It’s the delicate dance of elegance and power that makes this wine

Winemakers Phillippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky
Winemakers Phillippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky

winemakers

Maayan Koschitzky has had a hand in some of the most exquisite, age-worthy bottles in Napa Valley: He’s crafted wines for Dalla Valle, Screaming Eagle, and as Director of Winemaking for the famed Atelier Melka, he works with Lail, Seavey, and many more. He also makes wine under his own La Pelle label.

prelude

2019 Pas de Cheval Cabernet Sauvignon

Oakville Napa Valley

Dense ruby-black with an electric amaranthine rim. Viscous and loaded with loganberry, black currant, and spearmint aromas that evolve slowly to reveal complex notes of licorice, cardamom, violet, and wild sage nuances. On entry, the muscularity is immediately evident. Equal measures of perfectly ripe fruit and savory herbal flavors are bound by supple, tongue-coating tannins.

Highly concentrated at its core, this is a robust and highly complex wine, seamlessly integrating seemingly disparate notes of blackberry, cassis, licorice, tilled earth, mint, and herbs de Provence. The finish builds in a resonant crescendo of fruit, earth, and spice that holds one in rapt attention. Raw power cloaked in refinement now, it will only get better. Drink now – 2049.

intermezzo

2019 Pas de Cheval Cabernet Sauvignon

St. Helena Napa Valley

Deep, dense, viscous purple-black, with a vivid ruby rim and deep staining tears. With a little air the nose blossoms with aromas of baked blackberries, acai berry, creme de cassis, crushed stones, cedar shavings, cocoa, and mint. The palate is mouth-filling and rich, loaded with vibrant red-berry fruit and ripe, perfectly integrated tannins. While tightly packed and full-bodied, the wine's balance leaves the impression of elegance and grace.

Rippling with flavors of Black Forest cherries, blackberry, toast, vanilla, and subtle hints of tobacco, it is a clear standout without being obtrusive, coming together for a beautifully harmonious, seemingly never-ending finish. Proof that truly great Cabernet need not choose between power and poise. Drink now – 2049.

finale

2019 Pas de Cheval Cabernet Sauvignon

Howell Mountain Napa Valley

Purple-black that fades to a crimson rim, deeply pigmented and staining the glass upon swirling. A volley of warm blackberries, Chambord, graphite, and a hint of cedar aromas add complex blueberry, sweet spice, pipe tobacco, dark chocolate, and espresso notes with a touch of air. Even before the first sip, it’s obvious this is a big wine. Power and energy pulse through the supple grip of the super-fine tannins, with a core so concentrated it seems to generate its own gravity.

Lush flavors of blackberry and pomegranate preserves form the weft for a tapestry of chocolate, tilled earth, toast, vanilla, star anise, five-spice, and crushed violets. Finishing with evolving patterns of ripe fruit, spice, and earth, it seems endless. A gorgeous expression of Howell Mountain muscularity and richness, but still defined by an overall sophistication and balance. There is so much packed into this wine, and it’s perfectly structured to improve for decades. Drink now–2049.

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Pas de Cheval
Pas de Cheval is an exquisite expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley’s St. Helena, Oakville, and Howell Mountain AVAs.