Our Bordeaux Medoc blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This wine is sheer power in a silk glove.
Review
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Vinous (Oct. 2015)
Review by Antonio Galloni
Rating: (97)
VIEWBlankiet’s 2012 Proprietary Red Paradise Hills Vineyard is just starting to open up. The 2012 is delicate and totally sublime. Expressive Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics open up first, followed by layers of expressive red-fleshed fruit. Light on its feet and exceptionally polished throughout, the 2012 delivers the goods, big time. In 2012, the Proprietary Red speaks to finesse above all else. This is the most impressive of Blankiet’s 2012s today.
Grapes Variety: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16.1% Merlot, 2.1% Cabernet Franc, 0.8% Petit Verdot
Blankiet has come a long way over the last few years. Increased focus on the dual flagships Rive Droite and Proprietary Red fueled by Claude and Katherine Blankiet’s relentless pursuit of excellence has resulted in more severe selection, lower production and higher overall quality. One of the secondary results of that is a marked increase in quality of Blankiet’s second wine, Prince of Hearts, which is now one of the very best values in Napa Valley. More recently, the Blankiets have introduced a pure Cabernet Sauvignon, Mythicus. Every visit to Blankiet Estate is proof of the total obsession to detail that is the rule here. The 2012s are radiant and expressive, which is the style of the year, but I was also quite surprised by just how finessed the 2013s are now given that so many wines in this vintage are so structured and tannic. These are magnificent wines from the Blankiets and the husband and wife winemaking team of Denis and May-Britt Malbec. Blankiet fans will find much to admire in these current and upcoming releases. The 2012s continue to develop positively in bottle, while the 2013s capture the utter profoundness of this great Napa Valley vintage. But it is the 2014s that could turn out to be the most surprising wines in the three vintages spanning 2012-2014, as they exude brisk energy, striking aromatics and fabulous overall energy. Comparing the 2013s and 2014s here will be a fascinating exercise for many years to come. Proprietors Claude and Katherine Blankiet spare no expense to put only the very best in the bottle, while winemakers Denis and May-Britt Malbec continue to refine their approach to getting the most out of these pristine hillside vineyards. The flagship Proprietary Red and new 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Mythicus will get most of the attention, but readers should also take a look at the Prince of Hearts, which is one of Napa Valley’s very finest values in artisan, world-class wine.
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Vinous (Oct. 2014)
Review by Antonio Galloni
Rating: (97)
VIEWParadise Hills Vineyard
Yountville, Napa Valley, United States
Drinking window: 2017 – 2032Antonio Galloni. Tasting date: October 2014
Blankiet’s 2012 Proprietary Red Paradise Hills Vineyard races across the palate with super-expressive red fruit, smoke, licorice, spices and menthol. Here, too, it is the wine’s textural silkiness and overall polish that stand out above all else. This radiant, striking Cabernet Sauvignon-based red will drink well to age twenty, perhaps beyond.
Antonio Galloni. Tasting date: October 2014
Blankiet has come a long way over the last few years. Increased focus on the dual flagships Rive Droite and Proprietary Red fueled by Claude and Katherine Blankiet’s relentless pursuit of excellence has resulted in more severe selection, lower production and higher overall quality. One of the secondary results of that is a marked increase in quality of Blankiet’s second wine, Prince of Hearts, which is now one of the very best values in Napa Valley. More recently, the Blankiets have introduced a pure Cabernet Sauvignon, Mythicus. Every visit to Blankiet Estate is proof of the total obsession to detail that is the rule here. The 2012s are radiant and expressive, which is the style of the year, but I was also quite surprised by just how finessed the 2013s are now given that so many wines in this vintage are so structured and tannic. These are magnificent wines from the Blankiets and the husband and wife winemaking team of Denis and May-Britt Malbec.
From New Releases from Napa Valley: 2012 and 2013, Part I (Dec 2014) by Antonio Galloni
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Wine Advocate # 215 (Oct. 2014)
Review by Robert Parker
Rating: (96)
VIEWThe serious 2012 Proprietary Red Paradise Hills Vineyard is composed of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This wine tips the scales at 14.4% alcohol, not all that high in such a ripe year. Aromas of barbecue smoke, graphite, blackberries and crème de cassis are followed by a wine with silky tannins and a long, opulent, full-bodied finish. This terrific 2012 is surprisingly drinkable at an early age for a Blankiet wine. Enjoy it over the next 15-20 years. This fabulous small estate tucked in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains, behind the Dominus Napanook estate in Yountville, continues to turn out a bevy of brilliant wines from proprietors Claude and Katherine Blankiet.
As I wrote last year, they have had an amazing group of top wine consultants on their payroll, including viticulturist David Abreu, Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer, Michael Rolland, Martha McClellan, and currently, Denis Malbec. The owners’ only goal is to make world-class wines, and their tiny production of under 2,500 cases is mindboggling for the major effort they are making. In any event, it’s about quality, not quantity. The 2012s are beautifully forward, open-knit, ripe wines, and the 2013s look equally fleshy and beautiful, and perhaps, as a vintage, less backward than many 2013s may prove to be elsewhere.
