Accolades


2021 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Jeb Dunnuck — 96 points

Stone fruits, buttered citrus, white flowers, and a subtle hint of green almonds all emerge from the 2021 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard, a medium to full-bodied, ripe, yet elegant Chardonnay. I love its overall balance, and it brings an impressive mix of richness and elegance.

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2021 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Corazon del Rio Vineyard

Jeb Dunnuck — 95 points

The 2021 Chardonnay Corazon Del Rio Vineyard is another brilliant Chardonnay (these are all made by Thomas Rivers Brown) from the Russian River Valley. Bright citrus, honeyed flowers, and subtle toasty oak notes define the aromatics, and it’s medium-bodied, has a fresh, focused mouthfeel, terrific balance, and a great finish. I’d be thrilled with bottles in the cellar.

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2021 Shibumi Knoll Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Jeb Dunnuck — 96 points

Moving to the reds, the 2021 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast comes from the Riddle Vineyard in Sonoma and spent 10 months in 20% new French oak. Black raspberries, sappy herbs, spring flowers, and some black tea notes all give way to a medium-bodied, elegant, vibrant Sonoma Pinot Noir with supple, fine-grained tannins and a great finish. It will age, but it’s too good to resist today.

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2020 Shibumi Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Jeb Dunnuck — 94 points

Lastly, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Shibumi Knoll Vineyard is all varietal and spent 22 months in 75% new barrels. It’s another beautifully balanced and impeccably made wine from this team that has tons to love, and in this case, it certainly represents a relative value as well. Cassis, darker chocolate, scorched earth, and graphite are just some of its aromatics, and it’s concentrated and has full-bodied richness, fine tannins, and the pure, layered, impressive style of the vintage front and center.

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2020 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Jeb Dunnuck — 94 points

The 2020 Chardonnay comes from the Beuna Tierra Vineyard, in the Russian River Valley, and spent 14 months in 75% new French oak. It has a beautifully perfumed nose of white peach, mulled pear, honeysuckle, and white flowers to go with a medium to full-bodied, bright, lively, yet still textured and lengthy style on the palate. It’s beautifully done and well worth seeking out. It should keep for 4-5 years, although there’s no need to delay gratification.

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2019 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Advocate — 94 points

With an Old Wente selection, roughly 50-year-old vines, François Frères and Taransaud oak and Thomas Rivers Brown as winemaker, is it any wonder that Shibumi Knoll’s 2019 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard is a huge success? Pineapple and pear fruit is joined by hints of butter and toasty oak in this nicely balanced, poised effort. Medium to full-bodied, with a seductively silky texture, this is a lovely, easy-drinking Chardonnay to enjoy over the next several years.

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2019 Shibumi Knoll Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Jeb Dunnuck — 93 points

Coming from a vineyard on the Sonoma Coast and aged in 25% new barrels, the 2019 Pinot Noir has a darker strawberry, raspberry, dried herb, and spice-driven bouquet as well as medium-bodied richness and depth on the palate. This balanced, complex, outstanding Pinot Noir is perfect for drinking over the coming 4-5 years or so.

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2019 Shibumi Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Jeb Dunnuck — 95 points

All of these wines from Shibumi Knoll showed beautifully. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon comes from estate fruit in St. Helena and has a ripe, forward, fruit-loaded style that’s very much in the profile of the vintage. Blue fruits, tobacco, sweet spice, and lead pencil notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied, round, velvety, incredibly satisfying 2019 that’s already impossible to resist. I like it today, but it should evolve for 10-15 years.

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2018 Shibumi Knoll Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Jeb Dunnuck — 95 points

As to the reds, the 2018 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is brilliant stuff and competes with any number of more expensive single vineyard releases. Ripe black raspberries, strawberries, flowers, and dried herbs as well as a kiss of oak all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, supple, mouth-filling, utterly delicious Pinot Noir that will keep for 5-6 years.

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2018 Shibumi Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Jeb Dunnuck — 94 points

Coming from a site north of St. Helena, on the east side of Highway 29, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Shibumi Knoll Vineyard has a beautiful, perfumed, elegant style in its red and blue fruits as well as notes of rose petal, chocolate, and exotic flowers. It actually reminds me slightly of Las Piedras with its floral character and is medium to full-bodied, balanced, and elegant on the palate, with terrific tannins. It’s going to evolve for 15-20 years.

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2018 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Jeb Dunnuck — 93+ points

The 2018 Chardonnay Russian River Valley Buena Tierra Vineyard is smoking good and offers a richer, mouth-filling, medium to full-bodied style as well as notes of almond paste, stone fruits, spicy oak, and chalky minerality. Coming from a site in the Russian River Valley and fermented and aged in 35% new French oak, it’s a serious Chardonnay that should evolve for upwards of a decade. Thomas Rivers Brown is the winemaker.

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2017 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Advocate — 94 Points

The 2017 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard conjures up provocative notions of buttered popcorn, crème brûlée and almond tar over a core of poached pears, peach cobbler and guava with a hint of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers gorgeous tension with an opulent oiliness to the texture and loads of savory-accented stone fruit layers, finishing on a lingering spicy note.

This site was planted in 1972 to Old Wente clone selection. The vines are all head-trained and dry-grown.

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2016 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Advocate — 95 Points

The 2016 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard has a medium-deep lemon-gold color, but don’t let the deeper color fool you into thinking the wine is prem-oxed. The nose leaps from the glass with classic scents of apricots, lemon butter, ripe grapefruit and key lime pie with hints of praline and graham crackers. The palate is instantly awakened with lovely tension and bags of citrus, stone fruit and evolving nutty flavors, finishing long with exciting mineral sparks. It is mature now but should certainly hold a good 4-5 more years.

This site was planted in 1972 to Old Wente clone selection. The vines are all head-trained and dry-grown.

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2015 Shibumi Knoll Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Advocate — 98 points

This comes from the estate’s 0.75-acre vineyard in St. Helena, planted and farmed by David Abreu. The wine is made by Thomas Rivers Brown. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts gregariously out of the glass like a total rock-star Cabernet with notes of baked blackcurrants, blackberry preserves and stewed plums with nuances of cigar box, Indian spices, camphor and smoked meats plus a waft of potpourri. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with black fruit layers with loads of red berry sparks and a wonderfully plush frame, finishing with epic length and fantastic freshness. Wow! 100 cases made.

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2015 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Advocate — 94 points

This site was planted in 1972 to Old Wente clone selection. The vines are all head-trained and dry grown. The 2015 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard gives up evolving fruit notions of preserved apricots, fresh hay, apple pie and allspice with touches of lemongrass and lime leaves. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with savory and baking spices accents with a stone fruit and baked apple core, framed by great freshness and a tantalizing oiliness to the texture, finishing long and spicy. Skillfully crafted by Thomas Rivers Brown, this is more of an old-old-school, oxidative style of Chardonnay and therefore wonderfully restrained and savory—not for those looking for a fruit bomb!

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2015 Shibumi Knoll Pinot Noir Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Spectator — 92 points

Rich and well-structured, with sandalwood and dried meat notes flanking the ripe dark plum, currant and dried cherry flavors. Slate and spice details show on the finish, with some loamy hints.

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2013 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Spectator — 94 points

Weaves together a mix of grapefruit and lemon notes, with green apple, melon and white peach details. A juicy, complex and approachable Chardonnay, with a very long finish.

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2012 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Spectator — 96 points

A dazzling effort, with striking purity, richness and focus, featuring a plump, silky texture that oozes with fresh fruit aromas and a deep core of rich pear, fig, honeydew melon and spice notes, ending with a burst of lip-smacking butterscotch hints.

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2009 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Spectator — 96 points

Deliciously rich and unctuous, with a creamy-textured mix of tangerine, honey, nectarine, apricot and juicy peach flavors, yet for all the wine’s richness the acidity keeps the flavors dancing, ending with a nice kiss of toasty oak on long finish.

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2005 Shibumi Knoll Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard

Wine Spectator — 97 points

Pure and delicious, a rich, elegant, layered expression of Chardonnay. Tightly focused and smooth-textured, offering a wealth of flavor built around green apple, fig, melon, spice and a hint of lemon blossom. Ends with a long, lingering finish.

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