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Napa Vintners open cellars for 2014 vintage

15 October 2024 By Arabella Mileham

Fans of the Napa Valley 2014 vintage will have a rare opportunity to stock up this week, when 85 wineries in the region make their ten-year-old library wines available to consumers.

The move is part of the Open The Cellar initiative, organised by Napa Valley Vintners, which sees cellared wines that are often of only limited quantity and which are not usually available to buy online.

The 2014 vintage was an “excellent season” noted for its “perfect weather, abundant crop and good fortune”, Napa Vintners said, “leading to 2014 wines with excellent quality and depth of flavour.”

It was also the third in a trio of bumper years – and the 2014 is emerging “from the shadow of the critically acclaimed 2013 vintage,” according to critic Lisa Perrotti-Brown of the Wine Independent.

Fine wines from Napa tend to start hitting their stride after a decade, critic Jim Gordon of jamessuckling said, although “those from nested AVAs or that are estate-grown or single-vineyard-designated often cruise easily to 20 years”.

Perrotti-Brown called the 2014s “ gregarious and fun with flirty floral and savoury nuances as well as some red berry highlights”.

Wines available range from : 2014 Chardonnay by Cakebread Cellars($55) to 2014 ERA Red Blend by Alpha Omega($560), along with a 2014 Rubicon Red Blend by Inglenook, 2014 Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon by Frog’s Leap and 2014 Bosché Cabernet Sauvignon by Freemark Abbey.