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Items not labeled as Rapid Ship or Pre-arrival may require a transfer from the warehouse to our shipping facility before shipping, which can take 4–6 business days. Learn more on the Shipping Info page.
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Long-term Pre-arrival Items
Long Term Pre-arrival Definition: Ordering wine directly through us from our supplier partners in Europe in advance of the item’s physical arrival in the US.
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SKU 926167
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(75% cabernet sauvignon, 14% merlot, 6% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc): Bright ruby-red. Aromas of crushed cassis, bitter chocolate and espresso called to mind a top Pauillac. Densely packed and sappy, offering outstanding precision of dark fruit and mineral flavors and inner-mouth floral perfume. Still quite tight but the wine’s building tannins and palate-staining length suggest that it will go on in bottle for two decades or more.
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Region
California
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Appellation
Sonoma Valley
California's beautiful and remarkably fertile Sonoma Valley has grown over the decades to become one of the United States' most respected and profitable wine regions, with wineries within the region benefiting from the superb Californian sunshine, low rainfall and wonderfully rich soils. Because of this vital combination of excellent conditions, the region is able to grow a wide range of grape varietals for use in the production of an impressive array of wines, with many different red and white wine grapes flourishing each year and producing excellent and characterful results. The soils have been enriched by volcanic activity, and the presence of geothermal springs, which make this region a unique one, and very much the beating heart of California's ever growing wine industry.
VM96pts
Vinous Media
(75% cabernet sauvignon, 14% merlot, 6% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc): Bright ruby-red. Aromas of crushed cassis, bitter chocolate and espresso called to mind a top Pauillac. Densely packed and sappy, offering outstanding precision of dark fruit and mineral flavors and inner-mouth floral perfume. Still quite tight but the wine's building tannins and palate-staining length suggest that it will go on in bottle for two decades or more.
WA92pts
Wine Advocate
With the lowest alcohol (14%), the 2010 La Joie is composed of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Copious aromas of incense, unsmoked cigar tobacco, Christmas fruitcake, cedar, underbrush, black currants and a hint of espresso roast emerge from this medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated red. It needs 4-5 years of cellaring and should keep well for 2 to 3 decades.
WS88pts
Wine Spectator
Bay leaf, savory and tobacco leaf notes lead off here, followed by a mature core of softened black currant and plum paste flavors. The finish pulls in worn cedar and loam accents, while the herbaceous element takes an encore. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
