($45):  Unsurprisingly, wine webinars in the era of Covid-19 are hit or miss.  One that I highly recommend is the SommCon Geographical Digest Series, a collaboration between The Somm Journal and National Geographic, during which I tasted this wine, which was previously unknown to me.  Founded in 2012 by Dennis Cakebread of the family that started Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley almost 50 years ago, Mullan Road Cellars makes one wine, a Bordeaux blend.  The precise components of the blend change year to year, as they do in Bordeaux, depending on how each variety fares during the growing season.  The 2016, a seamless blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (51%), Merlot (29%) and Cabernet Franc, delivers enchanting savory aromas — olives and herbs — which follow on the palate.  Fruit flavors emerge, but do not predominate.  Waves of flavor cascade on the palate as the wine opens. Simultaneously refined and powerful, it is not overdone.  There’s a delightful hint of bitterness in the finish that reminds you this is a serious wine.  It would be twice the price if it carried a Napa Valley appellation, but since wines from Washington lack Napa’s cachet, it’s a bargain for what it delivers.  Don’t miss it.
95 Michael Apstein Nov 24, 2020