Nine Suns - Houyi Vineyard Proprietary Red Cabernet Blend 2013

Price: $349.99

Sale Price: $299.99

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Producer	Nine Suns
Country	United States
Region	Napa Valley
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage	2013
Sku	12018062
Size	750ml

 

WA

96

This is a one-time opportunity to get your hands on a rare library release from the cellars of the founder of Nine Suns winery and the 98 Point 2013 Napa Vintage, and probably the last and only wine you will ever see from Nine Suns.

It’s from grapes grown in the Houyi vineyard, a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon (about 70%), with Malbec & Merlot second in the blend at around 10% each, and a small amount of Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc for the balance.

The vineyard is located high on Pritchard Hill in the mountains that border the Napa Valley on the eastern side - by any standard the high rent district - neighbors include rock star properties Colgin, Brand, Ovid, David Arthur and Martinez, to name a few.

The soil here is exceptionally rocky, red, and volcanic, forcing the vines to root down deep and producing berries with concentrated flavor and power. Farming is by David Abreu, one of the top viticuluralists in the Valley, and fruit from Houyi Vineyard is incredibly desirable in Napa. Grapes from this site go into wines vinted by top winemakers such as Sam Kaplan, Russell Bevan, Helen Keplinger, and Benoit Touquette for REALM Winery, who loved it so much they purchased the property lock stock an barrel in 2022, including winery, vineyards, and all of the wine inventory.

But to my delight my rep called me today with an offer of just a few cases from the exceptional 2013 Napa vintage straight from the cellars of the winery founders Jason and Flora Chang. With this fantastic site now in the hands of REALM, who I am sure will continue to make outstanding wines from it, the prices is almost sure to go up, and REALM’S 2013 Houyi Vineyard, if you can find it sells at around $325-$335. 

96+ Points, The Wine Advocate “Much more tightly knit, structured, and built for the long haul is the 2013 Proprietary Red, which is a 600-case blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. The ceiling on this wine is probably higher than the 2012, but it needs another 2-4 years of bottle age. Opaque purple in color, with hints of white chocolate, black truffle, sweet crème de cassis and blackberry fruit as well as a touch of wood smoke, this wine has great richness, an extraordinary, singular personality, and a fabulous finish of close to 50+ seconds. Kudos to the Chang family and winemaker Sam Kaplan for turning out two profound wines from Pritchard Hill. Look for the 2013 to hit its prime in 5-6 years and last for three decades or more.

These are two great wines made by Sam Kaplan, with David Abreu’s company doing the viticulture. The owners are the Chang family. The wines come from the Pritchard Hill vineyard of Houyi, which is planted on the pure Hambrick red soils that can be found on Pritchard Hill.”