Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (Jan 2023) “The 2019 Carricante and Nebbiolo are the best yet from Aeris.”
2019 Aeris Centennial Mountain Vineyard Carricante
John Gilman, ViewFromtheCellar.com (May/June 2023, #103) The 2019 Carricante from Aeris is really starting to blossom at four years of age and I can see why the team at Rhys decided to hold it back in the cellar for an additional year of aging. The bouquet is pure and gorgeously expressive, jumping from the glass in a blend of nectarine, tart pineapple, a hint of green olive, salty soil tones, white flowers, lemon peel and a nice hint of fresh rosemary in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very minerally in personality, with a beautiful core of fruit, bright, zesty acids, laser-like focus and a very long, very complex and seamlessly balanced finish. This is one of the most beautiful bottles of white wine from America that I have ever had the pleasure to taste! It is still a puppy and will be an even better drink five or ten years down the road, but it is stunning already! 2023-2050. 96+.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (Jan 2023) The 2019 Carricante Centennial Mountain Vineyard is bright, effusive and full of personality. Orchard fruit, jasmine, lime, tropical overtones and bright acids give the 2019 a gorgeous, exotic character with Riesling-like echoes that jump from the glass. It is one of the most distinctive California whites I can remember tasting of late. 94.
2019 Aeris Centennial Mountain Vineyard Nebbiolo
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (Jan 2023) The 2019 Nebbiolo Centennial Mountain Vineyard is a wild, powerful wine endowed with tons of structure and personality. Wild cherry, blood orange, spice, sage and mint give the Nebbiolo tons of aromatic presence. There’s plenty of depth behind that. This is a pretty potent, serious California Nebbiolo endowed with beguiling complexity and of class. It offers tons of Nebbiolo character with an extra kick of California sunshine. It spent 31 days on the skins and was aged in 25hL casks, a pretty traditional regime of winemaking and élevage. This is a big step up. Give the 2019 a year or two to help soften the tannic bite.94.
John Gilman, ViewFromtheCellar.com (May/June 2023, #103) The new vintage of Nebbiolo from Aeris is an excellent young wine. At this young age it is defined by its striking transparency and precision, with the bouquet wafting from the glass in a youthfully complex blend of red and black cherries, camphor, rose petals, stony soil tones, woodsmoke, a touch of road tar, orange peel, fresh oregano, cedar and just a touch of incipient curry notes in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and chewy, with a superb core, great soil signature and grip, ripe, firm tannins and a long, vibrant and very, very promising finish. The balance here is impeccable, but this is structured like a young, old school Barolo, and is going to need plenty of hibernation time before the tannins start to soften up and the wine begins to drink with generosity. It is going to be stunning in due course. 2039-2100+. 94+.
2019 Aeris Centennial Mountain Vineyard Bricco Rosso
John Gilman, ViewFromtheCellar.com (March/April 2022, #97) I do not have the exact cépages information for the 2019 version of Bricco Rosso from Aeris, but assume it is similar to last year’s blend of fifty percent Nebbiolo, fifteen percent each of Nerello Mascalese, Primitivo and Carignan and five percent of Barbera. In any event, the wine is superb, offering up a very complex bouquet of red and black cherries, bonfire, nutskin, brambly spice tones, stony soil and just a touch of oak. On the palate the wine is deep, ripe and full-bodied, with an excellent core of fruit, impressive complexity and grip, ripe, buried tannins and a long, soil-driven and ripely tannic finish. This is a gorgeous young wine, with the structure of a proper Nebbiolo, but some of the expansiveness in the mid-palate that I associate with Nerello Mascalese. 2030-2080. 94.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (Jan 2023) The 2019 Bricco Rosso Centennial Mountain Vineyard is a blend of Nebbiolo, Carignan, Nerello Mascalese and Zinfandel. Bright and wonderfully translucent, the 2019 is also light on its feet. Dark red cherry, plum, leather, spice, tobacco and incense lend notable aromatic dimension. 92.
2019 Aeris Centennial Mountain Vineyard Zinfandel
John Gilman, ViewFromtheCellar.com (March/April 2022, #97) This is the first Zinfandel I have tasted from Aeris and their fine mountaintop vineyard of Centennial Mountain. The vines are bush-trained on these stony soils, with the 2019 version coming in at a very manageable (for zinfandel) 14.5 percent octane this year. The wine delivers a classic bouquet of raspberries, dark berries, brambly spice tones, woodsmoke, roasted game, stony soil and some herbal notes in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite generous at the core, with a plush palate feel, tangy acids, ripe tannins and a long, complex and really very well-balanced finish. A fine, ageworthy zinfandel for the adults in the room. 2027-2055+. 92.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (Jan 2023) The 2019 Zinfandel Centennial Mountain Vineyard is a beautiful wine. Sweet dark cherry, tobacco, cedar, mint and licorice meld together in a mid-weight silky Zinfandel loaded with varietal character. I can’t wait to see how it ages. 90.
2019 Aeris Centennial Mountain Bianco
John Gilman, ViewFromtheCellar.com (March/April 2022, #97) The 2019 Bianco from Aeris is produced entirely from Carricante, but the team here labels this wine differently as it is crafted with an eye towards earlier drinking than the varietally- labeled cuvée, which is given further aging in the winery’s cellars prior to release. The 2019 Bianco from Aeris comes in at a refined twelve percent alcohol in this vintage and delivers a beautiful bouquet of green olive, tart orange, beautiful soil tones, lemon peel, a touch of fresh rosemary in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, vibrant and full-bodied, with an effortless sense of balance, a fine core, bright acids and a long, complex and extremely classy finish. I really love this wine! 2022-2040. 94.