This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous
Lail Vineyards
J. Daniel Cuvée Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Full medium ruby. Mineral-driven, claret-like nose combines aromas of cassis, blueberry, espresso, dark chocolate, bell pepper and celery salt. Wonderfully savory if quite reticent on the palate, offering very suave, fine-grained flavors of black fruits, spices, tomato stem and herbs; I would have guessed that there was some Cabernet Franc here owing to the hints of licorice and violet. Not a particularly opulent wine but long on complexity and soil character. Make sure to decant this wine if you plan to open it soon, or, better yet, give it another few years of cellaring. (75% new oak; like many of her Napa Valley colleagues, Robin Lail described 2010 as a difficult growing season) (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Dana Estates
Hershey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Full ruby to the rim. Superripe, deep scents of cherry, mocha and gravel. As fine-grained and suave as the last two but enters the mouth with more obvious definition and mineral firmness, giving the middle palate more energy and thrust. Finishes with unmistakably powerful yet suave Howell Mountain tannins and outstanding slowly building length. Unlike the other two 2010s from Dana Estates, this very large-scaled wine really still needs a couple more years of patience. Good minerality and structure here, but still plenty of alcohol at 15.7%. Finishes with outstanding length and excellent lift. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Vineyard 29
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Bright, dark ruby. Very dark, primary, restrained aromas of inky cassis, tar (from the Petit Verdot?), cocoa powder, crushed stone and scorched earth. At once fleshy and powerful, showing strong primary fruit for the vintage along with mineral and bitter chocolate notes. As dense and youthfully imploded as it is, this opulent Cabernet benefits from harmonious acidity and its firm, building tannins are not at all dry or hard. Finishes with outstanding thickness and length. This, too, will need time to reveal itself and is likely to be long-lived. Emerson described 2010 as "a big, structured, later-ripening year." (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Moone-Tsai Vineyards
Cor Leonis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Dark red-ruby. Cool, slightly medicinal scents of blackberry, blueberry coulis, black cherry, bitter chocolate and menthol, plus a faint suggestion of cooked fruits. Fine-grained and dense but light on its feet on entry, with firm acidity and a touch of herbs enlivening the wine's dominant dark berry flavors. This firmly structured, slightly medicinal midweight could still use a couple more years to soften and put on more flesh; I found it a bit more gripping and youthful than the bottle of 2009 I tasted a year ago. Turned a tad dry and herbal with air. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Kapcsándy Family Winery
Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Bright full ruby. Very dark nose combines black fruits, violet, graphite and river rock, plus subtle hints of molasses, tobacco and leather; less relentlessly primary than more recent vintages, but then 2010 widely produced explosive, complex, soil-driven aromas. This wine, too, shows a slightly liqueur-like quality yet seems less evolved than the Roberta's. Stunningly silky yet penetrating too, with its dark fruit, mineral and floral flavors conveying terrific vinosity and cut. A firm tannic spine gives this savory wine terrific grip on the palate-staining back end. A distinctly European style in the context of Napa Valley, with its outstanding flavor complexity aided by alcohol below 14%. (100% new French oak). (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Chateau Montelena
The Montelena Estate Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Bright red-ruby. Exceptional aromatic purity and complexity to the aromas of blueberry, cassis, cocoa powder, mocha, spices and minerals; some very ripe berry pie notes emerged with air. Wonderfully creamy, silky and deep; an utterly seamless wine with the underlying soil-driven minerality to energize and frame its fleshy flavors of dark fruits and spices. This is yet another 2010 whose impression of refinement belies the weather extremes of the growing season. Finishes with building but perfectly integrated tannins and outstanding length. This is already approaching its plane of peak drinkability but I'd still want to hold my bottles for at least a few more years. ("You really had to be a good farmer in 2010," noted Bo Barrett) (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Opus One
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2010
Bright dark ruby. Initially reticent nose opened in the glass to reveal wonderfully complex scents of black- and redcurrant, blackberry, minerals, licorice, loam and tobacco leaf, plus a whiff of leather. Seamless, savory and classy on entry if a bit subdued, then delivers lovely restrained sweetness and a complicating wildness in the middle palate that still calls for more bottle aging. Old World in its classic dryness, this highly concentrated Opus One really shines on its vibrant, slowly building back end, where the broad, dusty tannins caress and saturate the palate and allow the fruits and minerals to build. A wine of outstanding depth, clarity, finesse of grain and class; it's hard to imagine that this site could give more. Long-time winemaking director Michael Silacci noted that the estate did not strip leaves prior to the brutal August heat spike. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
La Sirena
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Youthful bright, full ruby. Crushed blackberry, black cherry, licorice, violet and a musky whiff of leather on the nose. Very suave and lively on entry, with intense black fruit and black olive flavors lifted by a floral element. The slightly funky quality on the nose is not apparent in the middle palate. Stands out for its finesse of texture, nicely restrained sweetness, juiciness and delineation of flavor, with its fruit element still quite youthfully vibrant. Finishes with a firm dusting of tannins, a repeating suggestion of wildness and excellent length and lift. Starting to unwind but there's still plenty of positive evolution ahead for this Cabernet, which is a blend from disparate vineyards in Napa Valley. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Dominus Estate
Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2010
Bright, deep ruby. Ineffable scents of dark berries, graphite, minerals, licorice, violet, dark chocolate and sage. Wonderfully suave, fine-grained and plush but light on its feet, and every bit as complex in the mouth as on the nose. Really impeccably balanced, classy wine with uncanny precision and inner-mouth aromatic lift and a resounding, endlessly building aftertaste that leaves the taste buds quivering. A wine of great finesse and energy, not to mention noble palate-saturating, fully ripe tannins. This is more about subtlety than weight, but is still hard to scrape off your palate. This already coats every square millimeter of the palate but may yet expand further. All of this fruit was harvested in October. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Delectable Wine
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Full medium ruby. Alluring floral lift to the aromas of black cherry, dark plum, licorice, cocoa powder and minerals; showed a slightly exotic hint of liqueur-like ripeness with aeration, possibly due to a bit of late dehydration of the fruit. Wonderfully sweet and plush, with its blue and black fruit, bitter chocolate and licorice flavors enlivened by graphite minerality. The wine's slightly high-toned character just contributes to its personality. This began with big, dusty tannins but harmonized nicely with air and became smoother, finishing with outstanding juicy cut and length. Still, I find it a bit clenched next to the Cabernet Grand Vin. I should note that when I originally tasted this wine shortly after its bottling, I described it as "perhaps the single greatest Merlot-based wine I have ever tasted from California." So I would not be at all surprised if it merited a higher score with more time in the cellar. (100% new French oak) (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago