Bordeaux Blend

The author of Napa Valley Then & Now recommends her favorite wines that are underappreciated at auction…

You are sure to be the life of the party with these exceptional finds…

Master winemakersMay-Britt and Denis Malbec, the husband-and-wife team previously with Château Latour in Bordeaux, have unveiled a series of reds from Captûre Wines in Sonoma County. “Our new red wines have a distinct French sensibility that is reflective of both the unique terroir of the Tin Cross Vineyards as well as our approach to winemaking,” […]

In creating the 2008 Ovid Napa Valley ($185), head winemaker Austin Peterson implemented a new technology that allowed him to enhance the wine well before its debut this fall. Developed by Oakland, Calif.–based Fruition Sciences, this technology allows winemakers to track how much water is being absorbed by the vines in real time. By comparing […]

The 845-acre estate located on Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain began as three wineries, starting with the original stone winery built by Charles Lemme in 1873, bought by the Schilling family in the 1890s, and two other significant estates: Chateau Chevalier and Miravalle. In 1974, the latter property became Spring Mountain Vineyard, whose present owner acquired […]

This partnership, formed in 1997, brings together two of the wine industry’s greatest names: Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Viña Concha y Toro. Bordeaux varietals and Chilean terroir—along with decades of unrivaled expertise—lend Almaviva’s wines their astounding structure. This particular red tends to age indefinitely and reveals nuances of tobacco, cedar, red currant, and graphite.

From the amazingly diverse Rutherford appellation of Napa Valley, this Bordeaux-inspired Meritage blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carménère into a harmonious composition of vanilla, licorice, and black currant. Aged for 18 months in toasted French oak, this wine has a wonderful elegance.