Hall 1873 and Oracle Napa Valley Cabernet with grilled tenderloin

Hall ”Eighteen Seventy-Three” and Oracle Napa Valley Cabernet with grilled tenderloin 

With fellow ‘Pour Boy’ Bill, and Beth visiting from Charleston, we stayed in for the evening and Linda grilled beef tenderloin , served with ceasar salad, twice baked potatoes, haricot verts and garlic bread. 

With dinner we enjoyed two ultra-premium Napa Cabernets, Miner Oracle from our Destin wine cooler, and Bill brought from his home cellar in Charleston this Hall 1873. 

Hall ”Eighteen Seventy-Three” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Bill acquired this through his wine club allocation from one of our favorite producers of highly acclaimed Napa Cabernets, this label commemorates the founding year of their historic Napa Valley vineyard.

The property above St Helena was originally planted to grapes by Captain William Peterson back in 1873. It was further developed such that during the 1930’s and 1940’s, it produced nearly 40 percent of Napa Valley production. 

Hall has become one of the premiere Napa Valley producers of ultra-premium Cabernets. We’ve visited the magnificent Hall Rutherford estate vineyards and winery several times as featured in these blogposts - 

Hall Rutherford Winery Estate Appellation Tasting, and 

Exzellenz and aged Robert Craig Mt Veeder for holiday celebration gathering.

Craig and Katherine Hall have built an extensive estate of vineyards that now encompass more than 300 acres of classic Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. They have been innovators in adopting  cutting edge technology to yield the highest quality grapes to produce a broad portfolio of highly acclaimed wines.

This label commemorates the founding of the first winery on the historic property back in 1873 when Captain William Peterson came to Napa and established a pioneering winery on their St. Helena property. Throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, the site grew to become Napa’s most important winery, producing nearly 40% of its entire vintage. 

This Hall ”Eighteen Seventy-Three” is a blend of fruit taken mostly from sites in the eastern hillsides of Napa Valley from the mountain slopes that frame Napa Valley along the northern edge of the Vacca Mountains from Howell Mountain to the north, Rutherford where the Hall Estate is located, and Atlas Peak to the South. 

We took this an earlier vintage of this label BYOB to a wine dinner recently that was rated 98 points by Wilford Wong of Wine.com, and 95 points by Wine Enthusiast, featured in these pages in this post - Preview Night Dinner at The Belmont Naperville. 

This release was rated 93 by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points by Vinous and 91 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes - “Deep garnet color. Complex fruit aromas of ripe blackberry, subtle warm oak and plum. On the palate, pronounced flavors of dark fruit, cocoa nib, wet stone, and baking spice are supported by firm, structured tannins and bright acidity round out the powerful finish.”

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, round forward concentrated bright expressive vibrant rich ripe blackberry and black currant fruits with expressive notes of black tea and cinnamon with notes of creme de cassis, bitter dark chocolate, tobacco and oak with expressive plush tannins and bright acidity on a huge spicy finish. 

RM 93 points

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/2602610

https://www.hallwines.com/

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/3555904

Miner Family Winery "The Oracle" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2021 

This is another wine we have fun with since our son works for Oracle, the enterprise software giant. Also, Linda’s hometown, Delphi, Indiana high school mascot and sports teams were the Oracles. 

This wine's name pays homage to founder Dave Miner and his former career as a founder of Oracle Software, and the ancient Greek concept of an oracle as a source of inspiration.

We served and wrote about this Miner Family Winery flagship “Oracle” Cabernet which was a hit last spring at a neighborhood gathering in a blogpost at that time , excerpted here. 

Miner Family Winery was founded by Dave Miner with their first vintage in 1996. Dave was born in Chicago and then lived in Southern California for a number of years, graduating from the University of California, San Diego with degree in English and American Literature. It was during this time that he became interested in wine. 

Dave was working for then upstart Oracle in software sales when his uncle Bob Miner, who happened to be one of the co-founders of Oracle, was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer and passed away prematurely in 1994 at age 52. In his final days, Bob asked Dave to help him manage the operations at the family vineyards and winery Oakville Ranch, (predecessor to Oracle Family Winery). Dave quit his sales job and joined Oakville Ranch which at the time owned the property that is now Miner Family Winery. At the time they made a limited amount of wine and operated a custom crush facility. Miner Family Wines was one of their clients. We still hold several vintage labels of Oakville Ranch in our home cellar which we have featured in this blogposts such as this one - Oakville Ranch Vineyard Napa Cabernet.

In 1999 Dave and his wife Emily (who worked at Oakville Ranch) purchased the winery and accompanying 18 acres. They were not able to plant vineyards on their steep hillsides due to the county ordinance prohibiting new vineyards on slopes greater then 20%, they opted to install solar cells instead – some 1,750 panels. Miner Family only owns 1/2 acre of vineyards; a tiny vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in front of the winery. They source premium grapes for their wines from partner growers mainly in Napa Valley. 

The Minor winery is located just above the valley floor – high enough in elevation that one has panoramic views looking over the vines to the west and the Mayacamas mountain range. 

This is the flagship of the Miner porfolio of Bordeaux and Burgundian wines, several Chardonnays and some Pinot Noirs. They also produce some Rhone style wines based on Rhone varietals, and some other varietal wines, not typically produced in Napa Valley.  These wines include Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and Tempranillo, as well as the traditional Napa Valley Bordeaux varietals.

This flagship Oracle label is a Bordeaux blend produced from select premium Bordeaux varietals sourced from prime eastern Napa Valley hillside locations, including the renowned Stagecoach Vineyard and Volker Eisele Vineyard.

The 2021 release is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot.

It was aged 22 Months in 60% new French oak. 3,586 6-packs were produced. 

This released was rated 94 points by James Suckling and 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Winemaker Notes - Miner Family's flagship wine, a full-bodied, red blend, grants a nod toward elegance. This Bordeaux-style blend is silky, reserved and supremely balanced. Lush aromatics of raspberry and dark cherry with a hint of eucalyptus, The Oracle is decadent, but with finesse. Earthiness and layers of dried flowers and cocoa integrate harmoniously into a finely balanced marriage between tannin and acid, providing the structure that ensures, like all impeccable beauties, this wine is sure to age gracefully.

Deep garnet-purple colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated, tightly structured yet elegant, nicely balanced and polished, black raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruits accented by notes of cassis, dark chocolate, black tea, black olive and hints of leather and lavender, with firm, fine-grained tannins, on the long fragrant finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5087056

https://minerwines.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/21Oracle.pdf

https://minerwines.com/

Preview Night Dinner at The Belmont Naperville

Preview (Pre-opening) Night Dinner at The Belmont American Steakhouse Naperville

Anticipating the upcoming opening of The Belmont American Steakhouse in Naperville, we dined preview night leading up to their grand opening this coming week. This is the latest creation of Dave Miller of the Elements dining in the Indigo Hotel, Naperville, The George American Tavern, and Empire Grill, and partner and Executive Chef Zac Rogers. 

We’ve featured the tony, cozy George in these earlier blogposts -  

The George American Tavern, Naperville
The George Tavern Naperville Replay

The Belmont is a classic American steak house reimagined in the former Catch-35 restaurant on Washington Street downtown Naperville. They source prime beef steaks from several sources depending on the cut of meat and prevailing market conditions. They age the beef from 60 to 90 additional days in their own meat cabinet adjacent the main dining room. 

There is a fabulous Wine Room dining room for special gatherings. 

I refrain from showing interior pictures of the bar and dining room as there is a substantial dramatic bar surround overhang not yet installed. 

They also offer several fresh seafood selections based on what was flown in from US and World markets - lobster, Argentine Branzino, Black cod, salmon, crab cake, shrimp and scallops. And, same for the oysters which are fresh, flown in from best available markets - west coast and east coast! 

Pork chops, lamb, chicken and short rib and a couple pasta dishes round out the entree selections along with a caviar service of American Ossetra Caviar.

A highlight, the preparation and presentation of the wedge salad, ideal for sharing. 

The crab cake with chili pepper remoulade … 

A half dozen oysters, east coast Long Island, and California west coast. 

The petit filet … 

The New York strip with Seared Foie Torchon …

There is a range of salads and sides available for sharing as well as enhancements including lobster tail, seared Foie Torchon, Shaved Truffle and accoutrement finish sauces. Each of the usual suspect sides was creative and artfully prepared - puree de pomme with pimento, wild mushrooms, grilled asparagus, charred carrots, Mac-n-cheese, and an interesting take on creamed corn with ‘corn brulee’, almost akin to a dessert!

A selection of the sides, Puree’de Pomme, Wild mushrooms and the Corn Brulee. 

There is a carefully selected wine list of standard labels as well as an extensive Reserve List of ultra-premium selections. Many of our favorite producers are represented: Robert Craig, Plumpjack, Joseph Phelps, Randy Dunn, Kosta Browne, Quintessa, La Jota and a selection of super premium labels such ans Dominus, Hundred Acre and Schafer Hillside Select, and more. 

There is also a selection of some of the most highly acclaimed and sought after cult wines such as Colgin, and Screaming Eagle.  Aside the cult labels, the wine list read like our wine cellar inventory with many of our favorites!  

Having not seen the winelist beforehand, I spent close to an hour trolling our cellar for a special wine accompaniment for our dinner, seeking an ideal label for the grilled beefsteaks, and one not available on their winelist. I was seeking a label in the Goldilocks zone … enough age to having fully integrated and settled, but still within its prime drinking window. I also sought a label we acquired with fellow Pour Boy diner, Dr Dan. In the end, I opted for a vintage label of a favorite producer/label which proved an ideal choice. 

Amazingly, when I saw the winelist, vast majority of selections were producer labels I considered bringing BYOB! 

Dan and I both brought BYOB bottles tonight that were 98+ point rated selections, from prime vintages, and at twelve and fourteen years, in their prime drinking windows, perfect selections for pairing with our dinner. 

Hall 1873 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

From one of our favorite producers of highly acclaimed Napa Cabernets, this label commemorates the founding year of their historic Napa Valley vineyard.

Hall has become one of the premiere Napa Valley producers of ultra-premium Cabernets. We’ve visited the magnificent Hall Rutherford estate vineyards and winery several times as featured in these blogposts = 

Hall Rutherford Winery Estate Appellation Tasting, and 

Exzellenz and aged Robert Craig Mt Veeder for holiday celebration gathering.

Hall produce a broad portfolio of highly acclaimed wines and we acquired this label as part of our wine club allocations back on release. 

This label commemorates the founding of the first winery on the historic property back in 1873 when Captain William Peterson came to Napa and established a pioneering winery on their St. Helena property. Throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, the site grew to become Napa’s most important winery, producing nearly 40% of its entire vintage. 

The fruit for this Hall “”Eighteen Seventy-Three” hails from the mountain slopes that frame Napa Valley along the northern edge of the Vacca Mountains towards Atlas Peak. 

It was rated 98 points by Wilford Wong of Wine.com, and 95 points by Wine Enthusiast. 

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes - “Brooding and earth-driven, this wine opens with dominant aromas of crushed rocks, ripe blackberries, and wild blueberries. The weighty palate is structured by fine, powerful, tightly-wound tannins and balanced acidity. Integrated French Oak aromatics of toasted coconut, cinnamon and clove carry through the lengthy finish.” 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, round forward concentrated bright expressive vibrant rich ripe blackberry and black raspberry fruits with notes of creme de cassis, anise, sweet tobacco, sweet oak and dark mocha with full tannins on the huge finish. 

RM 94 points

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/2602610

https://www.hallwines.com/

Dominus Estate Napa Valley Red Blend 2012

Dan brought from his Dominus vertical collection this 100 point rated 2012 vintage. Protocol suggests one doesn’t take a BYOB label that is available on the winelist. While they had Dominus on the winelist, it was a recent release, not an twelve year aged vintage, from a 100 point rated release! 

Dominus Estate is the Napa Valley product from legendary Christian Moueix of Bordeaux Chateau Petrus fame. This is from one of the region’s oldest vineyard sites. Dominus sits on a rocky alluvial fan, a gentle benchland slope nestled into the western hills of Yountville.

It was rated 100 pointss by Vinous, 99 points by Jeb Dunnuck and the Wine Independant, 98 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Decanter and James Suckling, 95 points and Editor's Choice from Wine Enthusiast, and Wilford Wong, and 94 points from Wine & Spirits and Wine Spectator.

Like many 100 points wines, perfection is discernable not so much by any memorable or highlighted flavor sprites or profile, but rather the lack of any faults, and the straight forward elegance, polish and balance of the blend. 

Vinous in their ‘perfect’ rating wrote, “Dominus is very clearly one of the wines of the year. I loved the 2012 from barrel, but found it quite closed after bottling. Now, after all these years, I finally see the realization of the potential suggested in my barrel tastings. Magnificent.” 

In his 99 point review Jeb Dunnuck wrote, “The 2012 Dominus is a sensational wine that certainly ranks with the all-time greats of this cuvée and is reminiscent of the 1991”, describing it as “Ripe, flamboyant, and incredibly sexy, it nevertheless shows the classic style of this estate, has nothing out of place and just glides across the palate. It's a tour de force in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and one of the greats. 99+“

Decanter wrote, “if you have any 2012 in your cellar, try it today and try it again in 5, 10, and 15 years.” Similar to Robert Parker’s note that this is “built to go on for 25-30 years.”

Wilfred Wong of Wine.com said it is one of the winery's best efforts to date. 

This Bordeaux varietal blend was 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Winemaker Notes - “The Dominus 2012 exemplifies the finest qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon from an ideal vintage. The intriguing nose offers a depth of aromas including lavender, Asian spices and cedar. Soft, supple tannins buoy layers of dark earth and cocoa. The wine is racy yet refined with a long elegant finish.”

Dark garnet colored, medium to full-bodied, elegant, silky smooth and polished, pure seamless black raspberry and black currant fruits with notes of rose petal, cassis, graphite, violets, tobacco leaf and anise, hints of mocha and hazelnut with round soft fine tannins on a soft velvety finish.

RM 96 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/1794476

https://www.dominusestate.com/

We then had to try the Belmont signature chocolate cake, prepared by legendary local DeEtta’s Bakery, delicious paired with tawny ports.  

Check out The Belmont in Naperville, while you can, before it is discovered and becomes a difficult reservation to obtain!