Plum, chocolate, and black currant give way to soaring blue fruit, blackberry and graham cracker. Supple on entry with a juicy mid-palate that delivers blue fruit, black cherry and mineral earth on a wave of silky tannins. Complex and ripe now with beautiful mouthfeel but also gobs of stuffing and 10-15 years of ageing capability. This is a gorgeous example of Napa Valley Merlot and, given its front line retail at $50-60/bottle, a stellar deal at $20/bottle equivalent.
Check-in tasting 6.23.21 - Like N.03, opening now with deep rich fruit and maybe worth sacrificing a bottle to posterity if only to watch how this evolves over the next 15-20 years. Bourbon American oak chewy tannins, crushed rock, range of pie to fresh cherry. Dichotomy of savory oak and roasted chile are filled with lifted red fruits. Day 2: cherry, forest floor and vanilla aromas meet dense, dark fruit that goes supernova with tannins and minerality on the palate. Drinkable, but still a baby.
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96% Merlot
2% Cabernet Sauvignon
2% Cabernet Franc
60% New French Oak
15.3% Alcohol
Bottled June 4th, 2020
