2019 Blackbird Vineyards Illustration Red Blend Napa Valley 3pk 3x750ml

Blackbird Vineyards was founded in 2003 in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley with a singular, contrarian conviction: that Merlot and Cabernet Franc, not Cabernet Sauvignon, could produce Napa's most compelling and age-worthy reds.

The name itself is a nod to the French — merle, meaning blackbird, is also the root of Merlot — signaling from the outset where the winery's loyalties lie. Winemaker Aaron Pott, who joined in 2006, brings a world-class résumé: trained in Napa at Newton Vineyard, he later became the only American winemaker to hold the winemaking title at a Premier Grand Cru–level Bordeaux property, with stints at Château Troplong Mondot and Château La Tour Figeac in Saint-Émilion. Food & Wine magazine named Pott Winemaker of the Year in 2012.

Today, the winery is driven by John and Julia Hinshaw, whose investment has deepened Blackbird's commitment to small-lot, multi-vineyard Bordeaux-inspired winemaking across Napa Valley.

Illustration is the soul of Blackbird Vineyards — the wine from which every other label in the portfolio takes its inspiration. Principally Merlot, it exists as a direct challenge to the assumption that Cabernet Sauvignon alone defines Napa Valley's finest reds. The 2019 vintage draws from four premier sites: the Shifflett Vineyard in Yountville, a steep southeast-facing hillside celebrated for heritage-clone Cabernet Franc of sculpted finesse; Star Vineyard in the heart of Rutherford, delivering powerful sun-exposed Merlot; the high-elevation Stagecoach Vineyard atop the Vaca Mountains, where volcanic soils yield intense, concentrated fruit; and The Bird's Nest above Pritchard Hill, meticulously hand-farmed for peak-quality Cabernet Sauvignon.

After harvest, the wine spent 21 months in French oak — 50% new, 50% seasoned — before release in Fall 2021.

The blend is 88% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, produced in a tiny lot of just 9 barrels.