Ty Caton Vineyards

Winemaker Ty Caton has a distinct hillside advantage. He planted and farms 40 acres in the rolling hills of the Mayacamas Range, where he is growing Cab, Merlot, Syrah, Petite and Malbec. The estate vineyard is producing some beautiful wines of intense personality and character, much like the winemaker. Happily, the winemaker’s hand is careful not to whack the stuff over the head with a baseball bat.

This is a big, lush amazing combination of Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and Petite Sirah. The aromas are a medley of spice box, pepper and dark berry fruits, all wound together with some nice salami notes. What a truly delightful texture this wine has! Velvety does not begin to describe the lushness of this wine. It oozes of blackberries, cassis, dark cherries and dusty blueberries, yet reveals layers of juniper and licorice, along with decidedly Syrah flavors of ham and fatback bacon. This wine is literally like kickboxing in your mouth. It never quits, never fades and keeps on laying it on with flavor after flavor, kick after kick. This is a wine for people who love complex, chameleonic wines. Ty really nailed this blend: it’s just brilliant. He’s got quite the lineup of offerings, including some rather kooky labels, but this one is as serious as it gets. Also try his most excellent 2002 Cabernet and his 2004 Petite Sirah.

Reviewed July 18, 2007 by Laura Ness.