Epic Napa Trip - Day 5

Our adventure is winding down....only 2 days left....still epic, but starting to realize the trip will be over in a couple days....also took time to reflect how awesome the trip has been to date.....I feel very fortunate!

This was a winery I was looking forward to visiting (Thanks Michael). I was very impressed with the wines, and feel fortunate they allowed me to sign up for allocations of Tusk and Immortal. Both wines are awesome! A great way to start the day!

• 2016 Tusk Estates L'Orange 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at Tusk with Augie - This was a very nice wine, and certainly offers a nice QPR. It did suffer slightly being next to its big brother, which stole the show, IMO. I had heard of Tusk wines but had never tasted one, so this was indeed a treat! Nose showed red and dark fruit, with some perfumed notes coming through, as well as hints of spice and cedar. The palate was equally nice with layers of red and dark fruit, some chocolate notes and some earthy woodsy notes. A very nice wine that is showing well now, and should continue to improve. 94+ today, but should go higher with some additional age.

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• 2018 Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at Tusk with Augie - This was my favorite wine of the tasting! The nose was perfumed with violets and lavender and also plenty of raspberry, strawberry, cherry and cassis notes. I could just sit and smell this all day, and be in bliss! The palate was also a winner with mostly dark fruit, some cocoa nibs, some herbs and hints of tea leaves, with nicely integrated oak and vanilla notes. Very structured. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine! (I even caved in and bought some!) 95+ to 96 now, and will likely flirt with perfection when it fully matures, IMO.

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• 2018 Castiel Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Tasted at Tusk with Augie - I need to say, my score may be low due to drinking this alongside the two Tusk wines which were drinking quite well. Having said that, this wine definitely showed the structure of the vintage, along with plenty of dark fruit and earth, with wisps of oak and herbs. The palate showed lots of dark fruit and gravel, with notes of chocolate and tobacco. Tannins were slightly grippy, and present mostly on the aftertaste, but also not too noticeable. A very nice wine on its own, seems to offer a decent QPR, but I preferred the Tusk Estate much more. 92+ to 93 points for me.

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• 2014 Immortal Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Impassable Mountain 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Tasted at Tusk with Augie - Aside from the name (who wouldn't love that!), this was actually an outstanding wine! My second pick for the tasting and undoubtably the best QPR of the group! Yes, I bought some of this too...I'm bad.
  
  Nose showed plenty of black and blue fruit, with some cocoa, forest floor and hints of anise. On the palate, layers of blackberries and blueberries, chocolate, spice, anise, tobacco and graphite, with a finish that shows off some vanilla and sweet toasty oak. What a great Cabernet! One of the best values of the trip, right behind MacDonald and VHR! 95 to 95+....great effort that will only get better!

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This is another winery I was looking forward to visiting. I have quite a few of their wines, but had only drank one of their top tier wines prior to the trip. was looking forward to tasting them and seeing how they were young. Unfortunately, they only opened one of their top tier wines, but I was happy to get to taste that one. Vaso I have had (different vintage) and Onda I never bought. Was not unhappy with that decision after the tasting, as the wines are very good, but I feel they are priced a little too high.

• 2017 Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Vaso 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at Dana - A very nice inexpensive wine that drinks well. Nose shows dark fruit and purple flowers, with notes of earth and herbs. Palate shows blackberry pie, with chocolate, herbs and some oaky notes. Very nice, but nothing special. I liked the 2015 vintage I had a couple times previously (no notes) much better. 89 points and a decent wine to drink with or without food, and a great wine to to quaff while waiting for other wines to mature....
  
  Note, give it a healthy decant.

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• 2016 Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Onda 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at Dana - Purple and blue fruit with perfumed nose. Palate showed plum and blueberry with hints of mint, some earthy notes and some toasted oak. A very pleasant wine that one could easily drink by itself or with food. 90+ today....I like it, but I like others much more at this price point.

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• 2018 Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Onda 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at Dana - I thought the 2016 Onda was more approachable, but the 2018 seemed to have more structure. Typically, my palate would lean more to the 2016 vintage, but for this wine, I liked the 2018 better, even though it was younger. You can actually taste the structure of the wine, which showed off its fruit and muted secondary flavors in layers more than integrated. I would give this wine a very long decant or hold it in the cellar for a few years. This wine is good now, but will definitely get better. Nose and palate were similar to the 2016, but the tertiary earthy notes were not as developed yet. However, the fruit and acidity seemed much more lively. 91 today and should improve. I like this wine, but think there are better values at this price point out there.

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• 2018 Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Helms Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Tasted at Dana - Loved the fruit on this wine, as well as the mouthfeel. This was by far the best wine at the tasting. I was hoping to taste a horizontal of their big 3, but it was not to be! I have purchased their wines since the 2012 vintage, and even purchased a 2007 Lotus on the secondary market. I have yet to open a bottle because at this price point, I want the wine peaking when I drink it. I did open a 2007 Lotus and was very disappointed....not sure if it was bottle variation, my sky high expectations or if the wine is just old and tired. However, I stopped buying Dana for the most part, and was hoping this tasting would convince me it was a bad decision. Sorry to say, but I have no regrets.
  
  This wine was my favorite of the tasting, and was drinking quite well. The purity of the fruit and some of the tertiary qualities could be seen, even at this young age. The wine is quite structured, and I would never turn down a bottle/glass, but I do think there are better values out there at this price point. This wine showed plenty of layered dark fruit on the nose and palate, as well as some graphite and earth notes, coupled with some oak, chocolate and spice. 94 today....should improve, but will likely be opening my bottles at around the 8 year mark. Not sure if these are built for the super long haul, and at this price, I would rather error on the side of too soon, rather than too late.

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What do I really need to say? It's Harlan! They are my favorite winery to date, and still remain there after my tasting....at the risk of sounding like a broken record, their wines are second to none, but I wish they priced better so I could buy more! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip!

• NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 95 Points

  France, Champagne

  Tasted at Harlan Estates - Brioche, citrus, tart green apple, pear, Meyers lemon, toast and good minerality and saline....what else can you say, except it is Krug! Always delicious, and this bottle was no exception....I did only have a small glass, as I was saving my palate for Harlan!

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• 2019 Harlan Estate

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Tasted at Harlan Estates - Barrel sample - The purity of fruit was amazing, but this wine still needs to either come together or it is just one of many barrels that still needs to be combined with others. I am not good at judging barrel samples, so typically I will not even note them. However, I have a few bottles of the 19 on order, so I want to comment just to have a note for prosperity.
  
  The nose of the wine is sublime, with notes of perfumed flowers, dark fruit, some spice, some earth and some oak. Mouthfeel is not as luxurious as their bottled wines, at least the few I have had and tannins are pretty well rounded, but not as velvety as the bottles I have had. On the palate, plenty of blue pie a la mode, cassis and dark chocolate covered cherry with some earth, tobacco and sweet oak. I believe this will be delicious and one of their better vintages, but only time will tell (or people with a more sophisticated palate than I). I think this will be a wine to be reckoned with! 96+ if forced to score today, but with tons of potential to significantly improve.

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• 2016 Harlan Estate 97 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Tasted at Harlan Estates - I loved this wine! Glad I got to try it at the winery because I would never open one of my own bottles this young (I should never say "never"....I did break down not too long ago and open a 2012). Super impressive! Nose showed plenty of dark fruit, some purple flowers and some earth and graphite notes with hints of sweet vanilla. The palate was even more glorious with layers of black and red fruit....so pure....so smooth....so luxurious! Some earthy notes with some anise, tobacco and graphite, which should show better with age. I am looking forward to tasting this down the road....could surpass the 1996, but will need to wait a few years to find out! I wish I had more bottles of this to follow it more often! I know, I know....pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered! So hard not to be a hog though when the wine is this good! I just wish Harlan was less expensive so I could buy more bottles!

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• 2007 Harlan Estate 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at Harlan Estates - They were kind enough to open an older Harlan for us, and this was the one they chose. I am glad they did, it was nice to see how the 2007's are drinking now. My take is similar to Galewskj's notes, except I have a different theory.
  
  First, I agree with the "wow" factor initially, and the plethora of flavors that cascaded across the palate. The mouthfeel was typical Harlan, silky and luxurious. The purity of fruit and the secondary flavors were wonderful, even though fruit was still dominating (but tertiary flavors definitely there).
  
  As time went by, the fruit became more muted. However, rather than dying, I think was this wine was heading in a slumber....a caterpillar weaving a cocoon to later emerge as something even more beautiful! (At least that is my hope! And given Harlans reputation and my experience with some of their wines, I feel this scenario is more likely). 96 points initially, will hopefully get better in the future.

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So far this trip has been absolutely a dream trip of most of the Napa wineries I have been longing to visit! I was more enthusiastic about drinking the wines than writing my notes up, but it has given me a chance to reflect on the trip and how fortunate we were to get try wines many people only dream about! Cheers!