Winemaker Notes
Each year, we choose only the most distinct small lots of fruit grown in the red rocky soil of our vineyard on Pritchard Hill, we choose just the best barrels and blend them together to create the new vintage of OVID. Napa Valley. The wine is a blend of the four Bordeaux varietals grown here: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, varying in proportion from year-to-year but always eloquently conveying this special place.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 is a dense bluish purple blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot. It displays beautifully perfumed blue and black fruits intermixed with some pen ink, acacia flowers, and black raspberries. Gorgeous, subtle smoke and a floral character follow through into the sweet tannins of this full-bodied, opulent wine, which builds incrementally and has a gloriously luxurious texture. There’s not one trace of astringency to this seamlessly wrought wine, which is the liquid equivalent of haute couture. Already drinking well, it should continue to evolve for two decades or more.
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Wine Spectator
This shows uncommon depth and elegance to its range of flavors. Rich and layered, with tiers of mocha-laced currant, blackberry, sage, mineral and graphite, at points firm and at others supple, ending with touches of tobacco, sage and espresso. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2012 through 2022. 600 cases made.
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.