2004 Levy & Mc Clellan Red

The exquisite 2004 Proprietary Red Wine offers up notes of lead pencil shavings, licorice, Asian plum sauce, black currants and a hint of underlying minerality. Full-bodied yet beautifully silky and seductive, it has shed most of its tannins, resulting in a complex, singular red wine of majestic proportions. The finish is among the longest of any 2004 I tasted, and gorgeous levels of fruit and extract hide any notions of new oak. This cuvee tastes like a hypothetical blend of a great Pauillac, Pessac-Leognan and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. It should drink well over the next two decades. Bob Levy, long-time winemaker at Harlan Estate, and his wife, Martha McClellan, who has done incredible consulting work at such top-flight wineries as Sloan and Blankiet, have their own small project whose results to date have been magnificent wines. Although expensive, no one will complain about the quality in the bottle as they are clearly Napa Valley first-growths. Tel. (707) 963-0369

(cabernet sauvignon with 5% merlot) Deep medium ruby. Complex, pure aromas of cassis, mocha, brown spices, licorice and menthol. Chewy, lush and aromatic in the mouth, with remarkable intensity and depth for a vineyard planted in 1999. Thoroughly ripe flavors of dark berries and spices. What I like best about this wine is its layered texture and very sweet, ripe, fine-grained tannins. This is the new venture of husband-and-wife team Bob Levy (winemaker at Harlan Estate and Bond) and Martha McClellan (Sloan and Blankiet), from a vineyard leased from McClellan's parents. The budbreak in this site on Franz Valley School Road, at an altitude of 600 to 700 feet, occurs later than in Oakville, and afternoon wind routinely cools things down during the peak of summer, according to Levy.

(from a Calistoga vineyard on Franz Valley School Road planted to 80% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot, 9% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; alcohol just under 15%, from a crop level of just two tons per acre) Good ruby-red. Grapey aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, cedar and licorice. Chewy, layered and sweet, with very primary flavors of dark fruits and dark chocolate. Solidly structured and impressively persistent. This extremely promising new wine is a venture of husband-and-wife team Bob Levy (winemaker at Harlan Estate and Bond) and Martha McClellan (Sloan). The vineyard is leased from McClellan's parents. Levy told me that the 2004 vintage will not include any merlot. Based on the talents of the principals, this will be a project to follow.