Describing Jayson Woodbridge requires a thesaurus. Passionate is a good word, along with driven, charismatic and hedonistic. You could add exacting, arrogant and volatile. Woodbridge is happy to paint a target on his chest and dare you to shoot if he’s trying to make a point. And he’s always trying to make a point.
Tim Fish, Wine Spectator
Today’s Story: Hundred Acre
Hundred Acre was established with an inaugural 2000 vintage by owner and winemaker Jayson Woodbridge who endeavored (and to this day endeavors) to create a pinnacle Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. A former investment banker characterized by some as flamboyant, visionary, genius, arrogant, volatile, and contrarian (source – one of many), Woodbridge named his winery for the Kayli Morgan Vineyard’s resemblance to the Hundred Acre Wood from Winnie the Pooh. Childhood cartoons aside, Woodbridge demands utmost precision in farming the vineyards and making his wines where nearly everything is accomplished by hand. The vines are pruned by hand and grapes sorted INDIVIDUALLY by hand under a rockstar team of Philippe Melka (consultant) and Jim Barbour (vineyard manager – think Checkerboard and Blankiet) but ultimately the buck stops with Woodbridge. To gain more insight into this producer of more than one dozen 100-point wines, you’ll simply need to sign up on the waiting list (which reportedly spans longer than 5 years) here.
Today’s Wine: 2005 Ancient Way Vineyard Summer’s Blocks Shiraz
100% Shiraz; 15.5% ABV
The 2005 Ancient Way Summer’s Blocks is opaque deep garnet in color with deep ruby/purple hues. I decanted this for 1.5 hours and drank it over the following 2 hours. The remarkably youthful nose showcases aromas of juicy black plum, black raspberry, baked wild strawberry, fig, coconut, black licorice, cigar box, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. I am surprised there isn’t any heat on the nose given the high ABV. Once in the mouth, this elegant wine displays notes of blackcurrant, jammy blackberry, black plum, bing cherry, anise, sweet tobacco, gingerbread, chocolate, black olive, and savory herbs. This is medium- to full-bodied and incredibly well-balanced with medium (+) acidity, velvety medium (-) tannins, and a long finish. What is truly impressive here is the utter silkiness of the mouthfeel; I don’t think any wine I’ve had compares.
Price: $150. Considering the Hundred Acre Cabs go for $500+ per bottle I was excited to try their Shiraz for this price and it is absolutely worth it. On paper, this doesn’t seem like my style of wine but I couldn’t help but nearly gulp this down. Pair this with balsamic glazed duck breast, roasted leg of lamb, or mature hard cheese.
JB's Wine Talk 