Napa Trip Last Week - updated report on Wineries

On that list I’ve only been to Far Niente and really enjoyed the experience. The car collection is really cool, I wish they let you get closer look at them, but I understand why they don’t. It’s a gorgeous property as well (most of them are).

Since you’re going there and Nickel & Nickel, you may be interested in their brand new Bella Union tasting room. I also just recently learned that the winemaker at Nickel & Nickel is a former college basketball player and he also makes the wine for Diamond & Key, a brand from Nolan Arenado and Klay Thompson. He’s also launching a new brand with Domantis Sabonis.

Going to Quintessa soon and am very excited about it.

Really enjoyed Bistro Jeanty as well. Great classic French fare.

Do you ever go to the Sonoma side or strictly Napa?

Re Mowe—

We visited with Dustin & Rene this summer and tasted the 22s. They are aiming for something more elegant in the Cabernet and I think they hit the nail on the head. This is not a big cab, but it ain’t Beta or Chateau Montelena either. The estate fruit used to go Spottswoode for Lyndenhurst.

The Sauvignon Blanc is where the action is! IMHO—One of the best SBs for the price coming out of Napa these days. They don’t rack so the wine never undergoes malo. It works in spades. Very similar to Arrow & Branch’s Heritage SB, which puts it in good company. I think it will improve with 2-3 yrs.

Different winemakers for each wine.

Don’t be surprised if you start with the red and end with the white—it works.

Spoke with Dustin and folks who have visited since, the 22s showing even better now and the 23s that were poured were even better by a wide margin.

Dustin & Rene are two of the finest people you’ll share a glass with during your visit. Enjoy!

We had a great time in Napa Valley last week. The weather was great, little to no crowds and the wine was free flowing.and the food was great. Here is my updated report:

Here is the list of wineries that we visited (in this order):
1. Quintessa - a very smooth Bordeaux styled blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. They also sell a Sauvignon Blanc under the name of Illumination. If you have't tried it, I would highly recommend it. This family also owns Faust, which was just listed as the #4 wine in 2024 Wine Spectaor Top 100. Faust is a bargin for a great Cabernet Sauvignon.
2. Fantesca - owned by the son of the founder of Best Buy and has Heidi Barrett as their wine maker. They make a great Estate Cabernet under "All Great Things" and their King Richards Pinot Noir is one of the best in California. Their Russian River Valley Chardonnay is also high on our list.
3. Darioush - we did the wine and olive oil tasting. They make a big, bold Cabernet, but also have a great Signature Malbec and a Shrraz. We also like their Duel, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz blend. Really smooth. Their oilve oil is very good also.
4. Far Niente - most people have been here and the staff is great. A little on the lower end for the wines that we drink, but good Chardonnay and Cabernets.
5. Peter Michael - one of the best properties in the Napa Valley. They only host 12 people per day for tastings, but their wine is off the charts. They make the best Chardonnay (5 different vineyards on property), the best Bordeaux style Cabernet blends (about 4 different vineyards on the property) and amazing Pinot Noirs (grown on the California coast not far from their property). Hard to get becuase of their small production (mostly 2,000 - 3,000 cases of each wine), but well worth getting on their waiting list to buy. I've been buying from them since they won #1 Wine of the Year from Wine Spectator for their Peter Michael Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Au Paradis 2012.
6. Colgin - this is absolutely the highlight of our tasting. The property is amazing, the host is top notch (Sara) and their wine is phenomenal. It is one of the more expensive wines that we buy, but I would also encourge you to get on their waiting list if you want the best wine in Napa. They also make a great IX Estate Syrah.
7. Palmaz - this was a new winery for us, based on a recommendation from a new wine friend. The property has gorgeous views near the town of Napa up in the hills. They have an extensive cave system (goes down 18 stories of caves) and only uses gravity flow for the transport of their wine. I've never had a Riesling in Napa, but this was outstanding. A little on the sweet side, but amazing. Their Chardonnay's and Gaston Estate Cabernets are close to PM or Colgin. We will return to this property in the future.
8. Mowe - a 1 acre family winery (it is front of their house) making a true Cabernet Sauvignon. This husband and wife team just released their first 2022 Cabernet a few months ago and quickly sold out of all 300 cases. They make a Bordeaux Blanc-style Sauvignon Blanc from the Coombsville AVA and an Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from the St. Helena AVA. Wow, both wines hit it out of the park. This is a winery to look out for to see if it achieves cult status. I expect next year that only people that bought this year will be able to reorder. I am one of the lucky ones. Also, Dustin Mowe, the owner, even talked about my pre-trip post on Tiger Rant after "Humpty Grumpy" told him that I was coming.
9. Hall - a little larger commercial operation, but still great wines. They serve Sauvignon Blancs, Cabernets, Pinots and have some low end and some high end wines.
10. Lewis Cellars - they had the #1 2016 Wine Spectator Wine of the Year with their 2013 Estate Reserve Cabernet. That is when we first starting drinking their wine. Nothing special for the very small tasting room, but they are scheduled to move to a larger tasting venue next Summer and it should be a better experience. It doesn't mean the wine doesn't drink well. Their Cubee L is next level and one of my top 10 favorite wines. The former owners were bought out by a private equity firm, but most of the wine team was left in tack.
11. Nickel & Nickel - owners of Far Niente also, and we love their single vineyard Cabernets. The host was outstanding. We bought Cabernets from 5 different vineyards and each one is a little different. They are a larger commercial operation and have more crowds, but a great experience with the right host and we had one.
12. Jarvis Estates - another new spot for us. Their property is gorgeous and also near the town of Napa. They have an unbelievable cave system and their artwork is amazing. Beside a fantastic Reserve Cabernet, they make some of the best Merlot's and also a Cabernet Franc that I have tasted.

I realize that you may look up most of these wineries on the internet and see the prices of their wines and the cost of the tastings and it might be more than some of you would spend on wine or a tasting. However, if you are going to Napa Valley for a bucket list trip and you can get into any of these wineries, you will not regret it one bit. Some are very hard to get into (you have to be on the wine buyer list), but most of the others are accessible for a price.

We ate dinner at Harvest Table, Mustard's Grill, Bistro Jeanty and Charlie's. All were great. Bistro Jeanty is probably our favorite for their French bistro menu. We ate lunch at Gott's, Oakville Grocery and Oxbow Market (really good sushi). We also had breakfast at Model Bakery and bought sandwiches one day at Sunshine Market in St. Helena. I would highly recommend any of those places. One night, we bought pizza dough from Tra Vigne Pizzeria and cooked pizza at home in our wood-fired pizza. I would highly recommend going there for pizza as well.

We had drinks at the speakeasy below Goose & Gander in St. Helena and drank on the rooftop on top of the Archer Hotel in downtown Napa at the Sky & Vine Rooftop Bar. Both are very cool bars with great bartenders and drinks.

We drank well and ate pretty well. No French Laundry this time around. Napa is not cheap by any strech of the imagination, but if you are looking for an anniversary trip or honeymoon, I would definitely reommend it. This was just our 5th trip there over the last 35 years, but we have been 3 times in the last 5 years.

Hopefully, I have made a few of you sufficiently jealous and provided some helpful information. Please feel free to reach out directly to me if you have any questions.

CHEERS!

Great review, thanks!

Bookmarked!

I've only been to napa once, and went to Jarvis. I could spend all my money there. absolutely loved it.

They didn't charge us a tasting fee at Mowe. I had recently bought some of their first wine released, so that may be why we were not charged. The tasting occurred in their home. I would suggest reaching out to Dustin and schedule a time. No wine making on the propery, as they source equipment from other wineries, so not really a place to tour. The tasting is just sitting around their dining room table. Definitely worth a tasting appointment.

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Quintessa - a very smooth Bordeaux styled blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. They also sell a Sauvignon Blanc under the name of Illumination. If you have't tried it, I would highly recommend it. This family also owns Faust, which was just listed as the #4 wine in 2024 Wine Spectaor Top 100. Faust is a bargin for a great Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Went to Quintessa in January. Incredible experience in the outdoor tasting room up on the mountain overlooking the lake.

The tasting was a couple of the component "wines" going into this year's blend, a library vintage, and the most recent release. They only make one red wine and one white wine. A little different than everyone else we visited. But they harvest all the vineyard blocks by hand as each one ripens to their specs. They process and ferment each one separately. Some in concrete, some in wood, some in steel, and even some in clay amphoras. It ends up being about 170 different component wines used to make the final blend.

We ended getting some of the Illumination Sauvingon Blanc, which they only sell in 3 packs. Only just getting into white wines, but found that one to be spectacular. The Quintessa red wine was incredible.

I've heard good things about Faust. They also own Flowers in Sonoma.

Wife and I went 2 out of the last four years. We will be returning in October. I was going to come ask for some new places but this takes care of it.

We stay at the estate Yountville. Only places on your list we have tried are Goose and Gander, Archer Hotel, and Bistro Jeanty. Love Bistro Jeanty. I’m more partial to Bottega, but mostly because I enjoy Italian over French in general.

Have you been to Lithography?

Also, Aztecas. It’s in between Yountville and St. Helena. Amazing street tacos, tortas, burritos, etc.

Just wanted to post a follow up here after my recent visit to Napa. The absolute standout of the trip was visiting Mowe and Dustin and Rene. That cab they are growing on their small 1 acre property is incredible-the best wine we had all trip. They said they recently got on the wine list at French Laundry but because of such limited supply they have they can’t keep up with the demand! This wine is an absolute stud and I encourage anyone going out to Napa to reach out to them and schedule a tasting. Was able to buy 1 case for this years release coming later this fall, but the allocation is extremely limited.

Funny story I told them I’ve seen them mentioned on tigerdroppings and she mentioned you by name.