The 2010 Ovid bursts from the glass with an exciting melange of dark red fruit, smoke, licorice and sweet spices. It is wonderfully perfumed and expressive from start to finish. The sheer depth, richness and volume in the 2010 is simply dazzling. I tasted the 2010 from a preliminary base blend. The potential clearly exists for this to be a truly special, thrilling wine. I loved it. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030. (Not yet released)I was very much looking forward to my first visit at Ovid. Suffice it to say the wines did not disappoint. I tasted the 2008, 2009 and 2010, all of which were simply brilliant. Ovid is one of the most exciting young wineries in Napa Valley. It is tempting to think about Ovid in the context of other wineries on Pritchard Hill, as the estate lies just up the road from Colgin. Some of the aerial photos I saw were quite revealing as they show the way Ovid sits on a huge ridge directly above Dalla Valle and other wineries on the eastern side of Oakville, where it looks like the ground literally fell off a cliff. Ovid boasts a superstar team of viticulturist David Abreu, winemaker Andy Erickson and consultant Michel Rolland, but it is a mistake to think that money alone can buy success. It can’t. Ovid is very clearly a special place with special people on a mission to make great wines. These new and upcoming releases are full of potential.Tel. (707) 963-3850; www.ovidvineyards.com

The 2009 Ovid is a gorgeous, radiant wine endowed with expressive character. Here the higher percentage of Cabernet Franc (30%) in the final blend comes through in the warm, spicy notes of the bouquet. The 2009 boasts striking inner perfume, great intensity and fabulous overall balance in a dazzling, pure expression of fruit. Layers of fruit build effortlessly to the finish. The 2009 started to shut down in the glass, a great sign for the future. There is no shortage of structure here. The 2009 Ovid is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. (Not yet released)I was very much looking forward to my first visit at Ovid. Suffice it to say the wines did not disappoint. I tasted the 2008, 2009 and 2010, all of which were simply brilliant. Ovid is one of the most exciting young wineries in Napa Valley. It is tempting to think about Ovid in the context of other wineries on Pritchard Hill, as the estate lies just up the road from Colgin. Some of the aerial photos I saw were quite revealing as they show the way Ovid sits on a huge ridge directly above Dalla Valle and other wineries on the eastern side of Oakville, where it looks like the ground literally fell off a cliff. Ovid boasts a superstar team of viticulturist David Abreu, winemaker Andy Erickson and consultant Michel Rolland, but it is a mistake to think that money alone can buy success. It can’t. Ovid is very clearly a special place with special people on a mission to make great wines. These new and upcoming releases are full of potential.Tel. (707) 963-3850; www.ovidvineyards.com

The 2008 Ovid (68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a slightly more restrained and marginally lighter version of the 2007. Still, it is a delicious, full-throttle, multi-dimensional wine, with loads of red, blue and black fruits and hints of camphor and graphite as well as forest floor notes in a medium-bodied, restrained, but impressively authoritative style to drink over the next 15 or more years. This operation has elicited considerable acclaim, given the talent involved. First of all is the terroir, a stunning location high on Pritchard Hill, a neighborhood filled with Napa superstars, such as Colgin, Bryant Family, Continuum, David Arthur, and Del Dotto. Add to that the level of talent – winemaker Andy Erickson, consultant Michel Rolland, viticulturalist David Abreu – and the result is essentially a think-tank of world-class quality. Yields are tiny (15 acres in vine), and the emphasis here is on putting together a blend with a high dosage of Cabernet Franc in the final assemblage. For that reason, the wines probably need slightly more time to strut their stuff. It has been my experience that Cabernet Franc needs several years to show complexity aromatically and put on weight in the bottle.Tel. (707) 963-3850; www.ovidvineyards.com