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Best of The Best:
California Cabernet Sauvignons
QRW Tasting Panel - 06/01/2009

Five-Star California Cabernet Sauvignons  Wines of extraordinary character and quality - in a class by themselves

Cabernet Sauvignon is the king among California varietal wines. And the two most recently released vintages, 2005 and 2006, do nothing to dispel that notion. Both were cool, late-developing years, and the wines, as a result, are balanced and well-structured, with the 2005 Cabs displaying more heft and the 2006s exhibiting a bit more elegance. The following 23 selections highlight the considerable virtues of each vintage.

2005 Amapola Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma Valley), $100.

The new venture from celebrated winemaker Richard Arrowood. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Big, deep, dense, muscular, utterly riveting, black fruit, licorice and nutty oak vanillin flavors geared for the long haul.

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Wine & Spirits - Zinfandel - Year's Best
Amapola Creek 2005 Sonoma Valley Viņa Antiguas Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel
Joshua Greene - 01/22/2009

91 | Richard Arrowood makes this complex and distinctive zinfandel from old vines at Monte Rosso. It packs the eucalyptus and citrus scents of an orange grove along with powerful mineral clarity in the tannin. The texture is succulent, the citrus notes adding a pleasing volatility, like a dash of balsamic to kick up grilled hanger steak (W&S, 10/08; 400 cases)The Cellars of Amapola Creek Vineyards, Glen Ellen, CA.

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Richard: The Third Act
Sonoma wine-making legend Richard Arrowood postpones retirement for one last act of grapeness
Marty Olmstead - 10/01/2008

From his 120-acre hillside estate just north of Sonoma, Richard Arrowood has a clear view of the celebrated Monte Rosso grape vines relished by winemakers throughout California and beyond. "I'm so close, I could heave a rock into the vineyard," he says, "but they get upset when I do that." Of course, he would never defile such a vineyard, just as an art connoisseur would never draw a mustache on the Mona Lisa. Arrowood considers himself fortunate to be among the select handful of top-echelon winemakers who have access to Monte Rosso.

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Richard Arrowood Speaks Out
The veteran California winemaker opines on wines writers and organic viticulture
Eleanor and Ray Heald - 09/01/2008

Richard Arrowood was winemaster at Chateau St. Jean (CSJ) in the mid-1980s when he invited several wine professionals to the "University of St. Jean". There, we learned the winemaking genius of Arrowood and have respected it ever since.

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Driven To Excel
Richard Arrowood has been at the forefront of California wine for 43 years.
QWR Staff - 08/01/2008

After 43 consecutive harvests, all California's Sonoma County, Richard Arrowood's winemaking career has been a success by any standard.

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