Horsepower Vineyards
Cosentino Winery
CE2V Secret Clone Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
A perfect wine? Perhaps. Not many Napa wines can have this kind of horsepower at 19 years old (I was always told Napa wines fall apart after 15 years). I’ve never had Screaming Eagle or Grace Family or any of the new “premier cru” wines. What I will say, though, is that I have a hard time imagining a wine being better than this. Plush, with a solid core. Very little fade. Let it breathe, but it was drinkable right out of the bottle, rich with refined tannins, so much fruit, so much pleasure. The oak is now seamless with the wine, not an addition, but a part of it. If you had told me this was a more recent vintage, I would have believed you. This was Cosentino’s top of the line and what a top it was. Age has allowed for more complexity (I did taste this when it was newly bottled) and development, but this is a young wine, still. Nothing out of place. It is one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted. Quintessential Napa, the best the valley has to offer. I forget the story of “the secret clone” but knowing what all the steps are in making great wine, having this clone was just one of the many right choices in making this. This one may outlive me. It is in its prime with no end in sight. Perfect? I’m not sure. But I’ve not had better. — 2 years ago
Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia
Pintia Toro Tempranillo 2019
Great, but the 2018 better - a little more horsepower. — a year ago
Lodi Native
m2 Wines Zinfandel 2020
Wow! Jammy Fruit bomb, pure deliciousness. 14.3 horsepower — 2 years ago
Colgin Cellars
Cariad Napa Valley Red Blend 2009
The heat from the vintage has bowed out of the fight, giving way to the vibrancy and horsepower of fruit these vineyards are known for. I tasted David Abreu’s 2009 Madrona Ranch at Vinous’ Napa in the City two years ago and am being reminded once again how magical of a vineyard site Madrona and Thorevilos are. — 2 years ago
V12 Vineyards
500 Special Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2019
Tasted on Indy 500 race day—fitting, as this bottle delivers raw horsepower but not much excitement. The 2019 charges out with blackberries, cassis, and dark plum, backed by smoky oak and a streak of graphite. Tannins grip like performance tires—firm but not unruly—while hints of vanilla and dark chocolate round out the finish. More muscle car than precision instrument. And the ride feels more parade lap than photo finish.
I like the 2016 vintage better, a blend with 25% Saint Macaire and 25% Mourvèdre. — 5 months ago
Gargantua Wine
California Syrah 2019
Phenomenal. Horsepower and Reyevaan esque. Strawberry and blackberry jam nose. Pepper and leather. Rhone like elegance. — a year ago
Henschke
Keyneton Euphonium Barossa Shiraz Blend 2001
Been reading reviews and I have to laugh. Drink up in 2014? Ha. Some definite brickishness on the edges, but like a good Barossa wine, this has horsepower to spare even 22 years later. Kept in my cellar. Color is still a deep ruby color (with fade). Had out of a Riedel red glass. Nose has some cigar box, mostly sweet red fruit still, some caramel, at one point there was a line of green (!) that came through, which was especially odd for a Barossa wine. Shortbread, cassis…a pinch of briar (the green streak evolves). Don’t get any of the funk some reviewers talked about. On the palate this is a full red, the oak has mostly disappeared, there are very fine tannins. Very little in the way of legs. This is a Shiraz, but the other grapes come through. This is an easy drinking wine, now. Probably its best days are behind it, but it’s a graceful, slow descent. The Barossa Shiraz shines through, keeping a nice, long finish. It may have been more “serious” a few years ago, but it’s great for sitting on the deck on a summer night. Delicious still. My date has never had good wine before and now she has. — 2 years ago
Henry Fuseler
8/2025. Fruit forward, easy on the palate and a dark color. Paired well with the prime rib at Halls Chophouse. — 2 months ago