Kerr Cellars Reserve Red 2016

A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon (from Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper vineyard in Oakville), 47% Merlot (from Houyi vineyard on Pritchard Hill) and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Reserve Proprietary Red was aged for 22 months in French oak, 95% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has a wonderfully fragrant nose of violets, black cherries, warm plums and wild blueberries over a core of cassis, cedar chest and dark chocolate with hints of anise and underbrush. Full-bodied, rich and incredibly lively, it has loads of spicy sparks and a fantastically velvety texture, finishing long with savory and earthy notions coming through. Around 600 cases were made.

Kerr's 2016 Napa Valley Reserve is absolutely gorgeous. Blackberry jam, graphite, smoke, leather, menthol, licorice and flowers give the Reserve striking nuance and complexity, but it is the wine's structural intensity and explosive energy that make the Reserve so compelling. A drop of Petit Verdot adds to the wine's distinctly savory personality. This is a superb showing.