2006 Arietta Proprietary Red H Block Hudson Vineyard RP--91

Robert Parker: 91 Points
Wine Advocate #180 Dec 2008 Robert Parker 91 Drink: 2012 - 2032 $59-$120 (150) The 2006 Proprietary Red H Block Hudson Vineyard offers spicy, chocolaty, menthol, burning ember, red and black fruit, asphalt, truffle, graphite, and oak characteristics. While this is an impressive offering, the tannins are more noticeable than they were last year, and the wine is more closed and backward. Give it 4-5 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following two decades. Some of California’s more innovative wines emerge from proprietor Fritz Hatton, the well-known auctioneer who is also a classical pianist. Hatton has been expanding his portfolio with each new vintage, and it appears his blended cuvees turn out more interesting than the varietal wines. Usually a blend of 55-60% Cabernet Franc and the rest Merlot is the proprietary red wine from the H Block of the Hudson Vineyard. The most expensive offering in the portfolio, it is very Cheval Blanc-like.