Jarvis Estate cave spotlight
The official Jarvis Estate channel introduces the Napa property: the 45,000-square-foot cave tunneled into the Vaca Mountains, where these estate wines are fermented and aged underground.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2018 Jarvis Estate Cave Fermented Lake William Blend Napa Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $221.87 and the average is $324.88. Our slash is $222.00.
2018 Jarvis Estate Cave Fermented Lake William Blend Napa Valley, USA
William Jarvis's fortunate-accident reserve blend, Cabernet with Merlot and Franc from the cave, a 2018 you can open at two hundred twenty-five dollars.
The 2018 Lake William is 38 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, 30 percent Cabernet Franc, and 2 percent Petit Verdot: black cherry, dark berry, cocoa, and rose petal, now $208.
A midnight pump-over that became the reserve blend
William Jarvis, on midnight pump-overs, once sent a third of a Cabernet Franc tank into Cabernet Sauvignon. Founding winemaker Dimitri Tchelistcheff said the new blend turned out pretty good. It kept getting better. Lake William is now the estate reserve blend. The 2018 is 38/30/30/2 Cabernet, Merlot, Franc, and Petit Verdot, 24 months in 100 percent new French oak, 857 cases, unfined and unfiltered. Wine Enthusiast 92, best from 2026. Tastings.com 93.
The house
Lake William is named for the estate lake and for William Jarvis. It is the reserve blend, not a leftover cuvee.
The wine
38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. 14.8% ABV. 24 months new French oak. Unfined and unfiltered.
The scores
Wine Enthusiast 92, best from 2026. Tastings.com 93, Gold Medal, Cellar Selection.
The drinker
Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Short ribs, lamb, or dark chocolate.
Black cherry, cocoa, then the long close
Jarvis's 2018 note is powerful elegance: dark red and black fruit, dark chocolate, rose petal, then a full, structured palate of black cherry, dark berry, and cocoa. Tastings.com found plum, cherry, cassis, herbs, vanilla, pipe tobacco, and a finish that keeps unpacking.
A mild spring, extended flowering, consistent warmth, a relaxed harvest without major heat spikes. Fruit came in October 15 to November 1. The blend spent two years in new French oak in the cave at 61 F.
Dark red and black fruit, dark chocolate, rose petal, plum, cherry, cassis, herbs.
Full, 14.8% ABV, 24 months new French oak, firm frame, unfined and unfiltered.
Long cocoa and spice. Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Fermentation gallery, oak cuves, then two years in new French oak
Jarvis ferments, elevates, and bottles underground. Fruit arrives in small lugs, goes to upright and rotary tanks in the Fermentation Gallery, then to Radoux oak cuves before barrel so stainless contact stays short. The 2018 Lake William aged 24 months in 100 percent new French oak at 61 F and about 80 percent humidity, then was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
857 cases. 14.8% alcohol. Cabernet for the spine, Merlot for flesh, Franc for perfume, a little Petit Verdot for grip.
Decant an hour or more. This is a 2018 built to shine from 2026.
A lake, a cave, a blend that would not go away
Lake William began as a midnight accident and became the tasting-room blend people would not stop asking for.
William Jarvis and Leticia built an estate on 1,000-foot Vaca slopes and put the winery inside the mountain so the landscape stayed clean.
Dimitri Tchelistcheff tasted the accidental Franc-and-Cabernet tank and kept it. The blend is now a staple reserve.
The 2018 is that story in bottle: estate Bordeaux varieties, cave-aged, still named for the lake and the founder.
Short ribs, then dark chocolate
A cave Bordeaux blend wants collagen, slow sauce, and a bitter-chocolate close. Give it time in the decanter.
Two plates. One red-wine short rib. One darkest chocolate cake with red-wine glaze. Both can take 24 months of new oak.
Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Air is for rose petal and cocoa, not a rescue.
Red-Wine-Braised Short Ribs
A slow braise for black cherry and cocoa. Lake William's classic protein.
Why it works: Beef collagen meets 24-month tannin. Reduction echoes the wine's dark fruit.
View Recipe for Red-Wine-Braised Short Ribs (opens in a new tab)
Darkest Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze
Bitter chocolate and a wine glaze. The cocoa in the 2018 has a dessert.
Why it works: Dark chocolate echoes the oak-cocoa note without adding more tannin to the sip.
View Recipe for Darkest Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Glaze (opens in a new tab)Put Lake William in the cart
857 cases, Wine Enthusiast 92, Tastings.com 93, the Jarvis reserve blend. Two hundred twenty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the cave blend with a founder story and a frame for the next decade.
