Abreu, Thorevilos, Napa Valley

Popped and poured. At first this felt a little disjointed and oaky but after 20 minutes it became better integrated and showed better. Black currant, pain grille, tobacco and minerals. Full bodied with lots of drive and enough acidity to reign in the ripe fruit. Long finish. Not his best but very good.

2006 vintage

I actually agree with JC's notes on this one albeit I am not giving it a 99. There is a bit of a pine tree

2017 vintage

Fantastic bottle of wine that is still quite youthful. Textbook Thor iron backbone with dark fruits with a few red fruits emerging after three hours of air. Slight hints of secondary tertiary notes emerging. Excellent.

2010 vintage

One of my personal favorites Abreu wine to date. This was a standout of the night while hosting Brad Grimes at our home. In a great spot with plenty of runway to develop more. 98+

2010 vintage

3 hr double decant. Lead pencil, black olive, cigar box, faint fruit, primarily red raspberry. Too much funk and bitterness. I’m disappointed. Here we go again with another Abreu that doesn’t deliver. At 4 hr, this improved but the funk and earthy notes just dominated everything. I’m even more disappointed. Almost quit, but something told me to persevere. WTF happened between hrs 4 and 5? This emerged from whatever unamenable phase it was in. Gone was the funk and overpowering …

2006 vintage

Dark and inky. Lots of black fruit and especially blackberry Absolutely dominated by graphite on the top level. Still, as it swallows air the florals and spices become more and more apparent. Top level, this wine is absolutely beautiful -- it tastes like nothing else. Full of concentration and depth, but guided by a deft hand in creating balance and harmony. I LOVED this wine. I'm so torn between giving it a perfect score and a 99. I feel like …

2010 vintage

Slow ox two hours. Lovely nose florals, black currant, pain grille, smoke and minerals. The wine is full bodied, enveloping, layered, with fairly robust tannins still. Incredible balanced and well integrated with a long finish. This is still a baby with many years ahead.

2006 vintage

Complex bouquet of cocoa, tar, ripe plums and blueberries, complemented by a layer of floral and Moroccan spices. This needs two hours in the small decanter for the complex flavours to emerge. Beautiful and harmonised aromatics. Palate is rich, largely echoing the nose with a hint of tobacco leave in the mid-palate. Full-bodied structure and complex mid-palate with a surge of energy towards the end palate. Polished and curvy transition from the start to the end of the palate with …

2010 vintage

Tasted at opening and several times after being decanted. Upon opening, wine was overwhelming. Enormous fruit and tannins. Began drinking at 96 level after six hours in the decanter. Even at 18 hours was still evolving. Many years remaining.

2007 vintage

Need I say more?

2006 vintage

Whoo doggies! Fire water. My initial notes read, “Enormous, alcoholic, black raspberry bomb with tons of booze. Finish cocktail driven. Man, the heat on repeat!” I was pretty surprised what a slap this wine gave me on the initial pour. I had to recalibrate to get back into proper posture before attempting to revisit this Phoenix breather. It took some serious swirling and more than a few long namaste type “Ohhmmmmms” to get the heat to exit stage left. Even …

2010 vintage

Near perfect. For a 14 year old wine and would not have pegged it as an Abreu during the reveal. I went back and forth between this and the Colgin for best wine of the flight. Super balanced. Much different than the 2010 Madrona that I have had a few times.

2010 vintage

The Blind Side - no, not football! (Chateau Simms) : I am guessing the wine got at least 1-2 hours of slo-O before tasting, but honestly not sure about the bottle treatment/preparation before the tasting, i.e., it could be more. This was part of a blind tasting that included the following wines: 1. 2010 Abreu Thorevilos 2. 2021 Scarecrow 3. 2015 Colgin Tychson Hill 4. 2019 Sassicaia 5. 2019 Domaine Trapet Chapelle-Chambertin 6. 2021 Bella Oaks La Genie 7. 2014 …

2010 vintage

Eyes Wide Shut - Day 1 (A quiet place) : Nose: Dark and intense red fruits, deep earth, and with a bit of dark minerals. While the nose gives a lot, it's never overbearing. Palate: Similar on the palate from what you get on the nose. Rich with fruits and great intensity. This is dark red and almost black in fruits, brooding while keeping a cool attitude. The integration here is what makes the flavor profile work well. There was …

2010 vintage

Good, but not great? The scores here appear high for me (and my palette). Although the fruit flavors (blackberry and some cassis come through, they were lighter than I expected. The tannins and acidity are balanced to provide a smooth full (not bold) body, but the finish came up short for a high score. Would I buy another bottle, probably not at David's (Abreu) prices, but place this wine in a generally drinkable category which for me is a price …

2010 vintage

PnP at first. Not open so kept coming back every 30 mins for four hours. No change. Nose is tremendous but fruit is largely gone. Black fruit, medium tannins, medium acid but not much more going on except a long finish that has interesting floral hints. A lot of heat on this and doesn't seem to burn off over time -- bottle states 14.5% but seems higher and per CT discussion with Mark1npt on the 2003 I think again the …

2006 vintage

Careful planning and consideration went into which bottles to pull for our first trip to the “farm”. I landed in Thorevilos with consideration to all the recent changes to what is now called Ecotone Vineyard. Brilliance in the bottle under the guidance of David Abreu and winemaker Brad Grimes. Thorevilos is a unmistakable name and so is the wine. 2010 Thorevilos is true to vintage and terroir. The structure of the cooler vintage with the energy and ripeness of a …

2010 vintage

PnP and consumed over ~10hrs. Very showy right out of the gate! Absolutely massive with complex aromas of black plums, berries, chocolate and spices. Lush and full on the palate with fine, mouth coating tannins on the long finish. Some earth and graphite as well. Drank beautifully the first three hours then started to close in showing more tannins and structure at the end of the bottle. This could continue to pleasantly evolve but is in a great place now. …

2010 vintage

Wow what a monster! Decanted 8 hrs but really only opened up after 30 min in the glass. Initially restrained with tons of dark fruits, blueberries, and pencil shavings, lots of acidity, but coasted quickly in the glass to balance with sweeter red fruits, minerality, and softer but still noticeable tannins. Went from 96 to 98, so I’ll score it 97. This one needs another 5 more years in bottle. Was bigger than our filets, but wow what a wine. …

2006 vintage

Like quite a few of these Cult California Cabernets the Abreu seems hardly to have budged over the years. Nevertheless it’s quite good for the genre. Dark purple. Meaty and concentrated, lots of dark plummy fruit. Tannic. Sound acidity. You can hear what it’s saying to you on the first sniff and sip since its voice is so loud. Unlike some though, the follow-up tastes are not excessively tiring.

2007 vintage

Nose: [59°-65°] Fresh and fragrant violets straight from the pour, a warm and pleasant toastiness as if you were making graham crackers over a fireplace in a log cabin, deep blackcurrants with a red and purple sheen, and damp earth with soft minerals. A scent of tree bark gives a thorny character to the nose, like a rose with thorns. Palate: [59°-65°] A deep pitch of black and dark red fruits, black earth and softly savory pencil shavings. A bit …

2017 vintage

I think we did catch this bottle at the perfect place. I had taken a glass out prior to the tasting. On the opening, the nose was wonderful. It had a slight prune, some cigar box, some barnyard, some meat, and red and black berries. Very complex. The color was red garnet, cloudy with very little bricking on the edges. The center was dense. The palette was mature, red and black raspberry, French bordeaux style with a 1+ minute finish …

2006 vintage

Wow, a beautifully aged Napa Cab, drinking wonderfully. My favorite from an evening that included a 13 Wraith, 17 Lazy Susan, 17 Myriad Dr Crane. And I must confess that I generally prefer a younger fruit forward style. But this wine illustrates to me what the right wine aged perfectly can become. Fruit was dark, blue noted and quite vibrant but smoothed and integrated perfectly. The tannins were so smooth, and round and the wine still had energy and freshness. …

2006 vintage

Wow! Brought to the table by James. Opened via coravin pivot the night before. The nose is absolutely spectacular and early on the palate is a match. Classic graphite and regal, deep dark berry fruit with layer after layer of goodness. 98 initially for me. Over 3 hours of drinking, I thought I noticed it backing up on the palate while the nose remained exquisite. Developed a little bit of a carrot juice component to me. Weird, I know. Maybe …

2006 vintage

To me 2007 has alway been a long age vintage, but I still persist in drinking them too young! Decanted this Abreu Thor. for a few hours as I thieved small pours over the ensuing 4 hours Well balanced and built but not as exciting as I would prefer. Bouquet was initially non existent until the last glass. Had a slight warmth ( but not hot) on the finish and a faint bitterness. Big powerful wine and IMO this blend …

2007 vintage

My 1/4, the group was more varied. Nose of red currant, red and black fruit, graphite and chalk. Palate is even more complex (by far most complex of the night). As my MIL put it, it tastes “expensive.” Very long finish and should continue to improve with time.

2010 vintage

My first Abreu, and it was fascinating, unique and exquisite, served by the ever gracious A_M and T_K. I understand it was opened about 4 hours before we began drinking (3 planned + 45 minutes we spend downing the open Aubert). Huge nose of powerful black and other dark berries, earth, graphite and spice, with similar notes on the palate with some subtle dark chocolate and tobacco. Midnight blackish purple, medium to full bodied, thick legs. Massive but smooth tannins, …

2010 vintage

Had alongside ’07 Abreu Madrona and Shafer HSS, the Abreus were tighter (opened 90 minutes bf consuming, no decant), more savory and darker fruit profiles, the HSS came across as sweeter and riper. Thorevilos, Madrona, HSS ranking, in that order.

2007 vintage

This was near perfection. Short time in a decanter and this was singing. Dark red and black fruits intertwined with amazing spices led to a finish then just want on an on. A lot to contemplate here sip after sip. Pure enjoyment. For me it seems at or near peak, but decades to go.

2007 vintage

Decanted over a few hours first, and then tasted again next day. This wine has already darkened in color -- dark plum, but not browning yet. The biggest thing I noticed is just how concentrated this is. It's simultaneously a punch of intensely concentrated fruit while dancing elegantly without sharp edges. On the nose...old cedar, currants, raisins, blackberry compote, and morning forest floor. Upon tasting, this wine explodes on your palette with more of the same plus chocolate, baking spices, …

2010 vintage

Still incredibly youthful with a primary bouquet of black currant and black cherry fruit accompanied by spicy cedar, smoke, tobacco leaf, roasted meats, Indian spices, and cocoa. There is so much power on the dense palate but the aromatic Cabernet franc influences add a great lift. Something unique about Abreu wines are the way they balance power and finesse exemplified by aromatic intensity and complexity. This wine is still very backward with loads of primary fruit and a mouthful of …

2010 vintage

The Last Dance Magnum Dinner (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL) : Magnum. I found this to be quite the tannic beast, but others enjoyed the rich fruit enough to get past its pronounced structure.

2006 vintage

Below I summarize notes from 3 evenings of tasting, not consecutively, and using coravin. As I suspect there was some oxidation even using the coravin, the score reflects the first evening. Cheers! Day 1: Opened tight but after some air yielded ultra polished black and red fruit and mellow tannins. 30 second plus finish. Some notes of earth and bell pepper but the focus at this point is the purity of the fruit and the sheer class. If tasted blind …

2010 vintage

Dark purple/plum color. Nose of black fruit and earth. Palate is black fruit, pencil lead, caramel, leather, tobacco, a touch bitter. Full bodied, slightly grainy/chewy wine with noticeable, but well-integrated tannins, a bit of a dry finish, might improve with more time.

2010 vintage

It was a showdown that turned into a guessing game - a 2010 Forman and Abreu Thorevillos. Although Forman and Abreu used to co-own the Thorevillos vineyard (now Ecotone), the Forman wine comes from an adjoining vineyard (Grand Roche, located about a mile below Thorevillos on darker, less chalky soil). Given the disparity in prices, though, it was a pleasant surprise how similar they tasted: full-bodied, rich, grainy, and tannic, each is a mouthful - but an elegant mouthful. The …

2010 vintage

Upon PnP this was quite linear without much complexity or depth. After 30min in the decanter it started to expand and gain complexity and strength. However after 1 hour in the decanter it began tasting pruny and "over-the-hill". Not sure this wine will hold up. Not what I was expecting and it was a big let down for the amount of money spent. I want to believe that this was an off bottle, maybe heat damage, not quite sure.

2006 vintage

Very youthful. Tannins are very present but extremely fine and focused, fruit is very restrained. I expect this will improve a great deal over the next 5 years. Compared to Abreu's Howell Mountain from the same 10' vintage, which was my #1 napa wine this year, I find the Thorevilos to be more austere with fruit that does not come through quite as much... even closer to Bordeaux in style than Napa, some may prefer it. I've yet to be …

2010 vintage

This captivating and layered Cabernet blend is drinking beautifully right now, though it should be even better in another 3-4 years. Dark purple, almost black in color and full in body, the wine has incredible aromas of fresh cut thyme, black cherry, bay leaf, cocoa beans, and warm gravel (aromas that keep changing from savory to herbal to ripe, and back again). The flavors are similarly integrated, with notes of blueberry tart, licorice, graphite, eucalyptus, and espresso. The finish is …

2010 vintage

This wine has a very BDX vibe, in a great way. Tastes a bit like the two latours I've tried. That style. Napa but... not really? It is quite good. Cannot quite place it but i think it reminds me of a flashier version of the 2010 pichon longueville baron. More blackberry and less plum. Interesting and lots of upside with more years. I have two more bottles left and will probably wait until 2024 to crack another. Many layers …

2010 vintage

Big juicy wine—no doubt incredible, but also no doubt not worth the hype. Drank with pops at harp and crown.

2007 vintage

Double decanted 4 hours before serving. Outstanding wine. Elegant, balanced, forceful. Just tremendous. Tasted next to 2002 Madrona.

2007 vintage

Very good, still quite youthful. Drank at Eleven Madison Park. I wish I'd had more time for it to open up, there is definitely room for improvement.

2006 vintage

Dark and very smooth. Full body with amazing aroma.

2010 vintage

Decanted and served. Inky and powerful at first, then softened to a beautiful typical cult Cab with dark fruit filling the palate and long finish. This was still evolving after we finished it in under two hours; perhaps a two-hour decant for the next bottle to see how it ends up.

2010 vintage

Dark red. Absolutely marvelous nose of graphite and cherry jam. Terrific with multiple complex layers of red and dark fruit, all subtle but distinct. Drinking more like a first growth Bordeaux than a big highly extracted California Cabernet. Clearly one of the best bottles of wine I have had this year. Price of admission is steep, but this is really good juice.

2010 vintage

Consistent. Amazing. One of the best Cali cabs I’ve ever had. Can be done differently but not better.

2010 vintage

NR- The first Abreu I've ever had that was corked. It had to be this specific wine!

2007 vintage

Needs 6 hr decant. But then this is just gorgeous. Great red and blue fruit mix. Palate is long and balanced, still good energy and crisp acidity to balance the sweet tannins. Great stuff.

2006 vintage

Decanted and drank over 90 minutes. Ready to drink. Ripe purple (and some red) fruits, w a hint of savory, long finish and finished slightly sweet w a bit of heat.

2006 vintage

A legendary vintage from a cult producer tasted alongside another legend Chateau Latour 2003. This high-breed stalwart of a wine pretty much epitomizes Napa Valley winemaking with its viscous textures and painfully intense nose of black currant and kirsch liqueur, licorice, earth, leather, smoke, chocolate-dipped cherries and sweet spices. There is more than a dollop of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot in this blend which together make up more than a half of this wine's assemblage. The tones of sous …

2007 vintage

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Abreu, Thorevilos, Napa Valley

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