Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2006 Fortification is more perfumed and graceful while still bringing serious intensity and depth. It offers a fabulous bouquet of chocolate covered blueberries, cherries, cigar wrapper, cedarwood, and candied figs. This full-bodied, opulent, layered, incredibly nuanced fortified wine is like a mix between a vin doux naturel from the Roussillon and a mature vintage Port.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Fortification sports a medium tawny color and rip-roaring nose of baked black cherries, dried mulberries, hoisin, blackcurrant cordial and fig paste with hints of star anise, chocolate box, sandalwood and new leather. Full-bodied and concentrated, with a gorgeous velvety texture, the flavors are superbly and seamlessly interwoven into the sweetness without the least bit of heaviness, and it finishes with epically long-lingering spicy layers.
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Wine Spectator
Complex, with cassis, coffee and tobacco flavors that are bold and fragrant, featuring a smooth, plush body and candied walnut and date bread details. A hint of smoke crescendos on the finish. Drink now through 2025.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.