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Tesseron Estate Pym-Rae Mount Veeder 2016  - First Bottle

Reviews

98 James Suckling -
No. 24 Top Wines of the United States of 2020: This is the debut vintage of this wine from the esteemed Bordeaux owner, Alfred Tesseron, who bought the property in the Napa mountains in 2016. Aromas of plums, wet earth, fresh herbs and tobacco. Some green olives. Turns to blueberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet reserved and layered with chocolate, walnuts and plums. Firm yet polished tannins give a framed sense to the wine. Savory. Racy and beautifully structured, it’s extremely drinkable already. Real wine.
97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Pym-Rae displays a deep garnet-purple color and reveals wonderfully fragrant notes of candied violets, wilted roses, damp soil and black tea over a core of red and black currants, black cherries and warm blackberries plus touches of cigar box and camphor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is evocatively singular, offering that rock-solid structure of mountain fruit, yet these are wonderfully ripe, silt-like tannins that beautifully support the elegant red and black fruit layers, finishing very long and very perfumed.
96+ Jeb Dunnuck -
The 2016 Pym-Rae comes from an estate on Mount Veeder and is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, all aged in 70% new French oak and the balance in concrete vats. The first vintage for this cuvée, it's named after the original estate owner's children, Pym and Rae, which were their middle names. The 2016 is a beautiful wine and has a unique, rich, meaty character as well as lots of dark fruits, mountain scrub brush, tobacco, and leather that develops nicely with time in the glass, showing more and more fruit and purity with air. Full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and textured, it has a mass of tannins, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a solid spine of acidity that keeps it lively and fresh. It offers pleasure today yet is going to benefit from 5-7 years in the cellar. My money is on it evolving for 25-30 years.

Technical Details

  • Blend76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc
  • WinemakerMichel Rolland and Thomas Comme
  • CountryUS
  • RegionCalifornia North Coast
  • AppellationMt. Veeder, Napa
  • VineyardPym Rae
  • Alcohol14.1%

Tesseron Estate Pym-Rae Mount Veeder 2016

Cabernet Blends  |  US
JS98, WA97, JD96+

Too late, we are SOLD OUT!
COLLECTORS! What do Robin Williams’ Napa vineyard, Alfred Tesseron (Chateau Pontet-Canet) and Michel Rolland have in common? This drop-dead AMAZING, lush, intense ‘16 Cabernet Sauvignon. A MUST for hardcore Cabernet aficinados! Incredibly limited! We were incredibly lucky to taste with Alfred Tesseron himself some weeks ago. This man has turned Chateau Pontet-Canet into a 100-point powerhouse, rivaling the top estates in Pauillac, and now he is doing the same here in Napa. In January 2016, the Tesseron family became the owners of Villa Sorriso (Villa of Smiles), the former property of the actor Robin Williams. The actor christened the vineyard with the middle names of his children “PYM” and “RAE”. Due to this touching story and in respect to the previous owners, the Tesserons have chosen to continue the name Robin gave to the vineyard. The globe pictured on the label was taken from a chandalier that hangs in the entrance to Robin's home.


The Tesseron family has taken everything they have learned over the decades making wine at Pauillac's Pontet Canet and have applied it at this 30 year old vineyard (very rare to see a vineyard of this age in California!) atop of Mt. Veeder. Immediately, he converted the property to organic and biodynamic farming and removed all irrigation (which he was told could not be done in this rugged hillside property), brought his winemaking team from Pontet-Canet and hired his own full time farming team. Every detail has been thought out, from the meticulous farming to the world-class winemaking, and the results are in the bottle.


The wine is singularly unique as the WA review notes, accurately. You MUST taste it to wrap your head around it - intense, with a tannin structure we’ve not come across often, it is PACKED and tightly wound in the best way possible, with masses of blueberries, plum preserves, cassis and purple flowers with a touch of spice in a fine, subtle-yet-powerful frame, long, complex and layered. Wonderful. A must-have.

We have but a FEW of these gorgeous 3-PACKS, which depict the position of the stars on the day of harvest in 2016 (it will change every vintage of course). DEBUT RELEASE for those who must have the best (and be one of the very few!). $349.95 per bottle, 3-pack wood cases on request. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED!

About the Producer

In January 2016, the Tesseron family became the owners of Villa Sorriso (Villa of Smiles), the former property of the actor Robin Williams. The actor christened the vineyard with the middle names of his children "PYM" and "RAE". Due to this touching story and in respect to the previous owners, the Tesserons have chosen to continue this name for the domain?s wine. The Tesseron family has taken everything they have learned over the decades making wine at Paullac's Pontet Canet and have applied it at this 30 year old vineyard atop of Mt. Veeder.