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Sommeliers Do It Better
No longer content to uncork someone else's, these sommeliers are designing their own wines.
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Wine Advocate # 192

2008 Coup de Foudre Cabernet Sauvignon
94 POINTS - The obsession with all things French continues with the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc). Revealing a similar dark ruby/purple color, it possesses lots of camphor, cassis, black cherry and licorice aromas as well as a full-bodied, impressively endowed, concentrated style with abundant texture. These are both serious wines to drink over the next 10-15 years. ~ Robert Parker December 2010

Wine Advocate # 192

2008 Coup de Foudre Winery Blend 37.2
93 POINTS - Coup de Foudre's 2008 Cuvee 37.2 appears to be a Napa interpretation of a top Pomerol from Bordeaux. Composed of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color, full body, exceptional concentration, velvety tannin, and abundant black cherry, black currant, charcoal and floral notes. Opulent and exuberant, it is both a hedonistic and intellectual turn-on. ~ Robert Parker December 2010

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

2008 Coup de Foudre Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills
90 POINTS - Deep red. A sexy, oak-spiced bouquet displays scents of raspberry and cherry preserves, cola, musky herbs and a strong floral quality. Sappy, broad and smoky in the mouth, offering sweet red and dark fruit flavors that show a distinct sweetness and a touch of bitter chocolate. Clings tenaciously on the ripe, velvety finish, which features sweet floral and spicecake qualities. Shows a darker character than the excellent 2006 version. This wine was raised in two-thirds new and one-third one-year-old French barriques ~ Tanzer November 2010

WINE SPECTATOR

2008 Coup De Foudre 37.2 Cuvee Napa Valley
92 POINTS - "Rich, focused and powerfully structured, boasting floral red currant and dried spice aromas, with complex flavors of blackberry, chocolate and fresh earth that finish with ripe but firm tannins. Best after 2013."
- J.L. November, 2010

WINE SPECTATOR

2008 Coup De Foudre Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - 91 POINTS - "Firm and dense, boasting chewy currant, blackberry, mineral and sage flavors. Full-bodied and mouthcoating, filling out nicely on the palate where the flavors offer depth and traction. Best from 2012 through 2022." 400 cases made.
- J.L. November, 2010

Tasting Panel

2008 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills
93 POINTS -" Fragrant and luscious with sweet black cherry fruit and a core of tangy acidity; complex with notes of earth, spice and lively fruit with silky texture and a long, balanced finish."
- July 2010/Anthony Dias Blue

2008 37.2 Cuvee
92 POINTS -" Rich and spicy with lovely plum, cassis and soft herbs; ripe, lush and concentrated with balance, good length and lovely elegance."
- July 2010/Anthony Dias Blue

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
95 POINTS -" Silky and smooth with toasty, ripe plum and black raspberry fruit; juicy, succulent and deep with lovely hints of spice and sweet oak; a big wine that is never clumsy; elegant, graceful, long and seamless."
- July 2010/Anthony Dias Blue

WINE ENTHUSIAST

94 POINTS 2006 Coup de Foudre Pinot Noir
November 2008 - Buying Guide

WINE SPECTATOR

2007 Coup de Foudre Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills
91 POINTS - "Rich and tightly wound, with a firm, concentrated core of wild berry, spice, mineral and loamy earth that echoes black cherry and anise on the finish. Firmly tannic. Drink now through 2014. 250 cases made."
- J.L. September, 2009

2006 Coup de Foudre 37.2 Cuvee
91 POINTS - "Rich and well structured, with mocha, black cherry and toast aromas and a plush texture that's wrapped around a tightly wound core of currant, black olive and loam. The tannins are ripe, but need time. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2010 through 2015." - J.L.. February, 2009

2006 Coup De Foudre Pinot Noir
90 POINTS - "A subtle, understated, elegant style, with refined strawberry, dried currant, fresh earth and mineral notes that are graceful and delicate. Drink now through 2011. - J.L. September, 2008

2005 Coup de Foudre 37.2 Cuvee
92 POINTS - "Rich and well-structures, with black cherry and toasty mocha aromas and lusciously layered red current, spice and dusty, loamy flavors that finish with firm but ripe tannins. Drink now through 2012." - J.L.. September, 2008

2005 Coup de Foudre Cabernet Sauvignon
92 POINTS - "Savory wild berry, currant and black cherry is ripe and fleshy, with nice touches of cedary oak, dill and black licorice that gain complexity and nuance, offering depth without weight. Drink now through 2014. 400 cases made." - J.L.. October, 2008

ROBB REPORT
november 2007

The wine, too, is as memorable as any moment. The second vintage, the 2005, is a vibrant Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 5 percent Syrah, which adds a spicy character to this immense, deep, and complex wine. Coup de Foudre’s remarkable range of textures and flavors works its effects gradually, like the courses of an elegant and ample meal. First, luxurious berry and chocolate caress the nose, then coat the palate in a silky-soft blanket of chocolate and smoke, before the final course—a rich and unique finish of coffee and cream. This dark miracle of chance is one with which you will want to have a long and lasting relationship.

ROBB REPORT
July 2007

2004 Coup De Foudre
issue, “Coup De Foudre’s remarkable range of textures and flavors work their effect gradually, like courses of an elegant and ample meal. First, luscious, rich, dark berry and chocolate caress the nose, then coat the palate in a silky soft blanket of chocolate and smoke, before the final course—a rich and unique finish of coffee and cream.”.
– Brett Anderson

WINE ENTHUSIAST
May 2007

Editor's Choice 98 POINTS - “Coup De Foudre really is a stunning Cabernet, soft and complex, rich in blackberry and chocolate fruit, and irresistibly delicious. Somehow they have made a wine that’s powerful and opulent and impossibly rich, yet maintains and almost weightless elegance.” - Steve Heimoff

WASHINGTON POST
May 2007

2004 Coup De Foudre Cabernet
92 POINTS - Blended with 'select amounts of Syrah,' this skillfully crafted Cabernet delivers deep flavors and impressive richness and concentration but still comes off as suave and very well integrated, thanks to excellent balance between the fruit and the structural elements lent by oak and tannin. - Michael Franz

WILFRED WONG

96 POINTS - “Coup De Foudre is truly superb. One of
California’s greatest Cabernets PERIOD! Exceptionally rich and tremendously balanced; stands on a
pedestal.”