Aromas of blueberries and currants and floral hints, such as violets, with subtle minerality. Opens into true beauty and pureness of fruit. Medium to full body. Seamless tannins spread across the palate. Shows finesse and focus and the true character of Eisele. Beautifully crafted. Try after 2023, but already a joy to taste.

Score: 98 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, February 2020

Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon displays a deep garnet-purple color and is a little sluggish to reveal its fragrant core of plum preserves, crème de cassis, blueberry compote and Morello cherries with accents of stewed Darjeeling tea, underbrush, cloves and tobacco leaf plus a waft of pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate struts it stuff with amazing poise, structured with very fine, ripe tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

“It was the four hot days in June 2017 that impacted our vines most—it gave us tiny berries,” said Eisele Vineyard´s winemaker Hélène Mignot. “Very tiny berries meant we had very little juice—we had to be very gentle on extraction. Then we had to take our time with macerations, to make sure we got all the good stuff. We had to adjust the toast for our barrels. We used more toast to extract less tannins. We pushed bottling time too—we bottled one month later. In the end, everything fell into place, but we had to be patient. This was not our usual recipe. Each lot had to be considered carefully. We had to let go of what is usually one of our better lots, because the tannins just didn’t get there. Production is down about 30% this year.” Like other Napa wineries where quality is of utmost consideration, Eisele Vineyard has managed to produce a very impressive pair of 2017 reds that demonstrate sensitive crafting and remarkable poise. “2018 was nice for us—it was an easy vintage,” Mignot continued. “The conditions for ripening were ideal. It was a nice, cool summer. We didn’t have too much problem with vigor. Our vines are 25 years old, so our yields remained 2.5-3 tons per acre. It was a long harvest because we could harvest when we wanted. This year was the highest color we ever recorded!” Like many of the best 2018s I’m tasting from barrel right now, Eisele Vineyard’s 2018s are packed with purity, vibrancy and energy. I expect the finished wines will be real head turners.

Score: 97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), November 2019