Leviathan Red 2016 | Insanely Delicious 92AG | Gorgeous 94+ RP

So, Leviathan Red 2016 represents the best of the Golden State.  It is a bold and juicy Bordeaux-meets-Rhône blend that puts ripe California fruit in the hands of one of the state’s master craftsmen.“With Leviathan I have complete latitude to create something unique from many different parts,” says Andy Erickson, the Screaming Eagle winemaker who blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc in this small-lot passion project.

More Sensational Cellar Selections

94RP | From winemaker Andy Erickson.  The Leviathan Red 2016 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Merlot aged in 25% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with exuberant black cherries, black raspberries, and blackcurrants with hints of pencil shavings, black pepper, tobacco and forest floor plus a waft of tapenade. Full, firm and grainy, with gorgeous mid-palate generosity and packed with layers of black fruit and savory sparks, it has a rock-solid frame of ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long. Approachable now yet structured to cellar, this seriously affordable, serious California blend should age 15-20 years or more. (94+).

Vineyards by Annie Favia

If you can, put Erickson’s many 100-point wines out of mind for a moment. Why? So we can focus on the other half of the Leviathan equation.  That would be the accomplished viticulturist Annie Favia.   So Annie has worked with Kongsgaard, Corison, Abreu, and Screaming Eagle, and also happens to be Erickson’s wife.  While Annie’s clout does wonders in securing high-quality fruit from Los Carneros and Coombsville in Napa County, Dry Creek Valley and Moon Mountain in Sonoma County and Red Hills up in Lake County.  Of course, fruit that, because of the sway of the wine’s two principals, finds its way into Leviathan.

So, do you want to taste and own a few bottles of wine crafted by arguably the most acclaimed winemaker in Napa? That’s a rhetorical question. Andy Erickson’s Leviathan Red 2016 has captured the essence of California in yet another outstanding vintage. This a bottle sets the standard for under-$50 California reds..

Winemaker Andy Erickson

This is one of the very few under-$50 bottles with Erickson’s name on it.  Because Erickson’s name is pure gold.  And wines with his fingerprints on them usually fetch prices deep into triple digits.  In addition to crafting the most sought-after cult wine in California, he has made wine for Staglin, Arietta, Harlan, Spottswoode, as well as his own labels, Favia and Carbone. But critics and consumers have noticed that Erickson’s magic touch extends to Leviathan.  Antonio Galloni of Vinous calls Leviathan Red 2016 “one of the best values in California.”