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Wine Recommendation
Portfolio Limited Edition
2002 Portfolio(Napa Valley)
Genevieve Janssens left her winemaking family in France to take a job as assistant enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1979. In 1989 she was appointed Director of Production at Opus One. In 1997 she became Director of Winemaking at Robert Mondavi, and in 1998 founded her winery with husband Luc, an artist and professor.
They make only one wine, a Bordeaux blend. Their Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Hendry Ranch Vineyard in Southwest Napa, and the Cabernet Franc is from the hillside Weitz Vineyard in the Oakville Bench. The Janssens believe in minimal handling of the must and wine. They refrain from pumping, fining, and filtration.
The few hundred cases of 2002 Portfolio sold out quickly, but future releases are worth seeking out. This is a wine of great pedigree and class. With sweet oak, plum, cassis, rhubarb, basil, mint and licorice notes, the wine is already showing lots of personality. It is full bodied and lively with bright acidity and chewy fruit tannins. While enjoyable now the wine has a long life ahead. If you can’t wait, give it a nice swirl in a large carafe.
Reviewed November 20, 2006 by Catherine Fallis.
The Wine
Winery: Portfolio Limited Edition |
The Reviewer
Catherine Fallis
Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |