get different things. That's good.
• 21:14
  > Harm>But you're a cigar smoker.
• 21:15
  > Brent>More importantly, what.
• 21:16
  > Harm>The fact that you, what type of
• 21:18
  > Brent>leather seat does it taste like to you?
• 21:19
  > Bob>This one doesn't taste like a leather seat that the 2021 did. Yeah, it doesn't even taste my own needs.
• 21:26
  > Brent>And what I need from an automobile I know I get from this new Cordova. I could ask for nothing beyond the quality of Cordova's workmanship, the tastefulness of its appearance. I request nothing beyond the sickly cushion luxury of seats available even in soft Corinthian leather.
• 21:47
  > Brent>Corinthian leather.
• 21:50
  > Bob>I was thinking that I saw him
• 21:52
  > Brent>on Johnny Carson in, asked him one time, he goes, what is it? And he goes, It's a word that the advertising, uh, people made up.
• 21:59
  > Bob>Yeah,
• 22:02
  > Brent>I wanted to buy one of those damn cars, cuz.
• 22:04
  > Bob>Sure.
• 22:04
  > Brent>You know, he sounds so good.
• 22:06
  > Announcer>He sold it.
• 22:07
  > Brent>And it's con. I mean, if you're going to buy a car, I'm going to buy one for.
• 22:10
  > Harm>Was he con when he made that commercial?
• 22:11
  > Brent>Was before con, Mr. Rourke?
• 22:14
  > Bob>Yes.
• 22:15
  > Harm>He was Fantasy Island. Fantasy Island, David.
• 22:18
  > Bob>Uh, what a job. Yeah, but he had his Mr. Rourke with Tad, work with Tattoo, obviously you were.
• 22:25
  > Harm>And all the hot models every week.
• 22:27
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 22:29
  > Brent>Well, all I can say is this wine is absolutely fantastic. And we're going to be giving The Mayacamas Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. I. I feel inadequate giving it a five.
• 22:41
  > Harm>Oh, my goodness.
• 22:46
  > Brent>It's. It deserves higher than that. It's really just. That's, that's a special wine. And thank you. Thank you to the folks Mayacamas for sending it to us. Um, so that's going to take us to our next winery. So hold on one second. Nice, uh, smell.
• 23:03
  > Harm>You need more? So.
• 23:04
  > Brent>Overlooking St Helena on the western edge of Howell Mountain, the Arkanstone estate rises from 1400 to over 1650ft of elevation. The story begins with Ron and Susan Krause, a California attorney and marriage counselor who purchased over 40 acres of former pasture land on Howell Mountain in 1988 with no intention whatsoever of planting grapes or building a winery. They just wanted a home in the country. But the land had other ideas. And when an internationally respected vineyard consultant evaluated the property in the early 90s and raved about its potential for growing very high quality grapes, Ron and Susan knew they faced a decision that would radically change their lives. They planted the vineyards in 98 and haven't looked back since. What makes Arkenstone so distinctive starts with the hairwire. So Howell Mountain is known for its nutrient poor volcanic soils and abundance of rock conditions that stress the vines, producing smaller clusters, lower yields and intensely concentrated berries. In the winery, the approach is deliberately restrained. Fruit is gravity fed from crush pad directly into fermentation tanks in the Y and see minimal intervention but extended elevage. Similar in philosophy to the top chateau of Bordeaux, with only French oak used throughout, the 13 acre estate, Vineyard is planted primarily to traditional Bordeaux varietals. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and Malboc, Saumillon and Sauvignon Blanc split across 22 separate blocks, each carefully matched to the varied soils and slopes of the mountain.
• 24:39
  > Brent>The vineyards have been farmed organically from the very beginning, not as a marketing point, but as a genuine expression of the family's commitment to this remarkable piece of land. So our first wine is going to be the arkenstone Estate Blanc 2023. It's 14.5% ABV, Appalachians, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, 93% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Semillon. It's 100% organic estate. For farmed, the Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in oak and concrete vessels for 11 months. Surly with no racking or batonnage. And the Semillon is fermented and aged for 11 months in New oak Surly.
• 25:17
  > Brent>The final blend is bottled and aged for 18 months in bottle before release. So on the color, beautiful bright straw. Almost sunshiny to it.
• 25:33
  > Brent>Very, very beautiful. On the nose, there's a nice.
• 25:40
  > Brent>The lime is died down. When it was colder, we had more lime.
• 25:43
  > Harm>Um, but any more peach and pear?
• 25:46
  > Brent>Yeah, there's more peach in this. When it was colder, the lime was really leaping out. There's still the peach in there. Yeah, I'm getting a little bit of pear. There's a nice minerality to it. But on the palate, let's see.
• 26:03
  > Bob>Mhm.
• 26:04
  > Brent>On the palate I get pineapple, citrus, white flowers. The minerality is there. It's got a really lovely grip on the tongue. Covers the palate. Front, side, back, M. Mm. The acidity is just right. It's not overpowering, but just enough to make the mouth water. This is really well done.
• 26:35
  > Brent>I'm really enjoying this. What do you think, Harm?
• 26:37
  > Harm>It's one of the best wines I've had. Best white wine I've ever had in my life. And I've had some really crazy white wines. Um, we don't usually talk about price here, but this is 150, 175 bucks for this vintage. Older ventures will cost more.
• 26:53
  > Brent>Um, worth it, though.
• 26:54
  > Harm>Jesus. This is a Sauvignon Blanc like no other. I know Justin was raving about it. We were tasting earlier. Um, I. It took this warming up for me to really love it. When it was colder, I didn't get as much nuance. Now I see the layers. Uh, like you said, the lime has disappeared. And I'm getting pears and peaches. There's, uh, this, um, lanolin quality to it, like that wool oil on the nose and also on the palate, it's such. The Semillon is adding a lot of depth to this, a lot of weight.
• 27:26
  > Harm>Um, and you can smell it. Uh, if this is like fine white Bordeaux, um, this is. I mean, there's usually more Semillon white Bordeaux, but still, this is just crazy good. Um, amazing texture. This wine is about texture and flavors that weave beautifully together. I can't get enough of this wine. And at the end of the show, I'm probably steal it. Stealing the bottle. Just what you think.
• 27:55
  > Bob>So the color is this beautiful white gold. There's just a little bit of carbonation in it. Not a Lot, just not carbon.
• 28:06
  > Harm>Not really carbonation.
• 28:07
  > Bob>You're bubbles.
• 28:09
  > Harm>That's because you shook it too much.
• 28:11
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 28:12
  > Bob>Okay.
• 28:13
  > Harm>Yeah. You're getting an effervescence. Uh, it's.
• 28:17
  > Harm>It's fooling you that you got effervescence because the acidity is so piercing. It's fooling your tongue. Well, that's just. You shook it too much, dude. You swirl too much. There's no bubbles in my glass.
• 28:27
  > Bob>Okay. And then on the palette, I got like a beautiful understated tropical fruit. I got, um, like a lemon French pastry and really beautiful minerality. And the finish is just so smooth. I've never had a better white. That's all I have to say.
• 28:55
  > Harm>I married a better white man. I keep marrying white girls. I don't know what's wrong with me.
• 29:00
  > Brent>This is really a special wine. I mean, this one is really special.
• 29:04
  > Harm>Yeah, I know.
• 29:06
  > Brent>So we're going to be giving the arkenstone Estate Block 2023A well deserved five sips.
• 29:13
  > Harm>Oh, yeah. Oh, my goodness. No, uh, no qualms.
• 29:19
  > Brent>So that's going to take us to our next one from Arkanstone and we'll have Justin start telling us about that just before we go into commercial.
• 29:26
  > Harm>Are we going to commercial now?
• 29:27
  > Brent>Shortly. Yeah.
• 29:28
  > Bob>Truly blessed to talk about.
• 29:30
  > Harm>I think we're just wasting time. We're stretching to a commercial.
• 29:32
  > Bob>Arkansone Red Wine 2022. We'll talk about it more after the break.
• 29:36
  > Harm>There you go. Stretch.
• 29:40
  > Brent>All right, we're back and Justin's going to tell us about our next one from Arkanson.
• 29:44
  > Bob>So the Arkanson estate Red Wine 2022 is a luxurious 14.8 ABV Tal Mountain Appalachian. It's, uh, Napa Valley 75, Cab 79. Yeah, he said 12% Cobb Front, 7% Perdit Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec Clean.
• 30:09
  > Bob>Your glasses and grapes are hand harvested and gravity fed into the fermentation hall. Vinified by lot to preserve sight, expression. Don't ask me what that means. I have no idea.
• 30:22
  > Harm>Each lot is vinified separately, then blended later.
• 30:26
  > Brent>We're running short on time. We'll explain it.
• 30:28
  > Bob>Aged 11 months of aging and barrel. Final blends assembled, returned to the barrel for another 11 months to fully integrate. Then the bottles age for 12 months before release. The color on this is beautiful. Nice and dark on the nose. You got a, um, fruit store and a tea store all laid into one.
• 30:55
  > Bob>On the palette, a dark chocolate and a bunch of fruit. And it was really tasty.
• 31:03
  > Harm>What did you think about where's your cigar box.
• 31:05
  > Harm>There's almost cigar box here, right?
• 31:07
  > Bob>No, no, on, um, this one.
• 31:09
  > Harm>A little bit of cedar.
• 31:09
  > Brent>No, on the nose.
• 31:11
  > Bob>Well, cedar yeage wine in, but not a cigar.
• 31:14
  > Brent>There's blueberries, there's violets. Um, the tea is definitely there. I get a little bit of hint of. There's a little bit of old worn leather in the back on the nose and on the palate. Hold on.
• 31:31
  > Brent>Dark fruit, nice minerality. Hints of, um, Dutch cocoa. Really well put together. Great palette.
• 31:44
  > Brent>Coats the tongue front, back sides. Wow, that's.
• 31:50
  > Brent>That's, that's a really great wine. What'd you think? Arm?
• 31:53
  > Harm>I haven't had a more complex California red. Yeah, this is just absolutely stunning. You said a fruit store and a tea shop? Yeah.
• 32:02
  > Bob>There you go.
• 32:03
  > Harm>Yeah. Uh, raspberries, blueberries.
• 32:05
  > Brent>Um, I'm having trouble putting words to it, to be honest with you.
• 32:09
  > Harm>So I got a lot of violets on this. I got a tiny bit of cedar. Uh, Bob said leather, but it's not that fine Corinthian leather we got in the Mayacamas. It's a different. So it's more light.
• 32:20
  > Harm>Uh, I get a, uh, little bit of, like, vanilla and toffee notes, which the toffee came on the palate.
• 32:27
  > Harm>There's a sweetness there like that, like, uh, burnt sugar type thing. But that's just really, that's just underneath all the fruit. This is so complex. It evolves in the glass so much. The violets keep coming back. Very aroused. Yeah, I mean, uh, if I drink this wine for four hours, I'll have to see a doctor. Yeah. This is crazy.
• 32:49
  > Brent>Yeah, that's. That's fantastic. That's absolutely fantastic.
• 32:53
  > Harm>So luscious on the palate. Just rich and, and minerally and fruity. And this is Justin Said chocolate. Right?
• 33:02
  > Brent>Chocolate. He said chocolate.
• 33:03
  > Harm>Uh, toffee.
• 33:05
  > Bob>1988 Grand national leather.
• 33:08
  > Harm>Okay.
• 33:08
  > Bob>Freaking beautiful.
• 33:09
  > Harm>I don't know what that means, but I'll believe you.
• 33:11
  > Bob>It's a beautiful, bricky looking sedan with huge horsepower.
• 33:16
  > Harm>So the finish is on the sweet side, but it's still dry. I love that. Rate it, Bob.
• 33:21
  > Brent>We're gonna give the arkenstone estate red 2022 again a, uh, well deserved five sips because, oh, my goodness, we don't have six.
• 33:29
  > Harm>Yes, yes, yes.
• 33:32
  > Brent>All right, Harm, take us home. Tell us about the last one from Arkansas.
• 33:36
  > Harm>Our final wine of the evening is Arkenstone NVD Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, 14.6 ABV. I want to do the sexy voice, but it Takes too long to do that and we're running out of time. The appellation is Napa valley. Ryle is 100% cabernet sauvignon.
• 33:49
  > Harm>Source of the fruit is, um, the Amanas Vineyard on the western side of Calistoga, the Highmark vineyard on the eastern side of Calistoga, and the Arkanstone Estate in Howell Mountain. Uh, each vineyard is blocked, is vinified separately, again, aged for 22 months and 75% new French oak from top tier cooperages. After extensive tasting and evaluation, the final blend is assembled and aged for an additional year in bottle before release. The color is a gorgeous, absolute vibrant ruby with clear to violet edges. The aroma is cherry, BlackBerry, cassis, kirsch, pomegranate, uh, cloves. There's some other spice. I'm not sure what it is. Is it Chinese, five spice? Is it anise? What is that?
• 34:34
  > Brent>There's something a little bit of five spice.
• 34:35
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 34:38
  > Harm>On, um, the palette, it's all about those dark fruits, a little bit of stony minerality. There's a lot of great things going on here, but it's not as good as that last one. I'm sorry. But still amazing. This is a great cab. I love it. The fish goes on and on.
• 34:53
  > Brent>Completely different wine.
• 34:53
  > Harm>That's a completely different wine. The blend of the previous one is just that. I'm sorry, There's a technical term. It's called priapism. Yes. I'm aroused.
• 35:02
  > Brent>Yes.
• 35:04
  > Harm>Go, Justin. I am, um, very.
• 35:07
  > Bob>Is that the thing if it lasts more than four hours? Yeah. Hospital.
• 35:11
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 35:12
  > Bob>So it's beautiful cherries on this. Cloves, Pipe tobacco.
• 35:20
  > Harm>Sweet pipe tobacco. Like my grandfather used to smell.
• 35:22
  > Bob>Yeah, exactly. That's it. The palette's got lots of fruit. Riverstone. It's got beautiful minerality to it. And the finish, it's, um, fruity. And then if you don't take it to other sip quickly, it's a slightly metallic, but not in a bad way.
• 35:42
  > Harm>I didn't get any metallic taste at all.
• 35:45
  > Brent>What do you think, Bob?
• 35:47
  > Harm>So you're saying that the finish was going that way?
• 35:49
  > Bob>Yeah, at the very, very end, there's, like, a little bit of, like, iron magnet.
• 35:53
  > Harm>It could be iron. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Bob, what do you think?
• 35:57
  > Brent>Cherries, blackberries, blueberries, clove, five spice. The nose is absolutely fantastic on the palate. M dark red fruits. A great minerality, especially on the front along the teeth. Some bay leaf. Just the grip is just fantastic.
• 36:26
  > Harm>Absolutely stunning.
• 36:27
  > Brent>Entirely different wine from the first one that we had from when we were
• 36:30
  > Harm>Discussing this earlier, I feel like I was the one who liked the blend better than the cab. And you guys like the cab. You guys change your minds if you come back to it?
• 36:37
  > Brent>No, I think I like both of them just as well.
• 36:39
  > Brent>They're just completely different wines.
• 36:40
  > Harm>I still think I like the blend way better. And they're both top tier wines. They're amazing.
• 36:45
  > Bob>I, I would have this one with haggis. It would be great.
• 36:48
  > Harm>I would have nothing, uh, with haggis because I will never eat haggis. Yeah, you guys just came back from Scotland. Skaggus there when you're there.
• 36:57
  > Bob>I had haggis.
• 36:57
  > Brent>Had it for breakfast every morning.
• 36:59
  > Harm>You lie.
• 37:00
  > Brent>Absolutely.
• 37:00
  > Bob>I didn't have it every morning.
• 37:02
  > Harm>Mhm.
• 37:02
  > Bob>But I had it both.
• 37:04
  > Brent>Delicious.
• 37:04
  > Bob>I wasn't gonna go there.
• 37:05
  > Harm>They told me, they told me tales of curry shops and chip shops.
• 37:09
  > Brent>Oh yeah.
• 37:09
  > Bob>Oh yeah, we'd have that too.
• 37:11
  > Brent>Yeah. Uh, well, we're going to be giving the Arkenstone NVD Cabernet Sauvignon 2022. Again, it sounds repetitive, but five sips because oh my God, we don't have six.
• 37:24
  > Harm>None of these wines are inexpensive. You're gonna know you're gonna empty your
• 37:27
  > Brent>wine wallet for these.
• 37:27
  > Harm>I mean it depends on how your wallet is.
• 37:29
  > Brent>Yeah, but how many wines have you emptied your wallet for that were not worth it? Uh, these are absolutely worth it. Yeah, you can always spend money and not get really good wine. You know, that's.
• 37:42
  > Harm>Here's my tip to you guys. Buy the wine at your local wine purveyor, pay the corkage fee at the restaurant because these days restaurants are charging double and triple what they're you going to get retail. So there you go. Come see me.
• 37:54
  > Brent>Well, that's all the time we have for today. I want to thank you guys for joining me today. Thank you, Justin.
• 38:00
  > Bob>What a privilege. Thank you Bob.
• 38:02
  > Brent>And thank you Harm.
• 38:04
  > Harm>Thank you, Bob. I rarely mean it, but this time I do. Thank you so much.
• 38:07
  > Brent>You guys weren't happy after today. You're awful hard to please.
• 38:10
  > Harm>No, no, this is, this was amazing. Thank you again. It's just.
• 38:13
  > Brent>And thank you to the folks at Mayacamas and at Arkenstone for sharing the wines with us. We uh, met the folks at Mayakamas, uh, in. In Boca, wasn't it?
• 38:23
  > Announcer>At the.
• 38:24
  > Bob>Oh yes.
• 38:25
  > Brent>Artisan wine of food. And, and we uh, met Jake from the family from uh, Arkansas down in Miami at Suckling event. Great, great guy. Real nice guy.
• 38:35
  > Brent>Enjoyed our time with him as well. But fantastic wines. Really fantastic. Wines. Well, it's made man. Bob, thanks for joining us today. And remember, life is too short to drink bad wine. And fortunately, today we didn't have to do that.
• 38:49
  > Bob>That's right.
• 38:49
  > Brent>Lord have mercy.
• 38:52
  > Announcer>We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor and tap. Just tap it in the subscribe button.
• 39:00
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• 39:04
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• 39:29
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• 39:46
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• 40:04
  > Announcer>This is been a one tan hand production of Sips, Suds and Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation of some of the finer slices of life from the dude in the Basement Studios, your host, the Good Old boys. We'll see you all next time.