Napa Valley Merlot
Opus One
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2019
Far Niente Winery
Napa Valley Chardonnay 2019
1 of CA's oldest wineries, Far Niente, founded 1885 by John Benson. Winery flourished until Prohibition, when it was abandoned & fell into complete disrepair. Stately stone shell of a winery purchased in 1979 by Gil Nickel. A big wine! Tropical and stone fruit aromas with complex spice and oak notes. On the palate apple, peach and citrus flavors, creamy, with buttery toasty oak, fig/honey tones. Long finish ending with vibrant acidity & mineral character. Consistent. — 8 days ago
Duckhorn Vineyards
Napa Valley Merlot 2022
Not normally a fan of California Merlot, but this one surprised me. Very drinkable, but with enough complexity. Excellent with a bowl of seafood stew. — a month ago
Pahlmeyer
Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2013
Elegant and deeper than the well rounded fruit bomb of the red blend. A wine worthy of a life’s best celebrations. — 19 days ago
Heitz Cellar
Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1985
From mag. Dark plum and deep black cherry. Dried herbs and a bloody intensity. Something a touch off in the nose… A hint of tca? If so, very minor and not getting wise with time. Some Green notes. Pure but and intense and complex but there is that slight flaw with the nose. — 2 days ago
Cakebread Cellars
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1988
Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appears a garnet color with a near opaque core with significant rim variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and significant signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated and ripe dark and red fruits: currants, plums, brambles, old leather, cigar box, and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin (integrated) and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium.
Initial conclusions: this could be Cabernet Sauvignon (or based blend), Tempranillo, Grenache-based blend from the United States, Spain, France or Italy. I felt like this leaned more towards the fruit than the non-fruit character and/or structure. Additionally, the color and desiccated nature of the fruit leads me to believe this bottle has significant age. So, my final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon (or based blend), from the United States, California, Napa Valley with 30+ years of age. We’ll call it 1985. Awfully close! Drink now. — 11 days ago
Silver Oak
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
It has been 15 years or so since I’ve had a Silver Oak. Thought I check in. Nothing has changed, every vintage basically tastes the same. It almost like they add flavoring. 🤷♂️ One red you could not fool me blind. Short Rib was excellent.
At Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2025.
The ticket to this event has a pretty big price tag. But when you consider what a Napa etc. tasting or two and lunch would cost you, you are pretty much there and there is so much more than that. It ends up having great value. It’s wine, spirits and food candy land. — 21 days ago
Tom Garland
From MAG
2 hour decant. A striking purplish dark garnet color. On the nose: beautiful notes of dark fruit, pencil shavings, herbaceous, vanilla, cloves. Taste: creamy, polished, structured wine with blackberry, dark chocolate, minerals, bell pepper, leather, and a decent herbal/potting soil finish. Drinks surprisingly well with the decant at this age, and of course a few more years it will improve. YUM! — 12 days ago