Kapcsandy

Rating: 100 out of 100
Tasting Fee: $150

Accepts Reservations: Yes
Reservation Required: true

Location

1001 State Ln
Yountville, CA 94599

Review

You can read up on Kapcsandy’s history and prior vintage tastings in this article HERE. Although there is no membership club you can sign up for with Kapcsandy, they do have a benefit programs you can qualify for based on your purchases. Since my tasting group loves and purchases as much Kapcsandy as I do, we try to make a trip once a year to taste the new vintage. And I can’t say enough about Kapcsandy - it is my favorite winery experience in Napa, if you can afford it and meet the requirements for the tasting (see the previous article for details).

Last time, we got a tour from the wine ambassador of Kapcsandy. This trip, Louis Jr. himself gave us the repeat full tour (we had a couple new people on the trip with us). This tasting almost didn’t happen - we booked our trip to Napa during the same week Louis Jr. and his father were supposed to go on a family vacation. Luckily for us they happened to cancel/move the trip and Louis was happy to host us again.

The beautiful barrel room with the 2017 vintage in barrel now. The barrels still look clean/crisp because they use new French Oak each year when producing their wines. If only I could have a barrel… What a happy man I would be.

For the Grand Vins, we tasted the 2013 and 2014 vintages last year, so tasting the amazing 2015 and 2016 vintages were in order. And my word, did we all enjoy the wines… But we knew that coming in. When the only female Chief Editor of a major wine magazine calls a wine “sex in a glass”, you know you need to try that wine. I think I walked away with 6 bottles of the 2016 Grand Vin - it may be the greatest young wine I have ever tasted in my life. And I have tried many 100pt wines before.

Some of the bottles that we tasted this year. It doesn’t include a picture of my favorite (the 2016 Grand Vin), but the ones in the picture were still really good bottles. We happened to see Tony Arcudi on the property during the tasting too and were sure to say hello before diving in!

2016 also marked the first vintage for Tony Arcudi as the consulting winemaker for Kapcsandy. Coincidence? You can read up on my tasting of Tony Arcudi’s personal label and his background here HERE. Suffice it to say that he is one of the newer winemakers in the Napa Valley that I am tracking closely and is someone that comes from the Heidi Barrett Winemaking tree (at Fantesca). Also, I want to be him when I grow up. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that I had two reasons I needed to visit Kapcsandy this past year.

There’s my favorite bottle, just waiting to be poured into my empty glass after Louis Jr. finishes telling his story. 2016 was probably the best vintage in Napa this millenium after 2013. But I think I prefer the 2016 over the 2013 Grand Vin. I almost felt like I could drink any more wine after the tasting this morning. But after the bland lunch, I was ready to get back into it…

As I noted in my earlier article, the wines of Kapcsandy are not in the normal affordable price segment - their Estate Cuvee starts at ~$125 while their Grand Cru runs to $325/350. But, if you need a special occasion wine or have done well enough in life that you can afford several bottles, you will be glad you did and all of your wine friends will be jealous of you as soon as they taste a glass.

I also noticed that my pictures were a bit lacking in my previous post, so I made sure to take and include some new ones. But without further ado, the 2015/2016 vintages!

2018 Furmint ($40)
- Medium(+) intensity of lemon, lime, white peach, apricot, medium(+) soft acidity, with great concentration, depth, and medium body. Very fresh, but soft and serious. Fruit driven, but not overly fruity. Very balanced wine that drinks very easy but is very serious. Also a unique varietal like Furmint in Napa? Very cool.
2016 Estate Cuvee ($130)
- Deep crushed purple flowers, crushed rocks, all of the red, blue, and black fruit, but very fresh and balanced with the ripeness. The nose is both serious and fun. The tannins are so fine and balances with the acid and alcohol. A little less ripe than the Grand Vin, but drinks very nice immediately out of the bottle. Very complex.
2016 Rapszodia ($285)
- Pronounced, perfumed, ripe cranberry, cherry, plum, peach and other stonefruit. The palate is a bit more restrained with the red/black fruit, but there is a minerality that stands out and is supported by a deep tertiary layer that is just starting to peek out. Long finish that feels good with the acidity and has a bit of fleshiness. This is a serious wine that is a very good varietal representation that isn’t too cloying.
2015 Roberta’s Reserve ($300)
- Pronounced nose of crushed, candied cherry, cranberry, rose petals, violets, other floral notes, and deep fresh red plum that sets a strong and concentrated undertone. Good structure with medium(+) powdery tannin and acid that still needs time to integrated into the medium body. Very fresh, young and needs time to smooth and round out.
2015 Grand Vin ($325)
- The intensity on the nose is ridiculous… All the floral aromas with red, blue, and black fruit with sweet spices and just a touch of vanilla from the wood. The palate is all of those things with very good integration, weight, concentration, and length. The wine feels weighty and concentrated all the way through the palate with a long finish. The tannin is high, powdery, but it isn’t out of sync like the Roberta’s Reserve currently is. A little more red fruit than there normally is in the Grand Vins, but a sensational wine.
2016 Grand Vin ($325)
- The fruit orients toward the blue and black end of the spectrum on the nose (whereas the 2015 leaned towards red fruit). Crushed, candied blackberries, blueberries, rocks, and other bright black fruit. Elegant, concentrated, weighty, balanced black/blue fruit that is intense but not overly opulent on the palate. The tannin is even finer and more integrated in this wine. If I thought the 2015 was a perfect 100 point wine, this wine must be 105 points. I can’t say enough about this wine, so I am not going to even try.
2004 Grand Vin
- The nose on this wine is unbelievable. I am literally speechless after smelling this wine. All I can do is stare blankly with my mouth open at people. 15 years old and there is so much pronounced primary/secondary/tertiary aromas and flavors on the palate. Dark Jolly Ranchers, mocha, vanilla, and a haunting floral perfume on the nose. Also, this wine was made from 3 YEAR OLD VINES by Helen Turley at the very beginning of Kapcsandy. The tannins are still rough and grittier on the finish and still feel high/present on the palate because of the types of barrels used back in the day. But if this is any indication on how the 2015/2016 will age, oh my goodness!
2013 Vino Del Sol+ ($55)
- Aged 42 months in Cognac barrels and made from the vines at the edge of the vineyard from the amazing 2013 vintage. The concentration, flavors, length, balance, body, viscosity, etc. is even greater than the Vino Del Sol that we had last time.

Writing this article, I’m realizing I wrote it more for me (so I could relive the experience) than for readers. Sorry, not sorry. You need to try the wines of Kapcsandy too. That way, when you read this article, you can reminisce with me! Cheers!!

Rating: 100 out of 100