Fortress

Sort By:

Fortress 2007 Petite Sirah (Red Hills Lake County)

Cellar Selection

Price $35

A beautiful Petite Sirah, and a serious player. Shows the classic balance and elegance of a fine red wine, with smooth tannins framing the variety’s wildly exotic flavors of blackberries, blueberries, bacon, tobacco, grilled mushrooms, tamari, anise and lots of black pepper. Great now with BBQ, and should evolve in interesting ways for many years. — S.H. (12/1/2009)

points

Fortress 2006 Musque Clone Sauvignon Blanc (Red Hills Lake County)

Editors' Choice

Price $18

Fortress is establishing a formidable record for Sauvignon Blanc. The ’06 is rich, elegant, and enormously drinkable. There’s great delicacy to the mouthfeel, with stony, mineral flavors that add tang to the lime, Meyer lemon and smoky spice flavors that finish so dry and crisp. The Red Hills of Lake County is proving to be an extremely promising source of Bordeaux… — S.H. (5/1/2008)

points

Fortress 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (Red Hills Lake County)

Best Buy

Price $15

A fine Sauvignon Blanc whose slight sweetness is completely balanced with crisp acidity. Satisfies for the richness of the grilled pineapple, green apple jam and white pepper flavors. — S.H. (5/1/2009)

points

Fortress 2008 Musque Clone Sauvignon Blanc (Red Hills Lake County)

Best Buy

Price $15

Fortress is piling up quite an impressive record for good Sauvignon Blanc at a fair price. Their 2008, which is unoaked, combines crisp acidity and extreme dryness with complex flavors of lemons, grapefruits and gooseberries. Sommeliers should scoop this one up. — S.H. (12/15/2009)

points

Fortress 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (Red Hills Lake County)

Price $70

An extremely fragrant, concentrated and rich Cabernet from Lake County’s most promising red dirt. The wine opens with a heady air of blackberry jam and violets and tastes like cassis liqueur. It’s well integrated, still a little dusty, finishing with flavors of mint chocolate. Ready to drink now, this Cab should be even better in 3–5 years. — V.B. (6/1/2012)

points

Fortress 2004 Musque Clone Sauvignon Blanc (Lake County)

Price $21

These Lake County Sauvignons sure are getting interesting. This one is an amazing wine, bone dry, tingly-tart and filled with gooseberry, grapefruit and minerals. It stimulates some feral instinct in the mouth, living up to its savage, wild name. — S.H. (11/1/2005)

points

Fortress 2007 Finale Sémillon (Red Hills Lake County)

Price $30

Honeyed richness gives this wine its allure. It’s fabulously sweet and unctuous, with apricot-and peach-infused flavors enriched with vanilla and crème brûlée. Could be crisper in defining acidity, but it sure is decadent. — S.H. (3/1/2010)

points

Fortress 2007 Novateur Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc (Red Hills Lake County)

Price $20

Fortress’s Sauvignon Blanc, based on the Musque clone, is seriously good at a fair price, and now they’ve blended it with some Sémillon to produce this slightly sweet dessert wine. With residual sugar of 5.3%, it shows crisp acidity and wonderfully pure flavors of ripe pears, peaches and vanilla. — S.H. (12/15/2008)

Most Reviewed Designations

100% Musque Clone Finale Musque Clone Novateur

Most Reviewed Varietals

Cabernet Sauvignon Petite Sirah Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc

2009 Va Piano

Having been given almost four years of age prior to release, this deep…

(Sponsored)