Darius II
2016 Darius II
The 2016 vintage marks the fifth consecutive year of superb quality for Napa Valley grape growing—a winemaker’s idyll. This vintage’s prestige lies in its small yields of significant density and concentration with nuanced varietal character and soft, ripe tannins.
Fruit grown from our winery estate, at the southern end of the valley floor, revealed textbook ripeness and flavor development. The cooler mountain-side lots— namely Sage Vineyard atop Mount Veeder, and contributing Cabernet Sauvignon-sources from Pritchard Hill, Spring Mountain, and Howell Mountain benefitted from longer hang-time and slow, even ripening on the vine.
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750 mL
Tasting notes
“The 2016 Darius II sparks both hedonistic and cerebral appreciation by exuding profound scents of preserved plums, blackberry compote, blueberry pie...cigar box, Indian spices, fragrant earth, truffles and licorice. Full-bodied, bold and decadently fruited in the mouth, the palate delivers rich black fruit and spicy layers with a firm yet velvety frame and an epically long, earth-laced finish.”
Robert Parker Wine Advocate | Rated 99
Summoning incredible depth and density with its exquisite opaque color, 2016 Darius II bares its mountainous origins with lovely aromatics— crushed violets, Kirsch, crème de cassis and incense-laced black fruits. Primary flavors of black raspberries, wild blueberries and warm plums usher in an earth-laden core of black truffles, fresh tobacco, licorice and steeped oolong tea.
While luscious and full-bodied, the wine exhibits an effortless tension between decadent fruit, earth tone and vibrant acidity. It’s poised and polished, with a certain finesse that carries across its sturdy frame of fine, seamless tannins. Lively, spiced notes of garam masala rise to punctuate the impressively long finish.
