2013 Blankiet Estate Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard Red
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Tasting notes
Blankiet again hit a home run with his 2013 Rive Droite, which is 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. There are only 300 cases of this, but it is another Petrus lookalike in Napa Valley (which is interesting, given that the next door vineyard is the Moueix-owned Dominus). Offering deep, dense, chocolaty notes with mocha, toffee, black cherry liqueur and even darker berry fruit, this is a wine of phenomenal intensity, with multi-dimensional mouthfeel and a finish of close to a minute. It is as close to perfection as a wine can get, and may eventually hit that three-digit score with another 1-2 years of bottle age. If you can find it, don’t miss it! It should drink well for 25-30+ years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard is the most expressive and open-knit of Blankiet's flagship 2013s, and it is the only one of those wines I would even think about opening young. Dark, sensual and totally inviting, the Rive Droite benefits from the Merlot base to give the wine its soft contours and resonant, inviting personality.
The 2013 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard is striking, but it is also massively closed today. Beams of tannin support the fruit in an embryonic wine that is just at the beginning of its evolution. Hints of crushed rose petal and mint emerge over time, adding a measure of nuance, but today the Rive Droite is a wine to admire mostly for its exquisite subtlety and finesse. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow over the next two decades-plus.
The 2013 Rive Droite Paradise Hills Vineyard is the most forward of the three 2013 wines I tasted from Blankiet and the first I would open if I owned them all. Crushed flowers, red fruit, tobacco, mint and cedar lend tons of aromatic nuance. I would not wait too long on this, as it is maturing.