Specials

From the winery: 

The words “classic” and “perfect” were tossed around a lot after the 2012 growing season, and this vintage will always be remembered for its lack of drama! Winter was unseasonably dry, followed by a beautiful spring that led to a very productive flowering and fruit set. Summer and early fall were characterized by fairly mild temperatures with plenty of sunny days that allowed the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly with no major heat spikes. Interestingly, it was ZD’s latest start on record, with our first cabernet not coming in until the second week of October! If there were any challenges during harvest it was finding open fermenters for all of the beautiful cabernet fruit coming in to the winery at a frenetic pace, as harvest came to a dizzying finish the first week of November.

As always, ZD’s Cabernet is produced from several small intensely farmed vineyards in the Napa Valley and the final blend consistently results in a unique wine layered with remarkable flavor and balance. Each vineyard lot was fermented separately in small open top tanks with regular hand punch downs ensuring a gentle extraction of tannin and color. After one year in American Oak barrels and frequent blind tastings at the winery, the vineyard lots were blended and barrel aged for an additional year before bottling in July 2014.

This wine is big and unctuous with a firm structure that gives it excellent aging potential. Aromas of cassis and black cherry mingle with hints of plum, star anise and sweet vanilla. The combination of fruit, oak and tannin integrate seamlessly to provide a long, powerful finish. Enjoy!

Revisited in 2021
It has been a pleasure to revisit this Library Cabernet from what was considered a spectacular vintage for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Looking back at the original notes and tasting it now clearly demonstrates how well Napa Valley Cabernet ages in a “classic” and “drama-free” vintage. This wine has a beautiful medium ruby color. Aromas of jammy raspberry and ripe cherry mingle with subtle hints of cola, clove, earth and cedar. The tannins have softened nicely but still provide a wonderful backbone that continues to support the core of ripe fruit and delicate acidity that will benefit this wine as it continues to develop for years to come.

Ripe black fruits dominate the palate, providing a burst of flavors reminiscent of blackberries, dark cherries, and plums. Notes of dark chocolate, toasted oak, and a hint of baking spices add layers of complexity and sophistication to the wine's profile. It is clear this juice came from a serious cellar. How this differs from a lot of other Howell Mountain Cabs is the balance. The combination of the long, cool growing season and the quality of the fruit gives us a wine with that textbook minerality but with impossibly fine tannins. This is a lovely, expressive, polished, ethereal Cabernet that showcases its origins.

93+ Points! Scents of pine resin and hints of mint accent black cherry and cassis notes on the nose of Ink Grade's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. It's a sturdy, wiry effort, with the ample tannins and coiled intensity that often mark mountain wines, followed by a lingering, gently astringent finish. Like the other reds from Ink Grade, it spent time in a combination of oak tanks and barrels, yet the wood is scarcely noticeable. Give it a few years to unwind. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

95 Points! Very beautiful aromas of blackcurrants, violets, and lavender with hints of sandalwood. Medium to full body. Chewy mountain tannins, but they are so well integrated and polished that they melt into the wine. Hints of dried cocoa powder at the end with some cedar. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

Layers of blackberry, black cherry, and cassis, accented by subtle notes of graphite, tobacco, and warm spice. The palate is plush but structured, with ripe dark fruit, fine-grained tannins, and enough acidity to keep everything balanced and fresh. It’s smooth and approachable now with a little air, but clearly has the structure to age nicely over the next several years.

93 Points! Currants, brambleberries, dark chocolate, dried violets and tobacco leaves on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, polished tannins. Excellent structure, depth and concentration. Try in 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Cherry, cassis and pine notes mark the nose of the 2018 Andosol, a blend of 80% Zinfandel and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Matured largely in tank and foudre, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, framed by silky tannins, then finishes long and bright, with plenty of red fruit and mouthwatering acids. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

93 Points! A firm and polished red with cranberry, blackberry and crushed stone character. It’s clear and bright with a darkness and tension. Shows flowers and spices at the end with some dried potpourri and peppercorn. From vineyards in Howell Mountain. Aged three years in cask. A blend of Zinfandel, 20% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% merlot. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Another gem of a wine from this estate, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate includes 1% Petit Verdot and spent 20 months in French oak. It has a darker red and blue-slanted fruit profile as well as some classic tobacco, scorched earth, and graphite aromatics. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with a seamless, layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe, building tannins, and a pure, focused style that will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age. The balance, purity, and sheer class here are top notch, and this will see its 20th birthday in fine form. - Jeb Dunnuck

96+ Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate is very close in quality to the 29 Estate bottling, with perhaps a touch more concentration and tannin. There's less herbal nuance to the fruit, leaving black cherries to take the lead, backed by cedary oak and hints of dusty earth, while the palate is full-bodied and structured, leaving little doubt regarding this wine's potential longevity. Thankfully, the considerable tannins are fully ripe, leaving a softly dusty sensation to linger on the finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon AE, with 5% each of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts with vibrant scents of blueberries, stewed black plums, and blackcurrant pastilles opening out to notes of mint tea and garrigue. The full-bodied palate is plush, juicy, and ready to go, delivering bags of black fruit and savory flavors and a long, lifted finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

From the winery: 98% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Albarino and 1% Muscat Canelli - 88% stainless steel fermented with the remainder barrel fermented in neutral French oak and Acacia barrels. Largely from the Stewart Ranch with its toes in the estuary south of the city of Napa. It is a late developing site and its tropical flavors, crisp acidity and cool climate chemistry add zip to the lovely riper Windy Flats Clone 1 grapefruit character. After ferment, the wine was racked to neutral oak, acacia, and stainless-steel barrels to rest until bottling in January after a brief fining and settling.

This wine displays fragrant classic notes of ripe currants, black cherry and a light spicy lift. This is a well-structured wine, defined by grace and balance, with a firm backbone yet is elegant and approachable. Made by Bill Nancarrow, former winemaker at Duckhorn!

58% Cabernet Sauvingon, 42% Tempranillo. Still unique in Napa, after 10 years – the PARADOR Napa Valley Red Wine is inspired by the great blended wines made at Vega Sicilia in the Ribera del Duero. Utilizing great Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the dramatic Hossfeld Vineyard located in Soda Canyon, and blending with the Tempranillo to make a sumptuous, velvety wine with great aging potential. After blending in the spring following harvest, the wine is aged 2 ½ years in a combination of 30% new and the balance, used French oak barriques and puncheon barrels. 

Cabernet Sauvignon from Hossfeld Vineyard – Steep, terraced planting on eastern Napa Valley hillside bowl in Soda Canyon. – Farmed by hand for the highest quality by owner, Henry Hossfeld. Typically deep-colored, with faint mountain-thistle and dark berry character.

Tempranillo from Rancho Chimiles Vineyard – This virgin vineyard site was cleared and planted for the Parador project by Terry Wilson, landowner and grower, from cuttings and plants originating from the Ribera del Duero. – The vineyard is planted at an elevation of 1000 feet and on a slope filled with sandstone rock.

Blend:  58% Cabernet Sauvignon / 42% Tempranillo. Reserva is an assemblage of the very best barrels of a great vintage - aged 3 years in 2 new Sylvain puncheon barrels. It was then aged in bottle, released in June of the tenth year from the vintage.

Still unique in Napa,  the Parador Napa Valley Red Wine is inspired by the great blended wines made at Vega Sicilia in the Ribera del Duero. Utilizing great Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the dramatic Hossfeld Vineyard located in Soda Canyon, and blending with the Tempranillo to make a sumptuous, velvety wine with great aging potential.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Hossfeld Vineyard – Steep, terraced planting on eastern Napa Valley hillside bowl in Soda Canyon. – Farmed by hand for the highest quality by owner, Henry Hossfeld. Typically deep-colored, with faint mountain-thistle and dark berry character.

Tempranillo from Rancho Chimiles Vineyard – This virgin vineyard site was cleared and planted for the Parador project by Terry Wilson, landowner and grower, from cuttings and plants originating from the Ribera del Duero. – The vineyard is planted at an elevation of 1000 feet and on a slope filled with sandstone rock.

92 Points! Cherry, cassis and pine notes mark the nose of the 2018 Andosol, a blend of 80% Zinfandel and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Matured largely in tank and foudre, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, framed by silky tannins, then finishes long and bright, with plenty of red fruit and mouthwatering acids. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

93 Points! A firm and polished red with cranberry, blackberry and crushed stone character. It’s clear and bright with a darkness and tension. Shows flowers and spices at the end with some dried potpourri and peppercorn. From vineyards in Howell Mountain. Aged three years in cask. A blend of Zinfandel, 20% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% merlot. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Anthem's tightly coiled, concentrated 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard recalls the site's rocky soils in its hints of crushed stones on the nose, backed by black cherries, sage, cedar and dried spices. It's full-bodied and dense, possesses plenty in reserve for the long haul and boasts a long, tannic finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

91 Points! The smart buy in the Ackerman lineup is the suave, polished 2018 Memoir Red Wine. A blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and 6% each Malbec and Petit Verdot, it seamlessly marries cedary oak notes with cassis and dark chocolate flavors. Medium to full-bodied and less opulent and weighty than many of its Napa counterparts, it's still velvety-plush but also marked by ample freshness and length. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

96+ Points! Very deep purple-black in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate Vineyard gives up warm cassis, black berry and black cherry notes with hints of cedar chest, black pepper, black soil and baking spices plus a waft of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, firm and tautly built, it has a lovely ripe and coarsely grained texture with oodles of freshness giving lift to the muscular fruit. It finishes on a complex earthy note. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

96-100 Points! A barrel sample of the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate looks to be out of this world. It is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, and ratchets up all of the components that the 2014 had, but adds an extra dimension of glycerin, flavor intensity, fragrance, and lusciousness. It is a killer – a flattering, stunning wine that will be pushing perfection when released in a year or so. It should drink beautifully for 25-30+ years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

92 Points! Aromas of black berries, brambleberries, floral, orange peel, and wet earth. Medium body, creamy and round tannins and a refined finish. Delicious. Just yummy. 52% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 10% cabernet franc, and 8% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com