A powerful wine with tremendous depth and complexity. In 2017, no Cabernet Franc was harvested because of fires. And it shows that the vintage is more fruit-forward, with a wealth of beautiful crushed stone minerality. Full-bodied with a black-fruited profile that, in 2017, weaves in nuances of red tones and Bay Laurel and scrub brush accents. There’s so much stealth to the sturdy tannin structure. It's a vintage that needs more time, but it is perfectly enviable now with a good decant. Rich, toasty oak and chocolaty notes emerge through the finish. The Tesseron family, owners of Château Pontet-Canet, purchased the estate in 2016. It was owned by the late actor Robin Williams, who had planted the vines in the late 1990s. Jérôme Ledit is the Estate Manager and Michel Rolland is the consultant oenologist. The vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and have been dry-farmed since the first day in 2016 that Alfred Tesseron set foot on the property. It is already unquestionably one of Napa Valley's greatest understated assets. (Drink between 2023-2035)

Rather rich, flamboyant and decadent with bright raspberries, mushrooms and bark. Full-bodied, yet very tight and refined, with firmness and length. Racy and fine for a 2017. No cabernet franc in the blend, just cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Drink after 2023.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Pym-Rae leaps from the glass with bold notions of black cherries, mulberries, plum preserves and dark chocolate with an opulent undercurrent of Indian spices, potpourri, sandalwood and cinnamon stick. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with rich, seductive black fruit preserves and an explosion of exotic spice sparks, framed by firm yet beautifully plush tannins and fantastic tension, finishing very long and achingly fragrant. Possessing loads more weight and mid-palate density than a lot of 2017s, this second showing is an absolute knock-out. Due to strict selection, only around 1500 cases were made this year.- LPB

The 2017 Pym-Rae comes from a more challenging vintage that featured a dramatic heat spike on Labor Day weekend and fires during harvest. Nevertheless, the fruit was harvested all pre-fire, and it's a beautiful wine revealing ample black fruits, scorched earth, tobacco, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the vintage’s more focused, elegant style and has beautiful concentration as well as a great finish. While I suspect it has fewer tannins than the 2016, they're more present and focused, which is very much in the style of the vintage. This elegant, concentrated, classic Bordeaux-like Mountain Cabernet will evolve nicely for another 25+ years.

Powerful waves of ripe fruit, this is concentrated and spicy, majoring on blackberries, bilberries, black tea, espresso, cocoa bean and liqourice with edgy tannins. In biodynamic conversion (Demeter certification as of the 2018 vintage), and also newly-converted to dry farming - inevitably challenging in the first few years as the vineyard strives for natural balance, and even more so in intensely hot years such as 2017. This makes an impression and needs time to soften, but is a fragrant, concentrated mountain Napa - Pym-Rae is located on Mount Veeder, on the border with Sonoma and is set across two vineyard plots at 500m and 600m in altitude, with 7.5ha in total (of a property that stretches across almost 250ha of mainly wild land). Released through the Place de Bordeaux. New winemaker Jerome Ledit, a former colleague of Pontet Canet winemaker Mathieu Bessonnet - they both worked with Michel Chapoutier in the Rhône, and Ledit worked a vintage at Pontet before moving out to Napa. 70% new oak.

This tilts clearly toward burly in style, with walnut husk and roasted chestnut notes leading the way for dense and chunky-textured dark currant and warmed fig fruit. There's a tumble of warm humus, alder smoke and bitter cocoa on the finish that leaves a rustic feel. A Jeremiah Johnson wine. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2035. - JM