Review on David Fulton Winery in St. Helena

 Happy Wine Down Wednesday Winos!

Let me start off by saying this is one of my new favorite wineries. The David Fulton Winery has been around since 1860 and is still family owned today. Pictured above is Richard Mather 5th generation of the Fulton family as he works on the marbled effect on the wax of the ME Wine in the back of the cellar. ME is an affiliated wine created by Richard Mather and Jason Elkin (Mather+Elkin=ME). He is such a cool guy that is really laid back and makes you feel like part of the family. I have never experienced such wonderful customer service experience. I also love that while this winery has been around 155 years but has such a current with the times marketing campaign. It was a breath of fresh air to see wine aimed at my generation and not my parents. Social media is a big part of their campaign and have wines named #Selfie, #Bestie, and #Bromance. Across the # named wines a portion of the proceeds goes to good causes.

So let's get into the wine! 

The price ranges from $36-90 with the roughly half ranging in the $35-50 and the ME Wine being the most expensive at $90. As far as the white wines go I liked the Liora it had flavors of creme brulee and cantaloupe and it was a slightly smooth wine. It is a nice wine to drink on a summer evening. #Bromance was the red I was quit fond of. The name matches the fact that it can be a manly drink for a man and thus creating a #bromance. It has a peppery taste to it perfect for my fiancé, yet approachable in tannins enough for my mom. Another cool thing about #bromance is that a portion of the proceeds goes to surviving members of fallen soldiers with the TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors). To bring awareness to this the wine label is camoed up. Those two wines were the top for me, tell me what you think in the comments.

To sum up my experience it was good wine, great customer service, great causes. What's better than that!

Cheers!

-Shawntelle

Clos Du Val

Happy Wine Down Wednesday Winos!

I know it has been awhile since my last post, so I promise these next few posts will have been worth the wait.

Recently, I went to Clos Du Val and my experience was actually pretty exciting. As you can see in the picture above I got to taste a 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon. The bottle was opened with a Coravin bottle opener which punctures the cork with a needle and uses argon gas to suck up the wine with a push of a button, then when you pull out the needle, the cork reseals itself so that it is almost like it was never opened and is good for roughly 35 pours. The wine was totally fresh and everything you would hope for in an aged Cab, nice brownish color and unlike anything I've ever tasted before. 

My tasting host was very friendly and I really enjoyed my tasting experience. He was very knowledgeable and has been in the industry since the 1970s. I did the Single Vineyard Tasting, and getting to taste the unique differences from a single vineyard really shows the specific style of the winemaker. The one thing that I liked was that nearly all of the wines are very approachable. They could be like by many and have a more neutral taste with a few WOW wines to mix it up. The wine that I would most like to note was the Pinot Noir, I give it a 5 star rating. Previous to this tasting Deep Sea's Pinot Noir was my all time favorite, however, Clos Du Val is making me second guess that placement. The specific Pinot I tasted was the Estate Pinot Noir, Block 99A2 from the Carneros region. It has a fantastic aroma, smooth front and a spicy high tannin finish. It is manly yet approachable. The other wine to note was the Cabernet Franc, it was the wine that keeps on going. Many wines have either a fantastic front or finish and this has both with very distinct differences that it is almost like drinking two wines in one it was a very pleasant surprise. 

The wine is a little pricier and runs from the $30-$70 range with the most expensive wine being the 1993 vintage which is incredibly reasonable. The wine is approachable and easily accessible as their wines can be found at BevMo and many other liquor stores near you. 

Cheers!

-Shawntelle