Napa Valley

Wow.  This is drinking great but may yet hit that 100 point mark.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, blueberries, smoke, gravel and graphite.  All of those come thru to the palate along with some roasted meats.  Firm tannins.  Drunk over two nights, it was fresher on Night one and deeper on night two.  Fantastic both nights.  This will probably follow that path as it matures.  Will work with meats and heartier foods.  

This is the third review on Intowine for this wine and all three score 100 points.  This is a great wine!  It is debatable how long this will last but betting the over seems like a safe bet.  Time will tell of course,  This bottle was from Magnum that got a lot of air prior to serving.  Purple in color.  The nose has cedar, cassis, blueberries, spice leather and graphite.  Clean and deep.  On the palate, this is big but has wonderful structure to hang all of that fruit on.  Cassis and blueberries with spice and slight damp earth.  Deep and wide with layers that unwind in the glass.  It's de

One of the stalwarts of Napa cabs since the early 90's.  Purple in color.  The nose is great with cassis, some graphite, spice and char.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet jammy fruit but also has depth and tight complexity.  Firm tannins.  It is delicious but not giving up a lot of the complexity that it will have.  Cassis and black cherry fruit along with fresh cut lumber and char.  No doubt this is all to be expected and needs at least five years to calm down and sort itslef out and should be a gorgeous wine.  As it is today, it is fantastic for those who want big deep Cal Cabs and i

My first time trying this winery.  This is a project of the grandson of the founders of V.

Yowza!  What a great wine.  Seems to be at peak right now though should stay here for a while.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  What a great nose.  Cassis, black licorice, spice and slight blueberries.  Very deep.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Lots of black cherry and cassis fruit.  Underlying minerality.  Spice.  Amazing texture; luxurious.  Lots of glycerin.  Long finish.  Will work with bigger foods.  One of those wines where each sip makes you want another.  

Perhaps the best Merlot made in America.  This is drinking great right now, at or near peak.  Purple in color, thin ruby line at the rim.  The nose is great with coffee, cherries, black cherries, and spice.  On the palate, this has a wonderful texture.  Rich and luxurious.  Slight tannins.  Black cherry fruit.  Long finish.  This is deep and voluptuous with lots of complexity.  This should be here for a while (ten years?) and still last another decade after that.  

This is an interesting wine.  It is a Cabernet made in a Solera style.  The first vintage had 1992 thru 1998.  This is the second vintage and then included a Solera of 1992 thru 1999.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cedar, cassis, dust and with air, an earthiness comes out.  Layered and complex on the palate,  Cassis and spice and underlying earthiness.  Good finish.  Basically, this is high end Napa Cab, but the Solera gives it a bit of complexity.  Needs big foods.  

A Port styled wine made from a blend but mostly Merlot.  Purple in color.  The nose has cherry liqueur, chocolate and slight raisin.  Full bodied.  Slightly sweet.  Raisins, chocolate and cherries.  Relatively simple and not a lot of depth.  Worked well as a desert wine and would match a more savory dessert.  

This is made from 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and the rest Merlot and Malbec.  Insignia is one of the First Growth wines of California.  Its great just about every vintage and has been for decades.  This one is no exception.  Inky purple.  The nose has cassis, graphite, blueberries, leather and cigar box.  On the palate, this is still young.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  Lots of cassis and some blueberries with underlying damp forest floor.  Long finish.  Delicious.  Will work great with heartier foods and certainly with meat dishes.  The price on these is up to around $250

This is a blend of 97.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2.5% Petit Verdot from Heidi Barrett.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, slight smoke, bell pepper and tobacco.  On the palate, this is nice and everything is in proportion.  Not a lot of depth.  Tannins mostly resolved.  Worked well with vegetarian stuffed mushrooms.  A fine wine but its price tag on release was $250.  Granted 2011 was a difficult vintage, but that is a lot of money for this wine.