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

My first time trying this.  It seems to be associated with Ghost Block wines.  This is a blend of 56% Malbec and 44% Petite Verdot.  Inky purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has plums, cedar, clay and spice.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, plums with a bit of black raspberries.  More one dimensional with out a lot going on.  It drinks very easy.  Nice on its own, this would be a nice mid week burger wine.  drink over the next five years.  

Always a great night when drinking this wine.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, sandalwood, slight cedar, baking spices, and slight char.  Full bodied.  Tannins are mostly integrated but a few remain.  The texture is beautiful.  Almost seamless.  great balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Mature but plenty of life left.  Notes of cassis, plums with underlying char.  Long finish.  Complex, it unwinds in the glass.  This is wonderful on its own, and will work well with bigger foods.  It would work well with roasted chicken or duck.  At age 1

This is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is lovely with cassis, cedar, black cherries, slight dried tobacco, spice and an interesting menthol note.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Cassis, black cherries, spices and graphite.  Lovely texture.  Long finish.  This is young but drinking well.  It is great on its own and would work well with roasted meats and/or root vegetables.  It will still improve.  Drink over the next twenty years.  

This is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.  It is a beautiful wine.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is lovely with cassis, slight black cherries, cedar and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, young, firm and deep.  This needs time to open but still provides a lot now.  Cassis, and cedar with underlying char.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and would work with a steak right now.  Still, cellar for five years then drink for fifteen after that.  

This is from the American sparkling wine outpost of Taittinger.  Green gold in color with a nice mousse of very small bubbles.  The nose has pears, slight lemons, toast and a hint of vanilla.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the pears with underlying char.  Some lemon notes on the finish.  Good finish.  This is nice on its own and should be very food friendly.  A great wine to share with popcorn when streaming a movie.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

Light golden in color with a bit of a copper hue, clear and bright.  The nose is big with limes, peach and slight tropical fruit.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the tropical fruit becomes more vivid along with limes.  Slight minerality.  Crisp.  Long finish.  This is drinking well on its own but would work well with lighter foods.  A nice choice with a Cobb Salad.  Drink over the next five years.  

From one of the classic Napa wineries (and still producing great wines).  This bottle was consumed on the Celebrity Millennium Cruise Ship off the coast of Alaska (off their list).  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon cream and a slight pine note.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is crisp.  It shows just minimal touches of oak.  Nice lemon/lime notes with good acidity.  A bit clipped perhaps on the finish, but otherwise very impressive.  Lovely on its own, this will work well with sea food or even Thai.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

This estate Pinot is a lively compilation of black cherry, strawberry, plum, blackberry compote, with back notes of rhubarb, huckleberry and black tea. The acidity drives the fruit. This is not a shy Pinot, but an overt celebration of expressive fruit. The wine spent 10 months aging in French oak, 33% of which was new, therefore the fruit is more dominant. Using a variety of Pinot Noir clones, winemaker Steve Rogstad, has decades of experience working with his vineyards, and knowing how best to use the excellent fruit that grows on their property. ORIGIN: Napa Valley, Los Carneros.

Located on Mount Veeder, Brandlin is the sister winery of Cuvaison. In the very capable hands of winemaker Steve Rogstad, his 2021 offers classic notes of light kiwi, lemon-lime zest, gooseberry, light resin, tart green apple and a whisper of butterscotch. This expresses what people want in Sauvignon Blanc – something light, crisp, and fresh. But Brandlin adds a bit of texture to the wine due to fermenting in large French oak barrels, then aging 11 months in oak (just half the barrels were new) to add a noticeable viscosity.

Though this has become an iconic wine, the beauty of this wine and many others is vintage variation, which produces subtle changes, depending on weather patterns and how the fruit is grown. This is Duckhorn’s most dense and deeply rich Merlot of the past few years, and in fact this is a Merlot dominant iteration (98% Merlot, 2% Malbec). More dark and brooding than previous vintages this one has a beautiful depth to it - deep and rich, blackberry pie, Huckleberry compote, blueberry jam, and light strawberry.