ADDAX Wines. The first vintage of ADDAX was in 2009, only a several barrel production. Several individuals have been associated with this brand since its inception including Josh Peeples (no longer involved), Russell Bevan, their current winemaker and the owner, Brian Kearney. The focus of ADDAX has historically been on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. However, in 2023 they introduced a Sauvignon Blanc.
These wines are thoughtfully made with their selection of Cabernet Sauvignon among some of the most exciting contemporary wines of this style in Napa Valley. Unlike many wineries, the wines (both white and red) are aged for an extended period of time in in bottle prior to release. ADDAX currently produces five wines each of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of these wines is distinctive from the other, a direct result of carefully choosing the vineyard locations.
The name has last minute origins, a result of having the wines almost ready to bottle but still needing a name and a label design. Kearney was enjoying conversation with Joshua Peeples (a former owner of what was called Elyse Winery, now HQ Winery); they wrote a bunch of ideas on a legal pad one evening. They woke up the next morning to take another look at what they had written the prior evening. They hit upon one of their ideas, regarding, ‘endangered species’.
So they Googled, ‘rare and endangered species’ and discovered addax, a rare and endangered antelope. The addax (Addax nasomaculatus), also known as the white antelope or screwhorn antelope, is one of the world’s most endangered large mammals. Native to the Sahara Desert of North Africa, it has evolved remarkable adaptations that allow it to survive in one of Earth’s harshest environments. Its pale, almost white coat reflects sunlight during the hot summer months, while becoming slightly darker in winter. Broad, splayed hooves help prevent the animal from sinking into soft desert sand, making it well suited for traveling across dunes.
Both males and females possess long, spiral-shaped horns that can reach nearly 3 feet (90 cm) in length. The addax can survive for extended periods without drinking water, obtaining much of its moisture from desert vegetation. Once widespread across the Sahara, the species has suffered dramatic declines due to habitat disturbance, hunting, and human activity. Today, conservation breeding programs and carefully managed protected populations are helping safeguard the future of this remarkable desert antelope. This is not the only Napa Valley wine brand named after an African animal; reference Okapi Vineyards.
They soon contacted a label designer with that name who replied that same day with a suggested design for their wine. The image is that of the Addax horns, but with a little creativity has some wine related connotation; it can also roughly resemble the look of two crossed corkscrews.
Other than very limited distribution in Washington DC, none of the ADDAX wines are distributed. However one sales opportunity presented itself in secrecy. A secret shopper sommelier for Emirates Airlines booked an appointment at HQ Winery, where the ADDAX wines are produced. Unannounced this person enjoyed a tasting. Several months later they called wanting to carry the ADDAX wines; ultimately ADDAX wines were served on Emirates Air in both their first and business class seats.
At certain times throughout the year, winemaker Russell Bevan takes his team into the vineyard including front of the house employees. By experiencing the vineyards and learning directly from Russell, they gain a greater perspective of the vineyards they source from. This translates directly to being able to offer more insights to visitors. Bevan intentionally limits the number of clients he works with because he wants to be personally involved with each one, maintaining complete oversight of every aspect of the projects he undertakes.
Select Wines
Whites
Sauvignon Blanc
The 2023 ADDAX Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley (100% varietal) – primarily from Calistoga with a small amount from southern part of Napa Valley close to Carneros. We tasted this three years post vintage. Medium yellow in color, this wine smells ripe with no herbal influence. But its a restrained ripeness. Is scents include honeydew melon, honeysuckle, jasmine, white nectarine, pineapple, pineapple guava and lemon meringue. As it opens, it offers a note of vanilla and creme brule. Balanced with an immediate noticeable mouth feel; there is plenty of weight here but its held back from being too heavy by its bright acidity. And this mouth feel makes sense; the wine was aged and fermented in both stainless and once brand new and once used cigar-shaped barrels, from Dagueneau. More surface area and regular battonage equates to a more robust mouth feel. This wine tastes like quince, pineapple, a hint of apricot, nectarine, peach and papaya. Finishes with plenty of intensity in terms of its fruit. This wine was available for club members only.
Chardonnay
The 2022 ADDAX Chardonnay, Steiner Vineyard, Sonoma is deep gold in color; we tasted this 4 years post vintage upon its release. The conversation on the bouquet is about its core of fruit; its sweetly fruited scents include baked pineapple, ripe apricot, peaches in light syrup, honeycomb, honeysuckle, beeswax, creme brule and vanilla. This wine takes the intensity up a notch from valley floor vineyards in terms of its fruit profile. This wine tastes like golden delicious apples, quince, yellow peach, apricot, papaya and ripe mango and perhaps a hint of ginger. The mouth feel is lightly creamy, paralleled by a persistence of fruit, with a light but lingering spice, most likely from the barrel. This is not a heavy Chardonnay. And this presence outruns the fruit on the finish. Best served chilled to highlight the optimal expression of this wine.
The 2021 ADDAX Purrington Rued Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County Chardonnay; this wine is medium to deep gold in color with a hazy profile. At 5 years post vintage, this wine is holding on to its fruit quite well. Ripe fruited, this wine smells like honeydew melon, pineapple upside down cake an aroma we enjoy once a year on our birthday, vanilla, creme brule, toasted oak, apricot and papaya. Immediate up front fruit, with pineapple, baked apples, apricot, mango and vanilla. The mouth feel is lightly creamy, but is buoyed nicely by an up front, bright and lingering acidity. And like the bouquet, a toasted oak character translates onto the palate, the finishing character. If there ever was a crowd pleaser Chardonnay, this bottling is a good candidate. This wine is a listed 14.8%.
The 2021 ADDAX Chardonnay, Hudson Vineyard Carneros, Napa Valley medium to deep gold in color with a hazy suspension. Not fined or filtered. The nose smells layered aromatics including baked pineapple, vanilla, creme Brule, and ripe fruits including papaya, Alphonse mango and apricot. While this is a fully ripe expression of the variety, it is not an overtly buttery or oaky Chardonnay – although there are elements of both on both the bouquet and on the palate. This wine offers flavors of apricot, papaya, brioche and toasted oak. This drinks easily at 5 years post vintage and still shows plenty of primary notes. The mouth feel takes a back seat conversation to the fruit; it offers a lightly rounded and creamy feel. This was Russell’s debut of Napa Valley Chardonnay; normally his Chardonnay has come from Sonoma County.
Pinot Noir
ADDAX produces a diversity of Pinot Noir, made in a riper style showcasing plenty of California sunshine. These wines are not from Napa Valley but either from Sonoma County or further south on California’s Central Coast.
The 2022 ADDAX Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills, (Radian Vineyard) Santa Barbara County; this wine is pale to medium ruby in color. The bouquet smells like a ripe expression of the variety including raspberry, red plums, red licorice, sarsaparilla and a hint of root beer and cocoa powder. Of the ADDAX Pinot’s this tends to be on the lighter style, but for perspective, keep in mind this is still a Russell Bevan made wine. Red fruited, but fully ripe, this wine tastes like raspberry, red cherry, currant and a lingering note of cranberry on the finish. And persists with a light savory/spicy character paralleled by the fruit. Its texture is rounded, with structure bled out by ripeness. The tannins are lightly felt, primarily on the front of the palate. Easy drinking, enjoyable and falls into the crowd friendly category. Very contemporary in its style. Long time wine host at HQ, Dean Williams calls this a feminine body builder, ripped but not to the level of a masculine builder.
The 2022 ADDAX Pinot Noir, Silver Eagle Vineyard, Sonoma Coast Sonoma County; this wine is medium ruby, a darker colored Pinot Noir. The aromatics are a union of both barrel influenced baking spices and ripe fruit. This wine smells like cocoa powder, chocolate, cinnamon stick, vanilla and cardamom along with cherry, raspberry and red plums. Or to sum up the bouquet, cherries covered in chocolate. As ripe on the palate as the bouquet, it sports flavors of baked plums, raspberry jam, boysenberry, stewed fruits and tea. The mouth feel is lightly creamy and loose and is overshadowed by the ripeness of the fruit. Lingers with a note of Oolong tea and a light barrel influence. Dry, but there is a perceived sweetness from the ripe fruit. Drink this early in its life rather than any long term play.
The 2002 5 Wells Vineyard, Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County is made from VR and Pommard clones, two clones contributing both power (Pommard) and grace (VR). This wine is deep ruby in color; forward fruited up front with cherry, raspberry, strawberry, root beer and smoked cedar. And a note of red licorice as the wine warms in the glass. The palate is as forward fruited as the bouquet, possibly even more so. Ripe, its flavors include strawberry, cherry, raspberry and Santa Rosa plum. The texture is there but is creamy and soft. There is a brightness, that distinguishes this wine from the other ADDAX Pinot Noirs. Lingers with a light warmth deep in the throat. This wine is 14.9% ABV.
ADDAX commonly works with mountain and hillside vineyards. Their wines typically exhibit higher pH but lower total acidity. Their winemaking philosophy is to avoid unnecessary manipulation in the cellar, allowing the vineyard to express itself naturally. Fermentations are conducted hot and relatively quickly, with the goal of extracting the desired color, flavor, and tannin early in the process. No extended macerations here. The wines are generally pressed with a small amount of residual sugar to barrel where their fermentation is completed. 70–80% new French oak is typically used during aging. And maintaining a clean winery is an important part of this approach.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2022 ADDAX Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is 100% varietal; its two vineyards include Sage Ridge above Lake Hennessy and Erba Vineyard on the eastern side of Atlas Peak. This wine is deep ruby and completely opaque. The nose speaks clearly, a ripe and friendly aromatic expression; its first note is of blackberry jam, cherry pie, boysenberry, fig jam, plum compote, blueberry, sage, dark chocolate and cocoa powder. An immediate mouthful of ripe deliciousness, this wine is an absolute nirvana for those who enjoy riper expressions of this variety. Don’t look at this as just another Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon; this wine is a compilation of their best vineyards including valley floor and hillside sites. This wine tastes like plum compote, dark cherry, boysenberry, blackberry and dark raspberry. The oak sits in the backseat, letting the fruit doing much of the conversing up front. A thread of acidity brings a lift to this wine. The tannins are gravelly textured, never harsh, but always present. They linger in tandem with fruit with a lightly creamy feel. This is one of the more exceptional Napa Valley designated bottlings from this year.
The 2022 ADDAX Sage Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon includes a skosh of Cabernet Franc; this wine is deep ruby and opaque; the attractive nose offers scents of plum compote, blackberry jam, boysenberry spread, dark cherry, black licorice, old cedar box and sweet pipe tobacco. As the wine opens it offers a ferrous or sanguine character. This is a ripe expression of the variety, but with plenty of power from both a surprising thread of acidity and mountain structure which takes some time to show. This wine is intensely flavored; it tastes like Satsuma plum, dark cherry, boysenberry, blueberry and dark mulberry. The tannins have a latent textural profile – wait and wait some more and they will develop; their feel is broadly dispersed across the palate with a chalky and dusty texture. But is never edgy – the tannins (both oak and grape) are densely packed with a rounded profile. The acidity is balanced and bright and holds tight for a vintage that was extremely challenging due to the heat spikes. This wine will do especially well in its youth with a Wagyu beef and a BBQ. Or just tartare. And it has the credibility to be highly age worthy.
The 2021 ADDAX Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and opaque with amaranthine hues; the bouquet smells both ripe but with a freshness of young fruit, at 5 years post vintage. Its aromatics include some floral notes including lavender and violets, with additional notes of dark plum, blackberry, boysenberry and dark cherry. And its non fruited scents are of dark chocolate and a light smokiness as the wine breathes. Immediately bright with power; these are two attributes that are somewhat disparate from each other, especially from the east side of Napa Valley. This wine shines loudly with flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, tart cherry and cranberry. A thick thread of vibrant acidity holds this wine tight, creating a beautiful tension between both flavor and acidity. This wine finishes with loads of energy, spinning lively like a whirling top. This is also a texturally driven wine, with a grainy and a gravely structure that is persistent – far outpacing the fruit on the finish. For refence, the grapes for this wine are grown right next to Screaming Eagle, from a block bordering their property. Unfortunately, this wine is no longer produced and was the last vintage of Tench Vineyard bottled by ADDAX. Regardless, this is showing in a sweet spot right now and will not plateau in terms of age-ability for probably another 10 years and then will have lots of life after that.
The 2021 Lynne’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder (located high elevation on this mountain); this wine is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet is highly appealing, sporting scents of ripe blackberry, an aromatic that brings us back to childhood, picking these fruits on the edges in mid summer on hot days, Satsuma plum, boysenberry jam, dark cherry, toasted cedar and some dried herbs including sage and bay leaf. The oak is a complement here, letting the fruit and the vineyard site hold onto top billing. It is minerally including a ferrous character, dark, layered and mouth watering from its vibrant acidity. This wine tastes like dark plum, boysenberry, dark cherry, and dark raspberry. The finish is long lasting and memorable. Both fruit, acidity and texture parallel each other with texture ultimately pulling away. The girthy tannins are felt across the palate with a grainy, gravelly and dusty texture. In terms of age-ability, this wine is going the distance in terms of several decades.
Red Blend
The 2019 ADDAX Red Blend, Napa Valley is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The name of this wine later evolved to a proprietary name of Screwhorn. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; at 7 years post vintage, this wine is showing in a sweet spot, both on the bouquet and the palate. A pretty expression, this wine smells like dark raspberry, boysenberry, red cherry, Persian mulberry and dark cocoa powder. And some baking spices, that add some luxury and layering to the aromatics. This wine is confident at this age, showing all primary with bright fruit flavors including of blackberry, boysenberry, red cherry, currant and Persian mulberry. But there is vivid and loud clamor here, from the lively acidity that weaves its way through this wine with a mouth watering tug. Fleshy across the palate with a rounded and creamy mouth feel, the tannins are seamlessly integrated into the long lasting fruited finish.
Hospitality
Tastings of ADDAX wines are by appointment and are hosted at HQ Winery, a short drive southwest of Yountville. This was previously called Elyse Winery – although the Elyse wines are still produced here. A number of improvements to the infrastructure on site have been made over the years – the tasting room adjoins what was a horse barn and the guest cottage used to be a chicken coop.
Not setup to take large groups, tastings are typically hosted at a tiny bar in a cozy, clean and uncluttered room (which hasn’t changed much in the 15+ years since we started visiting this winery), in one of two separate side rooms or weather permitting, outside in a couple of cozy spaces. And an inside joke into why their hydrangeas look so colorful, is the fact that all the spit wine in the spittoons are dumped here during tastings. The room that adjoins the original tasting room was previously used by Ray Coursen, the founder of Elyse Winery for his office; one can still see the wheel marks of his chair on the wooden floor.
A tasting here is about the wine, but at the same time is a relaxed experience, curated by friendly and very knowledgeable staff. We dislike scripted education from wine hosts; that doesn’t happen here. Conversation flows easily.
A typical tasting includes 5 different wines although this can certainly quickly grow to a much larger selection based on the interests of guests.
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On average, ADDAX produces about 1,500 cases annually. For more information, to purchase wine or to schedule a tasting at HQ Winery, please visit: www.addaxwines.com
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