2019 Bevan Cellars Ontogeny Napa Valley 750 ml

Years ago, when we fell in love with the wines of Russell Bevan, it was reasonable to call him a well-kept secret. No more. Bevan has become one of the hottest winemakers in Napa Valley, and his full-throttle, unapologetic blockbuster reds have now earned over a dozen 100-point scores from multiple critics. 

Bevan’s Ontogeny is a brilliantly curated, 98-point vision of Oakville terroir grown on the Tench Vineyard, which sits a seven-iron shot from Screaming Eagle. The site is rich in the volcanic red soil shared by some of the best sites in eastern Oakville, and the front blocks (1A and 1B) near Silverado Trail feature massive stones that tumbled down from Pritchard Hill millennia ago. It looks, in Russell’s words, like Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown of Wine Advocate recently dedicated an evening to tasting through verticals of Bevan wines and was stopped “in her tracks” by Russell’s preternatural ability to express terroir: “When I can see right through the winemaking and peer into a unique expression of a fruit source of singularity,” she wrote, “it reminds me why I’m here.” 

Bevan’s deft hand at expressing terroir can be explained, at least partially, by his winemaking practices. He’s obsessed with cleanliness and ages his wines in 100% new French oak because he doesn't want to introduce any unknown elements into the wine. Through his devotion to cellar hygiene, Russell is able to add minimal sulfur and bottle his wines unfiltered. These choices contribute to the wonderful mouthfeel that has earned his wines such acclaim, and they offer the clearest possible window into the vineyards where his wines are born.