Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, herbs and green olives with some dried flowers. Full-bodied, yet firm and energetic with lovely intensity and flavors at the end. Smoky. Meaty, too. Drinkable now, but much better in 2022.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Starting with the 2016 Asterisk, which was bottled in March of 2019, it offers a medium to full-bodied, elegant yet nicely concentrated style as well as plenty of ripe plum, tobacco, sagebrush, and truffle-laced aromatics. It’s a rich, fleshy, beautifully balanced 2016 that has a touch of background oak to integrate, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s going to evolve for 20+ years.
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.