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Wine Recommendation
Macauley Vineyard
2004 Zinfandel(Napa Valley)
Kirk Venge, the son of highly regarded winemaker Nils Venge, made this wine from two vineyards – Moss Creek in Capell Valley and the Brown Estate in Chiles Valley. And what an effort it is. It has gorgeous fruit and balance. I simply love it. It’s elegant and powerful all at once. It’s young too, so hold it for a couple of years if you can, and then drink it over the next 12 years or so.
Capell Valley is located in the western hills directly east of Oakville and against Atlas Peak. The 33-year-old vineyard is planted in well-drained, loam soil that is riddled with rock and obsidian. The Brown vineyard, in Chiles Valley on the opposite side of the valley, consists of moderately fertile silt loam on alluvial fans, situated for southern exposure.
The wine was aged in French and American oak, 75 percent of which was new. The listed alcohol is high at 14.9 percent, but I think it’s well integrated. There were but 165 cases produced.
Reviewed April 23, 2007 by Alan Goldfarb.
Other reviewed wines from Macauley Vineyard
The Wine
Winery: Macauley Vineyard |
The Reviewer
Alan Goldfarb
Alan Goldfarb has been writing about and reviewing wine for 17 years. His reviews have been published in the St. Helena Star, San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Examiner, Decanter, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Not once has he used a point system, star system, or an iconic symbol to quantify a wine. What counts in Mr. Goldfarb’s criteria when judging a wine is: how it tastes in the glass; is it well-constructed; its food compatibility; and presence of redeeming regional attributes. |