Gary’s Top 10 Napa Valley Wines of 2023
Editor’s note: Gary Fisch, known for his expertise in the wine industry, shares his Top 10 Napa Valley Wines of 2023. Despite closing his St. Helena store, his deep ties and connection to Napa Valley’s community and wine culture remain strong. This list of top 10 wines is more than a simple ranking; it reflects Gary’s ongoing engagement with and knowledge of the Napa Valley.
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — It's no secret that Gary's Wine & Marketplace are big fans of the wines of Napa Valley. This most-celebrated wine region in the United States has earned worldwide recognition for its prodigious cabernet sauvignon production. But the area's growing conditions are favorable for a wide range of grapes, from warm-weather varieties such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sauvignon blanc to cool-weather ones like chardonnay and pinot noir.
Gary Fisch, Gary's founder and CEO, is an expert on wines from Napa Valley and has built relationships with many Napa industry leaders from winery owners to acclaimed winemakers. These fruitful relationships have not only allowed Gary’s Wine & Marketplace to offer guests some of the rarest of the rare Napa Valley wines but also continue to grow its Napa-driven Fisch Family wine collection, most notably the Go Figure Lot Series.
This year Fisch has selected 10 Napa Valley wines to highlight, which are listed below in alphabetical order. This diverse group of wines range from guest favorites to collectible treasures, and each is accompanied with notes from Fisch detailing why it was selected.
$179.99
Chris Phelps is a phenomenal under-the-radar winemaker. He studied viticulture and enology at the university of Bordeaux as well as at UC Davis. During the famous 1982 vintage, he lived and worked at Château Pétrus in Bordeaux. He was the first winemaker at Dominus, where he stayed from 1984 through 1995. During this time he fell in love with Sleeping Lady Vineyard, where the fruit for the Ad Vivum Cabernet is sourced. Following Phelps' lead, a lot of very expensive cabernets today are made from fruit sourced from Sleeping Lady Vineyard. This statuesque cabernet bursts with blackberry and currant fruit with layers of complexity, minerality and polished structure.
Amici Morisoli Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
$189.99
Tony Biagi is a 100-point, world-class winemaker, a bigger-than-life character. This cab is from the Morisoli Vineyard in the heart of Rutherford. It is under the radar, but it is surrounded by some of the best vineyards in the world, including Staglin Family Vineyard, Scarecrow, Joseph Phelps Vineyards and Inglenook. This red balances elegance and power with deep flavors of cherry, floral, anise and plum with details of spice. All encased in polished tannins. Well done, Tony!
Barnett Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
$94.99
David Tate is a fantastic winemaker who truly understands mountain fruit. Vineyards here are located on the top of Spring Mountain, where they get some coastal influence. The team at Barnett is a group of wonderful people. This cabernet is concentrated and shows some muscle with a firm structure that contains the complex profile of dark cherry, mocha, anise and mountain herb flavors.
Chappellet Cabernet Franc 2019
$99.99
This cabernet franc comes from the top of the famed Pritchard Hill. A few years ago I would have told you that I didn’t think cabernet franc would work well in Napa, but I have been proven wrong over and over. This wine made from Chappellet is one of the best cabernet francs I have ever tasted. This red is luxurious and rich with broad notes of ripe cherry and current woven together with vanilla and oak spice, all anchored down by a brooding earthiness.
$125
I first met Harvest Duhig when she came in for lunch at our Napa store. For her Duhig Cab, 100 percent of the fruit comes from her own vineyard located behind her house in Coombsville. Duhig does everything herself, from tending the vineyard to making the wine. This wine is truly a labor of love. This red is tiny production but tremendous quality with ample dark fruit encased in a silky, refined texture. It's a wine we love introducing to cabernet enthusiasts.
$35.99
When we opened our store in St. Helena, I wanted to create a nice house wine. I wanted it to be the best St. Helena fruit I could get and sell at a reasonable price. We did a blind tasting, and this was the winner multiple times over. Funny enough, it turned out that the fruit came from the vineyard located next door to our store, and the two sisters who owned the vineyard were coming to the store every day for coffee. Our Napa Collection Cabernet offers a bounty of expressive aromas, including coffee bean, dark chocolate and ripe plum. On the palate the smooth texture integrates well with the big, bold tannins. The flavor profile is dark fruit, touch of graphite and ripe plum with lots of mid-palate intensity.
Honig Sauvignon Blanc Napa 2022
$25.99
This wine reminds me of vineyard walks with my good friend, Michael Honig, talking about wine and the world in general, all while marveling at the beauty of Rutherford. I love Napa Valley sauvignon blanc, and this one is delicious with honeysuckle, peach and tropical fruit flavors balanced by a creamy texture and accents of floral, stone fruit and minerality.
$84.99
This wine used fruit sourced from vineyards located at the top of Howell Mountain. In my opinion, great merlots can rival great cabernets. Merlot gives you a different mouthfeel, but great fruit is great fruit. And with Chris Carpenter making the wine, how bad can it be? This red is so well-balanced with beautiful flavors of plum, herbs, mineral and chocolate. We love outstanding merlot at Gary's.
Lail Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc 2022
$55.99
Robin Lail is the queen of Napa Valley with the most amazing history and life story. With Blueprint, Lail and her team are committed to giving back: 10% of sales from Blueprint wines are donated to organizations deep in the fight against climate change. This sauvignon blanc is made only the way Philippe Melka can make sauvignon blanc, with lots of vibrancy and punchy notes of citrus zest, sweet peas and mango.
Paula Kornell Blanc de Noir Méthode Champenoise 2017
$49.99
It's so exciting to watch Kornell bring back to Napa Valley the same passion for bubbles that her dad had while also carrying on his legacy. This blanc de noir is so well done and is perfect for any occasion with flavors of crisp green apples, lemon zest, pears, peaches, freshly baked pastry and brioche. Almost solely made from pinot noir, there’s a small dosage, which adds weight and depth to the palate. Cheers to you, Paula!