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

This is the "second" label for Scarecrow wine.   It is a blend of blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 6% Malbec and 3% Merlot.  What a fabulous wine.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, some tobacco and slight graphite.  This is young of course but already delicious.  It kept opening all night but even the first sip was delicious.  Full bodied.  14.9% Alc.  Not a fruit bomb but lots of California sunshine and ripeness.  On the palate, cassis and black cherries with firm tannins.  An underlying forest floor quality.  It coats the mouth but has the acidi

Is there a more iconic wine made anywhere?  Arguably no and certainly not in the USA.  This is the wine that defines "Cult Wine".  The release price has closed in on $1,000 per bottle and the aftermarket is double for starters.  So, it is nice to actually open a bottle and see what the fuss is all about.  The first question is whether it is worth it.  That answer all depends on so much more than wine.  One pays for the rarity.  One pays for the status.  One pays for the experience.  Still, at the end of the day, how is the wine.  As Napa Cabs go, this is not a huge wine.  It is more about e

Perhaps not quite as good as the amazing 2013, but a stellar wine nevertheless.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, blueberries, smoke and slight floral notes.  On the palate, this is open and drinking well.  Still, it is deep and unwinds beautifully in the glass.  It really is well served with a few hours of a decant.  Cassis and other dark fruits with graphite and smoke intertwined on  the palate.  Juicy acidity.  Medium tannins.  Probably about five to ten years from peak and should last a couple more decades, but wonderful now.  Needs heavier food and great on its own.  

Pride has a long history of making great wines in different styles from different winemakers.  The reserve wines are at the top of their pecking order and for my tastes the Cabernet Reserve is usually the best wine that they make.  It is a middle ground in style between a full blown fruit bomb and a left bank styled wine from either California or Bordeaux.  This one was gorgeous.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, slight coffee, a bit of graphite and a bit of earth and char.  Full bodied with a lovely texture.  Deep.  It unwinds in the glass.  Lots of cassis fruit on the palate, with s

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