For years I have admired the wines by Ladera who have been guided for the past two decades by the Stotesbery family. Ladera focus on mountain fruit for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines as well as their Russian River Valley Pillow Road Estate Vineyard for the excellent Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Having decades of experience as ranchers, Pat and Anne Stotesbery acquired their first Napa Valley mountain vineyard in 1996. A few years later in 1999 they founded Ladera, which means “hillside” in Spanish and Italian, and made their debut vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon.
The new wines were beautiful across the board. I was blown away with the new 2018 Ladera ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 93) which is deep and intense, with incredible concentration and beautiful underlying freshness. This could easily be a 20 year wine. Learn more about these outstanding wines at https://laderavineyards.com/ and here are my reviews of the brilliant new wines by Ladera.
2020 Ladera ‘Pillow Road Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The Pillow Road Vineyard is located in the Russian River Valley just southwest of the town of Sebastopol. The wine comes off very fresh and fragrant with no rough edges. Ripe pineapple and mango combine with butterscotch notes and flinty undertones on the palate. Drink 2022-2029- 92
2020 Ladera ‘Pillow Road Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- Given 20% whole cluster fermentation, the 2020 Ladera ‘Pillow Road Vineyard’ Pinot Noir delivers beautiful black tea and potpourri aromas that combine with silty soils on the nose. The palate is soft and inviting with light tannins that frame a core of red and dark fruits. Drink 2022-2027- 90
2018 Ladera ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Sourced from sites on Howell Mountain as well as Atlas Peak, Pritchard Hill and Calistoga, the 2018 ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon was stored for 22 months in 81% new French oak before bottling. Black licorice, iodine and pencil lead notes combine with rich huckleberry tones on the palate. Delicious and beaming with bright acidity, savor this beauty now and over the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2022-2038- 93