Napa, March 2024

Went for a guys' trip to Napa and hit up three wineries over the course of the day.

Decided, for better or worse, to start with the most expensive tasting and work our way down.

Heitz, then Duckhorn, then Hall.

Started off strong with Heitz, which is absolutely incredible. Did the reserve tasting. The winery is beautiful, our hostess was very nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the wines and wish I could have more!

My favorite was the Linda Falls, which is a Howell Mountain wine. absolutely beautiful.

• 2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Dark cherry, slight peppery notes, higher in acidity.
  
  Already drinking nicely and a great way to start a flight.

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• 2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Linda Falls 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Probably my favorite wine of the tasting, even ahead of Martha's Vineyard. I might have a slight bias towards Howell Mountain wines, though.
  
  Slight ash, dark plum.
  
  Easy to pick out as a Howell Mountain wine on the nose.
  
  Long finish.
  
  93 points.

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• 2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  The first of the two Martha's Vineyard wines.
  
  Dark plum, cassis, green bellpepper (almost jalapeno).
  
  High tannins, nice acidity.
  
  Definitely will improve over time.
  
  91 points.

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• 2010 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Definitely more mellow than the 2018.
  
  Dark plum, dark cherry, blueberry, green bellpepper.
  
  Mellow tannins and balanced acidity.
  
  I think this is nicely in its drinking window, although it may improve further from here.
  
  92 points.

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Moved onto Duckhorn. I'll be honest, I've heard mixed things about Duckhorn and never had a full bottle of the flagship wines, but part of my bias comes from the prevalence of Decoy, which isn't a bad wine, but also isn't my favorite. Duckhorn pleasantly surprised me. I enjoyed all the wines, although I would say it was a notch below Heitz.

Never heard of The Discussion before, but that was easily my favorite of the Duckhorn wines.

• 2019 Duckhorn Vineyards The Discussion 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Likely my favorite wine at Duckhorn. Bordeaux Blend with 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot (I'm guessing the other 2% is Petit Verdot?)
  
  Ripe red cherry, mushroom. Bright.
  
  Quite tanning with nice acidity.
  
  Needs lots of time to mellow out, but already drinking nicely.
  
  My friend wrote "could be jungle juice" on my notes.
  
  90 points.

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• 2019 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Always love a good Howell Mountain. I would say this is a slight notch below the Howell Mountain (Stout Vineyard) Merlot.
  
  Cherry stems, tannic bellpepper.
  
  Glad to know Duckhorn can do cabernet well too!
  
  88 points.

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• 2019 Duckhorn Vineyards Monitor Ledge Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Earthy, light fruit on the palette. Red blend, but the cabernet taste dominates.
  
  Slight funk.
  
  88 points.

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• 2019 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Stout Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Howell Mountain wine, so already positively inclined towards it.
  
  Ashy taste, tannins very present.
  
  Cedar and fruit notes.
  
  Quite enjoyed it, especially since Howell Mountain merlots aren't quite as common. Would drink again, especially once the tannins mellow out.
  
  89 points.

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• 2020 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Three Palms Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  The flagship wine that made Duckhorn famous!
  
  High tannins, grassy notes. Blueberry on the palette.
  
  Somewhat shorter finish than expected.
  
  Will improve with time.
  
  88 points.

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• 2020 Goldeneye Pinot Noir The Narrows Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Nice first wine to start with (after a palette-cleansing white).
  
  Ripe red cherry, dirt. Decent pinot for the price.
  
  87 points.

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Finished the day at Hall. I've been here before and it's a beautiful winery, but I don't understand the positive ratings for the wine. The wines are merely okay, there were a couple I dumped out. Service leaves a lot to be desired. I don't understand how some of these wines retail for $250+; I would pay maybe $50 for those wines.

• 2019 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Hall Napa Valley 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Probably the top wine of the tasting, but that's not saying much, especially considering the price.
  
  Given the glowing reviews here, I'm open to the idea that the bottle itself may have been open too long.
  
  I'd say it's decent, but also felt a little flat.
  
  Mellow tannings, light finish.
  
  I'd drink it, but not a great QPR at $225.

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• 2018 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Tannic, needs to open up.
  
  Black cherry, blackberry notes.
  
  It's decent, but had much better Mt. Veeder wines for the price.

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• 2020 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Bergfeld 85 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Raspberry, dried herbs.
  
  Lighter tannins.
  
  Merely okay wine.
  
  85 points.

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• 2020 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Jack's Masterpiece 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Dark cherry, dirt, acidity.
  
  Highly tannic, short finish.
  
  Maybe improves with time, but not sure it's worth the upside.
  
  86 points.

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• 2020 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur 84 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Tasted at the winery.
  
  Wrote a one-word note: "no"
  
  Might just be a function of the bottle and how it was served, but didn't even finish.
  
  84 points.

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Easy ranking of the three wineries: Heitz, Duckhorn, Hall. I would easily go back to the first two, but doubt I'll go back to Hall for the wine, though I may bring out-of-town visitors that are only interested in the scenery.