The Judgement of Paris… Mondavi and Montelena… Colgin, Coppola and cult Cabernets. For many people, Napa Valley represents the apex of Californian wine. Yet as we’re often told, it’s responsible for only 4% of the state’s wine output. So does it still set the benchmark?

It’s fair to say Napa has been in something of a state of flux in recent years. On the one hand, the glut of wines selling for three-figure price tags (and sometimes more) shows no sign of abating, and the lavishly-appointed tasting rooms charging similar amounts to wealthy day-trippers from San Francisco continue to do good business. On the other hand, the climate has been getting hotter and hotter, with wildfires a near annual threat, and all the talk has been that the big, brash blockbusters that were so popular with uber-critic Robert Parker are fading from fashion, as tastes veer to more nuanced wines.

So how are things playing out in the bottle? Jeroboams’ wine director Peter Mitchell MW cautions: ‘The first thing to remember about Napa is that most of its wines are sold domestically, to consumers of a certain age and affluence with a clear idea of what they want – which may or may not have originally been influenced by Parker. So while I keep hearing that winemakers are keen to dial back the bombast, my overall feeling is that Napa’s signature style hasn’t changed a great deal. Maybe we’re seeing a little less new oak these days. Maybe there’s a little more freshness and acidity. But ultimately, it’s largely the top wines – the Dominus and Harlans of this world – that have the inherent quality to produce wines of great power but also freshness, just as you’d find in a top Bordeaux.’ Mitchell rates The Mascot, blended from younger vines across Harlan and sister properties Promontory and BOND – and on offer this month – as the equal of a Bordeaux second growth.

Among the UK wine trade, there has long been demand for more mid-range Napa wines at more accessible price points. Yet several critics argue that this mid-tier is over-populated by ‘aspirational’ wines owned by wealthy newcomers to the scene who are trying to achieve that same formula, despite not having the raw materials to do so. The upshot is wines with less refined oak treatment, lower acidity, less concentration, less fine tannins – but still a hefty price tag.

‘Sustainability in Napa is not just about the vineyard, but the financial side too,’ says Mitchell. ‘The wines are very expensive – the grapes now cost so much that they have to be. But there’s a danger that Napa gets itself into this cycle where producers think their wines need to be $100+ or else people won’t take them seriously. You don’t see wines at £30, so there’s no ‘ladder’ for young people coming into wine.’

He picks out St. Supery, whose Cabernet goes for £58, as an exception to the rule, a relative bargain in the context of global fine wine. ‘St. Supery is rare in using only estate-grown grapes. Most producers buy in at least some of their grapes, and the cost of grapes for Napa Cabernet in particular has spiralled in recent years.’ The 2020 wildfire wiped out a glut of supply while also triggering demand, sending prices shooting up to a level from which they haven’t come back down. Yet still the new entrants keep coming, often setting up brands without vineyards, thereby further fuelling and inflating the market.

Mitchell worries about the long-term viability of such a model. ‘There are challenges ahead – because of the customer base, because Napa doesn’t do cheap and cheerful, and because of grape prices, water shortages and wildfires.’ But he remains upbeat about the excellence at the top of the tree. ‘At its best, Napa is one of the few places in the world that can genuinely go toe-to-toe with Bordeaux for quality. And for the moment, there are still plenty of customers who want to buy the top wines.’

While they are reticent about going on the record, there are certainly some winemakers who seem to believe that long-term sustainability might require something of a pivot, and maybe a correction of prices – just as Bordeaux did with its 2023 vintage. Napa’s 2023 vintage, of course, is being heralded as something very special indeed. A long, warm but not hot growing season continued unabated and without drama well into autumn, leaving some commentators very excited indeed.

‘The growing season proceeded like a slow, steady heartbeat,’ wrote veteran critic Karen McNeil in Decanter. ‘As the summer rolled on, we all braced for late-summer heat spikes. None came. Many vineyards were harvested in November, a full two months after they would have normally been picked.’ All in all, she says, ‘2023 was as perfect as any Napa vintage in living memory.’

The Cabernets are already being heralded as more nuanced than the archetypal Napa blockbuster. ‘Graceful, fresh, deeply flavourful, and so silky… absolutely captivating,’ wrote McNeil. ‘For me, the 2023 Cabernets have something more, too – they have beauty. They are rich without being heavy. Freshness hums through the fruit. And even young, they have long, long finishes.’

As Cathy Corison, who has made 47 vintages of Napa Valley wine, said: ‘After so many challenging years, I am so grateful for the abundant and delicious 2023.’

The other good news is that, while we wait for the 23s to come on stream, there are plenty of exciting alternatives for those looking for more bang for their buck in California. ‘I always advise people to look for wines that are made to be enjoyable to drink rather than simply made to impress,’ says Mitchell. He points towards a new generation of winemakers trying to do just that in places like Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and particularly Sonoma Coast, where they’re making some super Pinots and Chardonnays that aren’t hugely expensive.

‘Take the Valravn wines, which are sourced from a range of sites across Sonoma County and Mendocino, marrying both a herbal and ripe-fruit character,’ he says. ‘Or Cattleya, which delivers ripe Californian fruit but with elegance and finesse at comfortably less than £40, which doesn’t even get you a village wine in Burgundy. Or Newfound, which is a small, family-owned winery in the Sierra Foothills that has renewed its vineyard through sustainable practices aimed at encouraging natural compost and negating the threat of forest fires.’ Newfound makes some particularly characterful Grenache, Carignane, Mourvedre and Semillon in a new-wave style, via whole bunches, low sulphites, wild yeasts and minimal intervention. ‘These are delicate wines with good natural acidity,’ says Mitchell. ‘And while Napa can make beautifully refined wines, the one word you wouldn’t necessarily use to describe them is delicate.’