Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Terlato has mastered the art of crafting Bordeaux-style red wines that scream Napa Valley. The style is the modern one of exceptional ripeness, softness and sweetness, generously oaked and slightly high in alcohol. Here, you’ll find deep flavors of blackberries, mocha, black currants, olives and toast. It’s ready to drink now, and should develop in the bottle for at least 10 more years.
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Wine Spectator
Dense and powerful, rustic and tannic, offering a core of dark berry, mocha, cedar and tobacco, marked by chewy, grainy tannins that give the flavors traction. Needs time. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
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.