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 winery and I am impressed.  I kept reading things like "old school" or "medium bodied" and I think those descriptions are missing the point.  First off, this is delicious!  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose is great with a bit of air.  Cassis, slight clove, black cherries, just the slightest whiff of bell pepper and spice.  On the palate, this is in fact medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  But, this is not Bordeaux or "Classic" Napa.  It has plenty of sunshine and ripeness.  Lots of energy.  A wonderful mouthfeel.  The fruit pops on the attack and the

Great showing for this wine.  One of the best Petite Sirah vineyards!  This is inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with boysenberries, gravel, violets and spice.  Full bodied.  Lots of energy.  This is big but not over the top (especially for Petite).  Lots of black raspberry fruit over a gravelly bed.  Some peppery notes too.  Medium tannins.  Long finish.  This should continue to evolve for another five to seven years and drink well for ten after that.  It is also delicious today.  Drinks great on its own, this will work with roasted veggies or meats.  

This is a nice value in Napa Cabernet.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, spice and dust.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, nice cassis fruit with underlying spice.  Solid finish.  This is easy to drink on its own but will b a nice wine with a burger.  Drink over the next five to seven years. 

From Magnum.  This was tasted right after some older Bordeaux's and the difference was obvious.  Both styles were good, but even at age 17, this was about fruit and sunshine while still showing some tertiary development. Purple in color, opaque and bright.

This is the top bottling offered by Realm.  They take the best lots in the cellar and blend them into a proprietary blend.  Very little is produced.  In 2017, the fires forced Realm to only utilize fruit that was picked early  on in harvest, so it is likely a different blend that typical.  This is purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, spice and cedar.  On the palate, this is more about black cherries with some cherries and some black raspberries.  It has a wonderful texture.  Very concentrated.  Medium to firm tannins.  Nice finish. 

This was opened and allowed to slowly oxidize for 12 hours prior to serving, but that was not enough.  It needed more air/time.  It took over night to really open and was better on day 2.  Despite this being a Robert Parker 100 point wine, this is not what people think of when talking about "Parkerized" wines.

What a beautiful showing for this red wine.  This has aged beautifully despite having 15.5% abv.  Another in a long line of high alcohol Napa Wines that have stood the test of time.  It is a blend of 75% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, and 1% of each cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, leather, spice and slight cedar.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is vibrant with layers of fruit over a nice earthy/leathery base.  Cassis and black cherries.  Medium tannins.  This is mature but not old by any means.  This sho

I am a huge fans of the many wineries that Thomas Rivers Brown makes wine from and this is one more.  A delicious, modern but not over the top Napa Cabernet.  Purple in color with a thin ruby rim.  Opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, slight char, and baking spices.  Full bodied.  Nice acidity.  Lively energy.  The palate has a very nice cassis with underlying char.  Long finish.

One of my favorite Zinfandels.  This is a robust Zin, but not over the top.  It is quite concentrated and delicious.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls.  The nose has black raspberries, bramble, and slight pepper.  Full bodied.  Great, almost silky texture.  On the palate, juicy black raspberries, black cherries over a slight gravel base.  A bit candied but very concentrated.  Long finish.  This is so good now, but will continue to evolve a bit.  It depends on what you like in Zins as to how long to hold.  This should drink well for at least fifteen years, but that energy and robust qua

This is a blend of 72% Cabernet Franc and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is really in a nice place right now.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose has black cherries, cherries, slight tobacco, spices and slight dried floral notes.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has a nice backbone of acidity.  Cherries and black cherries with some underlying forest floor/tobacco.  It unwinds in the glass to show a nice complexity.  Good finish.  This won't get better but should be outstanding drinking for the next ten to fifteen years.  It drinks well on its own but is better with food.  Roasted poultry would