Napa Valley, California
Napa Valley, California
Starmont 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 375 mL
American Red
Dark berries and herbs lead, with baking spice and subtle toasted oak behind them. Fruit, balanced acidity and resolved tannins shape a restrained profile, while the finish has structure and integrated tannins. The blend is led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Petite Sirah and Malbec. The wine draws on vineyard lots from across Napa Valley and is presented in a half-bottle.
Keenan Winery 2019 Syrah Napa Valley
American Red
Grown in Coombsville, Syrah is picked late in the season and whole-berry fermented in small half-ton boxes. Seventeen months in French and American oak follow fermentation. Black cherry, blackberry and floral notes accompany a soft texture and firm structure. The wine is dry, made entirely from Syrah, carries 14.5 percent alcohol and was produced in a lot of 492 cases.
Trefethen 2017 Dry Riesling
American White
Jasmine, honeyed white peach and grapefruit appear in a fresh, fragrant profile. Punchy lime acidity accompanies tropical and mineral characters, with freshness, verve and definition. The wine is dry and carries twelve and a half percent alcohol. It comes from the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, where the estate grows the Riesling used for this bottling.
Keenan 2023 Chardonnay Spring Mountain District
American White
Citrus, ripe pear and green apple appear in the profile, with white peach as the wine opens. The acidity is crisp and the body is medium. The juice is fermented and aged in French and American oak, with lees contact and weekly barrel stirring. Malolactic fermentation is avoided, and cellar ageing lasts approximately seven months. The wine contains 13.1 percent alcohol.
Markham Vineyards 2021 Napa Valley Merlot
American Red
Ripe raspberry, plum jam and caramel from oak ageing are present. Red fruit, minerality and velvety chocolate-covered cherries accompany structure, mid-palate weight and a long, round finish. The blend is ninety-one percent Merlot, seven percent Cabernet Sauvignon and two percent Malbec. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with fifteen days of skin contact. The wine spends sixteen months in oak barrels, thirty percent new.
Miner Family Winery 2009 La Diligence Marsanne Stagecoach Vineyard
American White
Ripe stone fruit, buttered bread, liquorice and honeycomb meet a mineral element. The texture is lush and thick, with ripe fruit and a long finish. Marsanne comes from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa Valley. The wine spent five months in French Burgundian oak, approximately forty percent new. Production totalled four hundred cases, and alcohol is 14.4 percent.
Frog’s Leap 2016 Chardonnay Napa Valley
American White
White peach, hazelnut and restrained reductive aromas sit above a palate with fresh acidity, weight and minerality. Chardonnay comes from a steep Carneros vineyard planted in nineteen seventy-nine. Indigenous yeasts begin fermentation in new French oak barrels; after four to five days, the wine is racked to concrete to finish fermenting. It rests on the lees for up to ten months and contains thirteen point four percent alcohol.
Trefethen 2021 Eshcol Red Oak Knoll District
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for fifty-one percent of the blend, with Malbec at twenty-three percent, Merlot and Petit Verdot at twelve percent each, and Cabernet Franc at two percent. Raspberry and Bing cherry appear with leather and liquorice. Dark fruit and black pepper are also present. The finish is balanced and smooth. Fruit comes entirely from the Main Ranch estate vineyard, and maturation lasts fourteen months.
Cakebread Cellars 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
American Red
Fresh smoky cassis, blackberry and boysenberry appear with cedar, black-tea spice and sweet oak. The palate is concentrated, with black fruit, firm structure and a long savoury finish. The blend is seventy-eight percent Cabernet Sauvignon, sixteen percent Merlot, four percent Cabernet Franc and two percent Malbec. Fermentation took place in stainless steel, followed by twenty months in French oak, thirty-five percent new. Alcohol is 14.2 percent.
Ashes and Diamonds Rouge No. 3 Napa Valley MV
American Red
Dark cherry, cocoa and spice are present. The palate is round and rich, with a focused profile and firm tannic structure. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are used. Fruit comes from vineyards across Napa Valley, ranging from thin, rugged soils to the richer soils of the valley floor. Multiple vintages are blended together. The style emphasizes structure rather than ripeness or alcohol.
Sequoia Grove 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Bright black cherry, blackberry, baking spices, chocolate and toasted vanilla are present. The palate has intense blackberry flavours and round, smooth tannins. The blend is eighty-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon, eight percent Merlot, six percent Cabernet Franc, and one percent each Syrah, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Grapes are hand-picked and the berries hand-sorted. A one-to-three-day cold soak precedes fermentation. Maturation lasts twenty months in French oak, half new.
Trefethen 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll District
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot form an eighty-eight, six and six percent blend from the Main Ranch estate vineyard. Dark plum and black cherry appear with cocoa, pepper and fragrant herbs. Bright cherry flavours are accompanied by vanilla and forest floor. The wine spent eighteen months in oak, with fifty-three percent new barrels. Alcohol is thirteen-point-nine percent, and the fruit is sustainably farmed.
Clos Pegase 2010 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
American Red
The blend is ninety-nine percent Cabernet Sauvignon and one percent Petit Verdot. Black cherry, cassis, French plum, baking spice, iris, fresh pipe tobacco, liquorice and subtle toasted oak form the profile. Firm tannins accompany a mineral structure, and the wine carries fourteen-and-a-half percent alcohol. The texture is smooth and velvety, and the finish is long, balanced and seamless.
Merryvale Vineyards 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Plum, blackberry and cherry accompany leather and granite-like mineral detail. Lively acidity, soft tannins, a velvety texture and a long finish are present. The blend is eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Merlot. Native-yeast fermentation follows a five-day cold soak in small tanks. Maturation lasts twenty-two months in French oak, with fifty percent new barrels, before bottling without fining or filtration.
Duckhorn 2004 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley
American Red
Red fruit, dried herbs, allspice, vanilla bean and dust accompany ripe strawberry, dried cherry, toasted oak, chocolate and spice. The texture is velvety, with bright acidity and firm, well-integrated tannins. The blend is seventy-five percent Merlot, ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon, nine percent Petit Verdot, five percent Cabernet Franc and one percent Malbec. Maturation lasts twenty months in new sixty-gallon French oak barrels. The wine contains 14.5 percent alcohol.
Duckhorn 2003 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley
American Red
Strawberry, raspberry, cherry, black olive, almond and spice accompany red fruit, cedar and oak. The texture is silky, with balanced acidity and ample tannins in a smooth, full-bodied profile. The blend is seventy-five percent Merlot, eleven percent Cabernet Sauvignon, seven percent Petit Verdot and seven percent Cabernet Franc. Maturation lasts twenty months in new sixty-gallon French oak barrels. The grapes were harvested over six days in September.
Far Niente 2006 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
American Red
Ripe purple fruit accompanies black liquorice and briar. A silky texture, dense velvety chocolate and toast sit within a full-bodied, concentrated profile with a long finish. The wine is made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon. Maturation lasts sixteen months in French oak barrels, using seventy-three percent new oak and twenty-seven percent once-used oak. Skin contact lasts twelve to twenty-nine days, and the fruit comes from Martin Stelling Vineyard in Oakville.
Robert Mondavi Winery 2019 The Estates Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Blackberry, blueberry, plum, chocolate, nutmeg and subtle oak accompany black plum and fine, well-integrated tannins. The profile is juicy, with good acidity. The blend is eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, six percent Cabernet Franc, six percent Petit Verdot, two percent Malbec and one percent Merlot. Maturation lasts twenty months in French oak barrels, with ninety percent new oak. The wine contains 15.3 percent alcohol.
St. Supéry 2013 Élu Napa Valley Red
American Red
Vibrant deep red and purple colour accompanies black plum, blackberry, anise, graphite, dark cocoa, espresso and toasted barrel. Cassis, black pepper and black liquorice are also present, with length and fine-grained tannins. The blend is sixty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, twenty-two percent Merlot and nine percent Malbec, with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot making up the balance.
Bacio Divino 2000 Napa Valley Proprietary Red
American Red
Inky ruby-purple colour accompanies charcoal, toasted oak, espresso and blackcurrant. The proprietary red blend is dense, rich and full-bodied, with ripe tannins, low acidity and a plump, layered, concentrated profile. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for sixty-five percent, Sangiovese twenty-four percent and Petite Sirah eleven percent. A sweet character is also present. The wine comes from Napa Valley, California.
Joseph Phelps 2012 Insignia
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for seventy-five percent of the blend, with Petit Verdot and Merlot each at ten percent, Malbec at three percent and Cabernet Franc at two percent. An inky dark hue accompanies ripe blackberry, star anise, cigar box, clove and sweet mocha. The full-bodied palate has velvety texture, supple tannins, black plum, violets and baking spices.
Heitz Cellar 2018 Lot C-91 Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon combines fruit from Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Howell Mountain. The wine has brilliant concentration and balance, with generous tannins and balanced acidity. Black cherry, black olive, charcoal, black pepper, herbs and black fruit appear in a complex profile. Menthol, boysenberry, blackberry compote, liquorice and earth accompany a velvety feel and a long finish.
Paul Hobbs 2018 Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot form an 85/10/5 blend. The fruit is hand harvested at night and fermented with indigenous yeasts in small, closed stainless-steel tanks. The wine receives a five-day cold soak and thirty days of total maceration. After spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrel, it ages twenty months in French oak, sixty-nine percent new, before unfined and unfiltered bottling. Wild blueberry, dried lavender, mocha, red currant, black fig, sage and leather meet fresh acidity, fine-grained tannins and crushed-rock minerality.
Castello di Amorosa 2006 La Castellana Napa Valley Red Blend
American Red
Pipe tobacco, blackberry and smoke lead the documented nose, while raspberry gives way to blackberry on the finish. Earth, dark chocolate, oak and black licorice add depth, with clove, white pepper, cherry, cedar and anise providing further detail. The palate is described as velvety, with dark fruit. The recorded blend combines Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot.
Continuum Estate Novicium 2019 Sage Mountain Vineyard Red
American Red
Black fruit leads a vibrant, direct profile, with dark chocolate, brown spice and savoury tapenade adding depth. The palate opens plush and weighted through the middle, yet refined tannins keep the texture controlled. Graphite and an iron-like mineral note give the fruit a firm, volcanic edge without making the wine severe. Powerful but approachable, it finishes bright and persistent, with spice and mineral structure carrying the length.
The Mascot 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
American Red
Supple and expansive from the outset, with a broad aromatic profile and deep, polished fruit. The palate moves in smooth layers, balancing gratifying acidity with refined, velvety tannins. Its richness is controlled rather than heavy, allowing the structure to emerge gradually as the wine opens. The finish is long and burnished, with the fruit receding slowly to reveal a composed, savoury foundation beneath.
B Cellars 2014 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Crème de cassis, blackberry and blueberry form a dense core, lifted by white flowers and framed by liquorice, graphite and restrained oak. The palate is full and opulent, yet vibrant acidity and silky tannins keep the concentration sharply defined. Forest floor and dark spice add savoury depth as the wine opens. Layered and persistent, it finishes with polished fruit, earth and liquorice.
Brilliant Mistake 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Dark currant and crème de cassis lead, joined by sandalwood, scorched earth and a quiet red-pepper note. The palate is rich and full-bodied, with dense black fruit framed by polished tannins and a clear mineral line. Lead pencil, spice box and floral detail add definition through the middle. The finish is long and composed, carrying ripe fruit, savoury depth and measured oak without losing freshness.
Merryvale Vineyards 2010 Profile Cabernet Sauvignon–Petit Verdot
American Red
Cassis and blackberry open with chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, smoke and cedar. The palate is dense and full-bodied, its dark fruit framed by ripe, rounded tannins and a polished sense of weight. Black cherry and grilled herbs add savoury definition through the middle. The finish is long and composed, lingering on violets, dark fruit, cedar and measured spice.
Scholium Project 2014 The Sylphs Guman Vineyard Chardonnay
American White
Full and rounded, the palate is disciplined rather than overtly fruity, with layered secondary and tertiary character carrying through its considerable length. The texture is broad yet controlled, shaped by subtle tannic grip and an unhurried sense of development. Complexity builds gradually across the middle. The finish remains balanced and quietly persistent, leaving savoury, mature detail rather than simple sweetness.










