Sourced from the legendary Smoot-Hawley Vineyard, located in the heart of the fringe of the Napa Valley, the precise blend, alcohol level and production levels of this extraordinary first offering are closely guarded industry secrets, and the source of considerable "insider" speculation.
The wine boasts a dense, pale, almost impenetrable cerise color that, with time, undergoes an amazing transmogrification to deep amaranth. With swirling, it displays legs that extend all the way to the pippik of the glass.
The nose is shy, yet redolent with waves of super-ripe blackberry, raspberry (both red and black), Bing cherry, black cherry, red currant, black currant, strawberry, huckleberry, Olalla berry, brambleberry, red plum, black plum, Santa Rosa plum and other fruit aromas, underscored by walnut, hazelnut, pecan, brazil nut, peanut and almond highlights with hints of Tellicherry pepper, cinnamon, mace, cardamom, vanilla, star anise, saffron, nutmeg, allspice and grains of paradise with overtones of wild sage, roasted marjoram, poached thyme, braised basil, grilled rosemary and garrigue.
In the mouth, this unctuous red pushes ripeness to the max, revealing lavishly voluptuous layers of monstrous fruit, exotic spice and chalky minerality. Yet for all its power, the wine maintains a sense of precision, focus, humility, forthrightness, and clarity, thanks to its bracing, yet refreshing, palate cleansing acidity.
Personally, Id run, not walk to sample some of this spectacularly hedonistic, opulently endowed Napa ride.
The wine boasts a dense, pale, almost impenetrable cerise color that, with time, undergoes an amazing transmogrification to deep amaranth. With swirling, it displays legs that extend all the way to the pippik of the glass.
The nose is shy, yet redolent with waves of super-ripe blackberry, raspberry (both red and black), Bing cherry, black cherry, red currant, black currant, strawberry, huckleberry, Olalla berry, brambleberry, red plum, black plum, Santa Rosa plum and other fruit aromas, underscored by walnut, hazelnut, pecan, brazil nut, peanut and almond highlights with hints of Tellicherry pepper, cinnamon, mace, cardamom, vanilla, star anise, saffron, nutmeg, allspice and grains of paradise with overtones of wild sage, roasted marjoram, poached thyme, braised basil, grilled rosemary and garrigue.
In the mouth, this unctuous red pushes ripeness to the max, revealing lavishly voluptuous layers of monstrous fruit, exotic spice and chalky minerality. Yet for all its power, the wine maintains a sense of precision, focus, humility, forthrightness, and clarity, thanks to its bracing, yet refreshing, palate cleansing acidity.
Personally, Id run, not walk to sample some of this spectacularly hedonistic, opulently endowed Napa ride.