Two-Day Cellar Special

Dark ruby in colour. This wine is in a fabulous place, hitting its stride now, balancing youthful black-fruited and brown-spiced exuberance with secondary characteristics of tobacco, sage, white pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Full-bodied and well-endowed, it features firm, structured tannins, ironstone minerality, and dusty, crushed cocoa nibs on the extended, vibrant finish. A real standout in a lineup of 40+ wines tasted at the Napa Valley Vintners on 9 September 2024, exploring the 2014 Napa Cabernets.

This wine offers a wealth of complexity on the nose with just-picked black currants, creme caramel, burnt orange, wet earth, bark and cedar. The palate is fruity at first but definitely not overripe. The fine yet muscular tannins and a fresh line of acidity then carry the fruit through to a chewy finish.

I loved the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Tonella Vineyard, all Cabernet sourced from a vineyard in Rutherford and brought up all in French oak. Complex notes of herbes de Provence, cigar wrapper, damp earth, and both black and blue fruits all flow to a full-bodied 2016 that has the purity and elegance of the vintage front and center. It’s another balanced, incredibly high-quality wine from this team.