Oakville

My wife's favorite winery!  Hard to argue with her on that.  This was stunning and still young.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, graphite, cedar, slight coffee grounds and slight floral notes.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  Deep and complex; it unwinds in the glass.  Delicious.  Wonderful texture.  Cassis with char and slight oak notes.  Long finish.  Just fantastic but another few years of ageing will be even better.  This should drink well for another fifteen to twenty years.  

One of my favorite wines anywhere.  I suppose at some time, this will be out of my price range, but for now, I always buy.  This seems to be a bit tighter than the 2015 at a similar stage but will no doubt someday flirt with a 100 point score.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose, after an hour or so of air, show cassis, coffee grounds, slight chocolate and spice.  Full bodied.  What a wonderful, almost seamless texture.  On the palate, cassis, blueberries, dark chocolate with underlying roasted herbs.  Maybe some floral qualities too.  Long finish.  This is deep and co

This is a solid Napa Cab for "reasonable" Napa prices.  Purple in color, garnet at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, baking spices and a touch of graphite.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, nice cassis fruit.  Medium tannins.  This won't get better but should continue to mature for a few years.  Drink over the next ten to twelve.  This drinks well on its own and will work well with a burger or roast.  

I am a huge fans of the many wineries that Thomas Rivers Brown makes wine from and this is one more.  A delicious, modern but not over the top Napa Cabernet.  Purple in color with a thin ruby rim.  Opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, slight char, and baking spices.  Full bodied.  Nice acidity.  Lively energy.  The palate has a very nice cassis with underlying char.  Long finish.

From the heart of the historic To Kalon Vineyard in Napa.  This bottle was opened and allowed to breathe for about 8 hours prior to serving.  This was a cooler vintage in Napa, but To Kalon is on the valley floor and gets plenty of sun and warmth.  Deep ruby/purple in color.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, cedar and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  It is young but showing some signs of maturity.  Cassis, cedar and black cherries intertwined with spice and slight minerality.  Lovely texture.  Nice finish.  This should continue to mature for another five to sev

One of the great Cabernet Franc's in California or the world.  From the historic To Kalon vineyard in Napa.  Although 2017 was a difficult vintage in Napa, this wine is from the warmer valley floor and Cabernet Franc ripens a bit earlier.  No issues here.  Deep ruby/purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, slight cigar tobacco, hints of roasted bell pepper and baking spice.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Lots of depth, it unwinds in the glass.  Flavors of black cherries and earthiness.  Nice energy.  Long finish.  This will continue to mature for the next ten t

This is one of my favorite high-end wines.  Even at the $95 price tag, it is almost as good as Bevan's single vineyard designated red wines that sell for twice the price.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, coffee, black cherries, chocolate and graphite.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has muscular tannins but plenty of fruit to match up with it.  Juicy cassis and black cherries with underlying graphite and spice.  This drinks beautifully now but should evolve and improve over the next five to seven years and drink well for ten to fifteen after that.  It will need big foods righ

We had two bottles of this.  The first was just amazing while the second was merely quite good.  At age 16, bottle variation happens.  The first bottle actually appeared and tasted older, so perhaps we just caught the second one in a dumb phase.  Purple in color, a bit of bricking at the rim.  The nose has cassis, camphor, slight cigar box and a sweet perfume.  Full bodied.  Tannins resolved.  This is mature and at peak.  Notes of cassis with underlying tobacco and slight char.  Nice finish.  This won't get better and should be consumed over the next five years.  It will work great with gri

A gorgeous wine.  Nice to be able to re-visit this wine.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has cassis, dark chocolate and blueberries, with spice and slight cedar.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has lots of depth, layers of complexity that unwind in the glass and medium tannins.  Lots of up front cassis fruit with chocolate in the background over a graphite base.  Long finish.  This still has three to five more years to go until peak and should be good for ten to fifteen more after that.  Drinks great on its own and will work great with roasts or grilled foods.  

This is in a great drinking right now.  From Aaron Pott's eponymous winery, it is always fun to say you are having some Pot(t) tonight.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, minerals/rocks, slight floral notes, and a bit of mint.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is opulent yet not over blown.  Concentrated cassis flavors with underlying gravel and slight herbal notes.  Nice finish.  Tannins are almost all resolved.  This seems to be closed to peak but certainly has five to maybe ten more years left.  Drinks well on its own and maybe a bit better with food.  Rosted meats, fowl or ve