Reviews

Ripe-berry and walnut aromas with cedar and spice, following through to a full body with creamy, polished tannins and a juicy finish. Dusty and firm at the end. Better in a year or two.

Blackcurrant, blackberry and walnut aromas with some wet earth. Medium to full body with round, creamy and firm tannins and a flavorful finish. Softness and focus to this young cab. Drink after 2024.

This opulent, richly concentrated Pinot Noir balances glossy cassis and blackberry flavors against a sturdy frame of tannins and seductive whiffs of sauvage. Cellar until 2024 at least; the wine should improve and gain perfume and complexity well through 2035 and hold further still. Cellar Selection.

With ripe, tropical fruit aromas of kiwi, pear, lemon and wet slate, this is broad and mouthfilling with zippy acidity and a generous dollop of sweet, toasty oak and crushed almonds, finishing long with burnt caramel accents and a vein of minerality. Grapes from Herman, Thornton Ranch and Southern Sonoma were whole-cluster pressed, entirely barrel fermented and then aged in 10% new French oak for 10 months.

This intense, powerful white is marked by citronella, hazelnut, peach and Matchstick aromas and flavors. Settles down on the palate, building to a long finish of lemon, stone and saline notes and revealing pedigree on the length. Best from 2023 through 2030. —B.S.

The 2019 Napa Valley Reserve Red is a smoking value based on 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 9% each of Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc, and the rest Syrah and Merlot. Medium to full-bodied, opulent, and mouth-filling, with a great nose of ripe dark fruits, tobacco, cedarwood, and chocolate, it’s beautifully balanced and already hard to resist. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.

Starting with the 2019 Merlot Napa Valley Reserve, which includes 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, from multiple vineyards, it’s medium to full-bodied, round, and mouth-filling, with a charming, darker fruited, chocolaty style that’s a joy to drink. It should keep for 5-7 years, although there’s no need to delay gratification.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve is also incredible, and given the large quantities here, it should be relatively easy to find. Lots of currants, tobacco, cedar, and dried herb notes emerge from the glass, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with nicely integrated oak, sweet tannins, and a great finish. Hats off to winemaker Stephanie Putnam for making such an impressive wine at this price point and quantity. Drink bottles over the coming 7-8 years.

Cooler climate-like notes currants, green herbs, tobacco, and chocolate emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Yountville, a medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced, structured Cabernet. The tannins are more obvious here, so give it 3-4 years in the cellar.

Lots of ripe currants, loamy earth, truffle, and savory herb notes emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Stags Leap, and it’s medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a layered, seamless, balanced style that’s already drinking nicely. As with all the Single Vineyard District Collection releases, it’s all varietal, and this release spent 19 months in 50% new Taransaud barrels.