Adriana Fabbro

9.2

I’m kinda over Pinot Gris Ramato and then I come across a wine like this that makes me rethink everything. Yes, it has those classic notes of skin contact Pinot Gris (rose hip, red currant, candied strawberry) but it’s so fresh and clearly comes from a place — in this case the volcanic region of Hungary’s Lake Balaton — it’s flinty, with that volcanic licorice spice / allspice — and clearly from a cooler climate. The story behind the winemaker — a brave man in his 70s who has a former wine director for a Soviet Co-op, who now just wants to make good, natural wine his own way—and the label “Abeles” named for the Jewish family whose abandoned estate he found himself making wine out of before discovering an underground cellar and digging up the history of a family whose members were nearly all murdered during the Holocaust. It’s a just a great fucking wine without knowing the backstory; the backstory makes it profound. — 8 months ago

Rashed Chowdhury

9.2

Lots of blueberry from the beginning to the end. Shiraz from Barossa valley in Australia. From the wine bible, "Torbreck (named after a forest in Scotland) was founded by the indomitable, insatiable David Powell, a man who seems like he could stare down the end of a gun barrel... and chuckle." Bough it from Woodbury Cellars @50% off. — 7 years ago

Meg

9.2

Words sometimes can't express - had an epic night with Steve Reynolds and Fig Tree restaurant Thur night.  What an amazing guy. He started with a (small) cheers of tequila to the guys behind the scenes at his operation, admittedly to get his liquid courage (feel ya, Steve) - and then sampled the Chard, Estate Cab, Persistance (named after a Broadway actor whom after 40yrs waiting tables to do what he loved, finally won a Tony - love that sh1t), Italics (yes you know I adore), and finally the Stag's Leap Reserve (a little smoky vs fruity but the fav of others there).  He educated the guests between each course on a different facet of the winemaking world (and yes I should have gone to Cal Poly or UC Davis, I missed this calling!!). The Persistence is the winner by far in my book - when we're talking value - for $49, where I was able to buy it - you just can't beat that. '11 is ok but '12 is very yummy (and yes that's the man himself) — 8 years ago

Colleen Alteri

9.0

Who wouldn't like a wine named after a fat man. It was fruitier than expected, but went great with my Afgan meal tonight! — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Named the 2015 "Man of the Year" by Decanter Magazine , Alvaro Palacios is an important figure in the wine industry. A wine on the Top 100 Spectator list for 2013. Had a bottle left, tasting well. Sourced from old steep vineyards. Deep dark Ruby. Aromas of pronounced red fruits with the right balance of spices. On the palate flavors of cherry and raspberry with licorice and sweet spice. Long finish, great balance with generous acidity, elegant ending with a mineral character. Very Nice still has room to age — 5 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

They should have called the Winery Floral Springs based on the nose. Beautiful; blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, touch of clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets. The tannins are 95% resolved. The body is lush & ripe. The length, tension & structure are nearing the end. Just a few years left of being worthwhile. However, the balance is stereo tuned. The fruit on the palate shows even more elegant & ripe floral fruits than the nose. Blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, light clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets for days. The acidity is like a waterfall. The beautiful, long, elegant finish is a little lean yet has a nice richness. Beautiful wine that just missed 9.2. Photos top to bottom and left to right. The Winery; which is separate from the other tasting room only on Hwy 29. The tasting room on Hwy 29 in St. Helena, Flora Spring caves and the front of their tasting room along Hwy 29. Producer notes and history...the stone winery on the grounds were built in 1885 by two immigrant brothers from Scotland, James and William Rennie. They were in construction, built the winery and planted 60 acres of grapes. The brothers had some bad fortune when phylloxera consumed the vines, and then a fire in 1900 destroyed their wine press and cooperage. In 1904, they sold the winery and fifteen years later Prohibition started. The winery was then closed until 1933. That year, Louis Martini, looked into their magic eight-ball and saw Prohibition collapsing and bought the Rennie property. They built a new stone house and also made a reserve wine from the hillside vineyards. However, the old winery remained empty until the Komes family bought the property, 325 acres, the old farm house, the newer stone house and 60 acres of vineyards. The son thought he’d persuade his dad to restore the old winery and proposed to call it Chateau Jerome. Although it had been designed by Hamden McIntyre an architect of several other classic 19th-century Napa wineries, by 1977, the place was a wreck. The tin roof of the building had so many holes in it. They called it the starlight roof. His father looked at it and stated, “I’ve worked all my life for my good name. I don’t want to squander it now.” John’s mother, Flora, however, sided with her son on the potential of the property. Carrie Komes suggested they could name the winery for her mother-in-law. Combined with the abundant springs on the land, they decided the name would be Flora Springs. It was a sure way to their mom’s heart and father’s wallet. Komes put his construction expertise to work on renovating the old winery, which still had scorch marks on the walls. So skeptical was his father about his son’s wine-making project, they divided the winery building. John rented half where he put his first fermenting tank, which he named R2D2. He invited a couple of friends from his wine-making class to help make wine at the new place. He also hired Mary Ann Graf, who in 1965 had been the first woman to graduate from the viticulture and enology department at UC Davis to help manage the project. She told John, “if you don’t hire a winemaker, I’ll quit.” He did and the 1979 Flora Springs chardonnay won a gold medal at the Los Angeles County Fair. In those days, it was fairs, not ratings. This was his first lesson in marketing as they sadly sold all the wine before they won the medal. Fairs were the big news instead of ratings as Parker had not yet risen to fame as he was the only one to call the grand 1982 Bordeaux vintage correctly. They submitted their 1981 Cabernet to eight fairs and won seven gold medals. From there, the winery just kept growing. They were the 67th winery in the county. Over the years, they had their ups and downs, but kept growing. One of their highlights was the creation this wine, Trilogy. It was one of the first Meritage blends in the valley. By 1984, they planted all the Bordeaux varietals; Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. They wanted to create a blend “by taste”, not by formula for a nice smooth wine that goes deep into the palate. They worked with a little of this and little of that. The first Trilogy was Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. It was dubbed as velvet in the mouth. A lot of what they do is taming the tannins. One man who bought Trilogy by the case said, “it’s the only red wine his wife would drink young.” From the leftovers, they began making single-varietal estate wines. Another highlight was the discovery of a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc in vineyards his father bought in Oakville. UC Davis could identify nothing like it in their vast library of clones. They were a bit ahead of the times, but this clone showed Flora Springs how different in that time period what Sauvignon Blanc could be like as it took all the grassiness out of Sauvignon Blanc. — 6 years ago

S.S. Mandani

9.0

For some reason, this wine’s bouquet reminds me of chicken tikka masala and the spicy, sweet aroma of good Indian cooking.

The bottle was recommended to me years ago by a Greek man named Nico who owns a shop in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City.

It’s bouquet is jammy, tart, spicy, sweet and cool air woodsy.

It’s taste a bit more peppery, surprising the palate into a frogmarch of seductive fruitiness, pure essence of vanilla, a complex jam of flavor and woodsiness. Love it.

This wine never disappoints me and at $11.99 from TJ or $13-$15 from a local wine shop, it’s a home base, comfort bottle for a night in.
— 6 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

One the nose; floral, sweet fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, plum, black plum, black raspberries & raspberries. Dry, dark soils and dry & fresh red florals. The body is medium. Tannins are dusty, soft and smooth. Black tea, dry stones, crushed dry rocks, cedar wood shavings, dry stems, touch of vanilla, old, dry leather and blue fruits shine as you sip it. This is another tight bottle. It also needs 15 years before it starts to fully reveal itself. The structure, length, balance and acidity are certainly all there for a nicely improved vine in 15 plus years. Photo tour of the estate, Dominus vines, barrel room and of course, the legendary Christian Moueix. He also makes Petrus & Hosanna in Bordeaux. I've been fortunate to have dinner twice with Christian. He is an incredibly nice person and very humble man considering his credentials. First vintage of Dominus 1983. George Yount, for whom Yountville is named, planted some of the first vines on the estate in 1828. — 7 years ago

Michael Herzog

8.9

This had some nice age to it. — 8 years ago

with Judy

Peter Scudamore-Smith MW

8.9

Quite amazing to see 13 year-old budget wine hold on so long; blame the screwcap and absence of cork; pristine kero- style riesling; fatter than its equivalent from Clare; expect a blend of warmer Barossa, Clare and Eden Valley, tad sweet but now called richness; green-gold-yellow; looks old tastes honied; brulee and lime juice; full- bodied riesling from its Barossa roots; venerable like the 80 odd year-old man its named after-Wolfgang. 11.5% AUD 10; #riesling #southaustralia #wolfblass #2003 — 8 years ago