Every century, every place, has its legendary vintages. 1945 and 1961 in Bordeaux, for example, were called “vintages of the century.” Both are still remarkable to drink, for one of the hallmarks of such a wine is its magical ability to last for decades.
In the Napa Valley where I live, the 2023 vintage, now resting in barrels, was one of those spectacular vintages. I have no doubt that it will go down as one of the most phenomenal vintages—ever—in the Napa Valley.
And here, the story of this blog begins: how to get to drink some of those legendary Napa wines.
A Private Tasting for Executives
Each fall for the last four years, I have given a tasting seminar for the partners, executives, and guests of a private equity firm. The sit-down tasting, which happens before dinner on the first night of their retreat, has become a signature part of their corporate event.
As an event speaker for wine-related events, I try to outdo what I did the year before–a strategy that, admittedly, is getting a bit harder since every year I buy exceptional wines for them to taste.
This fall, I wanted the executives to be able to taste the great 2023 vintage of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon now, which is at least a year before most of the wines will even be bottled, never mind released for sale. This, I thought, would not only give them the chance to experience a “vintage of the century” when the wines were young; it would also give them an insider jump on knowing what to buy when the wines do come out, since most of these Cabernets will be immediately snapped up.
But how? How could I show those unbottled 2023 Cabernets now? And how could I explain the beauty of a wine before it had fully become itself and, at the same time, show the beauty of what it might eventually taste like once it was aged?
The answer, I decided, was to choose five wineries from different areas within Napa Valley, and for each winery, show a barrel sample of the 2023 vintage Cabernet and beside it, the same wine that had been aged a least 8 years or so. (Napa Valley Cabernets often begin to take on complex aged flavors after about 8 years).
There was just one problem. You can’t buy unbottled barrel samples. And even if you went to the winery, many top wineries won’t let consumers taste the young wines, which aren’t “finished” yet.
I knew these estates and knew the winemaker at each. Luckily, each agreed to let me buy a 2023 barrel sample and an older wine. So that the barrel samples were in perfect condition, the morning of that evening’s tasting, I went to each winery to get the barrel sample and the older Cabernet.
The tasting was spectacular. Below are the wines and brief descriptions of each, but first a few words on what happens when wines age:
Most great red wines like the 2023 Napa wines start out with precise, intense, “tight” fruit flavors and, bit by bit, slowly metamorphose until they are utterly supple and complex. Aided by tiny amounts of oxygen that seep through the cork, the molecules in a great wine interact, evolve, and coalesce in ways that remain mysterious and unpredictable. While no one can chart the path a great wine might take, or the rate at which it will take the journey, we know from empirical evidence that a great wine will indeed be even better with time.
It’s not just that the wine’s aromas and flavors will be more vivid; whole new unanticipated aromas and flavors will emerge. This is the essential “head trip” of a great wine—and why a great wine costs a lot of money. No other entity on the planet undergoes so extraordinary a transformation toward the sublime.
The Wines
(Note: the 2023s have not yet been priced; retail prices for the older wines have been listed).
CORISON “Kronos Vineyard” (St. Helena, Napa Valley, CA)
- 2023: Beautiful violety richness. Exquisitely precise fruit. Soaring silky tannic structure. Not fully unfurled yet.
- 2016: Gorgeous purity. Blue and purple fruits coming in waves. Spicy and savory flavors emerging. Utterly silky. $220
RUDD “Oakville Estate” (Oakville, Napa Valley, CA)
- 2023: Extremely vivid and pure. Lots of savory and dark chocolate notes. Majestic tannic structure.
- 2016: Deep and primordial. Like smelling the center of the earth. Spice and rich dark chocolate flavors. Very supple. $350
ADAMVS “Teres” Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, CA)
- 2023: Elegant, classic, cassis-like flavors. Rich yet extremely refined and generous.
- 2016: Delicious. Raspberry-like brambly fruit. As supple and soft as old Italian leather. Flavors beginning to take on complex espresso and dark chocolate notes. Pure and focused. $135
TURNBULL “Fortuna Vineyard: “Oakville Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville, Napa Valley, CA)
- 2023: Uber rich. As pure and precise as Cabernet could ever be. Spicy and exotic. Spellbinding.
- 2014: A lit-from-within sense of aliveness. Flavor has a vibrating purple vividness. Lots of savory black olive and black earth notes emerging. $205
LOKOYA “Diamond Mountain District” Cabernet Sauvignon (Diamond Mountain, Napa Valley, CA)
- 2023: A mountain wine with a majestic structure. Vivid and intense flavors. Feels like a race horse ready to charge out of the gate. $350
- 2016: Grand, cathedral-like structure. Intense dark chocolate flavors. Beautiful streak of cooling freshness. Very pure and complex.
Karen MacNeil is an event speaker for wine-related events as well as other events that seek an entertaining, educational, and inspiring speaker.
