Reviews

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Atlas Peak comes from a mountain terroir located in the southern part of the valley, a terroir that always seems to yield structured, tannic wines. Ripe black fruits, scorched earth, tobacco, and ample minerality define the bouquet, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has building tannins, a focused, age-worthy profile, and outstanding length. Give it 2-4 years at a minimum.

The 2019 1 1/2 Acre Red checks in as 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This perfumed, pretty, complex red offers loads of cassis, black cherry, and candied violet aromatics, medium to full body, a round, lush mouthfeel, and a great finish. It’s a big, ripe wine, yet it still stays nicely focused and vibrant on the palate.

The 2019 Passion is another brilliant value and possibly the finest vintage of this cuvée to date. Based on Cabernet Sauvignon with 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, from a mix of vineyards, it’s a full-bodied, round, straight-up sexy red that has lots of black fruits as well as notes of leafy herbs, chocolate, and earth.

Blackberries, peppery herbs, leather, and sappy green herb notes all emerge from the 2019 Leopard, a blend of 56% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Cabernet Franc. This medium to full-bodied, ripe, super sexy, seamless red will drink well for 10-12 years.

The 2019 Knockout is, indeed, a knockout and if you’re craving sexy Napa Valley fruit and opulence, it won’t get much better. A blend of 63% Petite Sirah and 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, this full-bodied beast of a wine offers loads of darker fruits, violets, graphite, and leafy herb aromas and flavors. It has a stacked mid-palate, sweet tannins, and like all the wines from winemaker Stephanie Putnam, brings richness with no sensation of weight or heaviness. Drink it over the coming decade.

A brilliant value based on 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Enrapture has a balanced, full-bodied, structured, almost Mountain fruit-like character as well as darker, herbal, mineral, and chocolaty aromas and flavors. It’s unquestionably one of the top Napa Valley Cabernets out there at the price.

The inky hued 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Phi comes from a blend of two vineyards and is aged exclusively in a unique, elongated “Phi” barrel, 67% being new. Cassis, blackcurrants, graphite, and gravelly earth are just some of the nuances, and this full-bodied beauty is flawlessly balanced, has incredible tannins, and that rare mix of richness and elegance. It’s beautifully done. It needs a good 4-5 years of bottle age and should age spectacularly well for 25+ years.

Per the always charming Jean-Charles, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB #10 is made to be 10 times as big, and while the #1 release is a seamless, finesse-driven wine, this is more opulent and hedonistic, with an awesome bouquet of black fruits, smoked tobacco, graphite, and lead pencil nuances. It’s a monster of a wine, yet somehow stays beautifully balanced, light on its feet, pure, and graceful. It’s another beautiful wine in the lineup that will deliver the goods over the coming two decades or more.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB #1 is all St. Helena fruit, and the idea with this cuvée is to create a classic, balanced, elegant expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m happy to say they’ve succeeded admirably. This deep purple-hued 2019 gives up lots of cassis fruits, subtle background oak, full-bodied richness, and textbook, complex notes of chalky minerality, toasted spices and Pauillac-like lead pencil shavings. It will cruise for 20-25 years in cold cellars.