The Arietta Wines
Arietta Red Wine H Block Hudson Vineyards is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cabernet Franc is solely from the 2.3 acre Hudson Vineyards H Block, a shy-bearing, volcanic, southwest facing slope, which naturally yields just three tons per acre.
The Merlot is grown in the Hudson Vineyards N Block, about 100 yards away. Typically, the two fields are picked simultaneously and co-fermented, assuring a marriage of the varieties. The Cabernet Franc provides the cassis, blueberry, brown sugar character, while the Merlot brings dark chocolate to the aroma and a chewy richness to the finish. Harvested near the extreme of ripeness, the wine is fermented with its indigenous yeast, macerated with the skins for six weeks, and then aged for two years in all new French oak barrels. Naturally clarified by traditional Bordeaux racking, the blend is bottled without fining or filtration. The intense concentration masks the substantial tannin, allowing the wine to be served young and to age in bottle for ten or more years.
Arietta Red Wine Variation One is a blend of Merlot and Syrah, also from the Hudson Vineyards. The N Block is the only vineyard in our extensive experience with Merlot which naturally yields two and one half to three tons of fruit per acre without requiring thinning or hedging. This naturally balanced vineyard is a unique phenomenon; a gift from nature which is reflected in the harmonious quality of the wine. Syrah, from Hudson's Hermitage selection grown in gravel unusual in the Carneros, is co-fermented with the Merlot to give the blend a wild and penetrating quality. If the H Block wine is an homage to the Right Bank of Bordeaux, Variation One is a Napa Valley original. The plum and licorice aromas of Merlot blend imperceptibly with the forest floor, wild game qualities attributable to the Syrah in a wine without antecedent anywhere in the world. The vinification, barrel ageing, and bottling are similar to the Arietta H Block wine. Variation One may be served young, especially with wilder dishes, but the powerful, if supple, tannin will support its evolution in bottle for at least ten years.
Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon made its debut in the 2003 vintage. The core of the wine is Cabernet Sauvignon farmed on Howell Mountain by renowned Napa vineyard manager David Abreu. The meticulous practices employed by Abreu assure perfectly ripe fruit, and the particular site, soil, and exposure to sun produce a sensationally seductive and expressive wine.
Arietta Quartet is a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot farmed at the top of Howell Mountain by David Abreu, and Merlot from the superb N Block in the Hudson Vineyards. The first release was the 2004 vintage.
Arietta White Wine On The White Keys, a white Bordeaux-inspired blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, is Arietta’s first and only white wine. In 2005 Arietta’s winemaker Andy Erickson sourced three outstanding blocks of hillside Sauvignon Blanc on Sonoma Mountain, and with the addition of two tiny blocks of old vine Semillon farmed by the highly respected Napa/Carneros grower Larry Hyde, fashioned a wine of remarkable complexity. The brilliance and pungent vibrancy of the Sauvignon Blanc has been preserved by fermentation of a substantial portion of the Sauvignon Blanc in stainless steel barrels. The balance of the Sauvignon Blanc, as well as the Semillon, was fermented in new Chateau oak barrels, an important factor in achieving length and ageability. The Sauvignon Blanc provides rich citric mouth watering acidity. The Semillon provides viscosity, lengthens and polishes the wine, and gives it a sheen of beeswax and floral scents. Arietta On The White Keys shares with the red wines Arietta’s goals of quality, depth, vibrancy, and complexity, with much credit due to extreme care in vineyard selection and blending.
