Louis Martini emigrated from Genoa, Italy to assist his father in making wine in San Francisco in the early 1900’s. The original winery in St Helena, founded in 1933 was restored in 2019 into a fashionable and cutting-edge facility. Louis Martini Winery may be best known for their hand-crafted style of artisan Cabernet Sauvignon.

Stagecoach is among the most iconic vineyards in Napa Valley. The site was originally founded by Dr. Jan Krupp and his brother in 1995. Resting above the fog line in the Vaca Mountains, the sub-soils consist of red volcanic rocks and boulders. In 2016 Stagecoach Vineyards was purchased by E & J Gallo. This wine was aged for 19 months in French Oak barrels (73% new). It is one of the recent additions to the impressive line-up of Cabernet Sauvignons from Louis Martini Winery. An opaque-purple shadow outlines this concentrated and compact wine. A fresh bouquet of lilacs and purple flowers greet you at the entry. Ripe, crushed blackberries, boysenberry, volcanic elements and dark cocoa fill in the ultra-complex core. A youthful wine with ripe tannins and great potential that will benefit from a few years of cellaring.

One reviewer responded “you must give up your first born to be able to affordable a bottle. But depending on how you feel about your first born, it may be worth it.”

By W Peter Hoyne