Their 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Farella Vineyard (425 cases), is made from a vineyard planted in red volcanic tufa soils. The irony is that just about everybody that buys fruit from this vineyard makes better wine than the owner. This is a terrific, almost Bordeaux-inspired wine with loads of minerality and structure, but intense chocolaty, charcoal notes intermixed with blackcurrant, licorice and forest floor. It is dense, full-bodied, stunningly rich and can be drunk now or cellared for another two decades.

Realm Cellars purchased the Stags Leap winery of Hartwell Estate Vineyards and is in the process of building new facilities and making that their future home. This is one of the stars of Napa Valley and has been since their debut in 2002. Their general philosophy is to find some of the finest vineyard sources in Napa, and not only fashion creative blends, but of course turn out some remarkable Cabernet Sauvignons. 2014 offers their normal lineup of wines, plus their newest estate wine from the Stags Leap AVA. But first, their less expensive offerings, which are phenomenal blends. Remarkably, the 2014s are close in quality to the 2013s! Like most of the 2014s, they are actually more charming and drinkable than the more massive, tannic and potentially longer-lived 2013s.

Score: 96 Robert Parker (RP), The Wine Advocate (WA), December 2016

Dark berries, sliced mushrooms wet earth and fascinating intensity. Iodine undertones. Full-bodied, velvety and layered. Incredible depth and length. Truly fantastic. Shows the Coombsville magic. Pure cabernet. Napa´s answer to 1975 La Mission? Beautiful now but better in 2022.

Score: 99 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, January 2017