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

Yowza!  What a great wine.  Seems to be at peak right now though should stay here for a while.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  What a great nose.  Cassis, black licorice, spice and slight blueberries.  Very deep.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Lots of black cherry and cassis fruit.  Underlying minerality.  Spice.  Amazing texture; luxurious.  Lots of glycerin.  Long finish.  Will work with bigger foods.  One of those wines where each sip makes you want another.  

Perhaps the best Merlot made in America.  This is drinking great right now, at or near peak.  Purple in color, thin ruby line at the rim.  The nose is great with coffee, cherries, black cherries, and spice.  On the palate, this has a wonderful texture.  Rich and luxurious.  Slight tannins.  Black cherry fruit.  Long finish.  This is deep and voluptuous with lots of complexity.  This should be here for a while (ten years?) and still last another decade after that.  

This is an interesting wine.  It is a Cabernet made in a Solera style.  The first vintage had 1992 thru 1998.  This is the second vintage and then included a Solera of 1992 thru 1999.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cedar, cassis, dust and with air, an earthiness comes out.  Layered and complex on the palate,  Cassis and spice and underlying earthiness.  Good finish.  Basically, this is high end Napa Cab, but the Solera gives it a bit of complexity.  Needs big foods.  

A Port styled wine made from a blend but mostly Merlot.  Purple in color.  The nose has cherry liqueur, chocolate and slight raisin.  Full bodied.  Slightly sweet.  Raisins, chocolate and cherries.  Relatively simple and not a lot of depth.  Worked well as a desert wine and would match a more savory dessert.  

This is made from 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and the rest Merlot and Malbec.  Insignia is one of the First Growth wines of California.  Its great just about every vintage and has been for decades.  This one is no exception.  Inky purple.  The nose has cassis, graphite, blueberries, leather and cigar box.  On the palate, this is still young.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  Lots of cassis and some blueberries with underlying damp forest floor.  Long finish.  Delicious.  Will work great with heartier foods and certainly with meat dishes.  The price on these is up to around $250

This is a blend of 97.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2.5% Petit Verdot from Heidi Barrett.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, slight smoke, bell pepper and tobacco.  On the palate, this is nice and everything is in proportion.  Not a lot of depth.  Tannins mostly resolved.  Worked well with vegetarian stuffed mushrooms.  A fine wine but its price tag on release was $250.  Granted 2011 was a difficult vintage, but that is a lot of money for this wine. 

From Magnum.  This has held up nicely and is drinking well.  Like and older Bordeaux.  Ruby in color, slight bricking at the rim.  The nose is nice with cassis and cherries along with some tobacco and dust.  On the palate, this has layers of fruit and earthy forest floor.  Good balance.  This seems very food friendly.  Probably a bit past prime at this point, but still with lots to offer.  

This is from Bill Harlan.  At age 15, this wine seems to be at peak and is singing.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, slight smoke, slight vanilla and slight cigar.  On the palate, this has a nice silky texture.  Slight wispy tannins.  Lots of cassis fruit.  Plenty of depth and tight layering that unwinds in the glass.  This drinks like a almost mature Bordeaux wine.  Will work with meats and heartier foods.  

Purple in color.  The nose has nice cassis, a bit of blueberries, spice and cocoa dust.  On the palate, this is very good but lacks intensity.  Lots of cassis fruit along with some chocolate.  Good finish.  This won't get any better but should be good for another ten years.  Will work with medium and heavier foods.  

Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  This is very tight and in fact, much less forgiving than bottles tried a year and two years ago.  The nose is dusty with black cherries.  On the palate, cassis and medium tannins.  It opens a bit with air, but at this point, it should probably sleep for five years.  If you must open one, give it 8+ hours of air.  There is a nice wine in there once it opens up, but a much higher potential.