Shay A

9.4

WNH event number 7...virtual tasting with @Connor McMahon from Fulldraw Vineyards.

Loved the story behind this new Paso producer. If you’re looking for Paso Rhône wines, check out Fulldraw. Pedigree, quality, story...all there. Many thanks to Connor for joining us tonight!

46% syrah, 28% Grenache and 26% Mourvèdre. After I opened, I put it straight in the decanter. Shortly after, I gave it a try and it was very aromatic...crunchy, sweet, dark fruits. Mourvèdre shows beautifully. More depth than being totally floral, but more elegant than being totally fruit driven. Blue and black candied fruits accompanied by dark chocolate, bacon fat and charcoal. I followed it over 4+hrs and it had a bit of a rollercoaster evolution...very energetic at pop and pour, slightly closed down in between, and hit apex around hour 3. The tannins softened substantially with notes of licorice, dried blackberries, chargrilled blueberries and a finish highlighted by peppered strip. For me, this wine epitomizes Paso GSM blends. Inaugural vintage. Nicely done! — 6 years ago

with Mike, Bill and 7 others

Ryan Vento

9.1

Houston’s very own Del Frisco’s Grille is sadly shutting down. So, as it was with their fine steakhouse concept ‘Sullivan’s’ when it closed down, they’re doing a 50% off promotion for ALL alcohol. Needless to say...we have a few dinners lined up with our Supper Club and other friends before they shutter their doors for good on 9/16.

This is about as good as New World entry-level Chardonnay gets. — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Mike R

9.3

This is go to Brunello and first wine in almost two weeks - been a crazy two weeks and glad it is behind me / also recuperating from my first round of golf in a long time

So just closed my eyes sort of to pick tonight and this baby is helping me with my back pain and get me ready for tomorrow’s golf

This is not as good as I remember but still delicious — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

8.9

What do you do when in Queenstown on a four day religious holiday weekend and nearly all the cellar doors are closed today? You drive 50 minutes out of town to the Clyde Food & Wine festival. The Two Paddocks is lean bodied with lighter red fruits and understated minerality. — 9 years ago

Vino Kaela

8.9

A little closed down upon first opening but with plenty of air, the aromatics really begin to show. The nose is very enticing and floral with red and white flowers mixed in with fresh Provencal herbs, hummus, pepper, mushrooms and gorgeous red berry fruits. Overall an impressive level of complexity on the aromatics but not surprising considering the world class winemaker behind the wine. The palate tightens on the fruit, pushing a more under-ripe red fruit tones followed up by mouthwatering acidity and soft tannins to clear the palate. Drink now and over the next three years — 9 years ago

Austin Hohnke

9.0

Baby Burgundy. Long finish, like watching Dances With Wolves. Earth, oak spice, and acid for days with beautiful fruit hiding behind a closed door. Wait until 2025. — 10 years ago

Willem Booij

9.1

The Hermannshöhle is closed now, doors shut. Six weeks in bottle and showing only some young tropical fruit and clouds of minerals. The mouth is a little pepper, round en well integrated acids. But for now that's it — 10 years ago

Bob McDonald

8.9

Somewhat closed on the nose with elements of bay leaf and black olive. Medium bodied palate. Lacked complexity. This wine a bit behind their premium Cuvée for 2007, the "Nicolas". — 11 years ago

Deborah M

9.0

I just like this one. Sometimes wonderful is just simple. Grab what you can because they have apparently closed their doors. Wonderful PnP. Medium light red color. Floral bouquet on the nose. Cola and raspberries. Wonderful acidity brings everything into balance. Paired well with my grilled whole lemon chicken. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.

The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.

The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.

Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.

Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.

The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.

Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.

After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!

Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.

The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.

After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.

A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.

A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.

You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.

2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.


The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.

Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.1

From Andrew Latta, the guy behind the guy at K Vintners for the last decade. 60% Cab/40% Malbec. Blows the doors off of the Charles & Charles Post 35. This is fresh and vivid, with flowers, tobacco and dark fruit, but light on it's feet. Very easy drinker. — 10 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.0

Really? Dry, dry , bitter cherries, ,rs lurking but really behind closed doors 13.99$. — 10 years ago

Paul K

9.4

@Ryan Mullins and @Jeff Loo are spot on. This needs 10 years. I double aerated back into bottle for 12 hour corked decant and after two hours open in glass this is still closed. You can still taste the potential though. There is a density and purity of fruit behind it that I’m excited to open up one day. Was still a great experience. 94 for now. Will hold remaining bottles for at least 5 years. Please yell at me if u see another post of this wine before then. — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.4

Houston’s very own Del Frisco’s Grille is sadly shutting down. So, as it was with their fine steakhouse concept ‘Sullivan’s’ when it closed down, they’re doing a 50% off promotion for ALL alcohol. Needless to say...we have a few dinners lined up with our Supper Club and other friends before they shutter their doors for good on 9/16.

This was very delicious. Even as a pop & pour it presented nicely. Just a reiteration that mountain fruit is my favorite. — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Hanibal

9.1

Wine was closed a little out of the bottle but after 30min it opened up nicely with a big cherry smell with wet forest floor. On the palate then tannins have melted leaving behind a smooth taste of sweet cherries, mushroom and wet forest taste. Not likely to improve beyond where it is now as acidity is already medium low and starting to lose power in the mouth. Overall a very nice experience. — 8 years ago

Manny Abascal

9.4

Sharp acidity, minerality, a little closed. Intense. That describes both the Wine and the teenager (my daughter) behind the bottle. — 8 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.2

One of the great value Napa brands (from an otherwise expensive valley) that sadly had to close their doors.

With fruit sources like To Kalon, Dr. Crane, Herb Lamb and Morisoli I was amazed how they could turn out wines like this for just $45+

I think there is work behind the scene to bring back the label but until then I guess we'll just have to enjoy these older vintages which can still be found at auctions for reasonable prices.

I miss the good ol' days...!! — 9 years ago

Matt

8.9

Seemed closed but behind the stubbornness there was a nice med bodied syrah that had a touch of everything from aromas, flavor, and structure. Very mineral, pronounced acid, and lovely energetic texture. Grip, yes, but in a very nonchalant way. — 10 years ago

Marc On

Writer Originalverkorkt, Lobenbergs Gute Weine

9.3

Clear, pale golden yellow. Medium-, youthful and completely closed nose which opens up a bit over time and offers herbal and chalky notes behind a wall of citrus fruit.
Bone dry. This wine screams with every sip: Leave me alone for the next 5-10 years! Elegant, lots of minerality (chalk), powerful, ripe and well integrated acidity, focused, precise, very long. This is a stunner in the making, so give it at least 5-10 years of development and you will be greatly rewarded.
— 10 years ago

Gae Saccoccio - NdC

9.1

Here we've got an appellation who is best known for whites than red. Even though it is only a generic Chassagne "rouge" village from Ramonet, what I do appreciate the most in this kind of pinot noir is the straightforwardness of the fruit, a clean tannin, a lightness and pretty well-balanced oak, the happy simplicity - that is not the same as banality - of drinking a bottle alone without even realizing it. I really like so nice and well made wines that leaves me from first sip to last one such a genuine impression of vine to cellar to table squaring of the circle both at the nose and into my mouth. Want you imagine also the pairing though: the most delicious cornmeal mush (polenta) of my life with turnip greens and shavings of pecorino sardo. Wholemeal red corn (granturco rosso formenton otto file della Garfagnana e Valle del Serchio del Mulino di Piezza) from an old Mill that has now apparently closed doors forever because high quality and selectivity of production nowdays, sadly, doesn't pay the rent. — 10 years ago