2010 Roberta's Reserve

This is another superb set of wines from Lou and Louis Kapcsandy and their winemaker Denis Malbec. The 2010s continue to get better and better. Kapcsandy's 2011s are among the wines of the vintage, and will in some cases challenge the 2010s and 2012s. That is hardly a surprise, given the attention to detail I saw during the harvest. Readers can see the 2011 fruit being sorted and crushed in this short video. Lou Kapcsandy thinks his 2012s will be better than the 2010s because the wines are showing better today than the 2010s did at the same stage. I am not so sure. It is going to be close. Readers may also want to view this video shot in May 2013 covering the 2012s when they were still in separate lots. Lastly, the Kapcsandy team talks about 2013 here. Kapcsandy continues to make refinements to the range. The Estate Cuvee is back to being a true blend as it was in 2008 and before, rather than 100% Cabernet Sauvignon as it was in 2009 and 2010. The new Rapszodia, a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend is stunning, and will challenge the better known wines in the lineup soon. Endre remains the entry-level offering, but production will go down, which I believe will raise the quality of the wine based on the 2011 and 2012.

I had another Petrus moment at Kapcsandy this year: the winery's stunning 2010 Roberta's Reserve is about as good as merlot gets, including on the Pomerol plateau. (And it's clear that Lou Kapcsandy is gunning for Petrus.) The wine has structure of steel plus uncanny depth and complexity, and may well have an aging curve like a great Pomerol from a great vintage. The estate was extremely severe with its selection in 2010, as fully two-thirds of its total production went into its entry-level Endre blend. Kapcsandy told me that the 2011 growing season brought a trifecta of lower alcohol, ripe fruit and buoyant acidity. "The raw materials were a bit riper and fruitier, and the berries were slightly larger, with bigger seeds and slightly thinner skins," said Louis Jr. "We had to let the cabernet sauvignon hang, and we ended up making more passes through the vines than they do at Chateau Yquem."

Kapcsandy's 2009s have developed beautifully over the last year. As great as those wines are, the 2010s are even better. The cold, late-ripening harvest produced stunning wines endowed with tons of energy and sheer power. The estate's 2011s are equally impressive.

I first tasted the 2011s this past spring when the component wines were still separate. I had an opportunity to sample multiple lots across various parcels and aged in barrels from different coopers. It was the kind of technical tasting I wish every Wine Advocate reader could experience at least once, because it is in these types of settings where the passion and attention to detail of an estate truly comes through loud and clear. There are also a few changes to the Kapcsandy lineup. Starting with 2011, the Estate Cuvée is no longer 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Lots that don't make it into the Estate Cuvée are considered for Endre. With the 2010 vintage, Kapcsandy is introducing a new Proprietary Blend. In all of my travels throughout the world I have met few producers who can match Lou Kapcsandy's passion and total dedication to excellence. Along with his son Louis and consulting winemaker Denis Malbec, Lou Kapcsandy continues to craft exceptional wines loaded with class and pedigree. Every wine in this lineup, from the newly expanded selection of rosés, to the flagship reds and the fortified wine is well worth your time. Readers who want to learn more about Kapcsandy may want to take a look at my videos of the 2011 and 2012 harvest posted on our site.

The key to the quality of the Kapcsandys' outstanding vineyard on the Yountville Crossroad (formerly the State Lane Vineyard, the source of many outstanding cabernets from Beringer over the years) may be the long hangtime between veraison and harvest. Particularly in recent cooler years, the tannins are able to ripen slowly and thoroughly before grape sugars go too high (most of the 2010s and 2009s are under 14% alcohol, according to Lou Kapcsandy). The soil is mostly gravel over clay, and cooling breezes from San Pablo Bay to the south consistently bring down temperatures in late afternoon. The vines are also planted along a north-south axis, which protects the grapes from the hottest afternoon sun. The result is more hang time, less dehydration of the grapes, and dense, full wines with strong minerality and floral lift. During my most recent tasting here, it crossed my mind that the Roberta's Reserve bottling has quickly risen to the top of the merlot heap in California. But don't expect a chocolatey, oaky confection; in its intensity, structure and mineral grip, it's more like Petrus.

Inspired by the great classic Napa Valley Cabernets of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Lou Kapcsándy set out to recapture that glory when he and his family purchased the State Lane Vineyard in Yountville in 2000. State Lane had previously been a source of fruit for Beringer's State Lane and Private Reserve Cabernet bottlings. The vineyard was destroyed by phylloxera in 1999 and replanted in 2001 by Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer. Kapcsándy is a family affair, with Lou's son Louis and wife Bobbi both deeply involved in the day to day running of the winery. Denis Malbec is the consulting oenologist.