Winemaker Notes
Blend: 70% Zinfandel, 14% Charbono, 9% Petite Sirah, 7% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Scout's Honor is blended of 70% Zinfandel, 14% Charbono, 9% Petite Sirah and 7% Syrah. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it offers up baked raspberries, fruitcake, dusty soil and Chinese five spice scents with touches of tobacco and potpourri. Full-bodied with a velvety texture and loads of spice-laced berry preserves flavors, it finishes long and opulent.
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Wine Enthusiast
Winemaker Kirk Venge combines 70% Zinfandel with 14% Charbono, 9% Petite Sirah and 7% Syrah to great effect, offering a jammy expression of blackberry, brown sugar and vanilla. Soft integrated oak supports the rounded rich fruit and gives it an impressive framework of structure and likability.
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.