Wines

From the winery: Our second label wine, KEOLA is comprised of barrels and lots from the same vineyards that make up our top-tier Aaron cuvées. These barrels are declassified lots and extra barrels that simply don't find their way into our flagship wines, thus we blend them into KEOLA, our everyday drinking red that massively overdelivers for the price point. Juicy, vibrant and intensely aromatic, its a medium-bodied, absolutely delicious wine that goes with any place, any dish, and any time of day. Comprised mostly of Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Mourvèdre it's a rich and savory, with a blue/red fruit profile and notes of grilled meats and sage/underbrush. The palate is luscious and juicy, loaded with flavors of macerated cherries, cocoa powder, toasty oak, and licorice. Aged for 18 month is 100% French oak, 50% new, it's a wine that will certainly age in the cellar, but we recommend cracking it open now and enjoying it through the remainder of this year!

92 Points! A good value, the 2023 Keola Red offers juicy darker fruits, peppery herbs, and sappy, floral notes. Based on 45% Petite Sirah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Syrah aged 18 months in 25% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, ripe, round, and supple, with no hard edges. This is a pleasure-bent, impeccably made red to drink over the coming 5-6 years. ..As always, Aaron Jackson makes a ripe, powerful style of wine that brings ample fruit and texture while staying nicely balanced. - Jeb Dunnuck

Sourcing:

Petite Sirah - Dusi Vineyards (Templeton Gap District), St Peter of Alcantara (Willow Creek District next door to Pesenti Vineyard)
Syrah - Maison Mason (Willow Creek District next to notable vineyards like Terry Hoage, Paderewski). And Caelesta Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
Cabernet - Old Bailey Vineyard (Adelaida District, oldest vine Cab on the westside, own rooted in 1969 and right next door to HMR Vineyard and planted around the same time).

94 Points! The 2021 Petite Sirah checks in as 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Syrah, aged the normal 22 months in 60% new 300-liter barrels. It's a gorgeous expression of the variety with loads of jammy blue fruits, flowery incense, spice, and underbrush notes as well as a full-bodied, deep, richly textured, layered style on the palate. I’d be thrilled to drink a bottle any time over the coming decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2021 Trespasser is more focused and inward, with darker fruits, graphite, candied violets, and chocolaty, subtle leafy herb-like nuances. It's a rich, full-bodied, concentrated red based on 38% Petite Sirah, 37% Syrah, and 25% Mourvèdre that spent 22 months in 50% new 300- and 400-liter puncheons. It will shine for 5-7 years, if not a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! The white 2019 Le Domaine is mostly Sauvignon Blanc, with 30% Verdejo, and comes from a warm year (not as warm as 2017) when Sauvignon Blanc achieved perfect ripeness. The wine has good ripeness, 13.5% alcohol, very good freshness, a subtle nose that is not that varietal (as it's often the case) and a soft palate with great balance and purity. It finishes with a faint bitter touch. The oak is neatly integrated. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

91 Points! The 2023 Kerner is delicately floral in the glass, with a whiff of sweet spice and candied lime forming its bouquet. This is built on energy with vibrant acidity and a combination of saline minerals and tart citrus, adding a zesty character throughout. The 2023 reverberates with tension through the long and cheek-puckering finale with hints of chamomile and lemon zest. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

91 Points! This has a bright, citrusy, leafy profile with yellow plums and ferns. Tart on the palate with zesty acidity, light body and dairy flavors. The lemony finish is polished yet not long. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Salty and spicy with white-pepper and flinty aromas, this is light-bodied yet very savory and crisp with a polished finish. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The smart buy in the Ackerman lineup is the suave, polished 2018 Memoir Red Wine. A blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and 6% each Malbec and Petit Verdot, it seamlessly marries cedary oak notes with cassis and dark chocolate flavors. Medium to full-bodied and less opulent and weighty than many of its Napa counterparts, it's still velvety-plush but also marked by ample freshness and length. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

97+ Points! Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard is deep garnet-purple in color. It leaps from the glass with blackcurrant jelly, warm plums and mulberries notes plus suggestions of black raspberries, roses, tar, anise and fragrant earth. Full-bodied, the palate is very tight-knit, with firm, ripe, grainy tannins and lively acidity supporting the layers upon layers of nuances, finishing very long and wonderfully minerally. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

98 Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with open-knit, expressive scents of black cherry compote, warm cassis, and cinnamon toast with nuances of clove oil, roses, and dark chocolate. The full-bodied palate is rich, plush, seamless, layered, long, and decadent. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

97 Points! A gorgeous wine from Chris Phelps, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard sports a dense purple hue as well as awesome aromatics of cassis, violets, flowers, and spicy oak. It’s young and unevolved, with medium to full-bodied richness, silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It ranks with the finest wines I’ve tasted from this vineyard. All Cabernet aged 20 months in 70% new French oak, it has two decades or more of prime drinking ahead of it. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! Intense cinnamon spice on the nose, together with vibrant aromas of cherry jelly and pressed flowers. Medium-bodied with a graceful attack, firm light tannins and crisp, brilliant and juicy acidity that packs a punch. Overall it’s crunchy in style. Licorice in the aftertaste. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Aromas of sour cherries, dried wild strawberries, rosemary and orange peel with subtle iron notes. Medium-bodied, showing finely etched tannins and lively acidity. Bright and crunchy, with fleshy fruit and a savory, mineral finish. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Viking Estate Vineyard was aged for 20 months in 50% new French oak. Medium ruby, it has a core of blackcurrant and Morello cherry with touches of bell pepper, thyme, cedar, dark chocolate and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, grainy tannins, rounded acidity and a concentrated core of pleasantly herbal fruit. Drink it over the next 3-5 years. 810 cases were produced, and this will be released in the summer of 2023. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

A blend of Malbec, Cinsault, Syrah and Merlot aged in French oak for 10 months.

from the winery:

When it comes to making Viognier, we aim for a very different style than what is typically produced in California, showcasing what can be done with the variety on the extremes of the coast. Effusively aromatic but not at all heavy like most Viognier, it bursts forth with a bright, vibrant, floral personality that is unlike any Viognier you’ve ever tasted. White flowers, citrus, unripe pineapple, and minerals dominate the aromas, while the palate is distinctively atypical for Viognier. A lemony freshness with notes of pomelo, barely ripe white nectarine, sweet white grapefruit, and pineapple core, braced by tremendously fresh acidity and super mineral finish.

250 cases produced
Fermented & aged 6 months 80% stainless steel & 20% neutral French oak
No malolactic fermentation
Drink now thru 2032
Alc: 14.0%

91 Points! Based on the 2020 vintage, complemented by reserve wines from 2019, the latest rendition of Agrapart's NV Brut 7 Crus is charming and unusually giving at this early stage, offering up aromas of white flowers, sweet orchard fruit and ripe citrus, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and pillowy palate. - William Kelley, robertparker.com