What an absolutely perfect way to kick off the trip. It's always a pleasure to see Paul and fun to catch up on the new construction and see what's going on with the wines. We think he may be one of the few producers in Napa who's really made a commitment to the Rhone varietals in addition to the Cabernet and from the tasting that seems to be working out quite well. All of the new wines were drinking beautifully, especially the Trinity Rouge which despite having had multiple hours of airtime before seemed to continue to leap forward in depth. The SSR though was the show stopper. Still very young and with lots of life ahead, but the wine was just drinking beautifully.

I'd recommend a tasting at MacDonald just for a tour of the property which was amazing. These must be some of the oldest vines in Napa (there's a plot with 60 year old ones) and they were stunning to behold. Interesting to get a better feel for the soil types here and to see the evolution between the 20, 40, and 60 year old pieces. It's clear the wine is looking to express a sense of place. The 2012's were all sold out so we ended up opening a 2013 a year before release so the note is more based on the potential there, but I suspect it will be a really fantastic wine and we're looking forward to buying some when it is finally released.

In addition to the 2012 Thorevilos from the bottle we also tasted the 2013 Madrona Ranch, Howell Mtn, and Thorevilos from the tanks. At this early of a stage I'm particularly excited about the later two which just seemed to have a lot going on right now which I'd hope bodes well for later. As this was my first time tasting from tanks though take my thoughts with a grain of salt. The 2012 Thorevilos though was fantastic. I guess we're still a few allocation letters away from it, but looking forward to trying.

We finished a perfect day with a perfect tasting on the second floor of the Greer barn. The crazy heat was finally dissipating and there was a nice breeze coming through. Wine was fantastic and we ended up finding ourselves revisiting the bottle throughout our stay.

Our first visit to the new property which is just stunning. The main tasting room isn't up and going yet so we were at the Lokoya Villa with a beautiful view out onto the valley. Lokoya wines have long been a favorite and so this was a much anticipated tasting and I'm glad to say it did not disappoint. Some people have gotten quite bold with their 2012's, but Chris seemed to harness some of that strength and create a more subtle, more nuanced, and just beautiful set of wines. Trying to pick among them was like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. And of course as they each evolved through the tasting the answer seemed to shift as well. All were wonderful in their own right and some of my favorite wines of the week.

We ended up not being on the ball quickly enough with Smith Madrone and so missed getting to taste there. Instead our driver (Ryan from Jewel Wine Drivers) set us up with a childhood friend of his who is making some very interesting wines. Great conversation with Bridgette and good wines. Especially interesting to try the one with 70% Cabernet Franc and the Veronica on the second day after it had had a lot more time to open up.

There are a lot of really beautiful properties in Napa, but I'd still contend that Constant has the best view with the infinity pool and the vines and the perfect placement in the corner overlooking the entire valley. It's another old time favorite of ours. Very interesting as most of the Valley and even the other mountains were completely done with their picking and they were just getting started up there.

How incredibly special to get to taste at one of the stalwarts of the Valley with wines that we've enjoyed for years. The vibe here is just perfect. I'm still in awe that two people can handle the entire crush duties for all 6k cases produced (less though since 2015 had all of the shatter). And that at one point it was mostly Mike Dunn by himself. Everyone was lovely though and the quality of the wines and the clear vision was wonderful to behold.

This would prob rival most other views from Howell Mountain being all the way at the top and KC (who did our tasting) was just fantastic. Lots of stories of how the winery came into being and the background to the different wines. Perfect location right on the top of the hill to sip and chat. The wines were good although less exactly to our tastes, but a very fun experience.

First time meeting Susan and just so kind of her to make our tasting work when we completely messed up our days. Arkenstone continues to make just excellent wine. I don't think there's a white that rivals their Sauvignon Blanc in the valley and the Obsidian is a special wine that finds just the right balance with the mountain fruit. Always a favorite and happy we were able to make it.

The wines at Colgin can really only be described as special. The facility is beautiful and the views are stunning and the setting with the artwork and everything else is just wonderful, but really you go here for the wines. And they didn't disappoint. Two of my absolute favorites from the trip. I had no idea production was so low (around 3k cases across all of the labels). Everything is clearly done well. When you are spending as much money as the Colgin list demands, there is a certain expectation that the wines will be special all the time, and the people at the winery clearly feel that as well. Today, the IX Estate might have been just a touch more to my liking than the Cariad, but both were spectacular.

We've been coming to David Arthur since the first year we visited Napa. It was one of the first places we enjoyed and part of how we found that we prefer the mountain fruit. Hard though to be the act following the Colgin tasting esp since they were only about 10 minutes apart. As we've gotten to know the wines better we've naturally veered more towards the 1147 and the Old Vine ones which seem more likely to hold up to the aging (about 2 years ago we had a 1998 DA which was just spectacular). The Le Boucher was interesting and certainly appreciate Napa spending some time going beyond just the CS and experimenting with the CF more these days.

Great great wines. Had heard some rumors that these weren't living up to our early experiences with them and so was interested to see how this visit would go. I'm happy to report the rumors were much overstated. The '08 Experiment was drinking incredibly well and does seem to standing up to a few more years. The '12 standard wine had some nice promise to it, but is of course in that style where it's more approachable young. Both were good wines and very enjoyable.

The last visit of the trip and interesting to see how much it's changed in the last few years as they've finished the winemaking facility. Need to do a pump over in the tank? There's an app for that. And Continuum has it. Beautiful facility which makes beautiful wine. Interesting to try the first vintage that was completely made from estate fruit (2012).