Today we present the wines by Ladera, owned by the past two decades by the Stotesbery family. Based in Napa, Ladera focus on Napa 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.
I adored the new releases and am totally enamored by their 2018 Ladera ‘Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 95) which is a massive wine that really has insanely good cellaring potential. Enjoy this beauty over the next twenty years. Learn more about these outstanding wines at https://laderavineyards.com/ and here are my reviews of the brilliant new wines by Ladera.
2022 Ladera Sauvignon Blanc- The 2022 Ladera Sauvignon Blanc has a large portion of Sauvignon Mosque (48%) blended in. Sourced from the Oak Knoll District, this offers good depth and concentration with nutty and salty undertones alongside ripe peach and pink lady apple flavors with sourdough bread undertones. Enjoy this beauty now and over the next five to seven years. Drink 2023-2030- 92
2018 Ladera ‘Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon- A resounding success from this outstanding vintage, the very dense and heady ‘Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunning new bottling that is already beautifully evolved. Once on the nose this exudes class with sandalwood notes alongside huckleberry cordial, graphite and freshly tilled soils. The palate is dense and rich with a seamless mouthfeel and wonderful grip from the refined tannins. Layered with violets, blackberries, wet rock and copious minerals, this is really good to consume now and over the next twenty years. Give this an hour in the decanter before consuming. Drink 2023-2042- 95