2023 Dylans Ghost Stags Leap Ranch Vineyard Proprietary Red Napa Valley

Dylan's Ghost started with a grape deal in Stags Leap District. Joseph Carr, the man behind Josh Cellars, founded the label with winemaker Aaron Pott. They talked a local grower into selling them fruit from the Stags Leap Ranch Vineyard. The red from that vineyard leaned on Petite Sirah. Carr called it The Beast.

Then the label went quiet. Now it's back, and the winemaker is Robert Smith. His path runs through Quixote, the Hundertwasser-designed winery in Stags Leap District where Philippe Melka consults.

The 2023 is a different animal. Cabernet sits at the core, and the other Bordeaux grapes fill in around it. Cassis and dark chocolate lead, with tobacco leaf running through the middle. The tannins are fine-grained and the finish runs long.

Stags Leap fruit and a winemaker from Quixote, on a label with a real past. At this price, I'd buy it on that alone. Pour it next to a ribeye, after an hour in the decanter.