Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Wow, a Fav! Had another bottle about 7 mos ago. Blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah & Grenache and aged for 10 months on French oak (40% new). A deep red color with aromas of black fruits and sweet spice. On the palate, ripe plums, jammy blueberries and sweet cherry with slight oak and vanilla spice, pours like syrup. Lingering finish, good length allowing the soft tannins to open in your mouth. Good structure, ending with pure fruit and dash of minerality, drinks well now. Produced with 12 different labels. Wow! — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.4

Last time I had dark cherry was there but blackberry is showing now @ £133 a 96-98 in the making, but 93-95 now

🍇 85% Cab S & 15% Cab F

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Elegant savoury herb infused cedar wood, smokey fresh pine & new oak through earthy blackberry, crushed mineral rock, pencil lead, cocoa, bluebells, black tea & new leather

👄 Med silky body of spiced blackberry, liquorice, mocha, light balsamic w/ very fine smooth tannins & cherry hints

🎯 Med+ refined earthy blackberry, mocha & liquorice w/ a black tea tone — 8 years ago

Joyce Lin

8.9

A beautiful left bank Bordeaux. Quite classic on the palate. Dry with subtle oak note, cinnamon, clove, slightly earthy, mostly with blackberry, black cherry, black currant, pencil shave. Not too many herbal notes on the nose. Med to med plus acidity and med plus tannin. Quite smooth. — 9 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

This week, my Friday's Cabernet fix, is from Napa Valley.

Beautiful burgundy in color with a dark purple rim.

Nice fruity nose with black currants, blackberries, cherry pie, green pepper, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, oak, vanilla, vinegrete, asparagus, licorice, earth, green notes and black pepper.

Full bodied with medium plus acidity and nice long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, plums, cherries, currants, oak, vanilla, licorice, earth, spices, peppercorn, coffee, dark chocolates, tobacco, spices, black tea, bell pepper, green vegetables and herbs.

Medium plus in finish with green, firm tannins and raspberries.

This is a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon. Spicy, interesting and very complex. Still young and needs a few years in the bottle to become more harmonious. Now, it is a little unbalanced, with some bitterness, a lot of green notes, and high acidity. Too much acidity for the fruit it shows.

Nonetheless, it is very enjoyable by itself and much better with food, like BBQ Meats.

Needs a couple of hours to open up and get the tannins to show up.

14.1% alcohol by volume. — 10 years ago

Michael Amoruso

9.2

This is a big Rioja. American oak notes and light vanilla. Dark red fruits. Black cherry and ripe raspberry. Good finish. — 10 years ago

William Leslie

9.9

First off. You have heard about decanting.... This is a great example. Open and it tastes flat, give it time to breath and the flavors come out. The nose has a nice oak, smokey texture. Taste has a predominant black cherry flavor with nice ripe fruit flavors. Oak remains throughout the taste from start to finish with american oak flavors. An almost cigar smokiness hits immediately with a slight spice....not sure where to compare this to because it's not like a Zinfandel pepper, but more like an allspice. The overall feel is medium bodied with rich cherry flavors and well balanced for a smooth feel. This is a great introduction to Stags Leap without spending $150. — 11 years ago

Joshua Hemingway

9.5

Superbly blended. Deep, mellow with a hint of oak. The flavor profile from the grapes are well balanced so that all the flavors compliment each other equally. Most important for me.....the tannins are not overpowering. My favorite cab so far. — 13 years ago

Christian Fischer

9.5

We are a road trip with my parents in VT and the restaurant has a phenomenal wine list which includes this beautiful Napa Cab at an insanely inexpensive price. This is absolutely lovely with black fruits, vanilla and oak. — 8 years ago

Garret G

9.0

Negroamaro grape. Southern Italy. Great value. Loving the black cherry and plum. With pizza, pulled pork. — 8 years ago

Robert Evans Jr

9.5

Giants-Cowboys JD’s Birthday — 8 years ago

with Glen

Doug Bennett

9.3

2003, subdued red fruits, smoke, crushed black berry and violets, nutmeg and anise. Amazing single vintage — 9 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It's time for my Friday's Cabernet fix. This time, a wonderful Chilean Cabernet.

Deep purple in color with a purplish rim.

Beautiful nose of blueberries, blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, oak, vanilla, licorice, earth, spices, peppercorn, leather, bell pepper, sage, peppermint, eucalyptus and smoke.

Full bodied with medium acidity and beautiful long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, cherries, figs, cloves, herbs, earth, cola, vanilla, oak, spices, light vegetables, coffee, chocolates, bell pepper, tobacco, beef jerky and peppercorn.

Long finish with firm tannins and black pepper.

An elegant, Single Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, with lots of complexity and fitness, but not fully balanced yet.

Still young now, but very enjoyable by itself, and better with BBQ Meats. I paired it with a cheese platter, crackers and nice company.

Grapes are grown at the foot hills of the Andes Mountains, on stony soils. 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc.

14.5% alcohol by volume. — 10 years ago

Nick Wolfe

9.5

This is astonishing. Beautiful and powerful with a smoky, oaky, black-fruity, spicy nose that won't quit. Palate is rich with loads of fruit, sweet vanilla oak, and a port-like quality. This wine has monastrell's blueberry, black fruit, iron tincture, and beef blood signature. Skip the steak and pair this with savory for foods for a fantastic contrast. Finish is long and playfully tasty. — 11 years ago

Ryan Stewart

9.1

Deep ruby color. Medium + aromas of dark cherries, vanilla, mint, sage, leather, and eucalyptus. Medium acidity, medium + tannins. Complex flavors of toasted oak, vanilla, cassis, and ripe black cherries. Young tannins, but nicely balanced with potential to age gracefully. A long finish. — 13 years ago

Shay A

9.1

I’ve got to be honest...I don’t think I’ve ever had a BV wine before. Being that their history in Napa runs quite deep, I figured it was time to try a bottle, and this was reasonably priced at the restaurant.

Extremely dark in the glass. Nose was spice, dark chocolate shavings and cassis dominant. Quite smooth (which I find with most ‘14s) from the front palate all the way through the finish...blackberries, black cherry, just a touch of blueberries in the mid-palate that accentuates the oak. Finish has a nutmeg and bay leaf type note. Fairly rich style cab-blend that went well with my hangar steak. — 8 years ago

Chris England

9.5

1️⃣9️⃣8️⃣7️⃣

🗞 🌎 Stock 📉, Kings Cross 🔥, Simpsons, -1 second
🎵 Faith, Livin' On A Prayer, With or Without You, I Just Can't Stop ❤️ You
🎥 Three Men & a Baby, Fatal Attraction, Good Morning Vietnam, Lethal Weapon
🗣 Nobody puts Baby in a corner
🌍 4.98B

Stunning Cos @ £180 - RP83 🤣

🍷 Deep ruby

👃 Gravel, flint, minerals & soggy earth through black berry fruits w/ herbs, soot, smokey oak & mint

👄 Med body of smooth b/berry loaded w/ mocha, liquorice & minerals

🎯 Long linger of ⬆️ w/ black tea — 8 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.1

Definitely some noticeable oak here but it's exquisitely integrated leading to plush texture and plum, tobacco, some black pepper and coke(the liquid form). Black cherry. This is long, soft and delicious — 9 years ago

Mike Mayer

9.4

Great Paso Robles blend. Great nose showing currants, cigar box, star anise and oak. Wonderful fruit forward flavors of dark cherry, black currant, licorice and a very subtle hint of earthiness. The tannins are extremely well integrated and lush. This is a very nicely integrated wine with lots of aging potential. This is the iconic PR wine and does not disappoint. Cheers! — 10 years ago

with Lisa

Sean Trapani

Founder/Educator Wine Fluent, Consultant ABC Fine Wines & Spirits

8.9

Il Bruciato means "the burnt one" in English, and she shows black cherry cola, charcoal, and chalk out of the bottle with an assertive attack and med/med+ body; after 30 minutes, she settles down a bit, gets smoother, showing off a rounder red fruit profile along with the black. Despite the toasted oak on the nose, the roasted flavor never integrated into the palate, so the wine never really crosses into complex territory, but has lovely balance. Paired exceptionally well with penne bolognese. — 10 years ago

Roberto Kalb

8.9

Dark ruby, almost purple. Medium-plus body. Black cherry, spice and oak on the nose. Mostly cherry on the palate with medium acidity, medium finish and more tannins than I'm used to from a Duckhorn. Much better than the 2009. This is well balanced, tasty and easy to drink. — 12 years ago