The wine is the talk of Hollywood, I'm told, the must-have wine at celebrity parties, and so limited I am touched that we even got any to sell. I've tasted this proprietary red from the excellent 2004 vintage two or three times, and it just knocks me out every time, and deserves all of its kudos. A wine of wonderful purity and balance, and truly structured like a great Pomerol (Certan de May? Trotanoy?), or maybe Cheval Blanc (which I'm told is the wine Blackbird puts on their particular pedestal). Blackbird vineyard is in the Oak Knoll District and sells grapes to many high-end clients including Robert Foley and Pride. Winemaker Sarah Gott (Phelps, Quintessa) knocked this out of the park.

This lovely, broad, intense red is about structure, longevity, power and elegance. It is rich and complex but not heavy or hot. It begs to be cellared a few years at least, and I will venture that it will last for decades. There are many layers and levels of flavors going on here...pure, clean, delicious currant and strawberry, toffee, ginseng...The winemaking is deft and the fruit source stellar. Get some while we have it!

Perched to seize the day as Oak Knoll's foremost Merlot is Blackbird Vineyards, located in the heart of the district. Since 1999, this former walnut orchard, first planted with 5717 vines two years earlier, has quietly provided fruit to many of Napa's finest winemakers, for whom it has yielded astonishing reviews and stellar scorings. Purchased by entrepreneur Michael Polenske in 2003, Blackbird Vineyards is now an ultra premium label in its own right. (Fittingly, ‘Merlot’ is French patois for ‘Little Blackbird.’)

An early harbinger of Blackbird’s potential arose when Mia Klein, of Dalla Valle fame, created a Blackbird vineyard designate for her highly acclaimed 1999 Selene Merlot. (No less than 95% of the fruit in the bottle must be from the named vineyard.) Three of the top critics in the industry- Robert Parker, Steven Tanzer, and Wine Spectator's James Laube- scored this wine in the 90's.

Polenske likens the Oak Knoll District in general, and Blackbird Vineyards in particular to France's Pomerol region, known for its stellar Merlots. “The terroir of the Oak Knoll appellation is strikingly similar to the Pomerol,” says Polenske. “The soil and the climates are similar, and like Oak Knoll, it's more rustic and rural than other regions."”

“With Blackbird, I’ve found a vineyard that can produce a world-class wine,” adds Polenske, “with a Merlot in the style of the ‘Garagiste’ wines that have grown to prominence in the last 20 years, with a nod to the classics on the right bank.”

Blackbird continues to provide fruit to such winemakers as Bob Foley and Romel Rivera (Pride Mountain Vineyards and Robert Foley Vineyards). This speaks volumes about Blackbir’'s terroir and is validation of the fruit quality.

“I remember the day clearly...Spring 2003...a trade friend of ours dropped by the office with a few bottles of 2001 Waterstone Cabernet...he announced to us such a low price we immediately had preconceptions of how dissapointing, thin and insipid it would be (as we oft-jaded wine snobs are apt to do sometimes, sadly)....he said it was “leftovers” from a “cult” winery in the western hills of Napa, somewhere between Oakville and St. Helena....we said “Yeah, right...”...but then it was all there: the cedar, the smoke, the cassis liqueur, the rich, full texture, low acid, the fine-grained tannin, the lengthy, spicy, sweet French-oak kissed finish, and a new benchmark in under-$20 Napa Cabernet was born that day...and we bought containers-full and the masses were satiated and the world was new again.

I have sold upwards of 5,000 bottles of Waterstone in my day (and consumed more than I care to share with you), starting with the now-legendary 2001 (which I had last week and is still singing). The wine simply blew us away the first time we tasted it, and while it has changed in minor ways, the main fruit sources (Oakville and Rutherford), flavor profile, and style remain remarkably consistent. It remains a FANTASTIC BARGAIN in Napa Cabernet, arguably the best on the market, for the last four vintages. I have tried to beat it, believe me. Every time I see a bottle of similarly-priced Napa Cab in our local market or anywhere else, I buy it. I have never come close to the quality of the Waterstone. The 2005 is just out (arrives next week) and has passed with flying colors the requisite rigorous taste tests here in the warehouse. Don’t believe me? Try a few bottles, and come back to buy a case....it’s that good.

– Stefan