Arietta, H Block Hudson Vineyard, Napa Valley

Awesome! PnP.

2012 vintage

Sadly, this tasted heat damaged - stewed, pruney, and very hot/alcoholic. Chalking it up to a bad bottle, as it tasted nothing like the good bottles of H Block that I have had (although I have never had this vintage).

2012 vintage

So....I ate my spicy artisanal chicken Caesar early with a beautiful Acumen sav blanc.....but still felt that I needed a finisher for the night. 'Finisher' is a new term for me, maybe not so for others on here, but....the garlic and the spicy blackened chicken of the salad left me wanting for more. Pnp'd into a glass....I'm going to preface this by saying, this particular bottle is an outstanding example.....enjoyed over about 30-40 min and I repeated that 3x through …

2012 vintage

Balanced, multiple levels of structure and flavor. Evolved over an hour of sipping . It’s something an anthropologist should study as this is such a unique wine!

2012 vintage

I really appreciate Mark1NPT bringing this and sharing at dinner last evening. I have not had much opportunity to try Arietta wines, much less a mature version of this cab franc/merlot blend. I have had little success trying to track this down on the secondary market. Mark and I both noted that this struggled to show its best on first pour. Then again, glassware was suboptimal (one step above a water glass),etc. I had the opportunity to bring the remaining …

2012 vintage

Taken to dinner with the FBs, same 3+ hour prep as the BCellars Heritage. Dark purple in the glass with nice florals and fruit but still needed every bit of 2 more hours of air to shine and even then it didn't shine quite as good as previous bottles. The palate was smooth and mostly integrated but the Cab Franc didn't float my boat as much as previous bottles. Bottle variation? A Merlot phase? I don't know. I had a …

2012 vintage

Been a year+ since my last bottle of this one..... Carol is out of commission so it's up to me to do the entire bottle before, during and after dinner tonight. Opaque purple in the glass on the pnp into a decanter, where it sat for 3+ hours as I enjoyed it before, during and til I poured the last of it into my glass after dinner. Nose of exquisite floral cab franc notes and merlot spices. At first sip …

2012 vintage

this is the last of my 10 bottles and the best 97pts, although the last bottle I rated 96. Don't know how it could be any better and clearly the best cab franc that I've had. Andy Erickson has a great reputation and I can see why. Wine has good acidity and mouthfeel, fruit is dominated by cherry. no rush to drink up.

2012 vintage

This bottle not quite up to past ones. I dropped a bottle taking it into a hotel about a month ago and it smelled sooooo good! Just the nose was a 95-96! This bottle not quite the same. Less rich, aged dark red fruit. Still, it's very good just a tad flat or basic, but our company raved about it. Hope this is just a simple bottle variation.......

2012 vintage

Stellar, absolutely stellar. Needed to re-assure myself post covid and loss of taste/smell that I was doing better.....I coravined a glass off this bottle 4x over 6 nights. A slight bit of slow ox occurred over the week, but not much. Not enough to cause any negative effects. This is a stellar cab franc blend with just classic notes of franc throughout. Wonderful balance and so many layers of flavors with this blend. Happy to have a few more in …

2012 vintage

Over a year since my last bottle. A bit of funk and slightly stewed fruit on the nose at the pnp so into a decanter it goes. 60-90 minutes in and the beautiful floral nose appears. Bright red Franc fruit present on the palate, balanced acidity and tannins. Drinks exceptionally well over 4 hours with sweet cherry fruit on the nose, before the acidity rises out of balance a bit and the tannins take on a little more grit/astringency. This …

2012 vintage

I have had this a number of times and it was clearly the best bottle yet. It was easily 96 but I had less than 2 glasses so I will go with 96. It was at a great steak house with great friends so that might have influenced my enjoyment. Everything in balance and so delicious.

2012 vintage

Beautiful...reminds me of a beautiful Pomerol in a year that the producer uses more cab franc...good lift and acidity. Plenty of life left. Delicious

2012 vintage

Substantial bottle! Open in decanter for 3+ hours.....enjoyed by HMC and myself. Carol tossed up her nose at it! This is a beautifully aged Cab Franc (68%) Merlot (32%) blend.....and it is singing. There is great cherry fruit on top of the Cab Franc florals. At 2 hours the fruit feels aged and stewed but at 3 hours that leaves. This is a clean and beautiful wine with bracing acidity that lends itself to a wonderful and elongated ending. Glad …

2012 vintage

Finely aged Cab Franc/merlot blend served by Mark1npt. Perfectly integrated and interesting, Good earthy nose, plenty of aged dark red fruit and fantastic acidity which gave a very long pleasing finish. Drinking wonderfully now -- 94 all day. HMC

2012 vintage

This is good! I like to think I can taste the Cab Franc which gives it a really nice profile, so smooth with a nice bite on the finish which lasts. I especially like it because I was able to buy for $70 on the secondary market So enjoyable

2012 vintage

Purple fruit - currants/cassis, dark cherry, and a little blueberry. Really smooth with a nice purity and decent depth/concentration - medium/medium plus body. More of an elegant profile. Nice rich flavors of dark berries, some spice/licorice, and a mineral/graphite component. Fairly long finish with just a subtle tartness from the cab franc. Decanted for one hour and drank over a couple more. Not much improvement with time but appears to be at a nice drinking point. In my opinion, more …

2012 vintage

best on 2nd day, big spice, smooth, enjoyed quite a bit. Cost from winery was $150., but this bottle I bought from Red Wagon in Rochester mi. for $70.00. Best price online is $145.00

2012 vintage

Decanted and served. This right-bank blend is showing beautifully as the pure Napa fruit has integrated into the herbal sweet acid. These Arietta wines always seem to make me happy.

2012 vintage

Pnp after work...68% cab franc, 32% merlot....working like a dog, needed a nice bottle after a few days dry. First time with this wine. A whiff of alc on the nose, sweet red fruit, a little like Bazooka bubble gum at first. Just a touch of perfumed florals and twist of herbasceousness. Not a green pepper, more like a sage. Front side after 30-60 min is soft, smooth red fruit, reducing tannins and acidity neatly balanced. This is a sublte, …

2012 vintage

Time!

2012 vintage

Nose of earth, wet cement yet also floral at the same time. Red fruit on the palate, earthiness (is that a word?) coming through as well. LONG finish, great acidity and big tannins. This has a while to go but will be a wonderful wine down the line...

2012 vintage

Did not decant; great structure; tannins are firm but gave up black fruit elements; there are spices and smoke in this as well. Should be fabulous for many years to come. Will decant the next time.

2012 vintage

This was a dark beauty of a wine, showing ripe red and black fruits, graphite, tobacco, sweet herbs and floral undergrowth. On the palate, I found velvety textures with dense, dark fruit; a truly smooth and sensual feel across the senses, showing great concentration with hints of spice. This is a tamed beast of a wine with a long and dark finish.

2012 vintage

Popped and poured over 3 hours; this was probably a little early to taste this, but I couldn't help myself. Slightly disjointed, but only because of the age. Needs a few years but everything is there. Dark and brooding; tannins still have a grip, but you can taste the spices, smoke and tar. This will be big and beautiful in a few years.

2012 vintage

Are you sure?

Arietta, H Block Hudson Vineyard, Napa Valley

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews