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 third time trying this bottle and it is incredible.  I have scored it 99 and 100 and this again gets the top score.  This bottle was opened 12 hours in advance, checked for quality, and then allowed to breathe.  Served with stuffed roasted peppers with feta, it was an excellent match.  Deep purple in color.  The nose is great with cassis, cedar, dark chocolate and spice.  On the palate, this is not overblown.  There is some obvious oak showing but it integrates nicely.  More than enough fruit to age this out beautifully.  Deep and complex but tight.  Drinking great now but will continue

This is an excellent value in top Napa Cabs.  While Rivers Marie makes single vineyard wines, those cost into three figures.  This is not inexpensive but it almost as good.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with cassis, cedar, leather, slight blueberries,  and slight spice.  On the palate, this is young and tannic.  If drinking soon, give it a few hours at least, in a decanter.  Great texture; juicy yet plush.  Lots of cassis fruit over a dry earth/graphite quality.  Long finish.  Ideally, give this five moer years and drink over the next ten to twenty.  Needs bigger food right now.

Any time you get to try a Schrader wine it is a great night.  But, when you go to a friends house and see this open, well, it doesn't get much luckier than that.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, charcoal, spice and slight graphite.  On the palate, this is precise and tight.  It opens slowly in the glass with firm tannins.  Cassis and blueberries carry thru but it seems bottomless.  This needs a long decant or better yet a decade in the cellar.  It is delicious now but so much upside.  Long finish.  It makes a wonderful cocktail but with some patience, this

So, Nils Venge has been making great wine in Napa for decades.  This is a family project and his son Kurt makes the wine.  IIRC, this is my first time trying this wine and it was amazing.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, cedar, smoke and the slightest graphite note.  On the palate, this is one of those wine with so much energy it seems every sip is a bit different than the last.  Of course, it is young and that will probably change as it settles down.  Firm tannins at the moments.  Juicy cassis fruit with some underlying char.  Clean with great balance.  Long finish.  This would

Kapcsandy makes some of the best wines in Napa (and the world).  This one is a bit less well known.  It is a blend of 62% Cabernet Franc and 38% Merlot (so think the Cheval Blanc of Napa).  2011 was a difficult vintage but this wine is outstanding if perhaps not as good as the following vintages.  Purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, cigar tobacco and just a hint of bell pepper.  On the palate, this has a wonderful texture.  It is a bit more demur than typical Kapcsandy bottles, but it is drinking quite well.  Black cherry fruit with an underlying earthy/tobacco quality.  Light ta

Maybach makes some of the greatest wines in the world.  Their flagship 2013 Materium was my WOTN in 2018.  This is from a different vineyard and was also spectacular.  Now, this is an expensive wine which sold for around $160 on release.  For that money, it should deliver.  The fact though is, at the rarefied top end of Napa Cabernet's, this is not comparatively over priced.  Consumed over two nights, it was better on night 2.  If opening a bottle soon, a decant of a few hours will be well rewarded.  Purple in color, shimmering bright.  The nose is gorgeous.  Cassis, slight blueberries, tob

Groth Reserve is one of the historically great Cabernet's from Napa.  2011 was a difficult vintage but, at least for the Reserve, Groth managed to make a great wine. Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, cedar, and green bell pepper.  While some might not like that green pepper note, other's will enjoy the classic version of an old school cab.  On the palate, there is nice black cherry fruit along with a bit of green pepper and also some cedar.  Medium tannins.  This should improve over the next few years with a point or two of upside.  

This is the high end Cabernet from Calla Lily.  It is a step up from the regular bottling.  It retails for around $120.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, toast, spice and vanilla.  On the palate, the oak is strong on this one.  There is also firm tannins.  Plenty of cassis fruit but the question is whether the fruit will out last the tannins and the oak.  It is a tight ball right bow, but a quite delicious tight ball.  It will be interesting to see where this goes from here.  

This is a reasonably priced Cabernet from the Pope Valley, one of the less heralded places in the Napa Valley.  It is a very solid and enjoyable Cabernet.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, sandalwood and slight black cherries.  On the palate, this is easy drinking.  Some depth.  Light tannins.  Nice black cherry and cassis fruit.  Good finish.  A nice wine for a dinner party.  It sells for around $65 at the winery, but can often be found for a bit less in stores.  

Ho fortunate to be able to taste this wine again.  This was opened at a friend's birthday party and as you might expect, it went quickly.  Luckily for me, they made sure I got a glass!  The 92 is often overlooked between the 91 and 94 (and even the 93), but 1992 was a very good year too.  The 92 is drinking quite well right now if starting to show a bit of age.  Garnet in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose takes one to Bordeaux.  Gorgeous combination of cassis, tobacco, slight dust and slight leather with just a hint of dried fruits.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Layers of cassis over