Laurent Godeau

9.0

Beautiful black fruits, earthy and gamy nose. The Merlots did well in 2008. Very charming fine grained tannins. Open right away with evolution to minty and underwood. This is a beautiful wine drank with my best company ever, my beautiful wife. What else? — 7 years ago

Mark Howard

9.3

Ok, first thing- thank you Rick Banks for the gift of this bottle. Secondly, we have an affinity for this producer as Elizabeth and I shared a bottle of pinot from Hartford Court on the night we met. Now about the wine. Bold blue fruit aromatics with a hint of licorice. Mid palate shows some red fruits mainly raspberries. Soft tannins fading away to a sweet finish. Not many domestic pinots have life after 8 years, this one definitely does. Best to consume sooner than later, maybe over the next year or so. What a wonderful treat. Thanks my friend! — 7 years ago

with Elizabeth

Edmond Bordelon

9.6

Nine Suns and their favorite son, Sam Kaplan!
Sam and his lovely wife, Nancy were kind enough to take time out of their Florida vacation and stop by our house for a great Tasting Event of his big 3 Wines,... Arkenstone, Memento Mori and Nine Suns. And then he pulled out his latest project, soon to be released in the fall, Maxem! (Named after his two children, Max and Emma.) Not to compete with his huge red blends, his Maxem line is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both from the famed UV Vineyard in Sonoma. (Think Aubert Pinot Noir😃). I will try to review the Maxem wines later, but back to the amazing Nine Suns red blend from Pritchard Hill. We had the 2012 recently and were blown away by how much it has improved in such a short time. The 2013 needed some more time, but you can already sense the greatness to come. Already balanced feel and long finish. I decanted it for 4 hours to ensure we were doing justice to this deep purple stunner. While I liked the 2012 better, this 2013 was still lush and had blueberries as the major fruit up front and dark cherries on the back end. Sam talked about Nine Sun's amazing Houyi Vineyard, calling it the Rodéo Drive of Napa with all of their big neighbors. 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. Robert Parker gave it a 96, and I am in full agreement! — 9 years ago

with Beth and Katherine

Jeffrey Lew

10

Wow... Kinda blown away by this...WOTN. High shoulder fill didn't stop this at all. Nose of Olive tapenade that gave way to dried fruits, mint and a twist of menthol. Drank over a few hours and it stayed strong. Quite remarkable and at its apogee. Perfect. — 9 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.0

Dang it! No more 2012's anywhere to be had. Asked the table of winos if anyone was squirreling away any 2012's in their home stashes. They were all smart enough to say no. So even though it is not the epic 2012, it was still the preferred wine over two other big Napa Cabs. Still has a big fruit and smooth finish. Just can't rate it higher because of the prior year's greatness. — 9 years ago

with Joe

Luka Bayer

9.4

Perfect balance, nothing to add or take away. — 10 years ago

Michael Pernula

9.0

$14.99. Smooth, delicious, night at home cab. — 11 years ago

Jose Lopez

9.4

Superb. I though it would blow me away but was actually very well balanced and complex. — 11 years ago

Kenny Koda

9.9

Had to pop one before the case is put away go deep! — 12 years ago

Greg Gregory

9.7

Great bottle. Fresh, fruit, stunning color, just a few ticks away from being a perfect bottle. — 7 years ago

with Fritz

Alicia Cypress

9.3

An intoxicating nose and a palate that’s spicy at first, but starts to go away after 45 minutes of air. Still quite young, so it’s still tight, but easy to drink and easy to enjoy! — 8 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.3

Open-ish and enjoyable, but so many years away from fullness. What comes across as richness now should moderate a bit over the next decade to allow the more savory/olive-y/herbal layers to own their own space. Check back. — 8 years ago

Shawn R

9.2

Several stashed away and brought to the front of the cellar. The time is now. Slight variation from the last bottle. Olive tapenade nose at first then showing prune and raisins. Tannins still lift the profile of this wine. Bright acidity. Smoked Mushroom 🍄 complements a strong finish. — 9 years ago

Narun P

9.0

Funky at first but subsequently blown away. Fresh, leathery, flowery, with some structure. Can tell it was once a great bottling. A bit long over due. — 9 years ago

Chip Krotee

9.4

I have a Ridge bias and need to get that out right away. Had this 2013 bottle at Steak48 in Houston. In my opinion at 70$ was the best bank for buck wine on the menu so ordered it. This was better than a bottle I had tried earlier and was interesting that two bottles could vary so much. With this one it was a good start and I'd say this is a medium to full body Zin. You def get the cherry, plum, and dark fruit plus some licorice or spice. I really enjoyed it and as it breathed it added some complexity. Finish was excellent. Rating based on price at restaurant. It you can get for $30-32. Really good buy. — 9 years ago

Geoff Troup

Sales Eder Brothers, Cellar Fine Wines

9.0

Juicy, huge oak, and a finish so long you almost want it to stop. Some earthy spice and chalkiness finds its away into the overload of new world fruit, but this wine is damn well made and a great marriage of opposing flavors. — 10 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.0

Blind Tasting MOT=90
Color: Solid Red
Nose: Earthy and cherries
Palate: Very sweet for some reason, and a little thin for my liking, initially there was something in the front of my mouth that was off putting (was an 86). As the night progressed that front of the palate feeling went away and came through with cherries and cassis.
Opinion: As I found out this needed more time open — 10 years ago

with India and Sean

V

9.3

This is steps away from perfection. The sweetness is balanced with acidity and covered with a complex bouquet of rich aromatics. It would be even better with age. — 11 years ago

with Amber

Stephen Moore

9.8

The Prisoner. A great bottle of wine, to finish an equally great week. You pick up the fruit right away on the nose. Blackberry, cherry, cassis, and pepper :) #yegwine — 12 years ago

Craig Williams

9.7

Was prepared to be disappointed and came away very pleased. Initial impressions of cherry/strawberry with savory, woodsy elements with finely resolves tannins. Bright acidity frames the long finish. Over time, more mocha notes appeared , yet the wine remained compelling. For me, this was perfectly evolved. — 7 years ago

with Gavin and Maureen

Kyle Harvey

9.0

Clean clean clean Nero - had it before but forget the great fruit acid balance, without the overpowering fruit that makes me shy away from this grape so much. Great value for this vino da agricoltura biologica — 8 years ago

Narun P

9.0

60 CS, 30 M, 5.5 CF, 3 PV, 1.5 Malbec

Dark and brooding, semi transparent, still youthful.

Restrained bouquet at first but after 1 hour of thorough decanting, it decided to wake up. Cassis, toasted cedar wood, lovely tobacco and tea leaf undertone.

The palate gives away quite good amount of tannin remaining. Nice balance of acidity. More dark than red fruit. A lot of secondary characters start to come out. Finish strongly on the cedary/woodsy note.

For a second wine in a heralded vintage (i.e. usually not good), this is a success. Has staying power to keep going for 5 more years easily. If pop now, need a long decanting time. It's in that very sleepy phase. 90+ — 8 years ago

Bitterman The Pirate

9.0

Beautiful Rioja. Lots of oak at first, but fades away into stewed plums, chocolate and well balanced acidity. — 9 years ago

Jake

9.2

1989. Good right away. Excellent after two hours. Great way to cap the year and my first post. — 9 years ago

with Jason

Matthew Beninati

9.5

Ok. Let this breathe for 45..... and it is beautiful. I can smell rose petals and cherry sauce emanating from the glass from 3 feet away! The tannins cut right through the ravioli. This reminds me of tannic Oregon Pinot Noir. Rose water mixed with saddle leather and wet earth. — 9 years ago

Mark Rosse

9.4

In magnum. Infant even after 6 hours. Alongside the regular 1989 in magnum which blew it away. — 10 years ago

Jason Price

8.9

Nice nose, easy and light in the palate - hints of berries and a bit of spice. Not heavy on the tannins (pucker) on the back end. Smooth and a tad spicy. Lighter than what I was expecting in color and taste actually for a big famous California Cabernet Sauvignon. I liked it for sure...wasn't blown away though. — 10 years ago

with Mike

Harrison Fong

9.6

Its a good year. Bold and delicious. Sock it away for a decade or so. — 11 years ago

John Junguenet

9.3

So hard to resist! Def tucking a few away for the 40th Bday...in 2023 — 12 years ago

Joe Carroll

Owner/Wine Director Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, St. Anselm & Gotham Artisanal Provisions

9.9

I'm am always blown away with how great Pepes hold up. Still had a nice amount of cherry fruit. — 12 years ago