Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 43

YEAR'S BEST US CABERNETS & BLENDS
93 | Peter Paul

$45

2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(Best Buy) ^ Martin Reyes made this wine
before he earned his Master of Wine credentials in 2018, and before Peter Paul
brought on Jamey Whetstone to consult in
2017. It's proof that you can buy a complex
Napa Valley cabernet without spending a
fortune. He based the blend on a vineyard
in Yountville, with contributions from Rutherford and a young-vine site in St. Helena.
The wine's complexity is tied to a range of
savory, umami notes in the tannins, deepening the flavors of the fresh plum- and bright
strawberry-scented fruit. That freshness lasts
in fruity black mushroom tones, directing its
flavors toward wild mushroom polenta. (359
cases) -J.G.
515735

92 | Acumen

$60

2015 Napa Valley Mountainside Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ A clean, violet-scented cabernet,
this has a grapey richness, even as the structure holds it tight. The meaty tannins last
with healthy, floral flavor detail. You could
decant this now to enjoy with roast quail or
duck; or you could cellar it a year or two and
allow it to open further. (W&S 4/19; 1,000
cases)-J.G.

518554

92 | Altvs

$75

2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Finely blended by John Clews, this is a panvalley blend, rich in its black-cherry flavors,
impressively structured by its dry, savory tannins. Those tannins continue to fill out with
fruit as the wine takes on air, turning toward
figs and red cherries. Decant a bottle for roast
duck. (240 cases) -J.G.
518510

92 | JCB

$225

2016 Napa Valley No. 10 Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Aging in new French oak delivered a
round and supple wine focused on flavors of
chocolate and graham crackers. With air, the
wine turns savory, the honeyed richness converting into a beeswax tone. Balancing oak

richness and Mediterranean-like tapenade
notes, it's a wine to decant for braised lamb
with rosemary. (222 cases) -J.G.

91 | Acumen

518723

92 | Geodesy

$275

2016 Napa Valley Sage Ridge Vineyard ^
A new project launched by Judy Jordan
and Kathryn Lindstrom, Geodesy is one
of our Wineries to Watch for 2020 (W&S
Winter 2019). Megan Baccitich makes this
blend from an estate vineyard in the hills
above Lake Hennessy, with 60 acres of vines
reaching elevations of 1,480 feet. The wine
includes cabernet sauvignon (69 percent),
cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot, fermented spontaneously in open-top
vats, then aged 20 months in French oak barrels. Its generous, floral fruit has a tart edge,
like umeboshi plums, and finishes clean, rich
and lovely. (393 cases) -J.G.
518695

92 | Merryvale

$200

92 | Merryvale

$65

2016 Napa Valley Profile ^ Simon Faury
joined Merryvale as winemaker in 2013,
working with consultant Philippe Melka.
Together, they have produced some impressive 2016s, including this rich and sunny
blend of cabernet sauvignon with eight percent petit verdot, sourced from Merryvale's
estate vineyard in the hills east of St. Helena. Its red fruit has enough intensity to
power through all the luxurious oak, notes
of smoked paprika melding with the plumskin flavor of the grape tannins, the wine finishing with a gentle red glow. -J.G.
518696
2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Plummy richness carries through this generous, succulent cabernet, its time in new
oak barrels smoothing the tannins into the
dark, delicious fruit. The flavors are simple
and pure, with lovely depth. Ready to pour
with filet mignon. -J.G.
518268

92 | Somerston

tion of 1,100 feet. Craig Becker cold soaks
the cabernet for five days before allowing it
to warm up to a spontaneous fermentation,
then he ages the wine for two years in French
oak barrels, 70 percent new. This is a powerful wine with enough stamina and drive to
carry its substantial extract. Black and blue in
its berry flavors, it has the brightness of wildgrown fruit. The oak tannins offer chocolate
richness and a smoked paprika edge of bitterness, adding spice to the generous well of
fruit. Cellar worthy. (222 cases) -J.G.
518678

$150

2015 Napa Valley XCVI Cabernet Sauvignon ^ From a hillside block planted in 2008
at a 1,600-acre estate in the eastern hills of
Napa Valley, these vines grow at an eleva-

$75

2017 Napa Valley Mountainside Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Currant richness alleviates this
wine's austerity, filling out the lean, drying
tannins with plump fruit. There's an intriguing ancho chile smokiness to the tannins,
along with a dried rose scent. Pour it with
southwestern dishes, like carne asada. Acumen tends two organically farmed estate
vineyards on Atlas Peak, Edcora and Attelas, blending this wine with fruit from both.
(1,200 cases) -J.G.
518182

91 | Blackbird Vineyards

$135

2016 Napa Valley Paramour ^ Aaron Pott
selects the fruit for this wine from four vineyards: Shiflett in Yountville, Crocker & Starr
in St. Helena, Hudson in Carneros and Stagecoach in the eastern hills. It's mostly cabernet
franc (82 percent), blended with merlot and a
little cabernet sauvignon, the fruit dark and
intense, with cumin-like spice, a blueberryliqueur note and round, honeyed sweetness.
Plush and rich. (1,500 cases) -J.G.

518080

91 | Chappellet

$36

2017 Napa Valley Mountain Cuvée Proprietor's Blend (Best Buy) ^ Phillip Corallo-Titus
blends this wine from estate-grown fruit and
purchased grapes, including cabernet sauvignon (55 percent), merlot (28 percent), malbec, petit verdot and cabernet franc. It has
blue-sky flavors of ripe berries, with a little
thunder of volatility in the tannins. Give it
WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2019

https://www.geodesywine.com/wines https://shop.foleyfoodandwinesociety.com/product/2016-Altvs-Cabernet-Sauvignon--Napa-Valley?pageID=9D11B3EB-EE54-5B59-A2DB-AD4636FE8DEA&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=10&&productListName=Altvs&position=3 https://www.chappellet.com/Wine-Shop/Chappellet

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

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