Relic Wine Cellars Ritual 2015
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
The 9th vintage of our Napa pre-prohibition blend has come together beautifully. What is so remarkable about 2015 is the opulence and richness of the vintage without any roasted characteristics. We credit this to the vintage's consistent heat that never reached extreme high temperatures. Fragrant notes of strawberry coulis, ripe lingonberry tart, cardamom and warm, sandy minerality explode from the glass. The palate is full-bodied with richness to spare, and an incredible sense of layered depth. tannin's , as usual for this blend, provide a supporting role but do not dominate, allowing the powerful finish to linger.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 30% Grenache, 28% Mourvèdre, 18% Carignan,15% Syrah, and 9% Petite, the 2015 Ritual Heritage Blend comes from some seriously old vines and spent 20 months mostly in neutral oak. It’s awesome Rhône blend from California that gives up loads of darker berry fruits, ground pepper, lavender, incense and hints of cured meats. Deep, medium to full-bodied, elegant, and seamless, with ?ne-grained tannin, it’s a beauty that Rhône lovers shouldn’t miss. It has enough tannin to keep for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A Rhone varietal blend, the 2015 Ritual features a medium garnet-purple color and spicy, baked berry and kirsch-laced nose with hints of black pepper and fragrant earth. Full-bodied and packed with earthy/mineralinspired characters in the mouth, it o!ers ripe, rounded tannins and a lively backbone, "nishing on a peppery note.
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Robert
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Dunnuck -
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Jeb
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Spectator -
Robert
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Wine
Spectator
Relic was founded in Napa Valley in 2001 by husband and wife team Michael Hirby and Schatzi
Throckmorton, with a focus on historic winemaking techniques. Inspired by a love of Burgundy, they began making a small amount of Pinot Noir, and have since continued to mine history for old secrets in the making of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast as well as Rhone and Bordeaux varietals from the Napa Valley, where their hillside cave winery is located.
When highly natural, traditional methods such as indigenous yeast fermentation, whole-cluster
fermentation, extended lees ageing, minimal-intervention, etc. - are applied to California’s great terroirs, the resulting wines are world-class, complex, layered, and vibrantly aromatic. The diverse vineyard sources are tended with the utmost care, and are always grown to Relic’s specifications of yield, light exposure, irrigation, etc.
After gaining a degree in Philosophy from Colorado College, Michael worked for 2 years as a
sommelier. Before moving to Napa Valley., he spent an extended period tasting with winemakers in France, where he learned that some contemporary winemaking rules are meant to be broken, and his traditional approach became entrenched. Michael is currently the consulting winemaker for D.R. Stephens Estate, Husic Family Vineyards, Sarocka Estate, Wolf Family Vineyards, Flint Knoll, and MAZE, and was the consulting winemaker at Realm Cellars for 8 years.
Schatzi gained a degree in History from Northwestern before moving to Napa Valley in 1999 to work harvest. Her skills were soon recognized, and she has been busy ever since. Schatzi is the Business Manager for Behrens Family Winery, where she has been for 17 years.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.