96pts The Wine Independent

Deep garnet-purple in color with gregarious notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, and redcurrant preserves leading to hints of red roses, iron ore, underbrush, and cinnamon stick. The medium-bodied palate is vibrant and racy finishing on a lingering ferrous note.

91pts James Suckling

Chewy, generously fruity and powdery, with aromas of blackberries, sweet cherries, bark and cumin. Full-bodied with plush tannins. Intense and serious, with a solid frame of tannins containing the vivid core of sweet berries and spices on the mid-palate. Focused and chewy finish. Try from 2026.

Tasting Notes

Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon interprets this soil construct with soft, plush tannins and friendly, bright acidity. She is both generous and poised. Down-valley cool mornings add a touch of sandalwood and rose petal to the varietal traits of cherry and cassis.

Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon from a fallen-down mountain top revealing two epochs of terroir - a little sprezzatura with soft, black fruit a touch of olive tapenade and plush, gentle tannins.

Small lot cab.

Vineyard Notes

The Ghost Block vineyard is a unicorn of sorts, being a ‘mountain’ vineyard on the valley floor. The old vines of Ghost Block sit on the side of Yountville Hill—a mountaintop that formerly resided high above the Stags Leap District in the Vaca Mountains. Some eight million years ago, in a cataclysmic event, a portion of the Vacas toppled, tossing a peak to the west. This relocated peak (Yountville Hill) got turned on its side, revealing a unique, vertical bedding of rarely-ever-exposed Napa Tertiary Volcanics.

About the Winery

Terroir, in its most broadly defined sense, is a summation of the differences that exist between unique vineyards. The fine-wine ambition that drives Pilcrow makes the clear expression of terroir an absolute and an ideal. Understandably then, we refrain from using any modern winemaking techniques—like extended maceration, micro-oxygenation, residual sugar, heavy oak., etc.—that tend to homogenize the subtle differences of site. We also avoid careless winemaking—like spoilage yeasts, volatile acidity, oxidation, etc.—for the very same reasons.

Jonah’s love affair with the Napa Valley began with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Of all the amazing people he met there it was Nathan Fay that made the biggest impression.

Nathan used to taste the new release of SLWC’s FAY each year with Jonah while sitting in the back of the winery near the bottling line. It was more “relaxing” for him there than in the tasting room. He loved down-valley coolness in his Cab.

Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Organic