2014 Alpha Omega Era
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Buying options
Tasting notes
The flagship cuvee of the estate is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Era and it, I believe, comes from multiple terroirs in Napa Valley and is a cellar selection. It’s a big, rich, incredibly opulent 2014 that has loads of blackcurrant, smoked earth, chocolate and hints of lead pencil aromas and flavors. While it starts out dense and backward, it blossoms with time in the glass and possesses incredible depth of fruit, a thick, unctuous texture, sweet tannin and a blockbuster finish. While it has the supple, hedonistic style of the vintage, it has a huge mid-palate and won’t really start to hit its stride for another 3-5 years. It should keep for 3-4 decades. Along with consultant Michel Rolland, winemaker Jean Hoefliger has produced an incredible number of killer wines in 2014 and 2015. If you’re interested in learning about all the various sites throughout the Valley, this is a good place to start.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
The 2014 ERA, which is put in a special, heavy glass bottle, is a beauty. Opulent, with a voluptuous texture and an opaque purple color, with notes of pen ink, graphite, blackberry and blueberry, this is a big, deep, structured and intense wine that comes across atypically tannic and backward for a 2014 – it tastes more like what one expects of the massive 2013s. Nonetheless, it is an impressive wine and I’m sure that in 4 to 5 years, any purchaser will be thrilled with what is present in the bottle.
The 2014 ERA, considered the top of the line, tastes like a combination of blueberry pie and a chocolate milkshake. Moreover, the wine lacks the depth and persistence of the best wines in the range. All of the Alpha Omega wines are very rich to start. The ERA takes that and amps it up to a level that is beyond over the top.