Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

Happy National Wine Day! 🍷🥂🎉🎊

I haven’t had this 08 in about 3-4 years. I had four bottles then and drank them faster than I imagined it was just that insanely delicious. This Hendricks 08 Santa Lucia Pinot Noir is in the top two CA Pinot’s I’ve enjoyed. I found two bottles recently on auction for a ridiculous $40. When it’s sold in futures at the Hope & Grace tasting room it’s $75 and $90 upon release.

The nose reveals slightly baked; dark cherries, blackberries, blue fruits, lots of plum, black plum, cherries, some black raspberries & strawberries. Some of the most beautiful spice on the nose mine has come across. It’s slightly sweet, dark with a touch of incense. Crushed powdery limestone, savoriness, cola/licorice, blue & red fresh florals with violets.

The body is medium and flat out gorgeous. Its flows & dances over the palate. It’s a sexy wine. Wire to wire this wine doesn’t disappoint. Ripe and slightly candied; dark cherries, blackberries, blue fruits, lots of plum, black plum, cherries, some black raspberries, pomegranate, dry cranberries & strawberries. Beautiful dark spice with heat that lifts off the palate, nicely soft baking spices, incense crushed dry rock & powdery limestone, some rich, moist, dark earth, savoy meats, dry stems, spice, cola/licorice, blue & red fresh florals with violets. The acidity is spectacular. The length, structure and balance have hit its peak. The finish is; rich, ripe, the definition of elegance, perfectly balanced and doesn’t end. It just goes on & on.

Photos of; Santa Lucia vines, Winemaker-Charles Hendricks doing the heavy lifting in the cellar l, grapes waiting to be crushed and the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville where this wine is sold. Charles is the Winemaker for Hope & Grace as well. — 8 years ago

Pierre Idiart

9.3

Fine line ghost peach color. Short toasted nose with a beautiful fresh strawberry palate dancing into a memory ( like biting into a red delicious Washington Apple, over plump and perfect, on a country side road) : A Structured, elegant rose, with razor wire nerve: Wish I'd had another bottle — 9 years ago

Martin Redmond

9.1

Violet color with kirsch, spice, orange zest and sandalwood aromas. On the palate there is a ample black cherry, blackberry, and raspberry fruit, with a hint of smoked meat wrapped around a firm spine of acidity with an appealing minerality. 78% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 6% Syrah 14.9% alcohol — 9 years ago

Scotscowgirl

10

Lucious wine full of ripe blackberries. Not overly spiced and exceptionally smooth. Perfect with a simple filler steak followed by cheese. — 10 years ago

Diedra West

9.8

Diedra had this 10 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.5

Insanely balanced, and firing on all 12 cylinders. High-wire. Freshness with density, and heady perfumed floral aromatics matched with compelling savory, meaty notes from the variety and noble reduction. A pity I can't afford to drink more of this. You could wait more than a few years to bust into this, but crazy good now. — 11 years ago

david hassell

10

big juicy dark berries in my nostrils~leading into a semi-heavy tannic palate balancing on a high acidity tight wire...tastes like a cold climate tannic berry beast — 8 years ago

Scott Petrus

9.7

Unlike any wine I’ve had before. I don’t have much experience with pre-phylloxera vines. Aromatics jump out of the glass with smoked moss and 🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋. This austere wine on the pallet gives off flavors of berry on the breeze and a dusty Sicilian road. Tannins are extremely silky. Long finish that is balanced like a high wire acrobat. — 8 years ago

alewifery

10

man on a wire. got to be kidding me. blows away 90% of mature barley based products. #armangac #charlesneal #pellehaut — 9 years ago

Marshal White

9.1

Comes into its own on night two. Black fresh fruit, aromatic (orange peel, hot rocks, and rose water) with some of that ethereal aromatic character that Etna Rosso has, but in a more grounded, less high-wire way. — 9 years ago

Martin Redmond

8.9

Very pale yellow color with plenty of active tiny bubbles. I got pie crust, green apple, lemon, chalk and a nuanced spice note on the nose. On the palate, the mousse is creamy with green apple, lemon, ginger, and a bit of apricot with a chalky minerality. Wonderful bubbly. Wish I'd left open in the fridge for a couple of hours has suggested. Will do next time!

The wine was fermented in old French old barrels with native yeasts. After 7 months of aging, the wine was put into bottle for secondary fermentation and disgorged in June 2015 with 2 grams of dosage. — 9 years ago

Richie Mello

9.3

Caution: Some of these are super carbonated so watch where you point that bad boy when you twist off the wire. Consequently it's the most effervescent cider/poire I've ever experienced, nearly the same effect of putting mento's and coke in your mouth. Hazy golden color with a nice layer of lees sediment. The french farmhouse funk is as lovely as ever with alot of very obvious acetic acid on both the nose as well as palate. Semi-dry, appreciatively fresh with a nice long back end to round things out. She's a beaut :) — 11 years ago

Laura Brennan

10

As limited as the tears of sleeping Madagascan birds, fed on by stealthy well palated moths, Wei Chi Semillon could keep your attention for days (or undoubtably years if you are patient).

A salty vessel of acidity, with promising texture that begs to be buried in the cellar and opened with Something Special in times to come--just wait.

In short, open this wine now, you will enjoy it, OR open it an 3-5 years and lose your mind. — 11 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Grabbed another bottle! Wine bears the vineyard named to honor the Red-shouldered Hawks and other birds of prey that play a vital role in sustainable farming practices. Bright yellow with aromas of tropical fruits and sweet floral scents. Aged for 14 months, 75% in new French oak and 25% in stainless. On the palate melon, pineapple and peach flavors and hints of citrus, subtle yet complex and well balanced. Lingering finish, savory, ending with mineral tones and toasty oak. Outstanding! — 8 years ago

Peter Davison-Lancaster

9.1

Am impressive red blend with strong aromas of black currants with a hint of cloves on the nose. A really smooth easy drinking social wine — 9 years ago

Diane Withrow

9.2

Pear, stone, oak, more spring than autumn. A breezy spring day with a few dry leaves still blowing down the walkway. Buds on the branches. Glad I'm wearing a sweater. Here comes the sun. Another sip... take a deep clean breath. The grille comes out of the shed for that lovely white fleshed fish with lemon and olive oil. Crusty bread. Asparagus. Jazz or just the birds? Me humming? — 9 years ago

Marc Pavan

9.0

Thick and rich! Dark maroon with a brown rim. Oak and leather push through the dark stone fruit aromas. All that aging has taken the edge off the tannins. Mellow for sure. Leathery and full on the palate. Used as a conversation wine at a gathering. Paired well with fruits from the tray, cheese log and Doritos. Honestly, for $18.99 cdn you can't go wrong with this. Lots of gold on the label and wire mesh give an elegance that makes the host think that it punches above it's price class. — 9 years ago

with Leslie

alewifery

9.0

Truly a symphony. Balanced like that fool in Man On a Wire. For those that find the cloying sweet malt of some Belgians disgusting, this is the answer. A tinge of sour a tinge of malt. #symphony — 10 years ago

Martin Redmond

9.2

Love this single vineyard vintage California bubbly. It's charismatic, layered, broad, energetic, and vinous with a yellow orchard fruit, ginger, floral, mixed citrus (lime and a hint of blood orange marmalade), gentle spice character underscored with an appealing wet stone minerality. 12% alcohol, 22 months on lees, dosed at 3g/L — 10 years ago

Robert Wolfe

9.4

These Etna Rossos from old vine Nerello Mascalese are a new interest of mine. Grown on volcanic soil's obviously, the winds can have a high wire tension of fruit acidity and tannin not dissimilar from young Nebbiolo's from more northern clime, such as Gattinara. This '09 is somewhat developed, and drinking nicely, but still has plenty of life left. Delectable tagged this as Guardiola, which is a white. It's really a red from the Sciaranuova Contrada (lava flow) — 11 years ago