Classic Napa
Chateau Montelena
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1977
43 years old an amazing wine. Dark deep in color, beautiful fruit fine inter grated tannins with a beautiful finish. A classic. — 15 hours ago
Duckhorn Vineyards
Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2016
A classic. Powdered cocoa, a bright almost lemony note, and deep fruit notes. Perfectly balanced on the palate, warm and unctuous. Better, I think, than it showed a year or two ago. In my father's memory (his favorite bottle). Bottle #2 in FL. — 15 days ago
David Arthur
Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018
They greet you with their Chardonnay when you visit. They buy grapes from Trefethen to make their Chardonnay.
My experience with this is when you are mosttly a red wine producer, you need a white to start people & for Winery dinners with non meat dishes. It is not the primary focus of what they do. It’s more of an after thought and what you get is something very serviceable. That is the case here.
Their Chardonnay is very classic Sonoma...good but, nothing outstanding. Green apple, lemon, lime, kiwi, some butter & cream, mid oaked & backboned.with decent acidity and nicely polished. — a month ago
Cade
Estate Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018
We drove up Howell Mountain to get to Cade two Sundays ago. What we witnessed was a horror show of fire damage. It’s hard to see nature destroyed in such a fashion. What was worse were all the brick chimneys only standing where there were once a home or a winery building.
Glass fire note. The fire investigation revealed the fire was started by a Cakebread electric fence short. An additional saddening note is Dolores Cakebread, the co-founder of Cakebread Cellars died shortly after the Glass Fire started. She was 90. No way to know if the stress of the fire factored into her passing.
We started with two Sauvignon Blancs. I enjoyed this one more than than the 2019. It simply has had a year longer in bottle to round out.
The 2018 proved to be a classic Napa Sauvignon Blanc. The 2018 was thick, nicely round and good viscosity. Tropical in style. Lots of melons, pineapple, white stone fruits, lighter citruses, beautiful, soft mid minerality with very good acidity and well balanced & polished finish.
Photos of; Cade Estate vines, outside patio tasting area, infinity wall and their Estate Cabernet fruit unharvested. Sadly, about 80-85% of the 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet fruit will never see bottling. — 17 days ago
Duckhorn Vineyards
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Classic Cabernet-earthy, leather, tobacco roundness in back of throat, round tannins. — 5 days ago
Rivers-Marie
Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Tried the 2018 Cabernet yesterday, nice on opening but closed down quite quickly. But I popped it off the truck so thats to be expected. I’ll rate the 2nd bottle after a long hold.
This one is a different story at only $20.00 more. Great for having only a 1 day hold,
Winery notes,
Keeping with the theme of expansion, we added another block of older vines from Larkmead in 2018. Neighboring our original block of Olmo clone is a tiny block of Jenkins clone Cabernet resting in the same Cortina soil. We have always loved this clone of Cabernet having worked with it at Outpost’s True Vineyard and Gemstone Estate. There’s nothing else quite like it in the world of Cabernet. It manages to be both exotic and wildly singular while still coming across as very complete. It has proven to be a very nice complement to what we’ve been working with from Larkmead since 2012. The color here is a bit darker than normal with mostly fruit tones first present on the nose. That familiar muscular walnut husk, roasted nut quality of Larkmead pokes through quickly though placing this wine stylistically in more of a classic era of California wine. Where in the past this wine could be considered the “lightest” of the lineup, the 2018 shows the power of the vintage and a marked improvement from the addition of the new block. The fruit is still purple leaning and the ethereal notes of the past still pop out on palate entry but a weightier middle kicks in almost immediately with notes of sage, graphite, cassis, lavender and a brambly spice note. The tannin starts earlier too adding texture and a dusty, baker’s chocolate note. In the past, I felt this bottling would always need a few years in the cellar to present a complete palate expression. Not so here with the addition of our little Jenkins block. All these additional blending options from all these great sites prove in 2018 that sometimes more is more. — 22 days ago
Cakebread Cellars
Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016
Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016: Citrus & apple with a subtle touch of oak & butter. A classic and beautiful California Chardonnay! Cheers🍷 — 15 days ago
Perus Wine
Alessio Proprietary Red Blend 2016
PerUs Wine Company Proprietary Red Wine Alessio 2016, Napa Valley, California
To celebrate 15,000 followers on Vivino, i had to open something special.
Inky in color with a short reddish rim.
Strong nose of blackberries, black plums, cedar, light earth, licorice, vanilla, eucalyptus, chocolates, alcohol, herbs, coffee, spices and black pepper.
Full bodied, bold and smooth, with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry on the palate and extremely fruity with blackberries, black currants, cooked cherries, figs, raisins, vanilla, cedar, cola, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, spices, alcohol, peppercorn and coffee.
Long finished with fine grained tannins and cherries.
This is just too delicious. What a great red from Napa Valley. An excellent Bordeaux blend.
Rich, dense, opulent, spicy, bold and elegant. Showing nice complexity with a great mouthfeel. Powerful and not for the timid.
Loved the nose and smelled on it for a while.
Although this is so tasty now, it is a sin to open it this young, as it has so much more potential. Will age nicely in the next 5 to 15 years.
The only other wine that I gave such a high score, at this young age, was the Penfolds Grange. I would love to try the two together at the same time. That would be very interesting.
Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up. I gave it 6 hours in a decanter, and checked it periodically. Tannins come in after 6 hours, so be patient.
Good by itself or with food. A fabulous wine to share with friends and talk about.
I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.
15.2% alcohol by volume.
97 points.
$300. — 7 hours ago
David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
As you start your walk through their redwoods, there is a stop to taste their Chardonnay. The walk is relaxing & beautiful. However, you could still smell the char in the air as you stroll. The fire came down the mountain to their property line. It was an on-site fire crew from San Jose, Ca that protected their property. When I left our visit, there was a strong smell of char in my shirt from the breeze blowing down the mountain that had burned above them.
Their 16 Chardonnay is good. It’s Napa/Sonoma classic in fruit profile and not crushed in new oak which is the way I prefer it. Green apple, lemon, lime, some pineapple, cream, medium backbone, limestone, grey volcanics, lilies, white flowers & jasmine. The acidity is quite refreshing with a nicely polished & not overdone finish. Wire to wire a pleasant Chardonnay.
Photos of; their main house out front where you approach the property, inside tasting salon area, outside branded bar and another vantage point of their woods behind their tasting room. — 16 days ago