Shay A

9.3

What a super fun and unique wine. I’ve enjoyed some of the chenins and Mourvèdre from D&R but this was my first merlot from them. Beautifully sweetened red fruit with new potpourri aromatics...insanely perfumed. Crunchy cranberry, high acidity and a mix of baking spice/herbs. Deliciously easy to drink. Thanks @Arden Barnett — 5 years ago

with Jack and Arden

Kirk F

9.2

So glad Merlot is making a strong comeback and this is a great example of why. Plush and juicy, with a jammy sweetness. Yummy. Don’t mind @Jeff Hennike and his display of affection. 😂 — 6 years ago

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. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.1

One of 2 birth year wines I brought to the graduation dinner of my business partner's daughter. As an aside, she was class valedictorian out of 600+ students so props to her. This is a structured, well balanced Cabernet. Cedar, cherry, grainy-chewy tannins. Very solid but it lacks the gravitas of wines higher up on the mountain--Togni, Pride and even Barnett. Oh yeah did I say the grad dinner was at Olive Garden? My maiden voyage. Not as bad as I had envisioned and I know my partner only spent about $600 for 19 people so there's that..... — 7 years ago

Kimberly Anderson

9.2

What a fantastic wine! Heavy blueberry and blue fruit nose. Medium tannins and lush finish. Perfect with grilled veal chops — 7 years ago

with Chad, Julie and 1 other

Donald Rory

9.0

Immediately approachable. Luscious fruit. Lavender on the nose — 5 years ago

Mark Turner

9.3

This was a magnum so might be aging slightly better than a 750z. Drinking extremely well. Great soft fruit, a little earth, tannins blown off. Smooth, balanced. — 6 years ago

with Aaron

V M

9.9

Boarding on perfection Barnett’s 2014 PNV wine (bottle 23 of 60) is simply stunning. Incredible nose of sweet mountain berries with a hint of burnt ember. The palate explodes with a cedar berry vanilla bomb that lingers for well over a minute. It concludes with a kiss of meat drippings and iron at the very end. Wow — 6 years ago

Rod Welsh

9.5

Amazingly delicious — 6 years ago

Stephen Pierron

9.6

Older Vines Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain. .. only 5 barrels made. Delicious! ! — 7 years ago

with Jen

Mark Flesher

9.0

This one I felt was missing something. I expect something with this label to dominate and compared to what else was there tonight, it was just rather timid. Still had some rather nice black fruits on the nose and on the palate, but thankfully this one wasn't mine. A little flat in the middle. Nice blackberry nose and palate. The finish is a little on the stiff side. I just think this one needs another 2-3 years in the bottle for it to wake back up again. I think it was in a funky place. Very enjoyable and I would definitely not snub this one if it was the only one on the table (quite the opposite, actually). This one tasted with a 2012 Pott Franc, a 2014 Bevan Ontogeny, a 1997 Lokoya Diamond Mtn, and a Barnett 2010 Rattlesnake Hill Cab. Nice wine.....I just think it would be better on another day. — 7 years ago

with Shay and Keith

Michael Walker

9.8

Serious butter - Miner-esque but without the edge — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.6

Attending the Côtes du Coeur in Dallas. Was asked to be a brand ambassador for Montagu Wines, so I get to pour this weekend! Last night was the grand tasting...out of 18 or so wineries, two really stood out.

This is the second wine that really stood out, along with the Barnett Rattlesnake. Lots of similarities. Both had that Velvet and creamy texture on the palate. Lots of darker fruits on this. Pedigree really shined so you knew at first whiff this was going to be phenomenal. Kirk Venge is the winemaker. As a '14, could tell it was super young but already incredibly powerful. @Jason Oliver , I believe you are a fan of this stuff? I got to meet @Hailey Covey with Macauley and both my wife and I agreed that this was top notch! Thanks Hailey! — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Jack & Arden put together a wonderful evening of delicious food and great wines, and a few of us attendees contributed some bottles to enjoy as well. Great night!

Served blind. My guess was left bank Bordeaux. This had some must to blow off but once it did, this was my WOTN. We were all surprised when this was revealed. Potpourri, herbs de Provence, and dried cranberry on the nose. Good weight...strawberry and raspberries, rose petal, old fig. Faint notes of leather. Thanks for bringing @Arden Barnett — 5 years ago

with Arden, Jack and 3 others

Ben Madonna

9.2

Great fruit and floral nose. Very rich with smooth finish. Tastes great with or without food. — 6 years ago

Ben Madonna

9.2

Started with it at lunch. Tasted much better later that night at dinner. Savoy is always great Pinot. — 6 years ago

Josh Wilson

9.8

Present for babysitting Luca — 6 years ago

Jason and Jennie

9.3

This is tasting better than a year ago. Liking the ghost block yountville a little better right now. Those tannins still need to calm down a bit and the fruit needs to show a little more. The Barnett is the least structured and very approachable. Girlfriend and I both preferred the ghost block #1 but she had the Barnett over Shafer. 92-93 — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

Showing the tiniest bit of oxidation at first, with a rather strange funk. This one has a classic volcanic soil nose and when it was bottle decanted it still had a 70's shag carpet funk to it. This quickly blew off. The terroir note of the red volcanic soil is still present throughout the entire presentation of this wine. This one shows blackberry that has started to show the tiniest bit of age. From front to back, this one was blackberry and volcanic soil with some lavender and hawthorne. Finished still with some tannin, so I know this one has at least another 5-10 years to go. Tasted very similar to a Barnett Rattlesnake Hill which, to me, was WOTN. — 7 years ago

with Shay and Keith

Lindsey Bogard

9.4

Good wine, more pricey than I normally drink! Smooth, medium-full bodied. — 7 years ago