Several weeks ago, I had a Zoom call with Katie Leonardini and Jason Moulton, the Vice President of Operations and the winemaker, respectively, at Whitehall Lane Winery in the Rutheford District of Napa Valley. The winery was founded in 1979 and purchased by Katie’s father, Tom, in 1993.

Whitehall Lane touts itself as a “small family-owned winery” which is becoming increasingly rare in Napa Valley. Even so, the family’s holdings are impressive: eight vineyards across five appellations, totaling over 200 vineyard acres. They use all that fruit to produce some 17 wines, five of which they sent to me to taste together over Zoom (full disclosure: I tasted the wines after the Zoom since the call was relatively early in the day and I had basketball practice right after–never a good look to show up to practice with wine on your breath).

The wines were all fantastic and my tasting notes are below. I also included a tasting note from Whitehall Lane’s 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, which I tasted back in 2017, another beautiful wine,

2021 Whitehall Lane Blanc de Noir Sparkling, Petaluma Gap, CA: The Sixth Annual World’s Largest Blind Tasting of American Sparkling Wine (Houston, Texas): Retail $55. 100% Pinot Noir. Jolly rancher cherry on the nose with lovely fruit and just a bit of sweetness on the palate. This wine seems to have it all: Length, balance, and depth. Great. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2022 Whitehall Lane Pinot Noir Rosé, Petaluma Gap, CA: Retail $34. Under screw cap. True Rosé. Pale to even very pale pink in the glass with some faint strawberry and intense minerality. This certainly has more of a Provençale vibe than California. The palate is quite tart, even on the verge of overly so, with subtle fruit, and a lasting, zingy finish. Nice. Very Good. 88 Points.

2020 Whitehall Lane Pinot Noir Stage Vineyard, Petaluma Gap, CA: Retail $45. Under cork. Initially, this was rather light in color and relatively light in aromas with Bing or even black cherry on the nose with just a hint of earth. The palate was zingy, lively, and fun. Pretty much all I would want in a Pinot. Several hours later, however, the identity changed. Now, it is much darker in color and aromas with that black cherry component, certainly, but also some darker fruit (raspberry, plum) and a mocha aspect which was both perplexing and compelling. The palate, this second go-around, is still quite tart and fruity, but hints of those darker elements emerge on the mid-palate. This is a complex Pinot and multi-faceted. Give this time and taste it several times over the course of a day or two and you will be treated to several different wines. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2020 Whitehall Lane Merlot, Napa Valley, CA: Retail $40. Big. Ass. Bottle. Under DIAM 5. Over the years of my blog, I have never hidden my confusion about Merlot. Want a light red? Pinot. Want a more muscular option? Cabernet. So what does that leave Merlot? “Average red”? Pretty much. And no one wants to be average. But. With maybe one or two exceptions, this just might be the best Merlot I have had in a while, certainly when it comes to this year. Dark, but not brooding, fruity, but not bombastic, tart, but not bracing, this comes pretty close to a Goldilocks wine for me. The fruit is mostly (but not entirely) red, the tartness is on point and balancing, and this is completely lovely. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2019 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Leonardini Estate, Napa Valley, CA: Retail $85. Really Big. Ass. Bottle. 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6%, Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. According to the winemaker, Jason Moulton, this is the first estate wine that incorporates all five of the main Bordeaux varieties. And it is lovely. Fairly dark in color with fruit aromas of blackberry, cassis, and even plum. But there are also notes of spice and a compelling herbaceousness (which I love) of basil or even sage that adds depth to and complexity. The palate is rich, but short of unctuous, laden with fruit as well as spice, mocha, and just honest-to-goodness lusciousness. Add in a bit of tannic (but certainly mellow) grip on the finish? Look, there are certainly Napa-esque properties here, tons of them. But there are also nods to the Old World that make this one of the best (the best?) mélanges of the two styles that I have tried in a while. Whoa. Hate the bottle. Love the wine. Outstanding. 96 Points.

2003 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Napa Valley, CA: (Tasted December, 2017) Retail $75. I bought a two-pack of this wine from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (the state-run wine store in the state), over a decade ago for the rather paltry sum of $60 for the two (I believe the suggested retail of this wine was north of $70 per bottle). Dark raspberry and earth dominate the nose with mint and clove playing secondary roles. On the palate the fruit rules but plenty of acidity to balance it out. The tannins are largely integrated but still kicking on the finish. Close to a Whoa. Excellent. 92 Points