Lail Vineyards, J. Daniel Cuvée, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2021

“Lail‘s 2021 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon blends lots from several high-end vineyards, including Heimark (Calistoga), Vine Hill Ranch (Oakville) and Steltzner (Stags Leap), plus Lail‘s own Mole Hill on Howell Mountain. It’s an exciting wine, starting from the pulse-quickening aromas of raspberries and black cherries tinged with dark chocolate. In the mouth, this full-bodied beauty is richly concentrated, with a sensuous texture somewhere between silky and velvety, while the softly dusty finish shows terrific length and a spine-tingling hint of licorice. To reduce this wine to deceptively simple yet hard-to-pin-down words, it’s complex, harmonious and elegant, yet it’s enough of its place that it could only come from Napa Valley.”-100WA, 2025-2045

Lail Vineyards traces its Napa Valley roots back five generations to the founding of Inglenook in 1879 by Gustav Niebaum, great-grand uncle of Robin Daniel Lail. Passed down to third generation owner John Daniel Jr., Inglenook thrived under his direction from 1933 to 1964 as he played a major role in the development of the Napa Valley appellation.

When Inglenook was sold in 1964, Robin continued to manage the remaining estate vineyards under the mentorship of none other than Robert Mondavi. It was Mondavi’s encouragement and reminders of her family’s legacy that propelled Robin to launch the first Auction Napa Valley in 1981 and later, in 1995, of Lail Vineyards – where Robin and her family partnerships continue the passionate quest to produce some of the finest wines in the world.

Today, Philippe Melka is Lail’s winemaker. A Bordeaux native, Philippe grew up staging in reputable wineries such as Château Haut Brion, Dominus (owned by Château Pétrus). Robin Lail, a co-founder of Dominus, met Philippe there and brought him on board the Lail team shortly thereafter.

Lail’s flagship wine is named for John Daniel Jr., ancestor to the Lail Vineyards legacy. The 21st century interpretation of the family’s highly-acclaimed Cabernet blends of the past, the J. Daniel Cuvée is a beautifully integrated, Bordeaux style blend of estate and premium vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon selections. The fruit included is harvested from three vineyards: Mole Hill Vineyard – Howell Mountain Estate, Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard – Oakville, and Heimark Vineyard – Calistoga. The wine itself is aged for 20 months in 75% new French oak.