Promontory - Napa Valley 2013 6b11bd6ba9341f0271941e7df664d056

Vinous

98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe12/1/2016

The 2013 Promontory was utterly spellbinding when I tasted it last year. Since then, it has totally shut down after its recent bottling. Beams of mountain tannin and salinity give the wine its vibrancy, energy and pure mineral-driven intensity. Graphite, leather, game, smoke and dark stone fruit overtones start to take shape, but the 2013 is in no mood to show all of its cards. The 2013 is the most brilliant wine made yet at Promontory, and it has plenty of upside.
98+

Wine Advocate

99 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe10/31/2016

The best wine so far (although I suspect the 2015 may ultimately enter the picture as well) is the nearly perfect 2013 Promontory Estate. It is simply richer and fuller, with greater integration of tannin, and tastes spectacular. With an opaque, dense purple color and notes of graphite, wet rocks, blackberry and blueberry fruit, some charcoal, and again, loads of spice and loamy soil nuances, the wine has great intensity, a full-bodied texture, and finely grained, sweet tannin. This is a stunner and again, accessible, but its best days are probably a good decade away, as this could very well turn out to be a 40- to 50-year wine.

This 80-acre estate with 35 acres of vineyards high in the Mayacamas Mountains south of the Harlan Estate is another Cabernet Sauvignon project from Bill Harlan. It is hard to think of anything in Napa Valley as unexplored, pure wilderness, but Promontory Estate qualifies. I saw these wines last year, and now I’ve gotten the chance to see both the 2012 and 2013 again, and they are both even better than I had predicted when I tasted them last year. They are nearly all Cabernet Sauvignon with touches of Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot in them, and probably the best way to compare them to the wines of Harlan Estate or the Bond single-vineyard projects is to describe them as more like a Napa version of a great St-Estèphe such as Château Montrose thanks to their spicy, earthy characteristics, although I’m not suggesting there is any of the rusticity that one might expect from these mountain terroirs.

Jamessuckling.com

96 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe1/16/2016

This shows beautiful aromas of cedar, walnuts, currants and pine needles. Full body, firm tannins and bright acidity. Vibrant and muscular with a crisp and energetic finish. A lively combination of fruit, tannins and acidity. Better a few years after release but already gorgeous. Juicy. Best Promontory yet, as the first commercial year was 2009.

Wine Advocate

96-98 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe10/31/2015

The 2013 Proprietary Red ratchets up the fruit character, with more blackberry and blueberry fruit, but without losing the dramatic and intense, earthy, spicy masculinity of this cuvée. Full-bodied, very powerful, with high tannins and grip. It is probably best forgotten for at least a decade after release and drunk over the following 50+ years. This is an impressive newcomer to the Napa scene, and obviously with the lavish and fastidious attention to detail in all aspects of viticulture and winemaking,

This estate just to the south of Harlan Estate, hidden by the Mayacamas ridge lines, is a 35-acre vineyard in the real backwoods of Napa Valley. The only wine released to date is the 2009, which is a solid 95-pointer. This wine is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, although some Petit Verdot and Malbec are utilized, much like at Harlan Estate, and again, there is an avoidance of using Cabernet Franc. The 2009, which I reviewed in 2013, is the earthiest and spiciest of the wines, but I think this estate hits its stride with the 2012 and 2013. This estate, owned by Bill Harlan, is intent on releasing its wines only after about five years, which means after two years in barrel and three years in bottle. The estate vineyard is about 500-feet higher in elevation than Harlan Estate, but when you see it on an aerial map, it has its own micro-climate, as it is sandwiched between two rather high ridge lines, and the soils are all sedimentary clay, shale and schist, all of volcanic origin.

Vinous

97-100 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe10/1/2015

The 2013 Promontory is utterly magnificent. Sweet red berry, plum, spice, mint and crushed rocks are all beautifully delineated in the glass. The 2013 is brisk, intense and finely-sculpted, with much less of the austerity than has been typical of Promontory when young. What will happen when and if Promontory reaches the same level as Harlan Estate or the BOND wines? We may soon find out.