Our recent report on Napa Valley (Napa Valley Wines Highlight Harmony And Refinement With 2018 Vintage) explained how 2018 is yet another year that Napa’s reds veered away from a hedonistic style to become more balanced, restrained, and drinkable. The slow and long growing season made it easy for wineries to be more precise, setting their own pace in the vineyards and making balanced, harmonious and intellectual wines with less manipulation. They are no longer just ripe, packed, and loud, with oak footprints and flashy, sweet-fruit flavors. Now these are wines with real character, transparency, and nuance.

“Drinkability” is a salute to freshness, balance, and harmony. Great drinkability can mean fresh, vibrant fruit, sufficient acidity, polished tannin, finesse, purity, and transparency. This means no overripe fruit, jumpy alcohol, or manipulation in the winemaking, such as excessive extraction or added flavors like oak. Drinkability often goes hand-in-hand with the authenticity of wines – those that honestly reflect the terroir and vintage and are made as naturally as possible. As a result, consumers can appreciate these wines earlier, which also suits modern wine drinking habits, with people’s ability to patiently hold on to a great bottle wearing thin. 

On the other hand, drinkability is not an excuse for simple, dilute wines. The wines should possess soul and spirit to hold our interest. For Napa, 2018 was such a vintage, with wines showing intensity and poise. Some can easily be approached now. Napa’s acclaimed winemaker Paul Hobbs pointed out that the only problem for 2018 seemed to be too much yield, describing it as two vintages in one. “I have never seen in my 40 years a vintage with that much crop. We put more than 60%, and in some cases 70%, of the crop on the ground, and we still got normal yields. It was insane,” he said during a Tasting Interview with James.

Another message from 2018’s Napa reds is how affordable they can be. Of course, Napa’s red wines do not often hit our radar when we’re looking at value, but it’s not impossible to discover outstanding bottles that cost only a fraction of the cult names. Carneros, an AVA shared by Napa and Sonoma, is also a fine source now for pinot noir under $50. The high street Costco’s Kirkland Signature Pinot Noir Napa Valley Carneros 2018 costs less than $15 and is a top example of quality Carneros pinot.

The following eight bottles (all rated 93-94 points) of the 2018 vintage, including five Napa cabernet sauvignons and two pinots from Carneros, show where Napa reds currently stand, straddling drinkability, quality and value. If you don’t have the patience to wait for Napa reds to come around and open up, these wines should be on top of your shopping list. Of course, you could still lay them down for at least another two to four years, which would work out just as well.

–Zekun Shuai, associate editor

Great value, drinkable, Napa Valley red wines

Gibbs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Three Clones 2018 – JS94
Available at K&LWines.com: $29.95

Faust Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018 – JS94
Available at Vivino: $39.99 (now in sale)
Available at K&LWines.com: $44.95
Available at Wine.com: $49.99

Etude Pinot Noir Carneros Grace Benoist Ranch 2018 – JS94
Available at Vivino: $41.99

Kirkland Signature Pinot Noir Napa Valley Carneros 2018 – JS93
US Price: $13

Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018 – JS93
Available at Wine.com: $19.99
Available at Totalwine.com: $24.99

Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018 – JS93
Available at Vivino: $25.49
Available at Totalwine.com: $35.99

Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018 – JS93
Available at Vivino: $29.99

Schug Pinot Noir Carneros 2018 – JS93
Available at Wine.com: $32.99
Available at Vivino: $32.99