Napa Valley

• Atlas Peak
• Best of Napa
• Calistoga
• Conn Valley
• Diamond Mountain
• Howell Mountain
• Mt. Veeder
• Oak Knoll
• Oakville
• Pope Valley
• Rutherford
• Spring Mountain
• St. Helena
• Stags Leap
• Yountville

This is a household favorite every vintage, but this one may be the best yet.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is big with cassis, cedar, slight leather and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is young but accessible.  Big fruit but not overblown.  Good energy.  Cassis, leather and spice.  Long finish.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  Great on its own, this would be nice with grilled Portobello Mushrooms.

Myriad's wines are starting to really get noticed which is great for them, but less so for people trying to afford them.  That said, there is no question they are on a par with the best wines in Napa, which is to day the world.  This one is inky purple, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is powerful but classic with cassis, graphite, leather and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Wonderful texture.  On the palate, this is deep with a tight complexity.  If opening soon, give it a long decant.  Flavors of cassis with cedar and spice and char.  Long finish.  This drinks well not w

This is the top wine from the historic Trefethen winery in Napa.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar, slight leather and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, cassis with a touch of leather and smoke.  Long finish.  This is a pretty classic cab from good not great vintage.  It is drinking well now and should continue for another ten to twelve years.  Nice on its own, this would work well with Lamb chops.  

This wine is half the price of Bevan's single vineyard wines and almost as good.  It is expensive but vis-a-vis the quality it is worth buying a bottle or two.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, leather, cedar and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm but smooth tannins.  On the palate, juicy cassis with some cedar, tobacco and char.  Long finish.  Delicious if young.  This drinks well on its own and would be at home at a Steak House.  Drink over the next twenty years.  It will still improve with good cellaring.

My last bottle of this and it sure seemed to be at or close to peak.  Purple in color with ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, bacon fat, white pepper and slight dried floral note.  Full bodied.  On the palate, black raspberries, char and slight earthiness.  Complex.  Nice finish.  It threw a lot of sediment.  This will work better with food at this point although nice on its own.  A greart5 match for pizza night.  Drink up.  

Obviously way too young, but, this was open and delicious.  For about an hour or so, and then shut down tight.  We recorked and sampled over the next couple nights.  Day 2.  Still shut down.  Day 3.  Drinking well and the bottle was drained.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, gravel, char and spice.  Thick tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, loads of boysenberry fruit with underlying char.  Deep but like looking into a bottomless hole.  Long finish.  Not sorry to have tried it, but the remaining bottles will need a rest.  Ideally, hold for ten years a

This is the inaugural vintage of this wine from Russel and Heidi Bevan.  It is, of course, quite young, but delicious right now.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, dark chocolate, baking spice and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is deep.  It really needs about ten years or more to really develop but it is juicy and delicious today.  Cassis and blueberries with some char and bit of leather.  Long finish.  No doubt its score get close to or at perfect eventually.  It is great on its own but will take big food right no

Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is pretty with peaches and honeydew along with a touch of spice.  Lovely full bodied rich texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is a big wine but with pin point precision if that makes sense.  The peaches and honey dew come thru.  Nice finish.  Drinking youthfully but ready to go.  Drink over the next ten years.  This is great on its own and will work well with heavier foods such as Roast Duck.  It might even go nicely with a steak if that's what you like.  

This is one of the  better "values" in Napa high end wines.  It is a proprietary blend of 70% Cab with the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, blueberries, slight black cherries, spices, and leather.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, juicy cassis and black cherries with underlying char and spice.  Some leather notes.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This is young but drinking well. Drink over the next ten to twenty years.  Great on its own, it would be perfect with a roast or steak.

This is a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot from one of the premier vineyards in Napa, the State Lane Vineyard.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, blueberries, slight cigar box and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Juicy acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Black cherries, some black raspberries and blue berries with a bit of leather and earthiness.  Long finish.  This is drinking well and may still improve.  It should drink well for another twenty years.  Great on its own, this would work well with roasted duck or even roast r