A quickie in Napa

I was in Napa for two nights and was more focused on the things to do around town than I was on deep diving for tasting. Still, I had to get in wine and enjoy myself a bit.

• 2022 Ashes & Diamonds Blanc No. 8 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is aromatic and balanced with tones of quince, lemon meringue, nougat, dried herbs, apples, pears, and yellow flowers. There is good complexity, but it does lack some depth. The Medium bodied feel is balanced with tart, high acidity that is persistent and mouthwatering. This is a cool interpretation of Semillon. It doesn't try to lean too hard into the HVS style nor does it try to be Bordeaux. It just is and it's very enjoyable.

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• 2023 Ashes & Diamonds Rose No. 8 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is open and fresh with tones of Orange blossoms, apples, pears, lemon peels, nectarines, berries. There is good balance and a lovely, open-knit style that is attractive. The Medium bodied feel is fresh and balanced with medium+ acidity that is mouthwatering and crisp. This is a fun Rose that hits the marks it sets out to hit.

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• 2020 Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Franc 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is deep and rich, yet restrained with dark red cherries, raspberries, some herbs, crushed rocks, currants, violets, creamy vanilla notes, and licorice. The Medium bodied feel is plush and refined with medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. This is a real sexy Cab Franc that shows off its Napa qualities while still retaining the essence of Cabernet Franc. Count me as a fan!

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• 2019 Ashes & Diamonds Grand Vin No 6 A & D Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is silky and open, filling the glass with red currants, cherries, spice cake, herbs, red flowers, mint leaves, raspberries, and licorice. There is a lot of depth and layering even right now with this showing off a real expressive quality that is extremely attractive. The Medium/full bodied feel is plush and balanced with medium acidity and youthful, yet sneaky, medium+ tannins. This is a straight up sexy wine. There is a lot of class and polish with excellent depth across the nose and palate. I can see this using a few years to round into form and really becoming a banger.

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• 2018 Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Sauvignon No. 4 Rancho Pequeño 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is expressive and complex with layered tones of pencil lead, crushed rocks, raspberries, dark red cherries, herbs, mint leaves, red flowers, and tobacco leaf. The Medium/full bodied feel is plush and deep with crisp, medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins that are a bit sneaky on the back end. This is a real deal Cab. It has stature while not being close to overdone. There is a real immense amount of balance across the nose and palate with a good amount of depth as well. This is extremely good now, but will certainly improve with age.

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• 2021 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosé

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is difficult to gauge as there is a lot of reduction that distracts. Beneath that reduction lies tones of Crushed rock, strawberries, peaches, stone fruits, and lemon peels. The Medium bodied feel is balanced with crisp, medium+ acidity. The reduction overwhelms and takes away from what could be a really good rose. This was a btg pour at a winemaker takeover, so maybe I got an odd bottle.

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• 2022 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir The Bohan-Dillon 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is fun and upfront with tones of plums, candied red fruits, tart raspberries, violets, fresh herbs, and tart red berries. The nose does lack some depth and definition as it plays more into the straightforward category than something really complex. The Medium bodied feel is balanced and fresh with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium tannins. This is a nice and balanced Pinot that doesn't try to be anything it isn't. It's pretty straightforward and balanced with a red-fruited base.

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• 2021 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir San Andreas Fault 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is layered and perfumed with tart plums, bright red cherries, raspberries, violets, rose petals, herbs, and crushed rocks. There is excellent depth even as it is a bit wound up on the nose. The tones are well in place with excellent balance while showing excellent red fruits. The Full bodied feel is balanced and elegant with crisp, medium+ acidity and silky, medium tannins. This is clearly young, but it is also extremely good. It shows off excellent balance and style across the nose and palate while possessing a lovely, long finish.

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• 2021 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir East Ridge 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (4/3/2024)

  The nose is deep, balanced, and intriguing with layered tones of Raspberries, violets, licorice, spice notes, sour red cherries, pomegranate, and crushed rocks. This is a nose to get lost in. It is still quite young and not at full expression, but it is still extremely alluring. The Full bodied feel is deft and deep with tart, medium+ acidity and silky, medium tannins. This is extremely good right now and I can easily see this getting a ton better with a few years on it. It does feel a little coiled up on the nose and palate, but that doesn't mean that the underlying materials for something special aren't there.

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• 2012 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  (4/4/2024)

  Right away, this is refined and layered with lovely, creamy tones of Meyer lemon, red apples, toasted marshmallow, quince, almond paste, yellow flowers, creams, and pears. This is seamless and well balanced while showing off good, not great, depth. The Medium/full bodied feel is textured and refined with crisp, medium acidity. This is super sexy and shows off what Napa can do with chard when it doesn’t push it too far. This was part of a library tasting at Mayacamas and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a bottle of this through them if the opportunity arose.

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• 2009 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  (4/4/2024)

  Seamless and open knit, this fills the glass with well balanced and deep tones of dark red cherries, cranberries, red and black currants, cigar wrapper, violets, crushed rocks, and some cedar notes. The Full bodied feel shows some good balance and refinement with silky, medium+ tannins and crisp, medium acidity. I'm really glad that this was the kickoff to the Cab flight. This is about as classic Napa Cab as I can think of and it is showing beautifully right now.

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• 2012 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  (4/4/2024)

  This is showing with a bit more dark fruits to the nose with black currants, licorice, spice box, dark red cherries, raspberries, violets, fresh herbs, sweet tobacco, and crushed rocks. The nose is just seamless and sexy with a bit of plum sauce that sneaks in there a bit as well. The full bodied feel is polished and well balanced with crisp, medium acidity and silky, medium+ tannins that are really there for support. This is quite pretty and with a regal sense to it. It shows a darker take from the 09 though with the same sense of balance and poise.

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• 2019 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  (4/4/2024)

  Right away, the nose is deep and vibrant with richer tones of dark red fruits, raspberries, red cherries, fresh herbs, red currants, roses, licorice, plums, cedar, and some sweet tobacco notes. There is a clear amount of youth to the nose, but there is a strut to the tones that belies some of the youth. The Full bodied feel is plush and balanced with medium acidity and youthful, medium+ tannins. Obviously this is young. It's also really friggin good. As the older bottles show, this will round out and calm down in good ways with time to them really hit its next level.

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• 2011 Mayacamas Vineyards Merlot 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  (4/4/2024)

  This is a real joy to smell right now. There is excellent depth and balance with a real poise to the tones of cedar, dark red fruits, red cherries, blueberries, roses, sweet tobacco, and fresh herbs. This is just seamless and in excellent harmony to back up the depth and balance. The Medium bodied feel shows off the balance and poise of the nose with crisp, medium acidity and silky, medium tannins. This is really lovely and a great way to end the tasting. Merlot gets dragged through the mud a lot, but this right here from Mayacamas is what Napa Merlot can really be about and I'm digging it a lot.

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• 2019 Istine Chianti Classico Vigna Istine 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  (4/4/2024)

  Pure and balanced with a noticeable savory quality to the tones of dark red cherries, raspberries, wet clay, fresh picked herbs, violets, crushed rocks, strawberries, and savory notes. There is a lot of purity to the nose with defined tones. The Medium/full bodied feel is silky and balanced with excellent length at this young stage. The crisp, medium+ acidity is tart and refreshing while the silky, medium+ tannins have youth, but aren’t overwhelming. This is killer. Istine keeps impressing and this is no different.

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