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| Fantesca Estate Cave |
I was in love at first taste, literally. I purchased the
Fantesca Chardonnay on Gilt Taste a little over a year ago in a
Heidi Barrett Series Pack that I could not resist. Finally, once I found the guts to open the most expensive Chardonnay that I had ever purchased, I tried it for the first time. My first reaction was "Wow", seriously....followed by, "I can't believe I feel this way about a Chardonnay!" It was one of the most incredible things ever to hit my lips, and I haven't been able to shake the memory since.
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| Inside the Cave |
I began to research
Fantesca...Where was the winery? How could I get more? What other wines do they produce? Alex and I had to try the Fantesca again to make sure that it was all we had hyped it up to be. We contacted the winery and visited the vineyard for an unforgettable experience.
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| Estate Vineyard |
Fantesca Estate Winery is a gorgeous gem along the rolling Spring Mountain hillside. We drove up to the winery and were greeted by Stacey Ross, who began to tour us around the secluded property. We walked down to the vineyard and took in the breathtaking views of the 10 acres of cabernet sauvignon treasures below. Then we retreated back to the cave for a very special treat. The cave was immaculate and very romantic inside. We were introduced to
Tony Arcudi, the Associate Winemaker, and enjoyed a special barrel sample of what would eventually make up the King Richard's Reserve Pinot Noir. It was incredible! It was a complete tease to a wine that few will ever get the opportunity to try, due to its extremely limited production.
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| King Richard's Reserve Barrel Samples |
We moved into the winery for a tasting of the current releases of Fantesca's portfolio. We tried the
2010 Chardonnay and were immediately brought back to our last memory of this incredible wine. We tasted the La Petite Rose, All Great Things Freedom (Proprietary Blend), and the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. It was an amazing treat. I was impressed by all of the wines and was so glad to have found Fantesca. It truly lives up to it's motto of being sexy, smart, and unpretentious. For a winery that produces approximately 2,000 cases a year with Spring Mountain grapes,
Heidi Barrett and
Tony Arcudi as the winemaking artists, and a gorgeous property to reside - Fantesca has every right to be pretentious, but as you will find if you visit, it isn't. I ended up falling in love with it just a little bit more because of this. We had a great time tasting, joking around, reading different
fortune corkies, and hearing stories of the winery during our tasting. We purchased the Chardonnay (no brainer) and are happy to report that we received news that we will receive our first Estate Cabernet allocation this October.
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| Fantesca Tasting Flight |
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Tips - Fantesca Estate Winery:
- I would recommend this winery to serious wine collectors, Fantesca is a gem to be appreciated and enjoyed for cult wine collectors looking for a low production, high quality Spring Mountain treasure
- Fantesca is by appointment only and has very limited availability to the public. I suggest planning to purchase wines ahead of your trip and asking if a tour and tasting would be available. The wines are mostly allocated, but if they are available definitely snatch up a few bottles
- Plan to spend approximately 2 hours for this experience
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| Current Releases |
