The 2014 vintage was the third consecutive year of drought in Napa Valley. We received almost no rain in all of 2013 and little rain in 2014 until the storms in February. They provided a bit of respite and relief but were immediately followed by unusually warm temperatures that ushered in an early bud break. A warm, dry growing season followed until August, when temperatures rose just a bit - a harbinger of good things to come. Harvest began early and went quickly. Ours started on September 4th and ended in an exuberant flurry on the 24th, just a day before a locally heavy rain and hailstorm.

The resulting 2014 OVID Napa Valley wine shares many characteristics with OVID wines from the previous two drought years. It is a wine possessing both the profound heft and tremendous focus of the 2013 vintage. And it offers dense aromatics of mulberry, dark chocolate, blackberry and tobacco that literally spring from the glass - reminiscent of the vintage two years prior.

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Critical Acclaim

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2014 Proprietary Red Wine has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed to begin, opening slowly to reveal a core of crushed blackberries, warm cassis and cedar chest with nuances of menthol, unsmoked tobacco, Sichuan pepper, tilled soil and mossy bark. Full-bodied and rich, with tons of muscular fruit, the palate is packed with tightly wound black fruits and earthy accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and invigorating freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced.

Wine Spectator

Rich and complex, tilting toward the licorice side of the flavor spectrum without sacrificing the dusty dark berry, cedar and gravelly earth flavors that drive this toward a dry profile.