David Arthur Winery: incredible wines and views

The next time you plan a trip to the Napa Valley and you want to visit a winery that’s off the beaten path, make an appointment at David Arthur Winery, located to the east of the Silverado Trail north of Yountville.

The driveway is steeper and longer than you can imagine (it’s called “Long Ranch Road” for a reason!), but once you get to the top of Pritchard Hill, you’ll see that the trek was worth it. The views of the valley 1200 feet below are incredible!

I went for a tasting in September last year and, unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. Don't make the same mistake! (The one above is from their website and does not do the beautiful views justice.)

I must have tasted ten different wines that day—they were some of the biggest, most intense mountain-grown wines I have ever tried. The one wine that I knew I had to go home with was the Cab Franc ($60/bottle).

After allowing this wine some time to mellow out in the bottle, I opened it this past Monday night. The 2009 David Arthur Cabernet Franc was just as big and intense as I remembered it!

Dark purple and very concentrated in the glass, this Franc has a perfume of black cherry, sweet blackberry jam, and violets. The palate is lush and effusive, offering layers of cherry cola, vanilla, star anise, and crème de cassis. Tannins are superfine and velvety. It ends with ripe berry and spice notes (and the urge to take another sip).

This wine was even better the second night, which tells me I could have held onto it a little longer (and that I should have gotten more than just the one bottle). The winery didn’t make much of it (less than 150 cases), as is usually the case with Napa-grown Cab Franc. If you can get your hands on some, don’t put off the pleasure of drinking it for too long!

Oh, and be sure to check out Chappellet and Ovid while you’re up there on Pritchard Hill!