Welcome to our newest series, The Somm Set. Each month we’ll be sitting down with a guest sommelier and uncovering their guilty pleasures, cellar staples, and everything in between! Follow as they hand-select their favorites from our warehouse, giving you the inside scoop on cellar must-haves!

This month on The Somm Set, we’re excited to feature DLynn Proctor, Director of Fantesca Estate & Winery. Join us as we explore everything from his love of Italian wines and his current endevours in the Napa Valley.

2015 Crissante Alessandria Galina Barolo
King Richard's Reserve 2018
2015 Patrice Rion Vougeot 1er Cru Le Cras
Raid Y(our) Cellar Tasting
Read Our Full Interview With DLynn Proctor
The Somm Set Home

 

This week from DLynn Proctor:

One statement rings true as we near an exclusive offering inspired by the Old World: “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single world.” 

Fantesca Estate & Winery has celebrated the virtues of Winston Churchill through the expression of Freedom, Justice, Honor, Duty, Mercy, and Hope. The genesis of Fantesca’s signature ‘All Great Things’ series dates back to 2009 when esteemed winemakers Heidi Barrett and Tony Arcudi partnered with Susan and Duane Hoff to craft a Cabernet blend that showcased a sense of style, rather than a sense of place -- as is famously highlighted on Fantesca’s 53-acre parcel of land on Spring Mountain.  Leaning on the backbone of Cabernet Sauvignon, each release of All Great Things features high elevation fruit from Howell Mountain and Atlas Peak and showcases a reflective terroir and ethos paired with masterful blending. 

The inaugural vintage of the All Great Things series showcased ‘Freedom’ in 2009, and each vintage thereafter dawned the sequential expression of ‘Justice,’ ‘Honor,’ ‘Duty,’ ‘Mercy,’ and ‘Hope.’ The 2015 vintage began again with Freedom, now in its second edition. The classic 2016 vintage of Justice II is Fantesca’s latest offering. It arrives with powerful yet silky notes lent by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, wrapped in a well-balanced but adept use of new French Oak.

Winemaker Heidi Barrett describes the 2016 vintage as overwhelmingly successful in producing fully ripe wines with depth of character. She goes on to say, “A very expressive wine that is unmistakably Napa Valley. For collectors, this will also be age-worthy, although so delicious now.”  As fall is now upon us I suggest you grab some of these from the Benchmark cellar, explore older vintages of AGT, and prepare grilled lamb with fresh mint.

Check out the 2016 All Great Things Justice II mentioned below!