Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Super aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants and blueberries. Hints of fresh herbs and tobacco. Iron and ink. Full-bodied, very tight and powerful, yet not too heavy. Lightly chewy and polished. So much nerve and intensity. Super length and depth. Drink after 2025, but a joy to taste now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Proprietary Red is blended of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 18% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it emits an incredible array of seductive floral notes—violets, lavender and rose hip tea—with a core of warm cassis, redcurrant jelly, dark chocolate, cigar box, tapenade and crushed rocks plus hints of bay leaves, beef drippings and yeast extract. Medium to full-bodied, the palate explodes with vivacious black fruit sparked by red fruit, herbal and mineral accents. It is framed with a rock-solid line of firm, grainy, super ripe tannins and finishes with fantastic fragrance and freshness. Wow!
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Decanter
Iconic vintner Tim Mondavi and his family manage to capture the essence of Pritchard Hill. Their estate features the Sage Mountain Vineyard, a now-mature vineyard providing wisdom and tension in the wine. In 2016, mother nature gifted a great vintage with complexity and concentration to the rather low crop. Signature vineyard notes of zesty citrus and fresh red roses hint at the mineral-driven structure. The flavours are dominated by dark fruits, wild brush and tobacco, and the palate finishes with stern tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and winey, delivering well-steeped currant and blackberry fruit infused with dark earth, tobacco, and graphite notes. The fruit wins out in the end, but the background keeps this grounded. Really solid. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.