September Releases

The 2018 Opus One is an elegant expression of this iconic wine, with silky tannins and lifted floral perfume on the nose. There's tons of finesse and aromatics throughout and it has a refreshing medium-bodied quality, with some earthy, truffle hints beginning to emerge with some time in bottle.

Overture is the second wine of Opus One and is a multi-vintage blend. This is the ideal way to experience this iconic estate sooner after bottling. This year it's got considerable richness with the usual plush dark fruit character and creamy vanilla complexity.

The 2019 vintage from the legendary collaboration between Robert Mondavi and Mouton-Rothschild is an absolute delight, showing to full effect the restrained power and vibrancy that comes from both influences. This vintage is a more textural, structured wine, with potential to develop beautifully in bottle. Alongside dense dark berry fruit is a lifted floral tone and subtle earthy notes.

One of the original Napa Cabernets, Beaulieu is a consistent performer, with classic Rutherford black berry flavours and dusty tannins. There's a lot of rich fruitcake on the nose and palate but there's some more lifted red fruit this vintage with floral top notes.

95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Bold and expressive with fresh blackcurrant and blackberry, plus some kirsch and blackcurrant jam aromas. Licorice and aromatic soft fruit like damson and black plum on the palate, with smoky tobacco, wild sage and licorice. There's lots of grippy tannin, and a lifted herbal refreshing finish.

77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 8% Malbec and 3% Merlot. Deep and brooding, with warming bramble fruit aromas, fresh blackcurrant and fresh black plum. There's also tons of complexity with tobacco, wild sage (so typical of this site), cedar and thyme. On the palate there's a fresh, crunchy feel to the fruit, and grainy, robust tannins.

Maya 2020 is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc. There's concentrated black cherry and plum here, with cedar, dark chocolate, black truffle and a savoury, mineral note on the finish. The tannins are still quite grainy in texture at this early stage but are densely packed and ripe in style, suggesting it will age well.

The cooler climate of Coombesville was ideal in 2020 and Andy and Annie's attention in the vineyard and careful light-touch in the winery have worked wonders. The texture here is smooth and velvety, with ripe blue and black fruit and layers of mineral complexity. Black olive tapenade, graphite and tea leaves all come to the fore, and it finishes long and fine.

A late release from one of our favourite Napa estates. Now nearly 10 years old, it's a joy to drink, with tons of truffle, tobacco and cocoa aromas developing. There's still plenty of blueberry, bramble and cassis with Favia's trademark elegance and energy. Andy Erickson and Annie Favia are champions of this exciting and cooler part of Napa, and have created a delicious example in this 2014. The vintage was dry and long, allowing the slow ripening of their brilliant old vine Cabernet Franc.

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, which, according to their team, was all picked before the Glass Fire that devastated parts of Napa. There's a lot of dark fruit here, with black cherry, blackcurrant and dark chocolate aromas. It's full bodied and concentrated, with tannins that need a bit of time to resolve.

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Inglenook is a supple and approachable wine with soft, ripe black cherry fruit and a red cherry lift towards the finish. Many consider this on a par with the top wine of the estate, making it a particularly attractive buy, with its cocoa-like tannins and creamy mid-palate texture.

Illumination is a blend of Sauvignon and Semillon from the Quintessa vineyard. The grapes are planted in a cooler, wetter spots in the vineyard, and they use the Sauvignon Blanc Musqué clone which gives a disctictive fragrance. There's a small amount of new French oak and acacia wood that gives a range of delicate baking spice aromas to the wine, but the tangy acidity from the Sauvignon Blanc runs through the wine. This is a unique offering from a top quality estate with beautiful aromatics and character.

Quintessa managed to avoid the devastating fires that hit Napa in 2020, and have made a wine with lovely purity of cassis and black plum, with some lift from violet and wild herb aromas. Although bold and rich, this has a silky elegance to it, with polished tannins and a long, fruit-driven finish.