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

Mark Flesher

9.5

REALLY nice bottle of wine. This wine has a lot going on. Sourced from a 2.2 acre plot that is right across the street from Diamond Creek, the Dyers put love into everything they make. And it shows. This wine has a blackberry and floral perfume that is intoxicating. The nose was very reminiscent of Cab Franc and in a blind tasting that would have been my guess. The entry of this wine is delicately powerful. It has the blackberry power, the cassis of a younger wine, but the finesse in the middle with notes of graham cracker, grilled meats, herbs, pie spice, cola, and BRAMBLE....just a LOT going on here!! This wine is still very locked up, and takes a BUNCH of coaxing to get it out of its shell. Once it does, it does NOT disappoint. Very pumped about being able to spend some time with Dawnine and Bill in the next couple of weeks! — 9 years ago

Ian Blackburn

10

I believe this to be a perfect wine. Cliché to enjoy something so celebrated, I believe it's the reason it is celebrated. 96 was a great vintage specially for Pinot Noir this wine is so balanced and pure around texture but the long and the linear and it's Percision and focus. Kudos to the winemaking team able to taste this youthful high acid fruit bottled flawlessly not masked by wood or oxidation but focused on purity and drinkability. This wine won the popular vote which isn't always the critical vote but in this case I cannot be critical of something so perfect. — 9 years ago

June

9.1

Sweet and light and down able — 10 years ago

Thomas Hughes

9.4

I've had every vintage of this bottle from 2001 to 2008 (with the exception of 2002, which I'm not sure if they were able to produce). I've even sampled their 2010, which may rival their best vintages (1997, 2001, 2004, 2006). After an hour of decanting the deep cherry and blackberry fruit dominate this graceful glass. Sweet but not tart, the finish lingers with a subtle smile. By the vineyards standard, 2008 is a wonderful bottle. Cheers!! — 11 years ago

Robbie Ward

9.3

Joyous! Deep and a bit gritty, but fragrant and wonderfully smash it back able — 12 years ago

Zak Helmerich

9.6

Love an age able wine that's barrel fermented. Plus the winemaker is the absolute man! — 12 years ago

Frank Chounet

9.5

Old world, age-able, great with food - easy drinking med tannins — 12 years ago

David Sigthorsson

9.1

Nice flavor, very spicy where you can taste the claimed fruits spices and pumpkin, with what I think of as a sweet full aftertaste of what seems like apricots — 13 years ago

Shay A

9.4

During the month of January, the Wednesday Wine Committee has a unique format...the sparkler, whites and dessert wines can be from any vintage and any location, but the reds must be from the 2007 vintage. It was my first time providing a wine for a lunch, so I was excited to see how it showed. As always, all wines were served blind.

This was a treat for me to be able to serve. Tom Farella only produces this Alta bottle in special years. The ‘07 was his last one before he brought it back in ‘14. Cabernet dominated blend complimented by a bit of merlot from the famed Farella vineyard. Supremely balanced. Raspberries, plums and blackberries on the nose and palate, but the finish was plush. This is about at its peak and will stay here for another 3 or so years. Oak was almost fully integrated. Very happy to have two of these still sleeping. This was the group’s consensus “wine of the day”. — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.5

4th Friday of the month means Classic Wine Storage happy hour! Great wines, as always, today!

This was my contribution as I needed to make space for the revered ‘15s. My first time having the ‘14, and I’m glad I was able to wait a year. Still needed every bit of the 2hrs it was open. Incredibly plush...difference between that and silky. It coated every bit of the mouth, but had a softness to it. Blackberries, licorice, wet stone, graphite, and a finishing note of nutmeg. Impressive. — 9 years ago

with Mark

Paras Maniar

9.6

Still love it. So glad I was able to find a bottle earlier today. — 9 years ago

Barny

9.2

Hades-Version, geiler, fleischiger Lemberger, sehr lecker — 9 years ago

Chip Krotee

9.6

First off, fantastic label. We were able to drink the wine at its peak and it was fantastic. Exactly how I always thought a Chardonnay would taste. Citrus at the start. Deep honey and peach in the middle. Full bodied and a rich finish. Will exceed expectations as evidenced by the price to acquire such a gem! — 10 years ago

Dan Kim

9.5

Was fortunate to be able to taste for the first time. Felt like I needed more delicate palate! — 11 years ago

Janet Alvarez

10

I love this wine!! So smooth and delicate with a lot of flavor. Purchased it at Trader Joe's but have not been able to find it again :( — 11 years ago

Stephanie Rodricks

10

Cherry notes. Everyone has loves this wine. My cousin who suffers from chronic migraines was able to drink this wine without a problem. — 12 years ago

Jill Thornton

9.5

A pear ale — 12 years ago

Eric Dellinger

8.9

Full body, balanced, able to age further. — 13 years ago

Steve Haro

8.9

20 bucks at Trader Joe’s. Not going to be able to buy a Barolo at this price/quality. Drink with food. Lots of earth and mushrooms. — 9 years ago

Rick K

9.6

Really nice. Perfect condition. Tobacco, graphite, cranberries and a little bell pepper on the finish. 50% Cab, 30% Merlot and 20% Cab Franc. 13.8% ABV. Able to go another 5 yrs easily. — 9 years ago

Shay A

9.4

I was able to attend another Wednesday Wine Committee this week and it did not disappoint (they never do). As normal, all wines are tasted blind (1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert).

My red of the day. Proudly, I actually guessed the blend and the producer correct (thought it was either Ridge, Carlisle or Martinelli). Figured it to be young. Inky color. Jam packed up front with black fruit and a small amount of blueberries, but the mid palate showed more finesse and the finish was gorgeous. Still tight, but lots of potential. — 9 years ago

with Will and Benjamin

Shay A

9.2

Finally able to lock down reservations at Magdalena's. They have a unique set up in that they have a set menu that changes every week, and you are notified the week before if there are spots available...they sell out within 5mins! We were lucky to get on the list for their most recent "Supper Club" as they call it.

Based on the menu, we figured 1 white and 1 red was appropriate. After enjoying my favorite Sauv Blanc (the Addax SB), my buddy Luke (who is a big Pinot fan) brought this to expand our knowledge on pinots and see what Oregon has cooking. At pop and pour, this was delicious. Lots of cherries, leather and dates on the nose. The taste was very different than the aromatics. More leather, Bing cherry, cedar and a touch of rhubarb. A very "dusty" Pinot. — 9 years ago

with Luke

Emmy Zhang

Sales Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

10

Emmy had this 10 years ago

Christanna Honer

9.0

Intensely lemony- almost lemon pledge-like, w/ some mild clove spice. Ultra citrusy, crisp and lemongrass/coriander. — 11 years ago

Gerry Schwartz

9.7

Liquid gold absolutely wonderful bottle everyone should be able to drink it at least once — 11 years ago

Colin Cahoon

8.9

Beef in a bottle. — 12 years ago

Anthony Lynch

9.1

Down able. No, bad spell check. Downable. — 12 years ago

Carolyn Pursell

9.6

My dad and grandpa each bought a case of this wine 20ish years ago and this is the last bottle. So ridiculously delicious it's not even funny. Feel lucky to be able drink such good wine! — 13 years ago

David W Henion

9.0

A Kermit lynch selection that's really like able — 13 years ago