Auction Napa Valley 2013 is just a month away.  As Napa Vintners prepare to raise more money for the health and well-being of our Valley’s residents, it’s a great time to look back at how the $7 million from the 2012 auction was given away.  Click here to see the 2012 Auction Napa Valley grant recipients.

Bright sour cherry with just a touch of cedar and smoke. Still rather young and primary. Good but should get better and more complex. Hold on to it for 3+ years.

Tropical fruit with ripe melon… Not grassy. Very pretty. 89 points.

So good! Tobacco leaf, road tar, dark fruits, smoky. Both my wife and I said “Wow” on the first taste but it’s going to get even better within a few years. At least 93 points.

This is a proud papa posting the work of his son, the youngest member of the Match Vineyards family, who has released his first full length album.  Alec, aka DJ Speck, and his friend DK have been writing and recording music as The Acronyms for a few years.  The genre is hip-hop and a few of the lyrics are R Rated, but DK, who writes the rap, avoids the misogynistic, narcissistic, and violent themes of some in the genre and writes about his life and times in a thoughtful way.  DJ Speck writes or mixes, and records the music.

You can listen to their album on BandCamp.  It is also available as a name-your-price download.  Click Here.

Some of Alec’s other stuff can also be heard on SoundCloud.

Think Cherries Jubilee without the orange zest but with the vanilla ice cream. Big, bold and flavorful this is unapologetically a modern-style Napa Cab but not so over-the-top that it it exhausts the taste buds. 91 points with possibly another point with a little more age. It has been my experience that some 2007 vintage Napa Cabs are entering a dumb phase. Not this one.

Youthful color with aromas of grilled meat and pencil lead. Pretty raspberry flavors with leather and mushroom secondaries. This is a mature Bordeaux though not showing any evidence that there’s a rush to drink. Not decanted, but opened an hour before serving. 93 points.

Beautiful morning and beautiful fruit.

Big harvest today at Baconbrook

A little over 100 gal of Butterdragon Merlot are fermenting in this puncheon and another barrel.