Napa 2019
Tasted July 14, 2019 - July 18, 2019 by Geaux Tigers with 403 views
Introduction
Another great visit in 2019. Met a lot of great people and tasted a lot of new wines for us. In no particular order, here are general observations—
Tasting fees continue to piss me off for places that I have a history of buying. A very reputable long standing winery charged us for a tasting fee. I knew about it in advance. The visit itself was so so and the wines served a bit warm. They didn’t ask for payment at the end. Two days later I get an email asking for payment. Made my decision NOT to buy really, really easy. The guilty will not be named and I doubt they will miss my purchase.
Speaking of which, we paid a fee at only one other place, again unnamed, but the visit was awesome and I felt I got value from the deal.
In most cases, hosts and the personal interactions to tasting are a far bigger influence in buying than the wine itself.
Shout out to Bruce Phillips, Will Segui, Jnani Matson, Russell Bevan, Pumpkin, and the Kinsman’s for being being such fantastic hosts, and frankly some of the best people you will meet.
Tie for wine of the trip - 2016 VHR and 2018 Bevan Saunders
Tie for best new and upcoming projects - Kinsman and William & Mary
The Vintage House in Yountville is a great property but they need better pillows.
Cole’s Chop House has the best bone-in ribeye in Napa.
St Helena traffic is awful. Southbound traffic on 29 at the end of the day is worse.
Whataburger beats In & Out Burger hands down. Sorry, California peeps.
Napa summer is like Texas winter.
The macerated berries with meringue puff at Bouchon is a top 5 dessert.
We saw no effect in the wines themselves from the fires. Some places simply lost fruit. We will buy the 17 vintage with confidence.
Flight 1 - Day 1 (4 notes)
Headed up to Calistoga for a quick visit with Amici. With the addition of Tony Biagi, keep an eye on Amici, the wines from 2015 are really a step up from prior years. New fruit sources coming on and the winemaking is producing results.
Red
2015 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
A really good effort here that had lots of air. Red fruit, tobacco and an earthy mineral streak. This was slightly muted compared to the Missouri Hopper, but I think this will age much better and win a marathon when comparing the two. The Hopper is for now and the next few years, the To Kalon is for later—definitely 98-99 potential with 7-9 years on it—if I can wait that long.
Red
2016 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
A blend of, I believe, 12 vineyards. Seems to suffer from an identity crisis. This was good and I would definitely buy at a steakhouse. Nice fruit profile, but chalky tannins still a bit in the way. Made for drinking early. Our least favorite cab at the tasting.
Red
2014 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard Oakville
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
On its own this is a good wine. Compared to its younger sibling the ‘15, it suffered and was outmatched. Good fruit and nice structure, but seemed disjointed. Red fruited palate without the bubble gum; floral note and bing cherries made this a pleasure to drink. However, the ‘15 seemed much more lively and integrated. This was a good comparison of vintage effect.
Flight 2 - Day 2 (17 notes)
Boich - Another place to keep an eye on. We met with Jnani Matson and had an absolute blast talking about everything, including some really great wines. New sources coming online, suggest folks check this one out. The Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper was the clear winner here.
Dunn is a bucket list visit. Worth doing at least once.
Aonair was a new project for us. Great visit!
Amizetta was also a new place. This views on the patio are gorgeous and this was a perfect way to end the day. Suggest folks consider the trek up and finish here. Under the radar Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, at great prices.
Red
2014 Boich Family Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Wall Road
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Showed much better than the ‘15. Red berry fruit, typical Veeder profile, faint pine, moss, forest floor, cranberry. The earth is greater than the fruit right now, but this is a good wine that should not be ignored.
White
2017 Boich Family Cellar Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Not a chard fan but this was more French than Napa. A very good wine that balanced the best of both worlds. Nice fruit profile without a heavy oak or buttery influence, but the oak and butter spoke up to let you know they were not to be forgotten. Lovely fruit profile that favored Sauvignon Blanc but had the structure of typical chard. Not fair to score, but a buy if this is your thing.
Red
2011 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Tasting at Dunn. Put your everyday Dunn Howell note here. Red fruit and earthy forest floor. The 2011 is no drop off from any other vintage. The 2011 seems to be heading into the drinking zone earlier than other vintages. Showed better than the 2012 but the differences seems only age related.
Red
2012 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Tasting at Dunn. Put your everyday Dunn Howell note here. Red fruit and earthy forest floor. The 2012 is no drop off from any other vintage. Showed slightly worse than the 2011 but the differences seems only age related. 91 for today, but I like em aged and that is a factor in the score today. Plenty of room to run up into mid to high 90s in 5-7 yrs.
Red
2013 Retro Cellars Petite Sirah Elevation
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Tasting at Dunn. Such an undervalued wines with a great fruit profile. Continues to be a favorite at this price point. Great tannins management for an under appreciated grape.
White
2017 Aonair Wines White Wine Blend
USA, California, Napa Valley
Lovely SB Muscadet and Semillon blend. Hit all cylinders for our plates. Tropical fruit notes from the muscat but lovely balance and body from the Semillon.
Red
2017 Aonair Wines Mountains Proprietary Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasting at Aonair. Best of the bunch. Very young, needs time but a very lovely blend of mountain sources. Red fruit and slight earth dominance right but very young and pieces and parts need to integrate. Good tannin management. Not a lot of oak influence. Nice touch and blend of grapes. Can’t wait to see how this integrates with more time.
Red
2017 Aonair Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Series
USA, California, Napa Valley
Good not great, while the oak and tannins are in the background, and nicely done for a 2017, this has a fairly balanced fruit profile amongst red and black without any significant standout notes. The Mountain Reserve was far better on this day.
White
2017 Amizetta Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Amizetta. Nice crisp acidity, green apple, faint grapefruit. Good but nothing standout from other starters at other tastings. The Mrs really liked it. Nice start.
Red
2017 Amizetta Vineyards Complexity
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Amizetta. The first of the reds for us. Well balanced with nothing standing out. Billed as a Left Bank wine, could not agree more. No need to wait, this is ready to drink now. Could be a daily drinker at this price point.
Red
2017 Amizetta Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Amizetta. Barrel sample. A well made red. If not for the Cab Franc this would have made the day. Red and black fruit, touch of mountain, oak in play but not in the way, tannins in the background. Good enough to buy.
Red
2017 Amizetta Vineyards Cabernet Franc
USA, California, Napa Valley
Could not believe this was a ‘17. No oak or tannins in the way. No green notes. Just delicious mountain Cab Franc at its best. Floral nose and a smooth black, blue and red fruited palate that had balance among the fruit. Fairly low acid so not sure how this will age, but given how well this drank young, not sure that will even be a concern.
Flight 3 - Day 3 (10 notes)
VHR - put a visit here on your bucket list. Bruce Phillips is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Great and educational time walking the vines and learning out the history and layout of the blocks. Oh, the 2016 wine is everything you’ve heard and more.
Ovid - put this on your bucket list too. Best views and most scenic tasting room in all of the Valley. We love Cab Franc so the Hexameter was the highlight of our visit. The folks are are customer savvy and deserve a shout out for being great hosts and accommodating a last minute shift.
Bevan - tasted at Tench, where to begin? Visiting with Pumpkin is always a hoot. Managed to travel vineyard and get a look at both Tench and a driveby of both Harbison and Screaming Eagle vines. But for the path, hard to tell where one started and the other ended. Even had a guest appearance from Russell who tasted through a couple of 2018 barrel samples with us. The 2018s from Bevan are out of this world, but the 2018 Saunders knocked our socks off. Nothing was disjointed and everything was already beautiful. Exploding fruit on the palate, no hard edges, nice complimentary earth components that come from the vineyard. A must buy.
We also tried a barrel sample of the 2018 Lerner Project Armstrong Vineyard. Keep an eye out for this one folks, this one turned heads too.
Red
2016 VHR Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Tasted at VHR with Bruce Phillips. AG got this dead right. The color and body of the 13, a touch of the intensity of the 15 with the finesse and beauty of the 12. Just simply drop dead gorgeous wine. Tasted at 11:30 with 90 of air and again at 8 pm after resting in the bottle. The tannins refined over time, but the overall profile was consistent. Oak at bay, fine grain tannins. Red fruit dominated, raspberry, black cherry, up front, but there is a veil of blackberry being held back at this early stage. Finish goes on and on and on...complex yet refined, leaves you thinking and wanting more after each sip. If you have a few, open one without fear, if you have only a few, open one, and you won’t regret it. Easy 100 pts with a couple of years under its belt.
White
2017 Ovid Experiment W4.7
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Ovid. For me this was acidic and bitter without the complimentary fruit. Green Apple note but that was it. Finish was short and drying. Maybe an off bottle
Red
2016 Ovid Experiment M2.6
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Ovid. Great expression of Merlot but not up there with in the best Napa has to offer. Roses, cherries, slightly cloying finish. I think this has potential to get better but not worth a flyer for me in the six pack minimum, especially at the price point.
Red
2014 Ovid Red Wine
USA, California, Napa Valley
Lovely wine expressing all that Pritchard Hill has to offer, more red fruit slight blue note. Nice mineral note complimentary to the fruit. Some oak in place and tannins have not yet receded enough for this to show its best. Needs 5 years.
Red
2016 Ovid Hexameter
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Tasted at Ovid. The Pritchard Hill Cab Francs are just so damn good and this is no exception. Red fruit, raspberry, black raspberry, faint black cherry touch of blackberry. Some minor iron and ember notes to round it out. Tannins and some oak still holding this one back, I think within 5 years with a healthy decant, this hit 98-99 with ease. Best wine we tasted at Ovid. Easy buy going forward.
White
2017 Bevan Cellars Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
All the beauty of Chardonnay with a touch of the oak and no butter. Great fruit profile without being overly acidic. Not fair to rate as we’re not chard fans, but this was delicious.
Red
2017 Bevan Cellars Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap
USA, California, Sonoma County, Petaluma Gap
A Pinot for cab drinkers. Dark and brooding, the body of a cab with the profile of a beautiful Pinot. All Bevan. We loved it, but just not into Pinot.
Red
2016 Bevan Cellars Ontogeny
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Bevan. Coravin pour so not much air. Needs time in the cellar or a healthy decant at the moment. Better than the ‘17 but this puppy is still a bit wild and disjointed. Nice red and black fruit profile, oak is starting to recede but the tannins are still a bit drying. Somewhat of a hot note on the back end. Hold 5 years or give this a couple hours of air. Glad I have a bunch.
Red
2016 Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Wildfoote Vineyard, Vixen Block
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Tasted at Bevan. Not as bright and vibrant as the ‘17 we had a few weeks back, but this blue fruited beauty is far more integrated and finding it way. Oak and tannins in the background. I hint this needs another 2-3 years to reach an “oh wow” opening to its drinking window.
Red
2013 Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée Tench Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Tasted at Bevan. Prior note from 2017 applies here. Did not get much air time so didn’t show its full potential— but oh the potential for greatness! Will let my remaining bottles rest for 3-5 years. 93 for today with room to run upper 90s with a few years or perhaps on a fruit or flower day.
Flight 4 - Day 4 (8 notes)
Cornell - a beautiful property that is actually on the Sonoma side of Spring Mountain. Beautiful wines, but these will need 10+ years to fully show the potential.
William & Mary - Tasted at Mending Wall. A lot of great things going on for William & Mary. Will Segui is such a great host and genuinely great guy. Get on board! The 2017 Cab stood out for us but the 2018s from barrel were a clear step up. Be on the lookout for something new from W&M and don’t pass it up. Oh, the Rivers Marie wines were good too.
Kinsman - finished our Trek @ Wheeler Farms and tasted both 2016s. Shea and Nigel showed us a great time and, quit rightly are very excited about this new venture. Such down to earth great people! These are monstrous beautiful wines that will need cellar time. I haven’t been this optimistic about a tannic monster since the 2013 MacDonald. The Anjea will drink earlier than the Rhadamanthus but I think the latter can age for many years. Jump on these while you can. Be on the lookout for a neat addition starting with the 2018 vintage.
Red
2013 Cornell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
USA, California, Sonoma County
Tasted at Cornell. A big brooding beast. Gorgeous firm structure, strong tannins till holding a faint red but mostly black fruited palate back. The tannins were puckering even as we drove back down the mountain. More open than the 15. Hold for 10+ years.
Red
2015 Cornell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
USA, California, Sonoma County
Tasted at Cornell. Lovely property with good things going on. Like this 13, this is a big brut mountain wine. Not as structured as the 13 but had more herbal notes and less overt fruit. Slight hint of red fruit, but hiding behind a wall of tannins. Tannins were puckering even after we finished. Lay down for 10 years for maximum reward. 91 now, upside into mid 90s.
Red
2017 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, California, Napa Valley
RM tasting at Mending Wall with Will. If memory serves correct, this is a blend of Lore and Panek. Lovely fruit forward profile, but needs to get it act together. The pieces have yet to integrate, so give this some months before enjoying. That being said, I am still convinced this is near the top of the QPR curve.
Red
2017 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
RM tasting at Mending Wall with Will. No drop off in this wine from 16. A dark extracted wine, showing black cherry and currant. Nice fine tannins with an oak presence showing for now. Definitely better then the NV. Bottled recently so some bottle shock likely in play. If you bought, you will not be disappointed.
Red
2017 William & Mary Proprietary Red Shifflett Ranch
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District
Tasted with Will at Mending Wall. Somewhat muted fruit profile on this day, but nice floral nose. The Merlot and Cab Franc need more time to integrate, but this will be killer in 2-3 years. No hesitation in buying this one.
Red
2017 William & Mary Cabernet Sauvignon Shifflett Ranch
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District
Tasting with Will at Rivers Marie. Lovely red fruit profile with tannins still holding this one back. Oak in play but complimentary. Every bit as good as the Rivers Marie Panek we had at the same tasting. Room to run up a point or two once this integrates. I would not hesitate to pop one with only a year or two cellaring and some air time. A great effort. I am a buyer.
Red
2016 Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville
Tasted at Wheeler Farms with Shae and eventually Nigel. Great people, great project! No points today. This is a wound up beast that needs to slumber for 7-9 years, but oh the potential. A wall of tannins is holding this back, but plenty of acid to let a beautiful bouquet of red and black fruit show through with patience. If you bought, be happy. If you didn’t you should.
Red
2016 Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Rhadamanthus
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
Tasted at Wheeler Farms with Shae and eventually Nigel. Great people, great project! This wine was also wound right behind a wall of tannins but poked its head out 90 min into our visit. What a beauty. What did poke through showed Mostly black fruit with a typical mountain profile of forest floor, some mineral notes, faint red fruit. Like its 16 counterpart, needs 8-10 in the slumbering cellar. Patience will absolutely be rewarded on this wine. No points today. Buy or regret!
Closing
Our best trip so far. Bodies and palates are toast. Time to go home and relax.
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