Douglas Danielak is unquestionably one of Napa’s most gifted minds, dubbed a “rising star” by fellow winemakers and critics. After a decade studying in France under luminous name like Jacques Frederic Mugnier, he took his knowledge back to Douglas formed part of a tasting group of early believers in 1989 including Helen Turley, Mark Aubert, David Ramey and Ted Lemon. He has spent the last three decades making some of California’s greatest wines, and has now started his own small personal project.

The vineyard sources for today’s bottle are undisclosed (and that’s a good thing or else the wine might cost three times as much), but it sits in the prestigious western benchlands of Oakville sub-district in Napa Valley. This wine ‘s enthralling aromatics leap out of the glass with striking intensity and nuance. Inky, rich and hedonistically beautiful, the 2017 is simply magnificent.