#class of 72

Well, I said I was gonna drink all my 2012’s before they turned eleven and while I am not deviating from that goal, here’s one you shouldn’t rush out and pop. Not necessarily, anyway. It’s good. It’s really good–possibly at peak–but NOT showing ridiculous amounts of the things which have disappointed lately. The grainy, dirty nose is the best indication, a minty, dusty, Napa Valley grime and grit…

Deep impenetrable crimson with heady garnet at the rim. Big nose of thick berry, but not particularly effusive in other nuances. Tertiary is also wrapped hard in acid and chonky cherry–everything is still bright and lively–and again: not terribly complex. I think these wines are at the stage where they need to be left alone and to their own devices, to turn into old valley-floor Napa classics for…

There’s a few old-school flat-land Napa labels–basically *supermarket wine* now–I drink fairly regularly and keep a healthy stash in the cellar. Call it nostalgia, call it keeping up with the classics, call it low-brow and un-educated, call it whatever you want. Louis Martini, Clos Du Val, Franciscan, BV Ruth all in the list–and of course Freemark Abbey. Years ago, they were THE requisite cabs at…

Thick ruby–almost blueish purple–with a sliver of a pink rim. Nice calm fruit, predictably glycerin, blackberry and waffles and warm cat fur, generous vegetal spice amidst the buttery baked goods–a sharp welcome that has blueberry bubbling directly behind and inside, forcing it to bend to the fruit. Gobs of dank weedy peat, blessed by the mint-god and baptized in a long–but not pornographic–oak…

Completely clear blue-purple. Yummy fresh fruit in the nose, juicy and sweet, with a slight tarry background. Bright strawberry and the salty air of tomato.

Certainly an oddball–but the premiere producer of this oddball. hadn’t visited this wine for at least a decade and BAM it pops up on a list right here in the NAPA-FREE-ZONE known as “The Central Coast”. Such a beautiful lunch wine–I…

Distinctive and eucalyptus, dusty metrics churning all that is wonderful about the best of valley floor while not apologizing for ANYTHING you might roll your eyes at about Napa. This thing epitomizes the appellation and raises you into places so ethereal and magical, I DARE you to fault Napa while smelling this wine.

Then you taste it and all things are good. All things are lovely. All things…