Thanksgiving Napa tasting

Thanksgiving Napa tasting of mostly reds from 2017, 2018 and 2019. Observations: i/ 2018 is another great vintage, somewhere in between 2015 (less extracted) and 2016 (not quite as refined), ii/ 2017 as a vintage is showing less sweet, sexy fruit and comes across more herbal and austere, iii/ mid-palate structure was missing quite often for the whites (2019) and some of the reds (2018).

• 2019 La Pelle Sauvignon Blanc 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Lychee, goose berry, a bit of herbal seasoning. Simple but sufficiently precise. Searing acidity on the palate and rather one-dimensional in the end. For a nice, everyday SB from Napa I would prefer the 2017 which showed greater aromatic intensity.

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• 2019 Arrow & Branch Sauvignon Blanc 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  A bit vegetal showing green pepper, green tea, herbal infusion with a goose berry. A nice combination with less focus on fruit. Super crisp acidity, more citric profile on the palate. A simple, refreshing SB with limited (if any) use of oak. Tasted blind you could easily be mistaking this for an Old World style.

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• 2019 Maxem Chardonnay Lucky Well 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Melted butter, light wooden notes, vanilla beans, green pear and fresh apple fruit with a rather cool profile. Nice detail and pretty discreet. Crisp acidity. OK overall, but lacking the buttery texture and minerality I would be looking for.

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• 2019 Bacigalupi Vineyards Chardonnay 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Vegetal with a minty core. Also grassy herbs, cool pear fruit. Excellent deployment of oak. Steely minerality. Nicely creamy texture, intense attack but lacks mid-palate structure. Manges to avoid over-ripeness of fruit.

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• 2019 Vineyard 7 & 8 Chardonnay Estate 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Candid peach, banana and a bit of citrus. The palate lacks balance and structure and was completely lacking mid-palate presence. Smells better than it tastes.

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• 2019 Wine Access Cabernet Sauvignon Radio Silence 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Red currant, vanilla and licorice, cedar wood and a bit of black tea. Palate is rather unexciting and simple.

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• 2018 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Signature 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Black currant and blackberry, nice cigar box notes, pencil shavings, a bit of chocolate. Fresh and vibrant palate, good tension, long finish but with a dull mid-palate.

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• 2019 La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Ripe dark cherry and black currant, sweet wooden notes, but limited complexity beyond this. Lots of acidity and pretty drying tannin. This needs quite a bit of cellaring, but didn’t draw me in.

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• 2018 Correlation Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Sweet notes strike first, ripe red and black currant. Muscular palate, mouth-coating tannin. Not sure how this all fits together to be honest. Pretty low correlation coefficient.

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• 2018 Melka Cabernet Sauvignon CJ 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Fresh, red and black berry fruit, sexy sweet notes. Ripe but with no sign of over-extraction. Nice and juicy with lots of fresh fruit on the palate and sufficient tension. Alluring and refined.

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• 2016 Immortal Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Slope 94 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Pretty extracted and jammy dark cherry fruit, but in combination this still managed to keep everything in check. Herbal touch, minty. A meaty dimension, cedar wood and coal add to the aromatic diversity. Pretty lush and decadent. Fresh palate, well-integrated with a nice tannic structure.

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• 2017 Seavey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Caravina 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Not overly expressive. Herbal elements, red currant, some sweet notes. Nicely fresh and juicy palate, maybe with slightly greenish tannin.

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• 2017 Marciano M Proprietary Red Wine 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Ripe red cherry, a bit of sweet tobacco amongst all kinds of herbal notes including eucalyptus. OK freshness with a firm structure and a well-knit texture. The craftsmanship here is flawless and the aromatics are appealing, but overall still a simple wine.

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• 2017 Rudd Leslie's Blend Mt. Veeder 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  Pretty greenish, fresh and even unripe fruit and smokey notes. Seemed to lacked extraction, something I would never expected to see with a Napa cab. Palate quite simple.

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• 2017 BRAND Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon "BRIO" 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Fresh fruit, greenish herbal notes but not overly expressive. Juicy and fruity palate. Simple and approachable, but not much complexity there and definitely a step-down from 2015 and 2016.

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• 2018 Rudd Cabernet Sauvignon Samantha's Oakville Estate 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  A nice herbal complexity, smoke and chalky pebbles. Fruit is a combination of red cherry and red currant. Juicy and fresh palate, with decent structure but a rather weak mid-palate. Curious to see how this compares in a few years' to the 2012 now.

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• 2018 Kelly Fleming Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Plush and ripe dark cherry and red currant with nice fresh herbs in the mix and maybe some black tea. Nice, lush and opulent palate, solid backbone, muscular - but lacked refinement and precision.

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• 2018 Vineyard 7 & 8 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Ripe cherry, bramble berry and dark currant. Jammy, but in a good way. Herbal elements of eucalyptus, a bit of iodine. Nice and soft texture wrapped in a firm structure.

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• 2018 Melka Métisse Martinez Vineyard Pritchard Hill 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Not overly expressive, but with nice attention to detail. Sweet notes of ginger bread, red currant, blueberry and cherry. Fresh and juicy, good structure in decent balance even if clearly still a baby.

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• 2018 Sinegal Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Select 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Ripe and plush red and black currant with some herbal complexity. Sweet, sexy and enticing. Fresh and firmly structured, round and velvety but with limited complexity.

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• 2018 Seven Apart Cabernet Sauvignon Expedition 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Plush, sugar-coated berries, a whiff of pepper, gingerbread and fine grassy layers. Refined and detailed. Vibrant, electric palate, convincing structure, well built. A great wine.

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• 2018 Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Pretty herbal with a really nice spicey overlay, red currant, some pencil shavings. Pretty intense. Nice fruit with a dense texture and a good amount of power behind.

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• 2018 Marciano Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Selection 97 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Black coffee, dark chocolate, spice, crème de cassis mixed with fresh black currant, pinches of mint and eucalyptus. A lush, decadent palate. Sexy yet with style.

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• 2018 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Dark currant with a pretty cool profile which has always been a big part of the attractiveness of the site, in my view. Black tea, dark chocolate, dried herbs. A nice, more fruit-forward palate, surprisingly light. Compared to other 2018 big guns (Marciano Estate, Nine Suns) this couldn’t quite live up. While a good wine, I much prefer other recent vintages such as 2015 or 2016.

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• 2018 Nine Suns 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Intense lush fruit of dark cherry, dark herbs, spice, Generous and well-balanced, muscular yet athletic. Another great Nine Suns.

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