John Anthony Vineyards

A landmark vintage release from John Anthony, marking the first single-vineyard edition of La Dame Michele. A sparkling wine born of the standards practiced by the great Champagne houses, with five years spent en tirage. Aromas of Fuji apple and fresh almond anticipate notes of citrus blossom, lemon shortcake and lychee. The mouthfeel is flush with structure, delicacy and length, exhibiting refined effervescence and luscious acidity. A masterful wine that will age beautifully for decades to come.

"Our first release from a micro-estate adjacent to the home of John Anthony Truchard, prized for its distinct position in the Los Carneros AVA. Deep garnet hues anticipate classic cool-climate aromas of briar fruits, lavender, cracked pepper and cured meat. A high-toned entry leads to enveloping flavors of black cherry, huckleberry and Lucques olive with accents of graphite and smoked game. Tightly wound tannins crescendo with feathery breadth on the finish. A powerfully elegant wine that inaugurates a new era for John Anthony Syrah."

Vintage Notes: Mild weather created ideal conditions at the start of the 2020 growing season, with an early bud break prompted by a relatively dry winter. A warm summer in Napa Valley found moderation in Los Carneros by way of marine breezes from San Pablo Bay. The Syrah crop was marked by small berries that ensured notable structure and concentration.

“Epps Vineyard is the smallest of our Oak Knoll District estates at just under two acres—a coveted micro-site that yields exceptionally elegant Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich, ruby hues set the tone. A deep bouquet of currant and dried raspberry reveals hints of mocha, stone and sweet pipe tobacco. Flavors of savory berry compote, cherry and rhubarb carry trailing notes of leather, toffee, loam and cardamom. A light, dusty entry gains a firm grip on the mid-palate, all finishing with breadth, stature and balance. This vintage marks our second ultra-limited vineyard designate from this essential John Anthony estate. Aged for 28 months in 70 percent new French oak barrels, only 150 cases produced.”

“R/D Vineyard spans less than four acres of rich, volcanic soils in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, notable for producing Cabernet Sauvignons that are energetic and highly textured. The 2019 vintage boasts a deep, ruby-garnet color in the glass. A seductive nose suggests blackberry pudding and fig compote with hints of savory spice, anise, white truffle and earth. A heady entry delivers dark red fruits, late summer cherry and marionberry with impressions of confectioner spices, dried violets, cedar and gravelly stone. The mid-palate intensity yields to finesse and length on the finish. This vintage marks our second ultra-limited vineyard designate from this essential John Anthony estate. Aged for 28 months in 75 percent new French oak barrels, only 150 cases produced.”

"The 2018 vintage continues its ascendance in the best barrel of wine selected from what has been one of our most nuanced and complex vintages of the decade. This ONE Cabernet Sauvignon is 70% from our Twisted Oak Vineyard, a hillside site that grows fruit of intense character from steep elevations and soil drainage, and 30% from our Coombsville Vineyard, a cooler climate, dry-farmed, head-trained site that develops fruit with a deep, rugged personality from its stressed growing conditions. This is the first vintage we selected a highly allocated new French oak barrel whose proprietary assemblage was curated for long cellaring that magnifies the wine’s power and precision. Chocolate covered black cherry, briar fruit, savory panatela and warm earth fragrances. A rich and refined texture envelops the palate with ripe blackberry and red plum, fresh leather, sweet pine, iron and graphite, all concentrated with a bracing energy from balanced acid and structured tannins. The 2018 ONE Cabernet Sauvignon can be enjoyed now with decanting and cellared for decades to come."

- John Anthony Truchard