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

Gorgeous wine in a great place right now.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted herbs and hints of cherry cola.  Full bodied.  Silky but full texture.  Lots of black raspberry and black cherry fruit over gravel, char and scorched earth.  Nice acidity.  Complex, deep; the layers unwind in the glass.  Still some tannins left.  Long finish.  Just abot at peak but should have a decade to go at this level.  Works great on its own and will work with roasts and grilled food.  

Petite Syrah or Petite Sirah?  Same grape and one that can really age well.  At age 26, this is drinking quite well.  Purple in color.  The nose has boysenberries, spice and dust.  With air, a bit of gravel.  On the palate, this is full bodied.   Boysenberry fruit, dried fruit and slight dry earth.  Slight depth and complexity.  Tannins all resolved.  Good acidity.  Moderate finish.  This probably is a bit past prime but certainly should continue to provide good drinking for five to ten more years as it slides downhill.  It really needs food.  Burgers or steaks would be great.  

This is "cellared and bottled" by Precision Wine Co., but that is really all I could find out about the wine.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis and a grapey quality.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  One dimensional.  Drinks easy.  Black raspberry fruit.  Clipped finish.  Lacks much acidity or energy.  The kind of wine that, for the right price, it fine to serve at large events.  

This is a relatively affordable Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Light silvery gold in color.  The nose has lots of yellow grapefruits.  Slightly oily texture.  More yellow grapefruits on the palate.  Good acidity.  Good finish.  This drinks easy on its own and will work well with lighter foods.  It should be drunk in the next couple of years.  

The 2000 vintage was not well received on release.  Indeed, in Napa terms, it was one of the rare vintages that was not at least very good or better.  Yet, many of those wines have aged just beautifully.  At age twenty many are a bit past prime but still offering wonderful enjoyment.  Of course, that depends on how you like your wines.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.

Deep purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is great.  Very Bordeaux-like in a Californian way.  Cassis, cherries, baking spices with a slight black licorice.  On the palate, this is young but showing some maturity.  Light to medium tannins.  On the palate, the fruit is more black cherry than cassis.  Some oak still showing.  Some minerals and dry earthiness underneath.  Nice finish.  This is a beautiful wine that is probably at the start of peak.  It will mature more over the next ten years and be good for another ten to fifteen after that.  

A really great wine.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, chocolate, char, slight camphor note and coffee.  This is a rich, big wine.  Delicious.  Flavors of cassis, blueberries with slight chocolate over spice and char.  Juicy acidity.  Medium tannins.  Long finish. This needs about 5 to seven more years until peak and then should be great for ten to twenty more years.  It will work with big foods like steak or roasts.  

Wow.  This wine was decanted  for 10 hours in a Magnum size decanter prior to serving.  It needed every bit of that.  Inky purple in color.   What an awesome nose.  Cassis, moist earth, baking spice and slight cigar box.  On the palate, this has firm tannins.  Loads of cassis, some black cherries over a rich earthiness with some cedar.  Great balance.  This is a powerful wine but not a monster in that sense.  Lots of fruit but with pin point attack.  Long finish.  This needs at least ten years to get close to peak but if you can't resist, a decant of at least 12 and even 24 hours is needed.

A wow red blend to be sure.  This has 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot, 8% Malbec and 5% Merlot.  Still young, this was pop and pour and rocking from the get-go.  Purple in color.  The nose is great with cassis, plums, cigar box, graphite, baking spice and slight cedar.  On the palate, this is full bodied yet very concentrated.  Powerful and intense.  Lots of cassis, some blueberries, plums wound with tobacco, chocolate and slight char.  Medium tannins.  Long finish.  This kept evolving in the glass.  It probably won't peak for another five years or so and should

Wow.  This is in a great place right now (and has been for a while).  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is classic, Californian, and amazing.  Cassis, blueberries, pencil lead, spice and slight chocolate.  Amazing texture.  Full bodied.  Racy yet, powerful.  There are light to medium tannins.  At age 12, this is still not yet at full maturity.  Flavors of cassis, blueberries, slight chocolate and char.  Great balance.  Long finish.  One of the great wines of the world.