Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

On the nose, ripe, ruby, fruits of; mulberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries, blueberries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets.

The body is rich, ripe & full. The tannins are a little sticky but well softened, round and a touch chewy. The structure, tension, length, balance, tension and balance are very close to perfect and harmonious. Fruits are; mulberry, huckleberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets. The acidity is round and rains like a waterfall perfectly over the palate. The very long, ruby, rich, well balance lasts minutes and is absolutely heavenly. Gorgeous, elegant, stunning wine.

Photos of; the vertical tasting we attended of all Hendricks Cabernets; 04, 05, 09 & 12 at the time w/ one of our favorite paintings in the background, Charles Hendricks working in the cellar, very old rootstock from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard where the fruit to make this wine normally comes from and a wide shot of the Stag’s Leap Vineyard.

Producer notes and history...Hendricks Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently sourced from a few of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. In those near perfect vintages, Charles only makes a small production wine of around 250-300 cases. Charles only produces it when he has exception fruit. He’s made Hendricks Cabernet in; 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012 & 2014. Notice he didn’t make Hendricks Cabernet in a great vintage year like 2013. He wasn’t happy enough with his fruit in 2013 to put his name on it. That says a lot and maybe all you need to know about his standard for quality. I do know what wine his 13 fruit made as I’ve had and it’s an unbelievable wine for far less money.

Charles also makes a fantastic Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands that is really quite amazing. Especially, if you give it 5 or 6 years in bottle. All his wines are sold exclusively through the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville as he is also the Hope & Grace Winemaker.

Charles graduated in 1982 from UC Davis in viticulture. He was also able to tailor his own curriculum and was one of the earliest to integrate winemaking and viticulture course work. Having knowledge of both viticulture and enology forms the basis for his well-rounded winemaking.

Over the years Charles has worked in both Napa and Sonoma Counties, gaining hands on experience in all aspects of winemaking. He has a strong reputation for excellence. In his career, he’s been a consulting winemaker for many wineries; Viader, Barnett Vineyards, Paoletti Vineyards, Regusci Winery, James Cole, T-Vine and Tamayo family Vineyard.

I asked Charles, “how does he make wines that are amazingly good in their youth but will age effortlessly for 15-20 years?” His answer was simply this, “its not that hard, you just have to know the perfect time to harvest fruit.” I would agree with that to a degree. But, you also have to know how to gently guide fruit onto it’s path into the barrel and not get in the wine’s way or overwork the process. — 8 years ago

Tim Herrmann

9.0

Transcendant table Tuscan! Red fruit all the way with sour cherries and tomato leaf. Structure bright with acid and only medium tannin. After half an hour it opened to show sweeter fruit and some ripe strawberry notes...takes me back to lunch at a trattoria! — 10 years ago

Conrad Green

9.6

A very lucid and delicious nose. Typically DRC. On the palate fresh, complex and settled. Great to drink now- the mix of lightness yet power, grace yet depth you hope for in wines of this level. Still very savory and alive. — 10 years ago

with Rajat and Larry

Matt Rollins

9.2

2013- Wow! Full of huge fruit then comes to a nice finish with the oak, mushroom, alcohol. EXTREMELY well balanced.... Fantastic pinot. — 11 years ago

Fabien Lainé

Blogger VinDeling.com

9.0

A well done wine with maybe a bit of little grip wild finish, a nice discovery, a pure and fresh wine - Karasì, is a tribute to the 6100 year wine tradition of Armenia and to its Areni Noir grape, which has created the authentic spirit of this wine. Its name is a reference to its long aging in traditional large, clay, amphorae (karasì being the Armenian translation “from amphora”). — 12 years ago

G

9.2

This $24.99 wine has multiple Pro ratings of 95. Great wine doesn't have to be expensive. This is a balanced Columbia Valley wine with a very "French", old style taste. — 9 years ago

Mike R

9.2

As a tribute to hawks I declare this WA wine night @Jim Trobaugh join me - good and starting my Saturday night smile exercises — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I am not the biggest fan of most Malbec's. The Mendoza's just aren't all that interesting. There generally quite simple and lack beauty & elegance! However, Chuck Hendrick's Malbec's impress. He makes the Hope & Grace and did until recently make the James Cole. You will be hard press to find another as elegant, smooth and fruit so ripe. One could sip this all night. Ripe black cherries, raspberries, cherries, touch of blue fruit, liquid violets, melted milk chocolate, the dark minerality is round & sweet, there's a faint presence of used wood shavings, touch of lite pepper on the tip of your tongue and a round mix of rich ripe fruit blend on the finish. Acidity is spot on! This will only continue to improve over the next 4-5 years +. — 10 years ago

Paige Worthy

9.3

Beautiful. And what a perfect tribute to a life. — 10 years ago

Stacy Larsen

9.1

Ah-mazing! A definite go to. — 11 years ago

Andrew Notarfrancesco

9.2

Hope and grace is a great go to. This bottle did not disappoint. — 11 years ago

Christian Laur

10

Besser geht's nicht. — 11 years ago

Hawk Wakawaka

Wine Blogger WakawakaWineReviews

9.1

Light bodied, delicate though still fully present Grenache. Refuses extraction and knows who she is in comfortable fashion at the same time. Wonderful red earth plus red fruit ease. — 14 years ago

with Katherine and Angela

Andrew Lam

9.0

Well integrated fruit and nice spice. Had with a variety of food from octopus to porchetta. — 9 years ago

with Jeremy and Graciela

Jody Roberts

9.9

Undeniably divine start to finish. This is a wow wine. Power and grace. Rich yet delicate. The stuff that dreams are made of — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

8.9

Juicy. There's a sense of blackberry/black cherry gum. Black cherry cola, black licorice anise, olallieberry pie, dark moist earth, chocolate cake with fruit & fudge frosting, dark fine minerality, shades of a port like character, liquid violets, crushed rocks, dry pebbles and very large round juicy to dry dark fruit finish. Reminds me of a very dark berry Gamay. — 10 years ago

Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe

9.6

Loving this tribute to white burgundy! The perfect balance of richness and fruit, this is a beautifully elegant chardonnay and an industry favorite! — 10 years ago

Ron R

9.0

As far as rosé goes, this is a good un. Almost no perfume to discuss, although we did detect metals and very soft strawberries. It's soft and round on the palette, which is our style of rosé. Finishes with red fruits and mild acidity. Should have drunk this last year. Oh well... — 10 years ago

with Anne-marie

Jonathan Wall

9.1

Medium light and elegant as a Carneros should be... But strong on a long enjoyable finish. A well balance, easy drinking wine to slowly sip and savour. — 11 years ago

Victor Hwang

9.4

Very Californian Cabernet but so enjoyable. Seductive perfume, lots of red fruit, casis, sweet, great harmony of acidity to counter the fruit and very soft tannins. Great juice for a "second label — 11 years ago

with David