2017 Blackbird Vineyards Arise Red Wine Napa Valley 750ml 750 ml

Bordeaux blends in Napa Valley are something of legend when they involve winemaker Aaron Pott. A blending master, Pott cut his teeth at Napa favorites like Quintessa and Newton as well as St.-Émilion classics like Château La Tour Figeac Grand Cru Classe before landing at Blackbird Vineyards, where he can spread his wings in all-things red wine blends. 

He has quickly become a Wine Access member’s favorite for his Right Bank-inspired reds, and his red wine blend “knocked our socks off.” Now is the change to snap up the 2017 Arise Red Wine Napa Valley for a mere $45—well below the $100+ you’d typically spend to drink his wines. 

What makes Pott such a talented Bordeaux blender is his love of the Merlot-forward red wines of the Right Bank. Having spent time in St. Emilion, he understands the delicate balance among earth, spice, and fruit, and the beauty of blending. In Napa, he can echo that European finesse by sourcing his grapes from more than 20 lots across mountain tops, hillsides, and valley floor vineyards. 

He then ages the wine for 21 months in French oak barrels, a blend of new and seasoned, to give the wine its long finish and soft vanilla notes. Here, though, is where the real work starts: for each vintage, he selects the exact percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc to enhance the Merlot for that year, refusing to operate with a standard formula.

In 2017, that was a nearly even amount of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, balanced with a healthy 10% boost of Cabernet Sauvignon and just 5% of Petit Verdot to round out the structure. When we drank it, both of our guests declared they needed to know more about this wine. It’s “seriously special,” according to one happy Wine Access member, and heavenly to sip alongside a grilled steak with an intimate guest list.

When we offered his 2011 Arise last year, it sold out in record time. This 2017 packs the punch of a younger wine, with red cherry, spice, and a hint of licorice on the palate that will pop if you uncork now and evolve over the next decade if you cellar in the bottle. Vinous’ Antonio Galloni called Arise “very easy to drink now,” and Pott himself recommends the optimal drinking window as any time in the next 10 years.