Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! We are excited to present your first club shipment of 2024 featuring new vintages of member-favorite wines, including our 2023 Estate Sauvignon Blanc, 2021 Proprietary Right Bank Blend, 2021 Proprietary Malbec, and more. We are thrilled to offer you these wines and cannot wait for you to enjoy them.
Over the past year, we were thrilled to participate in events to help in the fight to end Alzheimer’s, like Inspire Napa Valley, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and the release of the 2021 Honouren Cabernet Sauvignon. All of our efforts are thanks to your support and contributions, and we are honored to have donated over $225,000 directly to the Alzheimer’s Association® since 2020.
Ryan MacDonnell Bracher & Miles MacDonnell
Second-Generation Owners
Winter 2024 Vineyard Update
I’m pleased to report a stellar start to our dormant season, with ideal rain and sunshine nurturing our cover crops. The chilly weather in December and January is exactly what we need for the vines’ restful slumber.
We’ve begun pruning, starting with our oldest vines and moving to the youngest to protect them from potential infections. This crucial process will span about three months across our 360 acres of vineyards.
Our sheep have arrived! They play a dual role in our vineyards: reducing greenhouse emissions by replacing tractor mowing and naturally fertilizing our soil.
This year, we’re focusing on Brassicas cover crops, like turnips, rapeseed, and mustard. They’re fantastic for suppressing weeds, enhancing soil structure and moisture retention, and restoring soil health. Plus, they’re great for deterring pests like nematodes.
As we look ahead, we remain committed to sustainable practices and the health of our vineyards. The synergy between our traditional methods and natural processes promises a vibrant future for generations to come.
Jeff Plant
Estate Winemaker
Experience the culinary artistry of our Estate Chef, Fernando Arias, at home with this special chicken spice rub. This unique creation is perfect for imparting a gourmet twist to your chicken dishes, whether grilled, roasted, or sautéed. It is also delicious with butternut squash, mushrooms, and salmon!
Ingredients: salt, pepper, paprika, fennel seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel pollen
Click below to access some winter recipes from our Estate Chef, Fernando Arias.
Featured in our Il Pranzo Experience, this entree is a dish that is sure to impress. Pairs beautifully with our 2021 Eric Bovet Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
Served with Sunchoke Purée and Charred Broccoli
Short Rib
2 lbs beef short rib
½ bottle of Proprietary Red Wine (can be substituted)
1 yellow onion, peeled and halved
4 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 head garlic, halved
DIRECTIONS
- Season the short rib with salt and pepper and sear in a medium cast iron pan over high heat on all sides.
- Transfer to a large, deep baking dish and add the remaining ingredients.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 225-degree F oven for 4-6 hours until tender.
Black Garlic Beef Jus
2 tbsp butter
½ tbsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
- In a sauce pot, bring beef stock to a rolling boil and reduce by 2/3 volume until the consistency is thick and slightly syrupy
- Add remaining ingredients to pot and allow to simmer over med/low heat until desired consistency
Sunchoke Purée
2 lb sunchokes, washed and cut into large pieces
1 pint heavy cream
1 pint whole milk
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 lb butter
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- On a lined sheet tray, toss sunchokes in canola oil and roast in a 375-degree F oven until golden brown
- Transfer roasted sunchokes into medium saucepot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until sunchokes are tender, about 30-45 minutes
- Puree the mixture in a blender until smooth
Charred Broccoli
1 head broccoli, cut into florets and stalk sliced
2 meyer lemons
¼ c butter, melted
¼ c Lemon Pepper Infused Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium bowl, combine broccoli, the zest of the Meyer lemons, and butter. Place on a lined sheet tray and roast in a 425-degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
- Once charred nicely, drizzle with lemon pepper oil and the juice from the Meyer lemons.
4 fresh fig leaves
16 oz whole milk
16 oz heavy cream
7 oz sugar
1 oz glucose
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 tbsp honey
10 oz egg yolks
DIRECTIONS
-
- Combine milk, cream, sugar, glucose, salt, vanilla, and honey in a large pot. Stir to combine and heat until steaming
- Lightly toast fig leaves over an open flame or with a butane torch. Add toasted leaves to hot milk mixture, remove from heat, and cover. Allow to steep for at least 30 minutes
- Strain milk mixture to remove fig leaves and return to pot. Heat until steaming. Once hot, pour a small amount into egg yolk and whisk to combine. Add tempered yolk mixture to pot. Stirring constantly, continue to heat gently until the temperature reaches 180 degrees.
- Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Allow to cool completely in the refrigerator or over an ice bath.
- Transfer your finished anglaise to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions
For more recipes and serving tips check out our blog, aRound the estate!
Each shipment is unique, click below to learn more about all of the February wines.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon | Oakville
“Coming from Oakville… It has a more perfumed, floral character as well as beautiful cassis fruit, spring flowers, violets, and chocolate-covered orange-like aromatics. It too is rich, full-bodied, has a beautifully textured mouthfeel, and a great finish.”
95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
100% Cabernet Sauvignon | Rutherford
“… It has gorgeous chocolaty black fruit, tobacco, loamy earth, and graphite notes as well as medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. I love its tannins, and it has plenty of mid-palate depth and a big finish. It’s going to cruise for 15 years in cold cellars.”
94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
50% Cabernet Sauvignon | 50% Cabernet Franc, Rutherford
“The 2021 Right Bank Blend is a potent, structured wine. I would give this a year or two in bottle, as the Cabernet tannins are a bit forbidding at this stage. Dark cherry, plum, graphite, incense and licorice are nicely dialed. There’s tremendous depth and intensity here. The Right Bank is somewhat of a misnomer, as it is all Cabernet and no Merlot, but this is a very good wine.”
– 94 Points, Vinous
100% Malbec, Rutherford
A key component in our Proprietary Red Blend, our single-varietal Malbec is only produced during standout vintages. The 2021 shines with a structured, complex palate, juicy dark fruit notes, and a smooth finish.
Special Library Release
“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is as impressive as it was from barrel. Ample full-bodied and yet classically medium-bodied in feel, the Reserve is tremendous. All the elements are in balance. Soft contours and silky tannins add to the wine’s considerable appeal. The single-parcel Cabernets are undoubtedly flashier, but for quality and price, it is very hard to top the Reserve.”
– 95 Points, Vinous
New Release
A favorite each year, this wine is focused on purity of fruit; it is a flip book of the varietal as it ripens on our Rutherford estate. We capture different snapshots of the grape’s character by making multiple picking passes during harvest. This provides the wine with complex layers of fruit, starting with zesty citrus, moving to stone fruits, progressing to melons, and finishing with a hint of exotic tropical fruits. Each of these aromatic profiles represents the different ripeness levels at which the clusters were picked.
100% Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
This wine opens with bright, aromatic notes of strawberry and pomegranate with a touch of earthiness. The harmony between the fruit and acidity lends to a great structure and long, lingering finish.
100% Petit Verdot, Rutherford
This robust wine features intense blackberry, plum, and roasted coffee flavors, balanced by high tannins and refreshing acidity for a structured yet rich experience.
100% Petite Sirah, Rutherford
This full-bodied wine showcases dark fruit flavors enhanced by bittersweet chocolate and Rutherford dust. Fine, silky tannins and balanced acidity culminate in a long, satisfying finish.
Special Library Release
“Dark, sumptuous, and powerful, the 2015 is a superattractive wine… a racy Cabernet with no hard edges, good freshness for the year, and terrific overall balance.”
– 93 Points, Vinous
2024 Events
From release events and blending seminars to exceptional dinners and harvest parties — we hope you join us this year in Napa Valley!