The X File
Who are you, mysterious X Winery – if that IS your real name?
You say you specialize in using imagination and efficiency to create wines that deliver more than they promise. But that doesn’t tell us anything about who you really are. And neither does your name. You could’ve been something whimsical like Plaid Hyena, or faux-Italian like Castizzi d’Abrusia, or faux-rustic like Gulchgully Creek – you know, like most wineries do. But not you. You leave it to our imaginations. What are you hiding behind that single, inscrutable letter?
Maybe you’re on some kind of radical kick. You use the X in place of your slave name. It would be in keeping with the intensity of the 2007 X3 Tri-County Cabernet Sauvignon. Those dark fruit, dark cherry, and white pepper flavors come on strong, like they have something to prove. We’re starting to wonder if we should be alarmed that this wine draws fruit from Lake County, High Valley Appellation; the northern parts of Sonoma County; and Yountville and St. Helena in Napa. Could your militancy be spreading throughout wine country? Are you exporting a wine revolution, X Winery?
Perhaps that isn’t it at all. Perhaps you’re a mutant, the X a symbol of solidarity with your fellow mutants. The 2007 X Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon certainly displays suspiciously elevated levels of sophistication and balance. Those blackberry, cherry, and raspberry flavors hints of dusty truffle and cedar seem almost… superhuman, don’t they? It’s hard for us to believe that such a synthesis of dark fruit, earthy tones, and sweet spice could be achieved through normal human means alone.
But maybe we’re overthinking it. Maybe the X isn’t anything sinister at all. Maybe you’re just trying to tempt us with the alluring mystery of the sexiest of all letters. Well, you’ve succeeded. We’re helpless before your 2006 Amicus Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, a limited-production red sourced from the best grapes in the Spring Mountain District high above Napa Valley. Rich and sensuous with a strong backbone, its explosive aromas and full-palate flavors of dark fruit, plum, and bing cherry are laced with rose-petal and earthy notes. After 10-20 years of cellaring, it’ll be at its best, but we’re not sure we could handle it.
Of course, there are other possibilities. Maybe you’re a racecar driver looking out for your little brother. Maybe there’s pirate treasure built under your vineyards. The way we see it, X Winery, there’s only one way to clear your name and show the public you’re not hiding anything. Send us a case of each of these wines immediately. We’ll inspect them in minute detail, to ensure that you are what you say you are. Actually, you know what? This situation is so mysterious, you better make it two cases.
2006 Amicus Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
- Aging Info: 34 months, 95% French Oak, 5% American Oak, 40% New
- Alc: 14.5%
- pH: 3.68
- TA: 6.49 g/L
- RS: <1 g/L Free SO2 at bottling: 33 ppm
- Cases produced: 260 (sold as 6 packs)
2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Blend: 88% Cabernet
- Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2%
- Petit Verdot
- Aging: 18 months in 80% French Oak, 20% American Oak & 35% New Oak
- Alcohol: 14.9%
- pH: 3.75
- TA: 6.7 g/L
- RS: < 1 g/L
- Production: 672 cases
2007 “X3”Tri-County Cabernet Sauvignon
- Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Aging: 10 – 12 months in 16% new French Oak, 8% New American Oak & 76% Neutral Oak
- Alcohol: 13.9 %
- pH: 3.59
- TA: 6.8 g/L
- RS: 4 g/L
- Production: 1000 cases
- Released: April 2009
Rules and restrictions:
- Wine sold by winery (or a retailer in your state where necessary)
- You must be 21 or older to order
- Whoever receives the package must be 21 or older
- If you're drunk when the package shows up, you will not be allowed to receive it
- Wine cannot be delivered to a P.O. Box
- We highly recommend you use a business address as your shipping address
Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:
- California
- Colorado
- District Of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
If your state's not on the list, you're out of luck... for now. Keep up with the ever-changing laws over at ShipCompliantBlog.com, and/or sound the alarms with your state assembly person through FreeTheGrapes.org. Meanwhile, all Federal, state and local laws are complied with in providing this wine.
