This is a 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc blend from the Oakville District in Napa.  The 2017 vintage is proving to be a good vintage if not great.  That said Russell Bevan is a great producer which counts more than vintage.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, black cherries, slight cigar box, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  ON the palate, cassis, black cherries, cedar and chocolate.  Showing a nice complexity but drinking quite well.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another fifteen to twenty years.  Its great on its own and

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oakville district in Napa.  Tasted blind, this seemed a bit older than a current release.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, slight cedar and char.  Full bodied.  Medium  tannins.  On the palate, this is drinking well.  It is more elegant than a big fruit Cab.  Flavors of cassis with spice and char.  Long finish.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  It would be an excellent choice if fairly priced at a Steakhouse.  

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from three different vineyard blocks in Calistoga. BA2 | Venge’s Bone Ash Vineyard Block 2, Calistoga, Estate LC9 | Larkmead’s Estate Vineyard Block 9, Calistoga, and CDM | Cavey Vineyard’s Diamond Mountain Estate, Calistoga.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, iodine, iron and chocolate.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is complex.  Young but already accessible.  Flavors of cassis, chocolate with nice minerality.  Good finish.  This is drinking well and should for the next fifteen to twenty years.  It is nice

Tasted blind with other wines including the 2013 Bard.  It was close and although I think this is the better wine, I found the 2013 a bit better on the evening.  It is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 5% Petite Verdot.  Inky purple in color and shimmering bright.  Opaque.  The nose is big with cassis, graphite, slight earthiness and char.  A bit tight.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is young and tight.  Very ripe, this needs time.  Flavors of cassis, blueberries, spice and cherries.  Long finish.  Hold for five years and drink for thirty after that.  Bett

Funny, I had just been talking about the 2002 vintage in Bordeaux.  I liked it but it was a "Restaurant" vintage meaning early accessibility and not wines to lay down for thirty years.  But, as they say, great producers make great wines in every vintage.  That is certainly true for this bottle.  Tasted blind, it started out slow, but just kept getting better.  Purple  in color but a bit flat, opaque.  The nose is nice with black cherries, cherries, spice, cigar box and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, great balance.  Complex.  Flavors of cherries, spice and char.  Long f

This was tasted blind among a group of Cabernet based wines.  Upon opening this was off a bit, perhaps showing some oxidation.  However, with about 30 minutes of air, it really came back strong.  Purple in color, opaque but flat.  The nose has black cherries, cedar, earthiness and dust.  Soft texture.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this has depth and complexity.  A bigger in style Barolo.  Black cherries and spice.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This will benefit from getting some air at this point if just to blow off bottle stink and revive a bit.  It worked great with a Portobello Quesadil

Nice to revisit this wine in a blind setting.  It is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black olives, graphite, chocolate and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins. Soft texture.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is complex and deep.  Tight layers of fruit and starting to show tertiary characteristics.  Cassis, earthiness and char.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and with a bit of air, will work with hearty meat dishes.  This should still improve.

What a fantastic showing for this wine (again)!  It is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petit Verdot.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is explosive with cassis, graphite, cedar and slight cigar box.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great texture.  On the palate, this is a big wine with cassis, tobacco, spice and char.  At first, the finish was a bit harsh but that smoothed out with just a bit of air.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work well with roasted or grilled meats.  At age 11, it is still young and should have twenty years left ahead of it.  

This was interesting.  In a room with 7 blind tasters with plenty of experience, no one even guessed Chardonnay much less Burgundy.  Personally, I was stumped.  It was good, but I had no idea what it might be.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a nice minerality with a touch of quince.  A very nice mouthfeel, slightly oily.  On the palate, mostly minerals.  Good finish.  It drinks well on its own and would be better with some seafood or hearty vegetarian dishes.  Drink over the next five years or so.  

As many times as I have had the red, I am not sure I ever had the white.  Tasted blind, I guessed Hermitage.  It is a blend of 45% Clairette and 30% Grenache Blanc, with the Roussanne and Bourboulenc.  Light golden in color with some green flecks, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon, wax, vanilla, oak and spice.  With air a slight tropical fruit.  Full bodied.  Viscous.  Nice mouthfeel.  On the palate, lemons with almonds turning slightly bitter on the finish.  Long finish with some heat.  A very nice white Rhone.  Young but drinking well.  It needs a bit of food to sort out the rough edg