Category: Updates

Greetings from the Winery!

We hope you and your family are well and in good health. I’m excited to share with you that Antonio Galloni of Vinous Media just reviewed our 2017 Hawks Butte Syrah and gave it a 96-point score. This is the highest score he’s given this wine in his years’ long history of tasting our complete portfolio. 

Antonio Galloni is the Founder of Vinous Media. Antonio’s career as one of the most trusted and respected wine critics in the world spans over a decade. In 2004, while a graduate student at MIT, Antonio founded Piedmont Report, the first in-depth, English language journal solely focused on Italian wine. Antonio's success led him to Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate where he became the lead critic and covered the wines of California, Italy, Burgundy and Champagne.  Vinous is the continuation of a vision for a contemporary wine media platform first conceived by Antonio with Piedmont Report in 2004. 

Upon learning our 2017 Hawks Butte Syrah received a 96-point score from such a well-respected wine professional as Galloni, we were filled with a feeling of pride as well as nostalgia of our early vintages. It was in fact our first vintage of Hawks Butte, the 2002, that also received a 96-point score from another world renown critic, Robert Parker, in his publication The Wine Advocate. It was back in 2003 that Parker called the 2002 Hawks Butte Syrah “A dead-ringer for a great Hermitage” while commiserating that “there are only four barrels (approximately 100 cases) of this beauty.” We are happy to say that since those early years one of our learnings was to keep pursuing the production of world-class Syrah from this sublime vineyard by accessing more fruit than we did before, now producing just over 200 cases. 

The 96 points given to the 2017 Hawks Butte Syrah isn’t the only wine that received tremendous accolades. I’ve included a list below the scores received by the other wines in our recent Spring Release below!

2017 Hawks Butte Syrah 

96 Points, Vinous Media, Antonio Galloni, April 2020 

The 2017 Syrah Hawks Butte is bright, floral and full of energy. Sweet red and purplish fruit, wild flowers, blood orange, spice and pepper notes all race out of the glass. The 2017 is wonderfully inviting and alluring, with stunning aromatic presence, bright fruit and exceptional balance. Wow. This is a sensational wine by any measure. -AG 

2017 Maggy Hawk Pinot Noir 

93 Points, Vinous Media, Antonio Galloni, April 2020 

The 2017 Pinot Noir Maggy Hawk is bold and expansive in the glass, with terrific textural resonance and body but, as always, it is done in the mid-weight style that is typical of these wines. Sweet dark red cherry, red plum, spice, blood orange and cedar add aromatic nuance as the wine turns delicate with aeration. -AG

2017 Côte Bannie Pinot Noir 

91 Points, Vinous Media, Antonio Galloni, April 2020 

The 2017 Pinot Noir Côte Bannie is a powerful, dense wine. A whole range earthy, savory notes add to an impression or rusticity that accompanies the dried cherry, plum and sage flavors. This pleasantly rustic Pinot is best enjoyed at the dinner table. There is plenty of personality, that much is clear. -AG 

2017 Edmeades Pinot Noir 

90 Points, Vinous Media, Antonio Galloni, May 2019 

The 2017 Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard is lifted and understated, with lovely floral and savory character. Crushed flowers, herbs, spice and dried cherry are all laced together. Medium in body and gracious, the 2017 is shaping up to be a terrific wine. Stylistically, it is a bit more savory and less fruity than other Pinots in the range. -AG 

2018 Tidal Break Chardonnay 

92 Points, Vinous Media, Antonio Galloni, April 2020 

The 2018 Chardonnay Tidal Break is brisk, finely cut and nuanced, as wines from this part of the Sonoma Coast often are. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and white pepper all add brilliance. -AG 

2018 DuPratt Chardonnay 

91 Points, Vinous Media, Antonio Galloni, April 2020 

The 2018 Chardonnay DuPratt Vineyard is a pretty rich wine, especially given where these wines have been in the past. Orchard fruit, orange peel, spice and tropical overtones add character. This late-ripening site yields a distinctly rich, phenolic style of Chardonnay, but with modest alcohol breadth. -AG