Most vintners in the Napa Valley produce a reserve wine — a wine made from the best grapes on their respective estates.

Not too long after Hack Wilson launched Chimney Rock Winery in the mid-1980s with a single cabernet sauvignon, he prevailed upon veteran winemaker Doug Fletcher to put together a reserve wine that would make use of the estate’s superior fruit.

Acting on that request, the Stags Leap District-savvy Fletcher blended varying amounts of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc for a wine he would call Elevage.

The name Elevage borrows the French term for the time wine spends in oak barrels between fermentation and bottling.

All great wines are aged in oak barrels, Fletcher points out, enhancing complexity, texture and depth.

“But for Elevage, this time is especially important. During elevage is when the power of cabernet joins with the suppleness of merlot, and when petit verdot or cabernet franc — or both — find their place to form a wine uniquely reflective of the vineyard and the vintage.”

When discussing the launch of Elevage and his intentions with the first vintage in 1990, Fletcher makes reference to Cheval Blanc, the noble Right Bank blend.

“It’s not so much the stylistic similarity, although the wines share a voluptuous, plush texture,” notes Fletcher. “The similarity is that they aren’t about the single variety or even the varieties. They’re about how it all comes together to provide a new perspective on a great property.”

Recently, Fletcher invited a group of area wine writers to a retrospective tasting of Elevage, an opportunity to taste this distinct Stags Leap District winery’s reserve wine over a period of 16 harvests, from the first release in 1990 to a barrel sample of 2005 Elevage.

The tasting did indeed point up the footprint of this first-class wine estate, in that the wines — no matter the percentages of this grape or that in the blend — displayed both stylistic resemblance and incredible voluptuousness.

Sure, there are differences from vintage to vintage. In the mid-1990s, Chimney Rock extensively replanted its vineyards. As a result, there was no cabernet franc in the blend for three years, although the reserve wine had been launched with equal parts of cabernet franc and merlot, with some cabernet sauvignon thrown in for good measure.

Fletcher notes that he slowly made a shift toward merlot, and then with the 2000 harvest began adding more than a dollop of petit verdot, giving the wine added floral and blueberry notes and contributing significantly to the mid-palate. The 2001 Elevage has 18 percent petit verdot in the blend.

While it’s interesting to see how much of each variety goes into Elevage, those percentages, Fletcher rightfully insists, are never as important as the blend itself.

Overall, a taster might find the early blends tended toward herbal and green olive aromas and flavors, while newer vintages point up layers of gorgeous, ripe fruit.

Fletcher and winemaker Elizabeth Vianna carefully pick through a large number of vineyard blocks each harvest in search of the best fruit for the ideal blend. The consumer will readily discover, as the winemaking team maintains, that the end result is a well-constructed portrait of the Chimney Rock wine estate.

Looking back at my tasting notes and now at the blend percentages provided by the winemakers, it’s been fun analyzing the wines that I liked best. For example, I found the ’93 Elevage to be an extraordinary wine — a big, bright nose full of ripe fruit, a wine that smelled and tasted of cherries and cassis. It was a blend of only merlot (35 percent) and cabernet sauvignon (65 percent).

I thought I would share some tasting notes for the wines that are still available to the consumer at the winer, as well as current prices for these wines.

Chimney Rock 1996 Elevage ($82): A lovely royal crimson, this is an elegant blend of merlot (70 percent), cabernet sauvignon (18 percent) and cabernet franc (12 percent). There’s both cinnamon and cassis on the nose and this easy-to-drink wine tastes of plums and spice and has a marvelous lingering finish.

Chimney Rock 2000 Elevage ($78): A well-balanced blend of merlot (51 percent), cabernet sauvignon (42 percent) and petit verdot (7 percent), the wine exhibits layers of fruit, especially blackberries and cherries, with a skosh of cassis. The finish surprises, in that it is less intense than one might expect for such a dynamic mid-palate, and has a slight medicinal note.

Chimney Rock 2001 Elevage ($80): This fleshy, mouthfilling blend of merlot (33 percent), cabernet sauvignon (49 percent) and petit verdot (18 percent) is a favorite. A beautiful purple, this one has bright, ripe black fruit jumping out of the glass — an elegant wine with oodles of lush red and black fruit with a very long blueberry finish.

Chimney Rock 2002 Elevage ($78): Spice and mineral are evident on the nose of this blend of merlot (83 percent), cabernet sauvignon (8 percent) and petit verdot (9 percent). There’s ripe blackberries, chocolate and Oriental spice on the palate with the flavors of both blueberries and raspberries on the finish.

Chimney Rock 2003 Elevage ($76): Still a bit tannic, this blend of merlot (65 percent), cabernet sauvignon (25 percent), cabernet franc (5 percent) and petit verdot (5 percent) nevertheless shows off lovely ripe cherries and blackberries on the palate. A well integrated wine, it has a toasty, mineraly nose and a hint of fresh blueberries on the finish.

And the blends that are yet to be released, both ’04 and ’05, are outstanding, great structure, great inky hues, juicy, ripe fruit. Fletcher and Vianna can be proud.

In addition, they have a right to boast about an exceptional reserve white Chimney Rock’s been producing since the ’04 crush — Elevage Blanc. This is a 50/50 blend of sauvignon blanc and the rarely used sauvignon gris, which Vianna maintains gives the wine better mid-palate structure and flavors. Vianna says the wine goes through malolactic fermentation completely which “tames the wildness of the sauvignon blanc.” The reserve white is held for a year to allow further bottle development prior to release.

Chimney Rock 2004 Elevage Blanc ($36): There’s a nose full of honeysuckle here and this rich, creamy blend tastes of melons and ripe stone fruit. It’s a terrific meritage wine that could easily compete with any of its Bordeaux counterparts.