Home › Wine Notes › Black Stallion Estate Winery
Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
RedUnited States2016
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-04-01 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$36 · At a chilly evening barbecue, where the delicate wines didn't stand a chance, the powerful Napa Cab got everyone's thumbs up.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 5 critic reviews: 91. Two 92-point critic scores on Vivino (Apr 2020), publication names not shown.
Market note: World average US$36 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, Sep 2026). On the same basis the house's North Coast Cabernet is US$20, the Estate Limited Release Cabernet US$64 and the flagship Bucephalus US$269 (93). 2016 is this label's most-rated vintage on Vivino (6,359 ratings).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“바베큐에는 나파 만한게 없는거 같다. 저녁 공기가 쌀쌀해서 핸들링하기 힘든데 다른 섬세한 와인들은 진가를 발휘하기 힘든 반면에 파워풀한 나파와인들은 바베큐 때 마다 어느 와인이든 엄지척. 즐겁지만 정신없는 분위기라 다음 바베큐는 좀 더 저렴하고 파워풀한 와인들을 준비해야겠다.”
Show original
“oak vanilla blackberry plum dark fruit cassis 바베큐에는 나파 만한게 없는거 같다. 저녁 공기가 쌀쌀해서 핸드링하기 힘든데 다른 섬세한 와인들은 진가를 발휘하기 힘든반면에 파워풀한 나파와인들은 바베큐때 마다 어느 와인이든 엄지척!! 즐겁지만 정신없는 분위기라 다음 바베큐는 좀더 저렴하고 파워풀한 와인들을 준비해야겠다~~^^”
What I learned today: how much strength a wine needs depends on where you drink it.
Saturday. Even before we opened, the bar smelled of charcoal. Master Seo was grilling a few pieces of beef on a small brazier outside the back door — snacks for Saturday's first customers, he said. He put one piece on a plate for me and filled a glass from the cloth-wrapped bottle.
Oak and vanilla came first, then blackberry, plum, dark fruit and cassis. A strong wine. But while I was chewing the beef, a thread of charcoal smoke drifted in through the back door and brushed my nose, and the smoke, before the wine, brought back a night.
Twenty-one, spring, a Wednesday night when the evening wind was still chilly, the kitchen table. Dad came home late. His jacket reeked of charcoal smoke; he was on his way back from someone's barbecue. He wrapped the bottle he'd brought in a cloth, stood it on the table, and poured the one glass left into mine. Out in the cold the delicate wines had no chance, he said, laughing, but everyone loved the strong bottles like this one. I drank that last glass next to Dad and his smoky jacket. I don't know the name of the bottle.
I opened the notebook to that date. The first line reads "nothing beats Napa for a barbecue". With the evening air so chilly, the delicate wines couldn't show what they had, but the powerful Napa wines got a "thumbs up" at every barbecue. Fun but chaotic, so for the next barbecue he should bring cheaper, more powerful wines. Four stars. The bottle was Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. Maybe, even in all that chaos, Dad saved a glass for his daughter.
Master Seo said this winery used to be a place for riding horses — an equestrian centre beside the Silverado Trail in Napa. The stone-walled stables are now a barrel cellar, and the black stallion in the name came from there. A wine you drink outdoors, in the cold, by a fire, has to be strong, he said. Minjae, next to me, had one bite and one sip, then held out his empty glass without a word.
After closing, I wrote the name on the eleventh page of the new notebook. At the very end of the aroma box I wrote "charcoal smoke", then put it in brackets, because that was Dad's jacket, not the wine. What I learned today: how much strength a wine needs depends on where you drink it.
What this wine is
The name Black Stallion comes from horses. This land in the Oak Knoll District at the southern end of Napa Valley, beside the Silverado Trail, was the Silverado Horseman's Center — later the Silverado Equestrian Center — which opened in September 1963. The stone-walled stables are now a barrel cellar, and the old riding ring has become a small-lot winery.
The winery was founded in 2002 by the Maglich brothers. Early on it made about 4,000 cases a year, and only in 2008 did it hire a full-time winemaker. In 2010 the brothers sold it to the Indelicato family, whose Delicato Family Wines began as a California grape-growing business in 1924 and is now run by the fourth generation. Black Stallion became the company's flagship winery and was named Wine Enthusiast's 'American Winery of the Year' in 2023. Ralf Holdenried directs the winemaking.
The estate has 10 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon called the Gaspare Vineyard and also buys grapes from vineyards across Napa and Sonoma. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the house's core Cabernet, which the producer describes as black cherry, cocoa and baking spice, with fruit and tannins well integrated.
What the world says
The five critic reviews gathered on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 91. Vivino lists two 92-point critic scores (Apr 2020). A beverage competition note quoted on Wine-Searcher describes the 2016 as crushed black cherries and violets, milk chocolate and sweet spice.
On Vivino this vintage averages 4.2 from 6,359 ratings, and the label as a whole 4.1 from 40,404. 86% of raters gave it 4 or more. 2016 is the label's most-rated vintage, and vintages since 2014 mostly sit between 4.0 and 4.2 — a steady climb from 3.8 in 2010 and 2011.
Oak, vanilla and chocolate lead the aroma keywords (3,077 mentions), then plum and blackberry (2,789), cherry (1,035), leather and earth (795), and pepper and licorice (448). Structure: intensity 4.7/5, acidity 3.4, tannin 3.4, sweetness 1.7. A textbook powerful Napa Cabernet.
"Toasted oak, vanilla and chocolate. Dark cherry and cassis with hints of coffee." — Vivino review, Feb 2020, 4.5
How I drank it
April 1, 2020, 4 stars. I wrote down oak, vanilla, blackberry, plum, dark fruit and cassis.
It was a barbecue. The first line of the note is 'nothing beats Napa for a barbecue'. The evening air was chilly that night, which made the wines hard to handle. The delicate ones couldn't show what they had in the cold, while every powerful Napa bottle got a thumbs up — as it did at every barbecue.
It was fun but chaotic, so I wrote that for the next barbecue I should bring cheaper, more powerful wines. This bottle didn't win on finesse; it won because it suited the occasion. It's a Napa Cabernet like the Orin Swift Mercury Head 2016 I had ten days earlier, but this bottle's stage was the fire, not the table. My 4 is almost the same as Vivino's 4.2.
Where this wine shows up
This land beside the Silverado Trail was an equestrian centre that opened in 1963. The Maglich brothers founded the winery in 2002, and the Indelicato family (Delicato Family Wines) bought it in 2010. The stone stables became a barrel cellar and the riding ring a winery.
The Napa Wine Project — Black Stallion Winery · Wine Industry Advisor — Black Stallion Estate Winery Named American Winery of the Year (Nov 2023)
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2016 vintage rating distribution (6359 ratings, average 4.2)
| 5★ | 1144 (18%) | |
| 4★ | 4302 (68%) | |
| 3★ | 815 (13%) | |
| 2★ | 65 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 33 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 3077 | oak 1075 · vanilla 781 · chocolate 368 · tobacco 241 · cedar 121 |
| Black fruit | 2789 | plum 742 · blackberry 666 · dark fruit 298 · black cherry 274 · blackcurrant 253 |
| Red fruit | 1035 | cherry 720 · raspberry 101 · red fruit 100 · strawberry 39 · red cherry 19 |
| Earth & leather | 795 | leather 271 · earthy 138 · smoke 126 · cocoa 79 · graphite 33 |
| Spice | 448 | pepper 177 · licorice 82 · mint 45 · cinnamon 27 · anise 22 |
Structure: Acidity 3.4/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Tannin 3.4/5 · Sweetness 1.7/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 40404 ratings, average 4.1)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 3.5 | 41 |
| 2008 | 3.9 | 85 |
| 2009 | 4.0 | 279 |
| 2010 | 3.8 | 788 |
| 2011 | 3.8 | 1615 |
| 2012 | 3.9 | 1687 |
| 2013 | 4.0 | 3369 |
| 2014 | 4.1 | 4823 |
| 2015 | 4.1 | 5515 |
| 2016 | 4.2 | 6359 |
| 2017 | 4.2 | 3075 |
| 2018 | 4.1 | 3616 |
| 2019 | 4.2 | 2411 |
| 2020 | 4.1 | 532 |
| 2021 | 4.1 | 392 |
| 2022 | 4.0 | 204 |
| 2023 | 4.1 | 87 |
Other wines Father scored 4.0 →
Read next
Swipe for more →
Same producerStarmont Carneros Pinot Noir 2014
United States · Napa★★★☆☆
Same producerZelkova Icewine 2016
South Korea★★★☆☆
Same producerZelkova, Premium 2013
South Korea★★★★☆
Same producerMagnotta Limited Edition Cabernet Franc Icewine 2016
Canada · Niagara★★★★☆
Same producerWilliam Hill Central Coast Chardonnay 2015
United States · Central Coast★★★★★
Similar styleClos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (Napa Valley)
United States · Napa★★★★★
Similar styleBelle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017
United States★★★½☆
Similar styleStag's Leap Wine Cellars, S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Napa Valley)
United States · Napa★★★★½Similar styleOrin Swift, Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
United States · Napa★★★★½
Same grapeChâteau La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1970
France · Bordeaux★★★★★
Same grapeOrin Swift, Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
United States · Napa★★★★☆
Same grapeSeña 2012
Chile★★★★½More from Napa, United States
Swipe for more →
NapaFar Niente Chardonnay 2019
★★★★☆NapaClos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (Napa Valley)
★★★★★NapaStarmont Carneros Pinot Noir 2014
★★★☆☆
NapaChateau Montelena Chardonnay 2017
★★★★☆NapaStag's Leap Wine Cellars, S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Napa Valley)
★★★★½NapaOrin Swift, Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
★★★★½NapaOrin Swift, Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
★★★★☆NapaCaymus Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
★★★★☆
NapaClos du Val, Pinot Noir 2016 (Los Carneros)
★★★★☆
NapaNapa by N.A.P.A., Michael's Red 2015
★★★★☆Explore
Bottles Father gave five stars
Only the wines Father scored a perfect 5
→
Wines in manga, film and history
Bottles that show up in manga, film and history
→
Wines you can buy at the supermarket
Wines actually bought at the supermarket
→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon?
The core Cabernet Sauvignon of Black Stallion Estate Winery, built on an old equestrian centre in Napa Valley's Oak Knoll District. The 2016 is 14.5% alcohol, 4.2 on Vivino (6,359 ratings), with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 91.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's world average is US$36 per 750ml (ex-tax, Sep 2026). The 2016 is left at just one overseas retailer (Ohio, USA, US$36.99). The house's North Coast Cabernet is US$20, its flagship Bucephalus US$269.
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests beef, lamb, poultry, game and mature hard cheese. I had it at a chilly evening barbecue, and it kept its power in the cold and by the fire.
Why is it called 'Black Stallion'?
Because the winery was built on the site of the Silverado Equestrian Center, which opened in 1963. The stone-walled stables became a barrel cellar and the riding ring a small-lot winery.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- The Napa Wine Project — Black Stallion Winery
- Wine Industry Advisor — Black Stallion Estate Winery Named American Winery of the Year (Nov 2023)
- Wine-Searcher — 2016 Black Stallion Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
Read next
Swipe for more →
Same producerStarmont Carneros Pinot Noir 2014
United States · Napa★★★☆☆Same producerZelkova Icewine 2016
South Korea★★★☆☆Same producerZelkova, Premium 2013
South Korea★★★★☆Same producerMagnotta Limited Edition Cabernet Franc Icewine 2016
Canada · Niagara★★★★☆Same producerWilliam Hill Central Coast Chardonnay 2015
United States · Central Coast★★★★★Similar style