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

Forman Cabs often fly under the radar for some reason.  This was quite good.  At 13 years from vintage, it still has a long life left.  The bottle was opened and allowed to breath for ten hours.  It was decanted for sediment and served.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, char, slight spice and a bit of plums and tobacco.  With air, a bit of anise emerged.  On the palate, this is, at this stage, neither powerful nor elegant but somewhere in the middle.  Really good cassis and dark cherry fruit layered with tobacco and slight tannins.  Decent acidity.  Nice finish.  It is certainly from

A very nice dometicc sparkling wine.  Honestly, i have no idea who Rebecca Minkoff is, but congrats to her.  The packaging on this bottle is very pretty and it would make a welcome and tasty Holiday or Host gift.  Light golden in color, lots of small bubble.  On the nose, there is some yeast and some citrus.  On the palate, this is tsaty and would work well with a variety of foods.  I would drink this up sooner than later but it is easy to drink. At under $30, this is a nice value for a bit of a more serious sparkler.  

Another stellar wine from one of the best producers in Napa.  This is still quite tight but with air opened up beautifully.  That said, this still needs time.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is classic, old school Napa cabernet.  Cassis, slight pencil lead, and a slight violet notes on the nose.  On the palate, this has a great juicy texture.  Almost seamless.  Again, give this a few years and this probably merits a perfect score.  Cassis, graphite and cedar notes.  Long finish.  

Wow.  An amazing wine.  Like many 2012's, this is accessible now, but still has a long life left.  This is just incredible.  From the first sip, this is special.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, pencil lead/gravel and floral notes.  On the palate, this is seamless.  Juicy acidity.  Firm but manageable tannins.  Layers of gravel, cassis and graphite.  Long finish.  So delicious too.  About as good as Napa Cabernet gets.  And you know what, with some age, it might even get better.  

Stunning Wine.  Still quite youthful at this point.  It needs cellar time or a good decant.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, pencil lead and cedar.  On the palate. it has firm tannins.  Nice balance.  It opens in the glass with plenty of cassis fruit, a mineral base and streaks of graphite.  Long finish.  Drinking on the more elegant side of Napa Cabs.  Built to last another 30 years.  

OK.  My first 100 point review for Intowine.com.  And it deserves it.  This bottle was opened about 7 hours prior to consuming and decanted about an hour prior.  That seemed about right but it could probably have taken a lot more air.  The thing I loved about it was how smooth and elegant it is while a the same time not being in any way shy or reserved or even feminine.  Think Cary Grant.  Purple in color.  The nose is great with cassis, slight dark chocolate, slight coffee grounds.  Also some cedar and spice.  On the palate, this is seamless.  Juicy.  deep and layers of tight complexity un

Wow.  What a gorgeous wine.  Not a fruit bomb but clearly from sunshine and California.  Deep purple in color, shimmering and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, chocolate and spice.  Wonderful texture.  It just spreads itself across the papate.  Depth yet precision.  Cassis, slight dark chcolate, with gravel undertones.  Long, long finish.  This was pop and pour and that was a mistake.  An hour of air and it no doubt hits the 100 mark.  Ready to drink now, but will last 40 years.  Amazing wine.  

Wow.  Maybach continues to be one of the top wineries anywhere in the world.  This is just fantastic.  I have no doubt that more decanting or cellar time takes this to the 100 point level.  This is a mailing list to be on.  Purple in color.  The nose is fantstic with cassis, floral notes, gravel and pencil lead.  Also some cedar and spice.  On the palate, what a texture.  Juicy, velvety and seamless.  Lots of cassis fruit with depth.  An underpinning of gravel.  Firm tannins at the moment.  This is a 3o plus year wine.  Long finish.  Just gorgeous.  

This is an amazing wine.  It is still young but like most of Russell Bevan's red wines, this is already drinking well.  As an aside, it's funny how Bevan's white wines take longer to be ready than his reds.  Inky purple in color with a ruby rim.  The nose is gorgeous with cassis, some pencil lead and cedar.  On the palate, a big and bold wine but not rough.  Lots of cassis fruit with depth.  Just delicious.  I think a couple years brings out that depth a bit and this gets to be a perfect score.  Right now its like a bottomless pit.  Long finish.  At the same time, this wine has the acidity

Excellent wine.  Yellow green in color.  The nose has a nice vanilla cream quality to it.  Also some lemons.  On the palate, this is leaner with tart lemon acidity.  That said, it still has a strong presence.  Long finish.  Blind, I though CA but if it turned out to be Burgundy, I would not have been surprised.