Napa Valley Red Blend

Have to say I expected more from this wine, will try the second bottle and report back

Nice Bordeaux blend with some initial spice but things open well in the decanter

Solid wine. Edge burned off after a few hours in the decanter. Tartness with a touch of fruit and earth.

This was a gift and I followed these specific instructions; "decant 3 hours and then drink". Ok. At hour zero I snuck a sip and it was tannic and closed. At hour 3 beautiful nose with the cab franc dominating the finish. Hour 6, tight and tannic again. Closed. Guess I didn't drink fast enough or needed more friends at 3. For a short window it was a 9.2, bookended by 8.8s.

5th bottle. Keeps getting better.

Easy drinker which surprised me a little given its 40+% cab franc and 20+% petit Verdot. It's blank on the nose with a nice minerality on the palate with a bone dry finish. Not much to ponder but a good deal at $30

Mmmmm.

Grippy tannins, well integrated, not a whole lot of depth...but a steal at $25 a bottle.

Very pleasant and versatile food wine. Dark fruit, structured yet light on its feet. Dead ringer for old-world Italian. Forget that it's from Napa, if I drank this in Italy I'd be raving about it. Killed with braised lamb.

Just okay, has a bit of an alcohol finish, not as good as other reds in price range out there