Mission Codename Prancing pony
Let’s GOOO!
Blue chip Napa Cab in the house by just announced “American Winery of the Year” winner!
Black Stallion is back - with double the 92 points - at a shade over HALF OFF.
Galloni calls it “a gorgeous wine and one of the best Cabernets I have tasted from the estate.” Along with their #1 US winery recognition Wine Enthusiast describes this particular release as “layered… concentrated… opulent.” One sip and you go Silver Oak who?!
That’s all the good news now… the bad?
We have precious little that was allocated. Do you value access to limited-release, small-production, luxurious Napa Cab? From blue chip producers in the Valley - at a price others can’t even fathom? Well, move quickly.
Black Stallion is a newer winery in Napa, and the name comes from a former equestrian center that once occupied the site. The Indelicato family bought it in 2010 and turned it into a world-class winery to carry on their 4th generation of winemaking in California. They make small production Cabernet under the Limited Release series that come from assembling micro-sized lots from prime vineyards around Oakville and Rutherford benchlands.
This is full bodied, deep and dark. Definitely not one for the shy. Busting with blackcurrant, dark plums, toffee and chocolate, with sweet cloves and licorice trailing in the wake. Luxurious and exotic oak spices and rum raisin cake round out a persistent finish brimming with crème de cassis. It’s flat-out well-made Napa Cab, and one we’d drink for years to come. Like a rearing stud, it’s tall enough to pair wonderfully with a standing rib roast and horseradish cream.
Stock up while it’s here. This one will not last!
92 Points – Wine Enthusiast
“Deep and rich in blackberry, this wine is layered and softly interwoven in tannin and oak. The fruit is considerably concentrated, velvety and opulent, with accents of dark chocolate and clove.”
92 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Limited Release is a gorgeous wine and one of the best Cabernets I have tasted from the estate. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, licorice, cloves and lavender infuse the 2018 with striking inner perfume and unctuousness. The tannins are potent- as they usually are here- but the 2018 appears to have enough depth to make it all work. This is nicely done. Drink 2023-2033.”
What the Winery Says
2018 'Limited Release' Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Winemaker
- Ralf Holdenried
- Varietal
- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Vintage
- 2018
- Alcohol
- 15%
- Appellations
- Oakville & Rutherford, Napa Valley
- Total acidity
- 0.58 g/L
- pH
- 3.67
- Aging
- 18 months
- Barrels
- 65% new French oak