Ellman 'Brothers Blend' Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022 (750ml)

The 2022 Ellman Family Vineyards Brother's Blend comes from the family's 20-acre estate along Napa Valley's Silverado Trail, tucked at the base of Soda Canyon in the shadow of Atlas Peak, where old riverbed soils and sharp drainage shape the fruit. The Ellmans, who came to the U.S. from South Africa in 1974, planted this estate in 2005 and now work with winemaker Andy Erickson and vineyard manager Michael Wolf. While most of their wines are single-vineyard and varietal-specific, the Brother's Blend is the one wine they treat as a blank canvas each vintage, built from whatever fruit and blocks speak loudest that year. The 2022 is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, with the Merlot bringing a lift of fresh blue fruit and smoothing out the tannins. It was a dry year in Napa, and the vines had to work for their water — that kind of stress tends to concentrate flavor and deepen a wine's sense of place — and a late-season warm spell pushed the fruit into a ripe, generous style with soft tannins and real length. What you end up with is a juicy, open-knit red that's ready to drink now and shows off the rich, polished character the Ellman wines are known for.