2016 Vyborny Vineyard Mixed-Blacks Red Blend - T-Vine Winery

Blackberry concentrate, cayenne powder, juicy fig. Poppy seed filling, mature bramble, spiced plum. Habanero and red pepper flakes, manzanita and old growth chaparral. Desert fruit and dehydrated bilberries project density that is somehow quite lively, soon relenting to crushed flowers, sunbleached wood, and a plethora of complex and assertive spicy notes. Paprika and vanilla bean collide with iron and dry earth to form a rustic and racy core hidden in plain sight behind the opaque glossy purple exterior. Full bodied with encroaching tannin and a serious blasting of acidity; authentically Californian and seriously brilliant. This 2016 Vyborny Vineyard Mixed-Blacks Red Blend by T-Vine Winery is an amazing and irreplicable old vine field blend from the heart of Napa Valley.

Long ago, before endless acres of Cabernet Sauvignon controlled the landscape, Napa Valley was once a quiet farming community that happened to produce some spectacular wine. Vineyards here were planted to a wide range of different grape varieties that were grown, harvested, and vinified together as single lots. These field blends were always completely unique, as each vineyard was planted to a different combination of grapes like Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignan, and other Mediterranean varieties. This bottling, crafted by T-Vine Winery from an ancient pre-prohibition vineyard in Oakville, provides a rare look back in time at what Napa used to be. It clearly exhibits world-class Napa Valley terroir but does so in a way completely unlike the modern Cabs of today. It is dark and brooding yet lively and spicy, showing off both soil and fruit in a multidimensional and creative way. While Cabernet might currently be king in Napa this stuff pulses with the true heart of the valley, and is absolutely a must-try.