On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, we had a chance to once again interview Walter Leiva. Walter is the winemaker for Davis Estates in Napa Valley. We covered six of his new 2021 vintage red wines. We also coverage 3 newer-vintage Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir offerings. We last interviewed Walter back in April 2023. In that interview, we covered two of his 2021 white wines and six of his 2019 red wines. Check out what we learned from Walter this time.
Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few new tidbits we learned during the tasting with Walter.
- What is new at the winery in 2025?
- They continue to increase their use of technology in production.
- They have been cutting back on the use of outside fruit. In 2024 they used 270 tons. In 2025 they are planning for only 200 tons.
- Vintage updates
- 2022 – Early heat wave. Didn’t affect Sauvignon Blanc. Emergency picking on red.
- 2023 – Slow & long.
Windmill on the label is a giant working windmill on site. It pumps 2 gallons of water per hour out of the ground.- Pinot Noir mini-vertical.
- Their Pinot comes from the Napa side of Carneros.
- 2022 – Softer. Includes 5% from Truchard Vineyard.
- 2023 – Concentrated. Biggest harvest ever. Projected 16 tons, ended up with 27 tons. It was picked 20 days later than 2022. This wine included 5% of Gap’s Crown Vineyard fruit.
- 2021 Merlot – Mainly St. Helena fruit from an old vine vineyard. 26 months in 40% new oak.
- 2021 “Classic Chase” – Merlot and Cab from the St. Helena site. Cab Franc from the Hudson Vineyard.
- 2021 “Napa Valley” Cabernet Sauvignon mostly comes from the Kairos Vineyard. The 37-acre Kairos Vineyard rests between the Coombsville and Atlas Peak Appellations. It also contains some Ithaca Vineyard fruit (Rutherford), Linked Vineyard fruit (Knights Valley) and Georges III Vineyard fruit (Rutherford).
- 2021 “Zephyr” Red Blend is made from 21 different lots, from all different sites. Cabernet Sauvignon from Kairos, Cab Franc from Hudson and Truchard, Merlot from St. Helena, and Malbec from Calistoga.
- 2021 “Calistoga” Cabernet Sauvignon – Cab and Cab Franc from the Estate. Merlot from St. Helena.
- 2021 “Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon was the star of the show! An unbelievably good wine in 2021! The fruit came from Turnbull’s Fortuna Vineyard!
- 2021 Howell Mountain and 2021 Rutherford’s Cabernet Sauvignon’s were not ready and hence not covered this time. They will be ready for our next session. We can’t wait to try them.
- Phase V is a project spearheaded by consulting winemaker Philippe Melka since 2011. This wine is always Excellent! The 2021 vintage is no exception. See details below.
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Davis Estates that we covered with Walter. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Davis Estates website.
- Davis Estates 2022 Sauvignon Blanc “Private Reserve” (Napa Valley) $50 (KWGTP 93)
- Davis Estates 2022 Pinot Noir “Carneros” $85 (KWGTP 92.5)
- Davis Estates 2023 Pinot Noir “Carneros” $85 (KWGTP 93)
- Davis Estates 2021 Merlot “Napa Valley” $90 (KWGTP 94.5)
- Davis Estates 2021 Red Blend “Classic Chase” (Napa Valley) $105 (KWGTP 95)
- Davis Estates 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Napa Valley” $90 (KWGTP 93.5)
- Davis Estates 2021 Red Blend “Zephyr” (Napa Valley) $135 (KWGTP 96.5)
- Davis Estates 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Calistoga” $135 (KWGTP 94)
- Davis Estates 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Oakville” $145 (KWGTP 98)
We also covered another Excellent wine made by Davis in one of our High-End blind tastings!
10) Phase V 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Napa Valley” $305 (KWGTP 97)
You can find reviews of past and future Davis Estates wines that we cover on the Davis Estates KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken