There is little doubt that the Napa Valley is teeming with amazing new winery projects. Brilliant Mistake Wines was started by John & Stacy Reinert now a decade ago. While dating John and Stacy would frequent the Napa Valley and were inspired by the wines made by Thomas Rivers Brown and Juan Mercado amongst others. They learned more and more about wine and thought that it would be best to start their own project.
One of Napa’s great talents, winemaker Maayan Koschitzky, has cut his teeth at cult projects such as Screaming Eagle, Dalle Valle, and currently serving as director of winemaking at Atelier Melka. For all of his success, he is extremely down to earth. Brilliant Mistake was first born in 2013, and has been producing knockout quality wines. These are made in very limited production and source from esteemed sites including the famed ‘Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III.’
The wine show good structure and poise, with fantastic concentration throughout the drinking experience. These are fruit and non-fruit driven, with some seriously good aging potential. I was enamored by the 2022 Brilliant Mistake Sauvignon Blanc (OB, 95) which is rich and layered with fantastic flavor range. The insanely good 2021 Brilliant Mistake ‘G3’Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 98) is a total show-stopper that is remarkably elegant and will live on for decades to come. Learn more at brilliantmistakewines.com Here are the incredible new releases by Brilliant Mistake.
2022 Brilliant Mistake Sauvignon Blanc- The 2022 Brilliant Mistake Sauvignon Blanc was stored in French oak barrels before bottling. Beautifully textured, this offers rich pear and pink grapefruit flavors that combine with shades of lychee and kiwi on the palate. Showing copious minerals, this beautiful wine will live on for another ten years to come. Drink 2023-2033- 95
2021 Brilliant Mistake ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Coming from a range of vineyards throughout the Napa Valley, the 2021 Brilliant Mistake Cabernet Sauvignon is a totally stunning new effort by winemaker Maayan Koschitzky. This shows beautiful concentration with good underlying verve. Mocha, tar, cassis and tiled soil notes all enter the palate, with crushed wet rock and shades of pipe tobacco. Complex and highly delicious in its heady youth, with a smooth texture and great underlying finesse, this beauty will cellar well for another twenty years to come. Drink 2023-2041- 96
2021 Brilliant Mistake ‘G3’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 100% varietal Brilliant Mistake ‘G3’ Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the famed Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard in the Oakville AVA. Right away the brilliant high-toned florals allure, with dark rose petals that combine with loamy soils, mocha, black licorice and dark chocolate shavings. The wine is brilliantly structured with a hedonistic bent and plenty of salty minerals. A fabulous core of black and fruit flavors greets you, as this elegant, evocative wine is just starting to come into its own. Give this several hours in the decanter if savoring in its full-throttle youth. Drink 2023-2042- 98