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

Surprisingly open and drinking well with just a bit of air.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, some blueberries, slight char and a bit of black pepper.  Full bodied.  Juicy texture.  On the palate, this is deep with some complexity.  Certainly, it will gain complexity with more ageing.  Delicious black raspberry fruit with some boysenberries and underlying char.  Light tannins.  Long finish.  This will likely get better but no harm drinking now with a couple hours of air first.  It should drink well for another twelve to fifteen years.  This drink

This is a 100% Malbec from the Napa Valley.  The term Ghost Winery refers to the fact that the grapes come from an old 19th century winery that is no longer in use as a winery.  The building is now a residence but there are still vines growing.  These Malbec vines are on that property.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose took about an hour to open and then showed plums, black cherries, figs, baking spice and some milk chocolate.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this took a couple of hours to really hit first gear.  Give it some air if opening now.  Flavors of plums,

What a great bottle for Halloween!  Cool label front and back and really good wine.  This is 100% Cabernet Franc from Rutherford.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose takes about 30 minutes to open then shows nice ripe Cab Franc, that is to say, black cherries, some black raspberries, coffee, dark chocolate, just a bit of cigar tobacco.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, lots of black cherry and black raspberry fruit with underlying coffee and tobacco.  Long finish.  Gives this some air if opening this Halloween, it really got going after being

Opened to celebrate my 63rd birthday.  Pop and pour and consumed over several hours.  This is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon with the rest  made up of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great.  Cassis, slight black cherries, cedar, slight camphor, spice and a hint of leather.  Full bodied.  Medium to firm tannins.  On the palate, this is still not at maturity but has started to move in that direction.  No doubt it will improve but certainly enjoyable now.  Cassis, plums, slight sour black cherries with underlying spice and a bit of dried

This is their regular (not single vineyard) Cabernet.  The better barrels typically go to the single vineyard releases, but the blends seem to have more complexity (if less depth) but cost less.  This is an excellent wine.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is great.  Cassis, slight blueberries, black licorice, spice and slight leather. There is a juicy texture. Full bodied.  Cassis and black licorice along with a bit spice. Moderate tannins but they are silky. Good balance.

This is a great bottle of Napa Cabernet even if a bit young.  And that, is a great thing about Napa Cabs versus Bordeaux; they drink so well young.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, slight blueberries, cedar, slight cigar box and spice.  Also some char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, there is lush cassis fruit with some blueberries.  Underlying cedar and char.  Lots of depth.  Great balance.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This will continue to mature for another eight to ten years and drink well for ten to fifteen more after that.  Wit

This is the "second" wine for Bevan, the other Cabs being single vineyard releases.  While it is expensive, it is half the price of those other wines.  It is a fantastic wine in its own right if not quite as good as those single vineyard wines.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, leather, slight coffee, some blueberries and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, what a great texture.  Rich and muscular but with a touch of finesse.  Flavors of cassis, and blueberries intertwines with coffee and spice.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This

This is another Napa Cab made by Thomas Rivers Brown.  Not inexpensive, but still under $100 isn't bad for a wine with this pedigree.  Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, slight blueberries, slight chocolate, graphite and spice.  Wonderful lush texture.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, firm tannins.  This is very concentrated at this young stage.  It could easily do with a 24 hour decant prior to serving.  Cassis, black plums, with some char and a bit of dry earthiness.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This should continue to improve for the next se

This is a very straight forward, tasty Napa Cab.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, slight blueberries, spice, and smoke.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate black raspberries and slight dark chocolate with underlying char.  Easy to drink.  Light tannins.  Nice finish.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  This drinks well on its own and would be a nice match with a steak or burger off the grill.  

This is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot.   Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, cedar, spice and char.    Lush, velvety texture but lots of vibrancy.  On the palate, cassis and blueberry fruit with underlying tobacco and char.  Long finish.  This is still developing and will be for a decade.  That said it is delicious now and will continue to drink well for another fifteen to twenty years.  It drinks very well on its own and will work with bigger, fattier foods such as prime rib or a roasted veggie pizza.