This is based on samples provided by the winery or another organization acting on their behalf.

2012 Flora Springs Trilogy

Overview:

Over the years Flora Springs was always one of our stops when we visited Napa Valley. We took the two pictures below of the stained glass and wall murals during a visit in late August 2001, a couple weeks before 9/11. When I was offered samples from them, I was excited to reacquaint myself with these wines.

One of my favorite “Super Tuscan” style red wines from California is the Flora Springs Poggio del Papa. Even though this wine is not part of this post, I had to give it a “shout out”. The current vintage, 2012, is a blend of 69% Sangiovese, 16% Syrah, 10% Petite Verdot and 5% Malbec, all from the Napa Valley. This wine is available only at the winery or via their website.

About the winery:

Flora Springs, located in the Northwest corner of the Rutherford appellation at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains, was founded in 1978. The stone cellar of Flora Springs is a once abandoned “ghost winery”. It was Flora Komes who along with her husband Jerry that found the area while looking for a place to “kick off their boots”. Flora was the one who saw the possibilities hidden behind decades of neglect, over-grown ivy, and shifting rock walls. The property’s winemaking roots go back to the 19^th century but if was the work of Flora and Jerry’s children, John Komes and his wife Carrie, and Julie Garvey and her husband Pat Garvey, that have etched the legacy of Flora Springs.

As both artisan winemakers and growers, the family is committed to the traditions of fine winemaking and responsible stewardship of its 650 acres of vineyard land for future generations to savor and uphold. Today, ninety percent of Flora Springs’ red wines are sourced from its organically-farmed estate vineyards, and all of these wines are crafted in their solar-powered 19th-century stone winery and caves.

Much more about the winery, the family and the wines is available on their website by clicking here. I highly recommend checking out their “Working with Nature” and “Farming Responsibly” sections to read about their dedication to sustainability.

This bottle was supplied by the winery and Mora Cronin of Cronin Communications.

Cronin Communications is a marketing communications and public relations agency based in St. Helena, California. Specializing in the wine industry, the firm provides services including strategic positioning and brand messaging, copy writing and media relations. For more information, contact moracronin@comcast.net.

2012 Flora Springs Trilogy – SRP $75

The Flora Springs Trilogy story began in 1984. The family wanted to create the best wine possible by selecting the highest quality wine lots from our estate vineyards. This “Meritage” is one of the original ones from the Napa Valley. A Meritage is a wine produced by blending the grapes traditional to France’s Bordeaux region.

In this vintage the blend was 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 6% Petite Verdot. The wine was aged for 22 months in 100% French oak, 60% new and 40% one year old.

The wine has 14.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a traditional natural cork. There were 4,882 cases produced.

If you want to read more about the blending process for this wine please click here.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby to garnet color. The sexy nose has cassis, violets, cedar, baking spices, tobacco, dried leafy herbs, dusty minerals, cherries, plums and touch of cocoa powder. The wine has medium to full body, moderate ripe tannins and decent acidity. The wine is rich and velvety on the palate with fruit and spice on the front end and minerals, cedar and cherries coming in later. The finish has very nice length with dried herbs and cocoa powder entering the picture adding good depth. This is on the young side but already delicious. This wine has great balance and will reward some cellar time. (92 pts)

2012 Flora Springs Trilogy

Closing Thoughts

The Flora Springs Trilogy is one of the flagship wines from the winery and is a very reasonably priced cabernet based blend to serve at a special occasion. This wine compares favorably with other much more expensive wines produced in the Napa Valley. This vintage already tastes delicious but will gracefully age and be even better down the road. This should drink well through at least the middle of the next decade.

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Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but always check out the sale and close out items when in a store. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.