Mt. Veeder

Beautiful showing for this stalwart of Napa.  What a great vintage.  Consumed over two nights, it was even better on night 2.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, black cherries, cedar, leather and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, lots of cassis and black cherry fruit with an underlying dry earthiness.  Still a fair amount of oak and tannins - it is young.  This should get better over the next five years and drink well for ten to twelve after that.  That said, it is delicious today.  Given the price of Napa Cabs, at MSRP of $48, this is priced attractiv

Classic Napa Cabernet from a very good vintage.  This is a Cab that takes a while to mature and at age 15, it is just hitting that sweet spot.  Purple in color. The nose is great with cassis, cedar, a bit of funk, leather and camphor.  Complex and enticing.  Full bodied but not a bomb at all.  The palate is complex and deep without being over done.  Cassis layered with earth and leather.  Energy and balance.  Long finish.  Drink this over the next ten to fifteen years.  It drinks well on its own but is probably better with food.  From a steak to a roast, this would work great.  

Another quality wine from this venerable Napa winery.  Sometimes in the rush to try something new, we forget about the old stalwarts.  And, sometimes, that means, the consumer can find some value.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis and baking spices.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has firm tannins.  Nice depth and complexity as it unwinds in the glass.   Plenty of cassis fruit with an underlying char.  Long finish.  This should continue to develop and improve for another five to seven years and be good for another seven to ten years after that.  It will g

The wines from Lagier Meredith are some of the best Syrahs from anywhere.  The fruit is grown on their vineyard way up on Mt.

I am a huge fan of the eponymous winery of Steve Lagier and Carole Meredith.  They make some wonderful wines on their remote property in the mountains of Napa.  And they are great values.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, smoked meats, slight floral note and baking spices.  On the palate, this has a wonderful texture.  Lots of black cherry and black raspberry fruit with underlying char and slight earthiness.  Nice At age 13, this seems close to peak but may yet improve.  Either way, it should have ten to twelve years before slowly fading.  This w

  This is a blend of 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 1.5% Petit Verdot.  It is a big wine that seems like it will still get better with cellaring.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, dust, and an interesting citrus quality.  On the palate, this is very concentrated.  Notes of cassis, some dark chocolate and orange peel (?) come thru.  It is deep with firm tannins that will need time to open.  Long finish.  This needs another five to ten years of cellaring and should be good for ten to twelve after that.  Right now, it should be given an eight h

Tribidrag is a Middle Ages term for Zinfandel (yes, the grape is that old).  This would probably sell better if they called it Zinfandel, but I doubt Steve or Carole care.  And, that's pretty cool.  The wine is a deep ruby in color.  Very bright.  The nose has black cherries, spice, dust and roasted herbs.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Black cherries with a bit of candied black cherries.  That is not to say, this is big.  Despite over 15% ABV, this drinks more claret style, if more purple fruits.  It's balanced but broader in style.  I have no experience to guess how well this mig

I am a big fan of the Lagier Meredith wines.  For some reason, this is the first review on this site, but that will be corrected.  Steve Lagier is a lifelong winery worker with impressive credits and associations going way back to Robert Mondavi.  Carole Meredith is a retired oenology professor at UC - Davis and one of the preeminent wine grape DNA researchers.  This winery is a two man team on top of a mountain.  Despite PG&E turning off the power, these two didn't even blink.  If there ever is a Zombie apocalypse, this is the place to be.  First, it is way too steep for Zombie's to ge

This cab is known for being backwards and taking a long time to come around, yet, this, while still in need of cellar time was drinking quite well.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, and spice with some black cherries.  On the palate, cassis, spice and black licorice notes with firm but manageable tannins.  Goof balance and finish.  If drinking before 2013, give it some air, but it should go well with heavier or roasted dishes.  There is certainly some room for improvement.  One of the best Mayacamas Cabs in years!

The fill was low shoulder.  On touching the cork dropped a few millimeters.  A Durand was used and the cork came out in one, if crumbly, piece.  The wine was decanted for sediment and allowed to breathe for a few minutes.  Purple in color, not showing a lot of age.  The nose is initially dominated by volatile acidity, but that partially blows off leaving dust and cassis.  Much better on the palate.  This still has thick tannins.  A pristine bottle of this would likely be just hitting its stride.  This bottle is advanced but still with plenty of cassis fruit.  OK finish.  An impressive wine