Steak night on vacation in the outer banks.
Having an Idaho vs Napa cab comparison. We went to Idaho for a wedding in June and purchased some local wines.
2014 Split Rail Winery vs 2013 Chappellet Napa Valley cab.
This is massive at 15.6% abv with equally big blueberry, cassis, smoke, and touches of lavender. Very surprised by how well this wine was! This was $33 vs the $65 Chappellet price point. — 3 years ago
This was a big ol' boy! After the 84 Chappellet, I had to switch gears a little bit! Second wine served blind to more or less the same crowd. Poured black and inky. Nose with a little bit of meat but this was mostly black dark roasted fruits. Entry was dark blackberry, sweet plums, figs, baking spice. Power. Lots of guesses for syrah and petite sirah and I don't think anyone really thought this one was 11 years old. Finished with a lot of roasted sweet and chewy tannin. I didn't think I was in the mood for this kind of wine until I realized that I was in the mood for this kind of wine! I think this one has another five to ten years easily. Wondering why this one seems to get lower scores on Delectable, but I have a feeling that most people don't give these the age they need. — 3 years ago
Inspire Napa Walk Around Wine Tasting with:
Bryant Estates
Chappellet
Continuum Estate
Cliff Lede Vineyard
Eisele Vineyard
Favia Wines
Ferren Wines
Futo Wines
Harlan Estates
Keplinger Wines
Morley Family Vineyards
Rudd Estates
Staglin Family Vineyards
Vine Hill Ranch — 3 months ago
July 4th Friday was a total blowout! Killer bottles one after another. Here are just a few of the bottles we all enjoyed!
Such a treat to compare this against the ‘08 Schrader To Kalon and the ‘09 Chappellet Pritchard Hill. This was decidedly more dusty. Dark cocoa dusted dates, cassis, and black cherry compote over toasted graham crackers. This was decanted about an hour+ before we got to it and it was still powering through hours later. Thanks, @joe leatherwood . — 3 years ago
I think this is my favorite 😍 — 3 years ago
Dan Michael
What a joy to taste well aged, well made Napa Cab. From a tasting of ‘98s from benchmark producers (Phelps, Clos du Val, Burgess) this was a favorite. Soft and velvety texture, very elegant, complex nose, long finish, this wine is what I wish more folks got to experience for the varietal and appellation. There has been a bunch of challenging press lately on Napa and Cab in particular, tasting this will remind us of what we are aiming for in this valley. — 14 days ago