Archival VIADER Reviews |
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Archival VIADER Reviews |
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(Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2010): Tanzer describes the 2007 VIADER as: "Good deep red-ruby. Lovely violet lift to the dark cherry and licorice flavors. Suave, juicy and energetic, with terrific inner-mouth aromatic appeal to the sweet berry and floral flavors. Not an opulent style but plenty sweet for 2007. Finishes with lovely length, firm but fully ripe tannins and lingering minerality. Delia Viader told me she's really proud of this wine." (94 pts)
Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Wine Advocate (December 2009):
The 2007, a similar blend, is made in the same mold, with striking elegance, slightly sweeter fruit, and more aromatic ripeness and projection, thanks to better vintage material. This is a well-balanced, understated, gracious wine to drink now and over the next 15 years. (90 pts)
(Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2009):
Good bright ruby-red. Aromatically complex nose offers blackberry, licorice and violet. Sweet but quite backward, with noteworthy energy to the black cherry and licorice flavors. With the lowest percentage of cabernet franc since the 2003, this finishes quite firm, with building tannins and lingering notes of minerals and graphite. Today the "V" comes across as riper and more expressive, but this may be more serious. (91-94pts)
2007 "V"(Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2010): Good deep red. Fresh, new-oaky aroma of blackberry and licorice. Much more closed and medicinal than the flagship blend, but with a similar floral quality in the mouth. This is tougher and less expressive today but not at all heavy for all its breadth. Rather powerful acidity currently accentuates the wine's tannins, which coat the teeth. Finishes with a note of bitter chocolate. This actually boasts very good balance and depth for petit verdot but will require patience. (91pts)
(Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2009):
Good deep ruby. Musky blueberry aromas lifted by violet and orchid (the note of exotic flowers comes from the very ripe petit verdot component in 2007, says Delia Viader). Sweet, dense and lush, combining good inner-mouth perfume with serious underlying structure. Cocoa powder and spice flavors resound on the expanding finish, where sweet tannins dust the front teeth. (91-93pts)
2007 VIADER Syrah (Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2010): Good red-ruby color. Dusty violet and black raspberry on the fresh nose. Sweet, smoky and intense, with lovely inner-mouth floral character providing lift and perfume. There's a hint of smoked meat here, but this shows more of the floral side of syrah; still, I find it more varietally convincing than most recent vintages of this bottling. Finishes clean and persistent, with plenty of tannic support for development in bottle. A big success for this cuvee. (91 pts)
(Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2009): Bright red-ruby. Varietally expressive nose offers raspberry, smoked meat, rose petal, violet, mocha and brown spices. Sweet, spicy and juicy, with vibrant notes of spices, flowers and cocoa powder. There's no new oak to get in the way of the wine's red fruit perfume. This has a pH of 4.0, notes Alan Viader, and yet the overall impression is one of freshness and lift, probably due in part to the 12% whole clusters that went into the fermentation tank. One of the most convincing barrel samples of syrah that I've tasted here to date... (it seemed a bit more pliant and floral [since] last year.) (90-93 pts)
2006 VIADER: (Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2009): Currant and violet on the nose. Supple, sweet and nicely aromatic in the mouth, offering more breadth than the "V". The violet note carries through to the back of this ripe and attractive wine, which finishes with firm, building tannins. Winemaker Alan Viader has been doing more extraction since 2005, including a longer pre-fermentation cold soak and more post-fermentation maceration. He told me that total time on the skins in 2006 was between 55 and 69 days, whereas not long ago it was more like 30 to 35 at VIADER. (92 pts)
Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s Wine Advocate (December 2009):
The 2006, a blend of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, is laid back, restrained, yet an enticing style of wine made with a picture of Bordeaux clearly in its sights. Subtle graphite, raspberry, and black and red currant notes, along with some crushed rock and floral scents, emerge from this elegant, medium-bodied wine, which has avoided the rugged tannins sometimes present in this vintage. Drink it over the next 10-12 years. (88 pts)
(Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2009): Aromas of black-cherry, licorice and bitter chocolate. Juicy, spicy flavors of black fruits and flowers; not a fleshy wine but silky and fine-grained. Finishes with firm but ripe tannins and lingering notes of currant and dark cherry. 90(+?) pts
While there have been many flashy, supple, opulent 2006s, this group shows the vintage in its tighter, more compact, tannic and backward persona. These wines need cellar time, more so than many other 2006s.
2006 VIADER Napa Valley Score: 90 | $100
Bordeaux-like in its mix of flavors and structure, offering loamy earth, dried currant and berry, with touches of anise, sage and mineral. Ends with firm, dry tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2010 through 2016. 1,799 cases made. —J.L.
May/June 2008 Issue 138
Good deep red-ruby. Subdued but rip nose offers cassis, black plum, bitter chocolate, rose petal and sexy oak spices. Bigger, broader and lusher than most past vintages of this bottling, with rich, smooth flavors of dark plum and bitter chocolate. For all its weight (this is clearly a larger-scaled wine than the 2005), it managers to retain a light touch. Finishes with big, broad, rich tannins that reach the teeth. Still a bit youthfully musclebound but built for a slow and positive evolution in the bottle. This was the first vintage to be vinified by Alan Viader, who does a longer maceration than previously and makes greater use of delestage to aerate the must and extract color and flavor. The flagship wine was macerated for 45-50 days in both ’06 and ’07. (91-94 pts)
Good red-ruby. Currant, pepper, licorice, rose petal and nutty oak on the nose, plus a light meaty nuance. Supple, broad and juicy but not at all sweet. Nicely ripe, pure flavors of blackberry, bitter cherry and violet. This shows less of the leafy quality of the 2005 version. Elegantly styled wine, finishing with good breadth and a lingering flavor of bitter cherry. (90-92 pts)
Good full ruby-red. Bitter cherry and licorice on the nose; a bit less animal than the 2005, which I preferred on this most recent tasting (I scored it 90 points this time, vs. 88 a year ago). Juicy if a bit rigid in the mouth, offering flavors of bitter cherry, dark chocolate, minerals and mint. Finishes fresh and leafy, with rather polite varietal character. This reminded me of a drier-styled St. Joseph. (88 pts)
May/June 2008 Issue 138
Best of Year, 11/28/2008
It is entirely conceivable that this blend of the two Cabernets could improve dramatically with time in the bottle. Currently, it’s a very dry, firmly tannic wine, with black currant, mocha, cherry and new oak flavors that have a distinctive edge of sweet herbs, figs and tobacco. Improves considerably with airing in the glass, so decant if you drink it anytime soon. (92 points)
Firm and concentrated, with spice, anise, currant, herb and cedar flavors that are well-proportioned, tightly focused and rich and persistent on the finish. (92-94 points) -JL (Issue: Aug 31, 2006)
California Wine Guide for September 2008: “Cal Cabs to Hunt Down”
“Effusive nose of violets, dried herbs and black fruit. Slightly jammy, but crunchy acidity, solid tannins and creamy vanilla moderate the ripeness.”
-Linda Murphy
TASTED Magazine: The Wine Guide by Andreas Larsson, “Best Sommelier in the World” (Winter 2008/09)Andreas does not use a score system, but rather assigns categories such as “My Top Picks” and “I also liked.”
“My Top Picks”: 2005 VIADER Proprietary Red Blend
“I also liked”: 2005 VIADER "V" Petit Verdot Blend
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Many California wineries offer, in addition to 100-percent-varietal red wines, top-end blended reds. Most of these blends are based on Bordeaux models, and contain varying proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The aim is to achieve a wine in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts...
2005 VIADER (Napa Valley)
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc.
Lush, round, elegant, blackberry, coffee and vanillin flavors.
(May 2009)
May/June 2006 Issue 126
Good ruby-red. Pure, ripe aromas of raspberry, black cherry and flowers. Suppler and sweeter than the 2003, with intriguing hints of smoke, earth and game adding flavor interest. This has lovely purity of fruit. The crop level was under a ton an acre, says Viader. (89 points.)
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine (
July 2006)
"This impressively extracted youngster [of Syrah] is still rather withdrawn and slow to show what it has, but it slowly unfolds and offers glimpses of tantalizing dark-berry fruit with touches of minerals and a full measure of very rich oak. Its deep and fully extracted flavors may be a little more forward, but they are closed out by youthful tannins, and, while an edge of heat emerges in its raw, unpolished finish, the wine guarantees better if held for three or four years." (91 Points)
(June 15, 2007) Smoke, black cherry and currant aromas are clean. Supple, elegant and balanced, this keeps the fruit at the forefront, ending with mild tannins. Drinks well already. Now through 2012. -JL (87 pts)
Master of Wine, Andrea Immer-Robinson
This “wonderfully smooth” Napa Cab blend feels like cashmere for the tongue. Its “glorious fruit,” sweet complexity are “as good as any of the cult Cabs” but an elegance that’s rare in the category. Taste: Outstanding