2018 The Crane Assembly Disciples Red Wine Napa Valley 750 ml

There’s no matching the high-octane reds from The Crane Assembly’s ancient vines—they push the limits of ripeness and exuberance like no others in Napa, with kaleidoscopic complexity and oceanic depth. When you put the extraordinary grapes from these vines in the hands of winemaker Kevin Fox you get a bona fide California classic like the 2018 Disciples.

It’s sourced mainly from the legendary 91-year-old Tofanelli Vineyard and the 110-year-old Morisoli Vineyard, a tiny, family-farmed plot that neighbors Scarecrow and Phelps. These sites' coveted Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Grenache go into $100 Turley bottlings as well as $$$ wines from Duckhorn, Keplinger, and more.

Dave Phinney and Kevin Fox have worked together since the days of The Prisoner, and at Crane Assembly, their goal was to unleash some of Napa’s greatest assets—the hallowed vines in the Valley’s heritage vineyards—and they began with the famed G.B. Crane Vineyard in St. Helena. 

Morisoli and Tofanelli were next on the list. Morisoli’s Zinfandel has been tended by the family for five generations, and the plants tap eke out Zinfandel berries with unparalleled concentration and complexity. 

Tofanelli, located just outside of Calistoga, was planted 91 years ago. Since then, the fruit has been sought by some of Napa’s greatest names: Duckhorn, Helen Keplinger, Chateau Montelena, Luc Morlet, Thomas Rivers Brown, and, of course, Phinney and Fox. Organically farmed without irrigation, the Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Grenache, and Charbono from Tofanelli are renowned for their profound fruit and density. 

Phinney and Fox’s talents make Crane Assembly wines feel effortless, and Disciples is a perfectly harmonized blend of impeccable raw ingredients woven together to create an intricately layered wine of brooding power.