Another stunner from superstar Andy Erickson!
Andy Erickson has worked at some of the most expensive wineries in Napa Valley: Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Ovid
2021 Leviathan Red Blend...$33.99 / 750ml
2021 Leviathan Red Blend...$69.99 / 1.5 liter
Always a good value, the 2021 California Red Wine is no exception and has darker berry fruits, some leafy herb, sage, lavender, and chocolate nuances, full-bodied richness, and a lush, round, seamless style that's already impossible to resist. This is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon (with plenty of other red varieties), and it should shine for 7-8 years, if not a decade, although I would drink this puppy in its youth.
Rated 94/100 James Suckling
Rare Breed: Napa's Affordable Red
Andy Erickson has worked at some of the most expensive wineries in Napa Valley: Screaming Eagle. Harlan Estate. Ovid. Today, he makes or consults on expensive Cabernet Sauvignon for clients including Dalla Valle and his home base at Favia, which he owns with his wife, viticulturist Anne Favia.
He also makes Leviathan, a multi-region blend of red grapes. It's good. It's can also be had for under $40 a bottle, which is astounding for a red wine in Napa today.
So I kept asking him, at a small tasting he hosted recently, Why? Why do you bother making a California-appellation red blend for under $40 a bottle, when you have eight other clients for whom you make $250 Cabernets? Why spend so much time on Leviathan?
To be sure, it does take a lot more work to make an affordable blend, because single-vineyard Napa Cabs – though super expensive – generally call for fairly minimalist winemaking. And an in-demand Napa consulting winemaker making an affordable blend is rare these days.
Erickson didn't really have an answer to Why. But it wasn't hard to figure out the answer from tasting the wines with him: he just likes doing it.....
In 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article headlined "The new cult wines: 10 wineries to watch." Leviathan was an unexpected member of that list, alongside much more expensive Cabernets. The article says: "It's a chance to access the Screaming Eagle winemaker's talents for under $50 – far less than most of his projects." But what Erickson said really got people excited was the mystery.....
read the full article on Wine-Searcher
2021 Leviathan Red Blend...$69.99 / 1.5 liter
Always a good value, the 2021 California Red Wine is no exception and has darker berry fruits, some leafy herb, sage, lavender, and chocolate nuances, full-bodied richness, and a lush, round, seamless style that's already impossible to resist. This is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon (with plenty of other red varieties), and it should shine for 7-8 years, if not a decade, although I would drink this puppy in its youth.
Rated 94/100 James Suckling
Rare Breed: Napa's Affordable Red
Andy Erickson has worked at some of the most expensive wineries in Napa Valley: Screaming Eagle. Harlan Estate. Ovid. Today, he makes or consults on expensive Cabernet Sauvignon for clients including Dalla Valle and his home base at Favia, which he owns with his wife, viticulturist Anne Favia.
He also makes Leviathan, a multi-region blend of red grapes. It's good. It's can also be had for under $40 a bottle, which is astounding for a red wine in Napa today.
So I kept asking him, at a small tasting he hosted recently, Why? Why do you bother making a California-appellation red blend for under $40 a bottle, when you have eight other clients for whom you make $250 Cabernets? Why spend so much time on Leviathan?
To be sure, it does take a lot more work to make an affordable blend, because single-vineyard Napa Cabs – though super expensive – generally call for fairly minimalist winemaking. And an in-demand Napa consulting winemaker making an affordable blend is rare these days.
Erickson didn't really have an answer to Why. But it wasn't hard to figure out the answer from tasting the wines with him: he just likes doing it.....
In 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article headlined "The new cult wines: 10 wineries to watch." Leviathan was an unexpected member of that list, alongside much more expensive Cabernets. The article says: "It's a chance to access the Screaming Eagle winemaker's talents for under $50 – far less than most of his projects." But what Erickson said really got people excited was the mystery.....
read the full article on Wine-Searcher
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