This newest project was brought to our attention when founder and winemaker, Ian McCaffrey dropped off a bottle of his newest Red, Coit Tower, with the hope that we would enjoy it and include at K. LAZ. I hate to say this, but we didn’t get around to tasting it for a few months and when we finally did, I was really impressed with this very enjoyable, very drinkable Red. Coit Tower Red is part of Ian’s ‘California Icons’ wine project with this one representing San Francisco with Coit Tower on the label. He also has a Santa Monica and Sacramento label. Ian studied at UC-Davis before embarking on this endeavor. This 2018 Red comes from Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll AVA is a blend of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. “The clean, bright, and spicy Merlot fruit descends on the palate, cascading into a rich, weighty mid-palate of cranberry provided by Malbec which culminates in an assertive, velvety, and structured finish with lingering fruit-leather and preserves courtesy of Petit Verdot.”