2020 Ehret Family Winery, Bella’s Cabernet Sauvignon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
Picture from Ehret Family Winery
The Ehret Family Winery owners are Pierre and Susan Ehret with their three children Alex, Christian and Isabella. They established the vineyard and started producing grapes in 1996 at the Bavarian Lion Vineyards. It is one of the largest estates in Knights Valley consisting of 1800 acres of both hillside and valley floor terrain. Currently 500 acres are planted in vineyards allowing the balance to provide an ecosystem for plants and birdlife to dwell. From 1996 they sold their fruit to some of the more well-known wineries throughout Napa and Sonoma counties. In 2005, they selected the highest quality grapes and started their family brand, Ehret Family Winery. Today they produce various Cabernet Sauvignon’s, Red Blends, Zinfandel, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc wines. Their tasting room is located in Healdsburg at 422 Healdsburg Ave and appointments are required.
Knights Valley is located in Northern Sonoma County between Alexander Valley and over the Napa Valley border next to Calistoga.
The winemaker is Erin Green who has been there since 2015. Previously Erin has had experience at Sonoma-Cutrer, Vinewood Cellars and Napa Wine Company. She has also blended wines for various premium projects such as Bryant Family, Colgin Cellars, Martinelli Winery and Pahlmeyer. From 2000-2012 Erin was the winemaker and Director of Winegrowing at Pahlmeyer.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine in 2019, previous vintage, was rated at 99 points and won Best of Class at the International Women’s Wine Competition. It was also rated 98 points and Best of Class at the North Coast Wine Challenge. The 2020 will continue to win similar accolades for its beautiful taste.
First on the eyes a deep maroon and with lively purple hues around the rim. On the nose, one of the most aromatic Cabernet Sauvignon’s this year! The fruits burst into the sense like a cornucopia overflowing with blackberries, black cherries and blueberries. Truly one of the most fragrant Cabernet Sauvignon’s. On the palate, besides the aforementioned juicy fruits, a full body elixir presented itself with layers of fruit and spices. Black cherry was dominant yet secondary flavors of peppercorns, plums and pepper were noticed. On the finish, one of the longest in recent memory with firm and hugging tannins. The balance of fruit forwardness and acidity was near perfect. The dry wine, but with so much fruit, provided a level of sweetness but not residual sugar.
The wine goes for $85 for the 2019 but no price yet for the 2020. For the 2020 only 139 cases were produced. Aged 18 months in 68% new French oak barrels. The 2020 is composed of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot. This is the quintessential Sonoma or Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon! It comes in at 15.5% alcohol level.
This wine definitely made my annual list of Best Wines Tasted during the year!!
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired with a seasoned and seared ribeye on the BBQ at 1450 degrees. Served medium rare and accompanied by an artichoke and fresh garden salad. The seared charred finish on the ribeye was met with the fruit forwardness of the wine to be embraced and yet with enough tannins to stand up to the beef. Truly a wonderful food and wine pairing last evening.
As a side note, the wine was so exceptional, left two glasses in the bottle and invited friends over to enjoy this wine. Both thought it was spectacular similar to our conclusion. We continued to talk and I went back to the cellar to pull two other Cabernet Sauvignon’s I have rated very highly. Both were 2014, Ledson, Napa Valley “Stagecoach Vineyards” and Tate Wines, Mt Veeder. All were delicious but the unanimous winning wine was still Ehret Ella’s Cabernet Sauvignon.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
As summer approaches, enjoy the BBQ-ing season!
Sláinte,
Michael