Rutherford. I really like Napa Cabernet. It’s all about the quality of tannin, which in some respects, I think, trumps Bordeaux. Sycamore planted in the mid 70s,and raised in 74% new oak for 27 months. So, that sort of wine. I’d love to see less oak, because the fruit is so good, but here we are.
Powerful, dense and packed with ferrous and graphite tannin. Blackberry, dark chocolate and coffee, menthol and spice, vanilla and dried herbs, and yes, quite a lot of oak, but the fruit soaks it up. So much chew to tannin, all coffee and tobacco savoury stuff, rich dark fruit, raspberry coulis, very firm with a liquid ‘mineral’ feel, and a long fresh finish. Kind of overt and showy, but the quality of tannin is superb. Potent Napa Cabernet here, that needs plenty of time in the cellar.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards comes from a site (across from Staglin on Bella Oaks) that is still owned by one of the winery's original partners. Delicate California garrigue notes of mountain scrub and bay leaf frame dark cassis fruit, joined by vibrant raspberries as well. Matured in 65% new French oak, this full-bodied, complex and sturdy blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot finishes dusty and tannic, yet it also has a juicy and mouthwatering finish, with hints of dark chocolate and espresso. In contrast to Bosché, this vineyard is more gravelly, producing smaller berries with more tannin. It receives more afternoon shade, so it's picked approximately two weeks later as well.

A new wine from Yangarra. It’s a blend of 50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 12% Clairette, 9% Piquepoul, 4% Bourboulenc. Fermented and aged with skin contact in large ceramic eggs. Portions of the Grenache Blanc and Roussanne spend between 90-126 days on skins, the other bits are fresh free run, ending up with a total of 59% skinsy goodness. Hooray!
This is really good. Offers that white cherry thing from the Grenache Blanc, along with pear and apple, spice and flowers, distinct sea spray and green olive flavour in the mix. Firm skin tannin grip, but fresh too, salt and pebbles, tangerine, scrub herb perfume, and a fresh finish, replete with fine sandy texture. Beautifully made, and I’d guess, age-worthy with it, and so interesting. What a great debut!

Ripe, dark raspberry, blackberry, toasty nutty oak, earth. Fresh line of acid, firm chew to tannin here, bright flavour, frisky on the finish with plenty of tannin. A fair bit of toasty oak here, but fruit is sucking it up. It needs time, and it’s a powerful expression of Cabernet Franc, but so good.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More 2016s Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards gives up powerful crème de cassis, dark chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and baked plums scents with hints of lavender, camphor, pencil shavings and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with rich, black fruits plus a beautiful perfumed undercurrent, framed by finely grained tannins and lovely freshness, finishing with a mineral lift. 1,989 cases were made.

The 2009 Napa Valley Cabernets at Age 10 Dark ruby. Multidimensional aromas of cassis, dried cherry, black cardamom, black tea, juniper, violet and graphite. More minerally, pristine and polished than the Désir but also penetrating and backward, with its intense mountain berry flavors showing a restrained sweetness and compelling juiciness and energy. The tannins are firm but noble, with the wine's finishing fruits, flowers and minerals saturating the palate and titillating the taste buds. This beauty is built for the long haul.

Napa Valley's 2017s From a vineyard closer to the Mayacamas Mountains and first made in 1980, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards checks in as 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It spent 27 months in 66% new French. It offers more black fruits, earth, tobacco, cedar, and gravelly minerality as well as a touch more burly, masculine style on the palate. Nevertheless, it's still beautifully balanced, has considerable elegance, and a great finish.

Similarly hued, the 2019 Pinot Noir 459 offers a Gevrey-like array of darker berry and cherry fruits as well as forest floor, leafy herbs, black tea, and scorched earth. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully structured, with a tight, vibrant profile that will benefit from short-term cellaring.

The Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard, made from a blend of heritage clones, is once again superb in 2018. The vines planted in 1975 yield a Pinot endowed with tremendous aromatic presence and sheer pedigree. Bright red-toned fruit, cinnamon and sweet floral notes linger on the persistent finish. The Arrendell Pinot is arguably Hartford's flagship wine. The 2018 is a fine edition.

The 2017 Red Journey is fabulous in the way it balances inky fruit intensity with Sonoma savoriness. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, sage, cloves and menthol infuse the 2017 with striking depth and tons of character. The blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Sauvignon works so well here.

A big beast of a Cabernet, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard comes from the estate in Alexander Valley (vines planted in 1991) and was brought up in a mix of new and once-used barrels. Blackcurrants, tobacco, candied violets, graphite, and plenty of sappy herb notes emerge on the nose, and it's full-bodied, with classic Sonoma minerality, a big, rich, opulent personality, and outstanding length. The tannins are substantial yet polished and ripe, and it has ample mid-palate depth. It will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for at least two decades.

Coming from 100-year-old vines, half of the Highwire vineyard parcel is head-trained and half is trained on a high wire, permitting greater sun exposure and promoting even ripening. The 2018 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard was aged in French oak, 51% new, for 10 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is a little closed and broody to begin, giving way to notes of black cherry compote, blueberry pie and raisin cake followed by nuances of garrigue, fragrant soil, white pepper and bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is lively and chock-full of juicy black fruits, supported by chewy tannins, finishing long and peppery.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged for 20 months in French oak, 73% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers a gorgeous nose of red currant jelly, Morello cherries and black currant cordial with hints of chocolate mint, tree bark and cardamom. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, featuring crunchy, densely laden fruit flavors and a firm, grainy texture, finishing with great length, freshness and a touch of minerality.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Gravel Bench Vineyard was aged for 10 months in 100% new French oak. A little closed to begin, it soon opens out to reveal citrus fruit notions of lemon tart and lime cordial with a hint of yuzu, followed by pear drops and nutmeg with a waft of toast. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully generous with a satiny texture and a lively line leading to long, spicy finish.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesA blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot, 1.5% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder was aged for 22 months in oak barrels, 82% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it springs from the glass with vibrant crème de cassis, baked plums and Morello cherries scents, followed by nuances of sautéed herbs, clove oil, mocha and scorched earth. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with layers of black and blue fruits, sporting a rock-solid backbone of grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long and minerally.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2018 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, 39% new. A little closed to begin, with coaxing it reveals notes of warm black cherries, black raspberries and kirsch plus touches of mossy tree bark, cumin seed and fragrant soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers an impactful expression of red and black berry layers with loads of savory accents and a solid frame of fine-grained tannins, finishing long and earthy.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesA relatively new label coming from St. Rita Hills, the 2018 Chardonnay Radian Vineyard was 100% barrel fermented in French oak barrels, 30% new, and aged for 14 months. It sashays out of the glass with flamboyant ginger ale and spice cake scents followed by notes of pineapple upside-down cake, orange blossom and fresh pears. Medium-bodied, the palate is packed with pear and stone fruit flavors, delivering great tension, finishing long and spicy.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard was 100% barrel fermented in French oak barrels, 31% new, and aged for 15 months. It explodes from the glass with gregarious allspice and nutmeg notions over a core of warm peaches, guava and pear tart with suggestions of gingerbread and toast. Medium-bodied, the palate is much more elegant and restrained than the nose suggests, delivering seriously minerally notes and loads of freshness, finishing long and chalky.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesA new wine under the Caladan label, the 2018 Red Blend is composed of 41% Merlot, 25.5% Cabernet Franc, 25.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. It was aged for 22 months in oak, 70% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose delivers beautiful fragrant notes of black cherries, red roses, chocolate box, licorice and boysenberries with stewed plums and eucalyptus at the core. Medium to full-bodied, the rich, plushly textured palate is nicely balanced by a lively backbone, finishing long with baking spices notes coming through.

Napa Valley’s Thrilling 2018s & 2019s, Part 1 The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a powerful, tightly wound wine that captures all the natural intensity of Howell Mountain. Blackberry jam, graphite, smoke ,iron and crushed rocks give this dark, massively tannic Cabernet a lot of character. Even after having been opened for several hours, the 2018 remains forbidding, with serious tannins that are going to require a good bit of cellaring before the wine becomes approachable.

42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot. This is a cabernet blend. It’s worth studying. It has finesse, it has flavour, it’s finely-tuned and it feels flush through the finish. Oak and fruit are on great terms, tannin is perfectly formed, and acidity adds a line of freshness to the wine without moving a petal. It’s not a sweet wine but it’s ripe; it’s not bitter but there are layers of herbs; it’s not ‘big’ but it spreads across the palate impressively. It’s worth every cent.

I think this is maybe the best Trueman I can recall tasting. It’s true, man. There’s certainly a Napa-esque lushness about this, and the Cabernet Franc. Dark chocolate, ripe blackberry, flowers, garden herbs, spicy biscuit oak. It’s full-bodied, but not heavy, a flood of dark and persuasive flavour, cocoa richness of tannin, baking spices and sage, and a powerful finish, layered in with sweet tannin and surprising freshness. Exemplary Cabernet here.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018The flagship Chardonnay, the 2018 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard comes from a high elevation block and spent 11 months in 46% new French oak. It shows the more rounded, supple style of the vintage and has beautiful depth and richness, a seamless texture, and layered notes of white currants, white flowers, crushed stone, and subtle brioche. Its oak is nicely integrated, and this rich, powerful, flawlessly balanced Chardonnay should continue drinking nicely for 7-8 years or more.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% each of Petit Verdot and Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Red Wine spent two years in 55% new French oak. This inky colored effort has an awesome nose of blackcurrants, charcoal, lead pencil, and smoke tobacco, with more chocolate and subtle oak emerging with time in the glass. It's concentrated, full-bodied, fabulously balanced, and just a gorgeous Sonoma Bordeaux blend that's going to have 20-25 years of longevity.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018From the Anderson Valley and a mix of clones (115, 667, 777 and Pommard), aged 16 months in 34% new French oak, the 2017 Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters reveals a ruby/translucent color to go with a kiss of the blue fruit that's always present in Anderson Valley Pinots intermixed with Bing cherries, savory herbs, dried earth, and candied violets. Playing in the medium-bodied end of the spectrum, it has good acidity, plenty of structure, and a great finish, yet its seamless, pure texture is what stands out. My money is on this blossoming with 2-3 years of bottle age, and it's going to drink nicely for a decade. It's impressive.