Robb Report Names Alpha Omega Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2022 One of the Best Napa Valley Bordeaux Blends
As featured in Robb Report, July 29, 2026, by Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen.
Napa Valley built its reputation on Cabernet Sauvignon. That much is well established. But there is another chapter in this valley’s story, one that wine lovers who restrict their attention to single-varietal bottles are missing entirely. Robb Report’s wine editors Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen tasted through hundreds of Napa Valley Bordeaux-style red blends and arrived at a list of seven they believe deserve higher priority on every serious collector’s list. Alpha Omega’s Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2022 is among them.
It is the kind of recognition that affirms what Robin and Michelle Baggett set out to do nearly two decades ago: craft wines that express the full complexity of this valley, not just one celebrated grape.
What Robb Report Said About the 2022 Proprietary Red
DeSimone and Jenssen described the Alpha Omega Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2022 with precision. They noted aromas of black licorice, freshly ground black pepper, and black currant. Silky smooth tannins, they wrote, pave the way for flavors of brown baking spices, ripe cherry, and black plum. Their conclusion: it hits all the right buttons.
The writers also acknowledged Robin and Michelle Baggett’s deep involvement in the Napa Valley Vintners and its charitable organizations, noting their role as Honorary Chairs of Auction Napa Valley in 2025. At Alpha Omega, the wines and the mission have always been inseparable.
The Blend Behind the Bottle
The 2022 Proprietary Red is one of Alpha Omega’s signature wines, produced every year since 2006. What makes it distinctive is its flexibility. The blend changes each vintage based on what the growing season gives us across our valley floor, hillside, and mountain vineyard sources. The winemaking team draws on all five classic Bordeaux varieties each year, finding the composition that best captures the character of the vintage.
In 2022, that blend is 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 19% Malbec, 15% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. The grapes were sourced from a combination of our valley floor, hillside, and mountain vineyards, including hand-crafted fruit from Spring Mountain. Fermentation took place in 40% French oak barriques (50% new) and 60% stainless steel tanks. The wine was then aged for 18 months in French oak barriques, 30% new.
The result is a wine built on structural range. The Merlot contributes mid-palate richness and approachability. The Malbec adds depth and a characteristic inky darkness. The Petit Verdot extends the finish and adds floral lift. The Cabernet Franc brings brightness and precision. The Cabernet Sauvignon anchors the whole with the authority this valley is known for.
Vintage Notes: 2022
The 2022 growing season in Napa Valley began with significant rain in December followed by relatively dry, mild conditions through March, providing an early bud break. Alternating warm and cool conditions after March led to steady summer conditions that prevailed until the first week of September, when temperatures rose significantly. Cooler weather after the heat spell allowed many hillside and south valley vineyards to recover and were harvested in great condition.
The nose is forward and ripe: dark cherry, plum, and cassis accented by notes of fennel, purple flowers, and sweet tobacco. On the palate, medium full-bodied with broad bright flavors of cherry, mulberry, and red currant, further enhanced by tobacco and graham cracker. The wine’s overall quality is excellent, showing a broad spectrum of aromas and flavors that reflects the diverse sourcing across valley floor, hillside, and mountain sites.
Why Bordeaux Blends Belong in Your Cellar
DeSimone and Jenssen make a compelling case in their Robb Report feature. American winemakers, they write, are free from the strict appellation rules that govern Bordeaux itself. That freedom allows for blending decisions rooted entirely in the land and the vintage rather than tradition or regulation. In Napa Valley, where the six classic Bordeaux varieties all thrive, that creative latitude produces wines of remarkable range and depth.
At Alpha Omega, that philosophy has guided the winemaking program since the winery’s founding in 2006. Robin and Michelle Baggett built a portfolio that spans the valley’s sub-appellations precisely because they believed in Napa’s breadth, not just its headline grape. From Spring Mountain to the Rutherford Bench outside our front door, each site tells a different story. A well-crafted Bordeaux blend draws on multiple chapters at once.
The cellar-worthiness of these blends is not incidental. The structural backbone provided by Petit Verdot, the mid-palate richness contributed by Merlot, and the lift that Cabernet Franc brings all extend a wine’s arc in the bottle. These are wines built to evolve. To learn more about Robin and Michelle Baggett’s vision for Alpha Omega, we invite you to read our founding story.
A 20th Anniversary Milestone
This recognition arrives as Alpha Omega marks its 20th anniversary in 2026. Two decades of farming Napa Valley’s most celebrated sites, of working with winemakers of the caliber of Head Winemaker Melissa Paris and Consulting Winemaker Andy Erickson, and of building relationships with growers who share a commitment to terroir-driven viticulture. A Robb Report feature listing us among the seven best Napa Valley Bordeaux blends to buy right now feels like a fitting way to mark the occasion.
The Proprietary Red has always represented Alpha Omega at its most expressive. It is not a wine that leads with a single vineyard or a single grape. Instead, it asks what this valley, in this vintage, has to offer across all five of its classic varieties. In 2022, the answer was exceptional.
Plan Your Visit to the Estate
Our estate on the Rutherford Bench at 1155 Mee Lane is open for tastings most days, and walk-ins are welcome when availability allows. The property features landmark fountains, a tranquil pond, and stunning views of the Mayacamas Mountains. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome. Children are welcome too, provided they are supervised. It is a setting as thoughtfully crafted as the wines themselves.
We are also a Napa Green certified winery and land, operating almost entirely on solar power. That commitment to sustainable farming practices runs through everything we do, from the vineyard to the bottle.
Acquire. Visit. Join the Family.
The 2022 Proprietary Red is available now. We invite you to explore our current releases and secure a bottle before it returns to our winemaking library.
Ready to experience the wines in person? Reserve a tasting at our Rutherford estate and let the land speak for itself.
For ongoing access to allocated and single-vineyard releases, curated shipments, and exclusive member events, we warmly invite you to join the Alpha Omega Wine Club. Membership means becoming part of a family that takes both wine and community seriously.
Cheers to 2026, and to twenty years of craft.
