2011

OVID Napa Valley

Tasting Note

The 2011 vintage was certainly not a typical year in Napa Valley, and it is challenging vintages like this that distinguish the great vineyards. In 2011, the best place to be was on top of the hills on the eastern side of the valley. Our elongated days with the gentle breeze and visiting fog from the Bay and the pure rock vineyard soils gave the much-needed advantage to our site Pritchard Hill in this cooler vintage. OVID wines grown in 2011 revealed themselves to be beautiful, vibrant and nuanced expressions from this profound Pritchard Hill site.

The 2011 OVID Napa Valley wine is truly eloquent. It speaks first of violets, then freshly-crushed currant and blueberries follow, with notes of tobacco, baking spice, and forest floor and a long, resonant finish. The wine is at once mouth-filling and focused– like a great Paulliac. Gorgeous and expressive now, the 2011 OVID will abundantly reward those collectors patient enough to cellar it.


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Vintage Data

  • Appellation:
    Napa Valley
  • Soil Type:
    Hambright soil series
  • Harvest Dates:
    October 19-October 23
  • pH Level:
    3.84
  • Alcohol:
    14.8%
  • Aging:
    21 months

Antonio Galloni

The 2011 OVID is superb. Aromatically nuanced, finessed and silky on the palate, the 2011 hits all the right notes.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in this tasting, the 2011 OVID is superb. Aromatically nuanced, finessed and silky on the palate, the 2011 hits all the right notes. Next to the other wines in the range, the 2011 is a bit lighter in feel, but in exchange, there is a level of detail and precision that is not present in years such as 2007 and 2009. Frankly, this is an eye-opening wine. Among other things, the 2011 shows what was possible in hillside sites with diligent farming and winemaking in this very challenging vintage. A burst of raspberry jam and sweet floral notes rounds things out nicely.


Stephen Tanzer

Deep red-ruby. Aromas of plum, black raspberry, crushed blackberry and coffee. Bright, sharply delineated and sweet, with dark berry flavors complicated by sage, white flowers, sassafras and sexy oak tones. Finishes with noble, round, serious tannins that reach the front teeth and perfumed Cabernet Franc notes of licorice and flowers. The fruit here got ripe, noted winemaker Austin Peterson, as the rain on this well-drained rocky site was less damaging. The cool year also made for very fresh fruit, he added. Still, this densely packed wine will require time in bottle to deliver the complexity promised by the nose today.