A SEASON TO REMEMBER
In 2018, after several drought years in Northern California, generous rain gave vineyards the moisture they needed.
Cool, foggy mornings, warm afternoons and cold nighttime temperatures held through the summer into fall, giving winemakers the
option to let their fruit hang, developing complexity but without losing crucial acidity.
The result: 2018 is a truly standout vintage for Napa Valley reds. The best are stunningly beautiful, the holy grail of finesse and power captured together. These are wines you’ll want to drink the day they arrive, but they’re also ideal for cellaring—if you have the willpower.
Here, five bottles not to be missed; order now to ensure they head your way come September.
Accendo Cellars 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
$365
Two generations of the
Araujo family teamed up on this brilliantly balanced Cabernet, which opens with savory, fresh-turned earth, brambly fruit and hints of tobacco, toasted spice and herbs. Plush plum and black raspberry flavors follow, with powerful tannins building through the mid-palate for depth and grip.
Bella Oaks 2018 Proprietary Red Rutherford, Napa Valley $275
This inaugural vintage from arts advocate Suzanne
Deal Booth and the historic Rutherford vineyard turns the region’s famous “dust” into a lovely cocoa. Complex floral, cassis, warm spice and crushed-rock aromas lead to intense blackberry flavors edged with fresh herbs—think wild fennel—and fine tannins.
Lail Vineyards 2018 J. Daniel Cuvée Napa Valley $275 This 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from iconic
Napa vintner Robin Lail is a striking contradiction of opulence and delicacy, with minerals and hints of smokebox underlying cassis, dark cherry and sweet floral aromas. The palate combines red and dark fruits, providing lovely texture with prodigious length.
Melka Estates 2018 Métisse Montbleau Vineyard, Napa Valley
$275
Acclaimed winemaker Philippe Melka is responsible for some of Napa’s top bottles, but this beauty is a personal project from the tiny St. Helena vineyard he owns with his wife, Cherie. Earthy, savory aromas of forest floor mingle with crushed herbs, followed by an explosion of ripe blackberry and plum flavors carried by bold, plush tannins.
Spottswoode Estate 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
St. Helena, Napa Valley $235
With a beguilingly complex nose—you’ll find layers of purple blossoms, cassis, blackberry and licorice, with hints of graphite and tobacco leaf—this vintage is worthy of the legend that Spottswoode Estate has cultivated. The palate is vibrant with black raspberry and cherry, balanced against fine-grained (but cellar-worthy) tannins.