An inspired story, Bruce Prothro and his wife Rhonda began making their own wine back in 1991. They found Zinfandel, and Chardonnay grapes from a vineyard in the Russian River Valley that supplied grapes to DeLoach Winery. With no formal training, they borrowed and rented equipment to crush, ferment, and press almost two tons of grapes, yielding nearly 120 gallons of barrel-aged wine. Even though they made a few mistakes that first year, the wine was a hit among their friends and family and became a staple at their parties and get togethers.
Over the next seven years they made wine out of their garage. Along the way they had help from several heavyweight figures in California wine including Burt Williams at Williams Selyem, Dexter and Val Ahlgren at Ahlgren Vineyards, Ken Burnap at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards, Kent Rosenbloom and Jeff Cohn at Rosenbloom Cellars, and the crew at David Bruce Winery.
Their dream has become a reality as their first wine, the 2014 Prothro Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon was met with critical acclaim. I have been really impressed with these wines over the years. Check out the deep and concentrated 2019 Prothro Family Wines ‘Stagecoach Vineyard’ Cabernet Franc (OB, 93) which wonderfully shows the potential of this varietal at this famed site. Learn more about this great new Napa winery at https://prothrofamilywines.com/ Here are the beautiful new wines by Prothro Family Wines.
2019 Prothro ‘Cuvee No. 4’ Red WIne- Mostly Merlot (93%) from the Broken Rock Vineyard at the base of Atlas Peak, this unveils ripe red currant and tobacco leaf flavors alongside stony and mineral-driven undertones. Medium-bodied and very fresh, enjoy this over the next decade. Drink 2022-2032- 90
2019 Prothro ‘Signature Release’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2019 ‘Signature Release’ Cabernet Sauvignon displays a beautiful bouquet of red rose petals alongside granite, tar and loamy soils, with wet stone undertones. The palate is fresh and lively with bright acidity and a lovely saline streak. Rich red and dark fruits parade with chocolate and espresso bean tones on the palate. Highly enjoyable to consume now, enjoy this beauty over the next fifteen years. Drink 2022-2037- 91
2019 Prothro ‘Stagecoach Vineyard’ Cabernet Franc- Sourced from this high elevation site that is well-known for Cabernet Franc, the 2019 ‘Stagecoach Vineyard’ reveals violets alongside black tea and creme de cassis notes on the nose. The palate is fresh and viscous with silky tannins that line a core of blackberry compote, blueberry coulis and pipe tobacco tones. Great right now, this will continue to cellar well over the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2022-2037- 93
2019 Prothro ‘Heritage Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The absolutely stunning 2019 Prothro ‘Heritage Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a captivating new wine from proprietor Bruce Prothro. Sourced from the famed G3 Vineyard, this shows serious heft and weight, yet maintains very bright acidity once on the mouth. Tar, anise, loamy soils and ripe dark currant flavors all parade on the palate. The sense of balance here is really good. Finishing long, this exceedingly gratifying, yet age-worthy effort will be sure to satisfy for another twenty years to come. Drink 2022-2042- 95
2019 Prothro ‘Limited Release Howell Mountain’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Nearly all Cabernet Sauvignon (95%) from Howell Mountain, this offers very dense dark fruit aromas with coffee grounds, baking spices and sweet pipe tobacco tones. The polished sense of mouthfeel really entices, as does the gratifying length and flavor density — jam-packed full of black fruits with espresso grounds and blueberry pie flavors. Drink 2022-2038- 93