From: Napa Valley, California
Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot
Taste & Critical Acclaim:
97 Wine Enthusiast
Quietly powerful, dense with alluring oak spices and late-picked fruit flavors, this full-bodied, velvet-textured Cabernet-dominant blend is generous and inviting to drink, but also balanced and structured for the long haul. Concentrated, deep and layered, it is meant for drinking with appreciative friends or family in the future.
93 James Suckling
A toasty nose with dark fruit character, hints of hazelnuts and baking spices. Full-bodied with plush, velvety tannins and a deep core of dark berries. Spicy and concentrated with a racy finish. Drink from 2025.
Pairing: This Napa red is so gorgeous and friendly that you could “dress” it up or down and be absolutely satiated. Some great examples include homemade beef/lamb/bean burgers, grilled vegetables, beef pot pie, rib steaks on the grill (we’re sharing a five-star recipe by David Tanis below), steak au poivre, roasted pork tenderloin, BBQ, and BBQ chicken as a main, slider, or pizza. Other dishes that’ll be just as delicious are chili con carne, pulled pork sliders, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, your classic pepperoni pizza, etc., etc. With this wine, almost anything will make for a memorable evening.
Rib-Eye Steak and Potatoes for Two
By David Tanis
Winemaker notes. “Generations” is a Bordeaux-style blend created to honor their family's past, present and future. The fruit is night-picked from our estate vineyards and aged in new French oak barrels. Aromas of berries and pomegranate dominate with notes of tobacco, bay leaf and dark chocolate. This wine is full-bodied with a firm, somewhat buttery texture; it entices with flavors of mixed berries, vanilla, and toasty oak.
About the winery. Back in 1861, Charles Krug, the ultimate visionary of Napa Valley winemaking, established the winery that would start it all. He did so at a time that most everyone told him California had zero chance at being a good winemaking region.
In 1943, Cesare and Rosa Mondavi purchased this iconic estate and continued to build on its reputation for innovation and uncompromising quality. Their son, Peter Mondavi Sr., carried on this tradition remaining active in the winery until his passing in 2016 at the age of 101.
This is true Napa Estate Grown Cabernet. It’s grown, produced and bottled right on the historic Krug Estate in St. Helena, Napa’s oldest estate. That’s where all this incredible fruit comes from and where the wine is made.
2018 marked the 75th Anniversary of four generations of Mondavi Family ownership of Charles Krug and the birth of their ‘Generations’ Bordeaux Blend. The 2019 bottling is the highest rated to date, and actually features a predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon blend, making it technically a Cab Sauv, but instead it just gets bottled as ‘Generations’. Regardless, this is more than worthy of its 97-point score and the ‘Cellar Selection’ designate awarded to them by Wine Enthusiast
The 2019 vintage in Napa. The 2019 vintage featured near perfect growing conditions from start to finish. Abundant February rain gave way to a slightly late bud break, but from there on the vines and grape clusters enjoyed copious amounts of ripening sunshine tempered by cool maritime influences at night. Temperatures remained even and steady throughout the summer and well into fall, devoid of any major heat spikes. This all made for a leisurely unhurried harvest that extended well into November for the reds. This extended hang-time on the vine led to fruit with great concentration of flavor and natural acidity, and the resulting wines are exceptional.
