Kokonor is an intriguing Napa Valley project that has flown largely under the radar despite sourcing fruit from premium vineyard sites and employing top-tier winemaking talent. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon was made in very limited quantities under the direction of veteran Napa winemaker Bob Bursick, with fruit selected from Napa Valley vineyards and aged extensively in French oak. The winery’s approach emphasizes a more restrained, Old World-inspired expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, highlighting structure, freshness, and vineyard character rather than overt ripeness or extraction, while still drawing on the concentration and depth that Napa Valley’s warm days and diverse volcanic and alluvial soils can provide.