2005 Garric Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

- Wine Spectator magazaine - July 31, 2008 Issue by James Laube

Two Chicago physicians, Gary Ochwat and Ricardo Cajulis, met in Chicago and realized they had many interests in common including creating a wine with their names on it. When they launched their brand with the 2003 vintage, it was a formidable beginning. Their single offering, a Cabernet Sauvignon made by Pam Starr, is from grapes sourced from Gemstone and Larkmead Vineyards. They have continued to build on that initial success but have very little in the way of retail presence, devoting most of their production to a mailing list and the country's top restaurants.

Shows aromas of dark cherry, creamy black fruit, graphite and spice. The palate is rich and textured with extracted cherry, blackberry and coffee/chocolate. Good length. Drink: 2009-2016.

- Doug Wilder, Vinfolio Issue 142, January 2008

 

Garric Cellars

Garric Cellars is named one of Wine Spectator's Exciting New Cabernet Labels: 20 to Watch.

Twenty new faces that aim for the gold ring and could be the next Cult wines. The name "Garric" combines the first names of co proprietors and Chicago physicians Gary Ochwat, a foot surgeon, and Ricardo Cajulis a pathologist. The two began dreaming of owning their own Cabernet label after their many trips to Napa Valley, and bought a home in Calistoga in 2002. The next year, they purchased grapes from two different vineyard sites to make their inaugural wine, a 2003, crafted by winemaker Pam Starr.

- Wine Spectator magazine, November 15, 2007 issue by Mary Ann Worobiec

 

2004 Garric Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Firm, rich, intense and concentrated. A tight beam of spicy, racy currant, blackberry and wild berry fruit that turns sleek and focused, with a touch of earthiness. Chewy tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2013. 187 cases made.

- Wine Spectator magazine, November 15, 2007 issue by James Laube

 

Garric Cellars

Garric Cellars earns Top Bid at the California Winemasters event held in Los Angeles for the benefit of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

"The top bid came from an unusual lot from a heretofore relatively unknown winery, Garric Cellars, of Calistoga. The proprietors, Ricardo Cajulis and Gary Ochwat, offered the top bidder three bottles of their cabernet sauvignon every year for the rest of the bidder's life, plus a 3-liter bottle of their 2003 vintage to take home that night, along with lunch for eight at their home. Two people engaged in spirited bidding, and one finally won at $10,000, but Cajulis and Ochwat agreed to duplicate the lot for the runner-up at $9,000."

- Napa Valley Register, May 11, 2007 by Jack Heeger