Time and Place: A Celebration of Revik Wine Co.
7/20/18 -
Today we're excited to offer you the first commerically available vintages of an exciting and dynamic new voice in Napa wine! Phil Holbrook, and his wife Dani, started Revik Wine Co. with an obsessive focus on non-invasive winemaking practices and a keen interest in the qualities of their specific vineyard sites. In a sense, this is entirely natural. Phil has lived in Napa all his life, growing up in Coombsville, and has a deep, nuanced, and rich understanding of the valley.
For Revik, the concept of terroir goes beyond an understanding of the geology, climate, and sunshine of a place. It includes a personal aspect as well: the individual spirit of each growing season as experienced in human terms. Just as we learn that climate and weather are different, that weather is what happens in a specific year and climate is the agglomeration of general trends over the course of many cycles, so the culture of a place has two aspects: the general beliefs and experiences of a community through the decades and also the finite and inimitable experiences of a single season. Each bonfire, house party, memorable conversation, wedding, and sunset that occur over an individual year go into the crafting of every handmade wine. This includes the memory of those who have recently left us. In 2016, Margrit Mondavi, Robert Mondavi's second wife, passed away in September. She was Phil's grandmother. The beautiful watercolor of a cherry blossom that adorns the labels of these wines was painted especially for Revik by Margrit herself.
The wines below are as beautifully composed as their labels, and speak to a level of care and knowledge of the vineyards that can only come from someone who was raised within them. Each wine is loaded with personality, extraordinary texture, and bright, crystalline structure. The 2016 Saphi Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is made from the home vineyard in Coombsville. In the new and dynamic world of California Sauvignon Blanc, where each year brings more exciting examples, this bright, zesty, gorgeously textured example is the finest I've tasted yet. The 2016 Linda Vista Chardonnay is another classic example, farmed organically by Steve Matthiason in Oak Knoll. The interplay between its linear structure and broad, nutty texture teases the intellect as one ponders the lines of its long finish. Lastly, we have the 2015 Diogenes Ridge Vineyard Cabernet from Howell Mountain. Situated at 1800 feet, this is a tensile, athletic wine, with broad shoulders and incredible acidity but still retaining a sturdy core of dark fruit. This is a Cabernet that should age for many years yet.
In addition, we are excited to taste these wines today, July, 20th, here in the shop from 5-7PM, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop in to try what we hope will be your first taste of a new winemaking force in the already august history of Napa Valley!
-Andrew Farquhar
