$80/bottle under the original label
GOLD MEDAL WINNER
SF INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION!
92-POINTS, GOLD MEDAL!
2021 CRITICS CHALLENGE WINE COMPETITION
92-POINTS Jul 6, 2021
Best OGDN Napa Cabernet deal?
One of are the last wines I purchased before the fires, this Napa Valley Reserve-designate Cabernet Sauvignon retails under its original producer’s bottling for well over $80 per bottle. A mix of hillside fruit split evenly between Calistoga and Saint Helena, it offers ripe, lush fruit, plenty of structure and routinely scores 91- and 93-points from the Wine Spectator, Robert Parker and The Wine Enthusiast. I would anticipate that in a fantastic vintage like 2018, you are looking at the upper-end of that spectrum. It offers unparalleled richness and depth for $29/bottle - definitely a candidate for the Best OG Value so far. For a program renowned for value, I think that’s saying quite a bit.
Ripe blackberry, vanilla, and crème de cassis are pure and cleanly delineated with white flower, and red rock mineral notes lifting the bouquet while dark chocolate, graphite and mocha add the bass notes. Ripe, lush, and smooth on entry with blackberry and plum anchoring the palate with pretty cherry and molten licorice top notes perfectly balanced against a robust, firm tannin structure complemented with toasty oak. The finish is lengthy and powerful but also very elegant which speaks to deft winemaking here (not to mention the judicious deployment of high-quality oak).
Check-in tasting 6.23.21 - big brother wine to N.76. Darker fruit, more graphitic character and toastier oak profile. While it is dense with fruit and oak, its lithe and sexy on the palate and coming together very nicely despite its youth. Vibrant and lively with savory depth, powdered violet, black cherry, toffee and tobacco, you can really see the layers here. Silky and sexy in the middle with a backbone of freshness and excellent length. Day Two: sexy, complex, dark and sensuous aromatics with a juicy freshness that runs throughout. More to come but this is nicely knit together at this point.
90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.
30% new French oak
14.8% alc.
200 cases available
Bottled December 15th, 2020
