Yountville

This is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot from Napa.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, black cherries, spice, and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Nice balance.  On the palate, flavors of black cherries, cassis, char and earth.  Long finish.  This is still on the young side but drinking well.  It should drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this would be a classic steak house wine but will also work with roasted Butternut Squash.  

Great showing for this bottle.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is great with cassis, black cherries, graphite, baking spice, and cigar box.  Full bodied.  Medium to firm tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is intense, deep and delicious.  Almost seamless texture.  Flavors of cassis, tobacco, spice and char.  Long finish.  Delicious on its own, this will work with a lot of foods.  Of course, fatty meats but how about Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.  This is not yet at peak but getting close.  Drink  over the next twenty years.  

This is 97% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc from one of the great vineyards of Napa.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright.  The nose is brilliant with chocolate covered cherries (including the liqeuer), spice and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is incredibly smooth.  Also deep and complex.  Flavors of black cherries, cherries, tobacco, chocolate and earthiness.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This was wonderful on its own, but would be nice with roasted duck or chicken.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

Great showing for this wine although still a bit on the youngish side.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is big and deep.  Cedar, cassis, slight blueberries, slight coffee, and char.  Full bodied.  Great plush texture.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is deep, complex and delicious.  It has a bit of a "Bordeaux" quality but the fruit is prime Napa.  Flavors of cassis, coffee, char and slight blueberries.  Long finish.  The last glass was the best.  This is great on its own but works with most (not seafood) foods.  This bottle was enjoyed with an assortment of che

This is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot from Napa.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, chocolate, tobacco, spice and earth.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Flavors of black cherries, cherries, forest floor and char.  Long finish.  This is deep and complex.  The layers unwind in the glass.  Still drinking youthfully, this should drink well for another fifteen to twenty years.  Great on its own, this is very food friendly.  It would work very well with Beef Stroganoff. 

The label states they make single vineyard, single varietal wines.  First time trying one.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, slight cedar, spice and a slight earthiness.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is concentrated and deep.  Lots of cassis flavors with some earthiness and  char.  Long finish.  Very good.  More concentrated and piercing than complex but that works for this wine.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  It will work well with roasted or grilled meats and fowl.  

This was a new wine for me.  Ghost Block has a great story.  About 8 million years ago, it was on a mountain top above Stags Leap in the Vaca Mountains.  The Mountain collapsed and fell over on its side so although the vineyard sits on the valley floor it is geologically the same as those on the tops of the  mountain.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has a bit of volatile acidity on it.  For my tastes it is just enough to raise the aromatics.

This is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot.  One of the great Bordeaux varietal wines.  This is till young, but really drank beautifully.  Purple in color with a ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, licorice, spice, thyme and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great, juicy texture.  On the palate, this has some tight complexity.  Flavors of cassis, leather, tobacco, spice and char.  Long finish.  It really needs another five to ten years of cellaring and should drink well for twenty to thirty after that.  Of course, it was fantastic right now.  Great on