Lail Vineyards Gets #1 From Jeb Dunnuck

From Inglenook to Dominus and now to Lail Vineyards: #1 Winery

Jeb Dunnuck has named a Lail Vineyards wine it’s number 1 this year! While we don’t have that exact wine just yet (working on our allocation for next year), Lail Vineyards remains one of the best wineries from Napa Valley you still may not have heard of as of yet, so this is the time to get on their Blueprint wines, which are sourced from only the best sites. While it may not be the J Daniel Cuvee, these are more on the elegant side and certain to be winners in your glass. And don’t worry, they don’t slouch, with over 95 points each from most reviewers!

Lail Vineyards was founded by long time Napa Valley vintner Robin (Daniel) Lail and her family. Robin’s history in the Napa Valley is significant and deeply rooted. Her great-grand uncle was Gustave Niebaum the founder of Napa’s iconic Inglenook Winery. Her father was John Daniel Jr. who inherited the great Inglenook winery from his father (and was instrumental in helping put Napa Valley on the wine map in many ways). Robin co-founded Dominus in 1982 with her sister Marky and famed winemaker Christian Moueix (General Manager of Château Pétrus in Pomerol) built around Napanook Vineyard near Yountville, co-founded Merryvale Vineyards with Bill Harlan – where she was President of the winery for 12 years, was general manager at the prestigious Meadowood Resort and was Robert Mondavi’s personal assistant for a number of years, in 1981 helped form the inaugural Napa Valley Wine Auction (now one of the country’s largest)… the list goes on.

Robin graduated from Stanford University in 1962 and married Jon Lail in 1966. Jon is a prominent architect in the Napa Valley whose company is Lail Design Group. Robin was also instrumental in Auction Napa Valley having helped launch this annual charity wine auction in 1981.

In the early 1990s Robin began thinking of creating an outstanding wine to honor her ancestors’ history in the Napa Valley; the first vintage of Lail wines was in 1995.

Well regarded Philippe Melka has been their winemaker since the beginning; in fact, Lail Vineyards was his first wine consulting job in the Napa Valley. Robin first met Philippe at Dominus at the beginning of his career. Today Philippe is the winemaker for a number of small premium producers mostly based in Napa. In the past he has been voted American Winemaker of the year by Robert Parker in Food & Wine Magazine. Philippe has a geology degree as well as a degree in enology and agronomy (he knows his Napa terroir very well) and especially enjoys working with Napa hillside vineyards. For someone with such recognition, he is one of the most down to earth winemakers we have met on this project.

Today, we are offering their exquisite, approachable and affordable Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Both of these wines are stellar and will certainly find a perfect home in your cellar and glass!