OVID Hexameter
Tasting Note
The 2023 season began with a generous reprieve after multiple years of low rainfall. Abundant winter rains graced our site through March. Mild temperatures and turgescent fog provided an unhurried and deliberate start to the growing season. A moderately late budbreak guided us into a delightfully temperate spring and start to summer. July, August and September held exemplary ripening temperatures allowing the fruit ample time to develop the flavor and aroma precursors, the odorless compounds found in grapes that then transform into aromatic molecules during winemaking. Lush October heat invited a delayed harvest after a cooler-than-normal growing season. Each block endured until every bunch reached its zenith of quality, with harvest beginning on October 11 and the last fruit coming in on October 31.
We were lucky enough to have a friend of the winery, Vanessa Conlin, Master of Wine, share her tasting notes with us and now you.
The 2023 OVID Hexameter is a deep opaque ruby in the glass, exuding exotic spices of star anise, cinnamon, preserved orange peel and bergamot tea, highlighted with black cherry, sage and fresh ground coffee. The tannins are refined and mouth-coating, with chewy density supporting flavors of espresso, cherry preserves and cast iron, leading into an impressively long and opulent finish.
Vintage Data
- Appellation:
Napa Valley - Soil Type:
Hambright soil series - Harvest Date:
October 11 to 31 - pH Level:
3.77 - Alcohol:
14.8% - Aging:
21 month
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Hexameter is absolutely gorgeous.
The 2023 Hexameter is absolutely gorgeous, with a complex, floral perfume of ripe red and black fruits, spicy herbs, leather, and loamy earth. It’s medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine tannins, a supple, layered, elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. Drink bottles over the coming two decades. Drink 2025-2045.
98 points.
Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter
A tour de force!
A balanced, rich, expansive and seamless red. Lofty red-toned mixed berry fruit, crushed red stone minerals, and charcuterie notes lead to a full-bodied, plush red with silky layers of red and black-toned fruits and a melange of savoury notes ranging from bay leaf and chaparral to cumin, cardamon and crushed clove. Thick, chewy tannins form long chains, balanced by juicy acidity, and the finish delivers heady flavours and aromas redolent of graham cracker crust, tobacco, and heady dried perfumed notes. A tour de force!
98 points.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
OVID has released a succession of compelling wines that seem to get better and better with each passing vintage.
The 2023 Hexameter, OVID’s Cabernet Franc-based wine, is super expressive right out of the gate. Strong savory and floral overtones make a powerful opening statement. The aromatics alone are so alluring here. Brisk acids and beams of underlying tannin shape this wonderfully energetic, salivating Napa Valley red. My feeling is that the 2023 will be even more expressive when it recovers from its bottling about two months before this tasting.