Robert McCall

9.2

Well scented bouquet of cedar, dark cherry/berry, anise. Mouth coating powdery tannin grip followed by dark cherry, licorice. I would give another 2-3 years and revisit. Could be a stunner when it levels out. Solid merlot that delivers as usual. — 7 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.7

It’s usually a good sign when the winemaker can articulate what the wine is about like this: “Ceras is Botanica’s counterpoint. Its color is more purple than red. It is more about minerals and herbs than fruit and flowers. It is a focused and elegant distillation of rock rather than an opulent cascade of fruit. It is an expression of the geology that lays beneath our land, the tart blue fruits of the coast range and the tender herbs that one finds amongst the trees and mushrooms of the Northwest forest.”

Her 2013 Ceras is yet another example of Maggie Harrison’s sorcery over the vines at Antica Terra. The focus and intensity of flavor is off the charts, yet it maintains an almost ethereal weightlessness, only emphasizing the layer of silk that separates you from the wine. The pungent rock is so on point and distinctive it instantly reminded me of the scent of lichen growing on rocks, which I experienced in Colorado when I was 7 or 8 years old. This sets the stage for the level of complexity exhibited. The fruit has both an extraordinarily high level of purity and yet the woven tapestry of herbs and spices and even fruit blending are impossible not to notice. The key being that nothing is forced.

The nuance of complexity only being noticed when desired is nearly an impossible feat. I can’t help but recall James Conaway quoting Andy Beckstoffer in his recently released book: Napa at Last Light: America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity. “If a wine was a model with a chipped tooth, you’d have to give her something to compensate with. If she needs better shoulders, better breasts, give her some. But her real charm is in how she carries the defect.”

After reading his book, I can tell you I’m definitely not certain whether you can accept his quotes verbatim. One thing is certain, though, Maggie Harrison’s Antica Terra wines carry the defect like no other. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Over 30 years ago, Jack Cakebread came to photograph Napa for a book & bought a vineyard, Cakebread Cellars was born. I always liked Cakebread’s wine offerings, Chardonnay is no exception, consistent quality year/year. This was an early harvest showing aromas of green fruits, citrus & honey scents. On the palate complex flavors of apple, melon & lemon zest, balanced with good acidity & great mouthfeel. Lingering finish ending with sweet mineral spice. Nice now but a few years in cellar will benefit. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Feather is 100% Cabernet. This is made in coordination with Randy Dunn. On the nose, dark, lightly spiced currants. Black oil, loamy soils, black licorice and fresh floral bouquet. On the palate, the mouthfeel is thick & rich. There's a good presence of wood shaving. Rich, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, candied black plum, plum, black raspberries, loamy soils, dark rich moist earth, leather, tobacco, spice-box, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, black licorice, violets and fresh red florals. Acidity is round and mouthwatering. The structure is big. The tension perfect as is the balance of fruit and earth. This is definitely a Parker wine. It's so easy to drink young, yet will cellar 10-15 years nicely. Photos of the tasting rooms hand blown glass lighting...lit up. The Feather artwork and the famous Boushey vineyard in Yakima Valley — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.3

If tar and rose petal are the stereotype, then I think I'm safe in calling this traditional. However, there's plenty of nuance in the layers and the style that make this special. An old leather-bound book, citrus peel, dried tarragon, and ripe strawberry. The finish is firm, but not without a lively and racy acidity. One of the better food wines I've had in a long while. — 9 years ago

Ram Majlessi

9.3

Wow, I wasn't expecting this 05 to be still rocking. Tons of fruit and vanilla, loaded with chocolate and coffee. Aged perfectly. 93 pts ! Great job
Long Shadows — 9 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.2

Dense, packed, powerful, embryonic and yet one can see what an elegant wine this will be with time in the cellar. My second favorite, at the moment, of a blind, horizontal tasting of top wines from the 2010 vintage in our book. — 10 years ago

Paul Costigan

Founder Courtier Wines

9.4

1991: Trusting the makeshift neck tag. Reticent nose, yet full delivery on palate. Book smart Cote Rotie, with everything you'd expect present. The youngster of the night, yet in welcome company. No hurry to drink, will continue to develop. — 10 years ago

Jeff Meyers

9.4

Impressive wine. Dense rich iodine quality. In my book the tannins are resolved but it may have a few years left in it. This is the best of California akin to Diamond Creek. — 11 years ago

Neil Shah

9.3

One of my faves. I ordered two half bottles - imagine my delight when I received two full bottles at the half bottle price. — 12 years ago

Peter Sultan

9.1

Has become one of my favorite Lambruscos so of course hard to find. Fine, fine persistence w mousse, bitter but toyingly so, like good dark chocolate. Dressner book. — 7 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.2

Opened tight, but blossomed into a lovely cab, with Big bing cherry, hints of brown sugar. — 7 years ago

James Forsyth

9.7

Seventy years have passed since this wine was made. It is hard to imagine how the winemakers of the day could have focused on things like pump-overs when their country had just been through hell and back. But I'm glad they could and did because this wine is delicious. Shadows of red fruit upon layers of black tea, vanilla and pine. This was a very rare treat indeed. — 8 years ago

with Eric

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Day five on the cruise and this night at Giovanni's Table, the Italian restaurant, aboard the Allure of the Seas. We decided to open up two South African beauties for this.

Deep ruby red with a slight garnet hue on the edges. Layered nose with dark cocoa, floral notes, dark berries and spices. Some classic 'South African' chalk as well. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and medium plus to full bodied. Dusty dark black cherries on the attack with some black currants, dark spices, a touch earthy, vanilla and some nutmeg. Seems quite restrained and reserved but well integrated as well. Dry and long finish. Drink till 2037.

Third time trying this limited bottling by De Toren Private Cellars with only 1,132 bottles produced in the 2013 vintage. This wine is made through the use of extreme winemaking techniques such as extreme cropping, extensive hand sorting, 200% new French oak for a total of 18 months and unfiltered. You are probably wondering how it can be 200%? This is done by aging the wine in 100% new French oak barrels for twelve months before transferring them to another set of 100% new French oak barrels for six additional months. — 8 years ago

with India and Sean

Tom Riley

9.1

2014. Young, meaty, and oh so full of itself. Not a lot of change since last note. (See below) If only more American producers could pull this off. The way it should be. — 8 years ago

Paul J

8.9

Ironic that I was planning to drink this tonight and then the winery was mentioned in a book I'm reading!! A nose that smacks you right in the face! Can't put my finger on it, but it reminds me of opening brand new toys when I was little. Surprisingly light on flavor and very short though. As I said last week, the Fingers Lakes Whites are coming along! — 9 years ago

with Brooke

Tanya Evans Champa

8.9

I agree with a previous review, raisin on the tongue. Smooth yet bold. Delicious. — 9 years ago

Gae Saccoccio - NdC

9.8

Vintage 1949 in Burgundy according to Broadbent: “..most perfect end of a decade - elegant, well-balanced wines”; Clive Coates in his book Cote D'Or: "best vintage of 40's all-perfect beauty and purity”; Robert M. Parker Jr.: “it was the best of post world war II vintages before 1959”
Henri Leroy at that time was négociant based in Auxey-Duresses, his mythical daughter Lalou Bize-Leroy in 1949 was only seventeen.
Les Cazetiers is amongst the most elevated of Premier Cru site in Gevrey-Chambertin - and indeed the whole of Burgundy.
I drank this precious bottle on Mount Etna with #FrankCornelissen and other dear friends. Uncork this bottle lead to a surgical operation. Just begun to pull it out, a light breath of wine molecule with air bubbles magically have emerged on the surface of the cork. It's been like witness the passing away of a dying old man (or Pinot Noir must be a woman?) That humanized wine had held "élan vital", hope and breath inside him for the last 66 years! A miracle of a wine still so tasty, robust, citrusy, vibrant, earthy, incredibly alive and well-preserved despite color and neck level did not bode so well.. that's what I thought and I'll remember until I die: "the wine was waiting for us to drink it up, he gave off his mortal blow to offer us life, joy and smile!" — 10 years ago

with Alberto

Kelly Chen

9.9

One of my favorite cheap red wines. Explosive and smooth, with a slightly sweet, zesty and fruitful aftertaste. It's also quite strong, which is a bonus in my book. — 12 years ago

Shay A

9.2

A wonderful tasting put on by Classic Wine Storage featuring Long Shadows Winery. If you aren’t familiar with these wines, they are phenomenal WA state wines that are made by the likes of Randy Dunn, Phillipe Melka, Michel Rolland, John DuVall, and more.

Dominant Sangiovese with some cab and a splash of Syrah. Rich style sangio wine. Sweet oak, dirty cherries, herbs, and a high percentage/bitter dark chocolate. — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

1️⃣9️⃣6️⃣8️⃣

🗞 M.L.King 🔫, 747 ✈️, Apollo 8 orbits 🌓
🎵 What a wonderful 🌎, Hey Jude, Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay
🎥 2001, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bullitt
🗣 Book 'em Dano
🌍 3.52B

£72 for a newly bottled 50yr old wine! One for oak lovers 😁

🍷 Garnet red w/ brick

👃Rich smokey oak, spiced peppered cherry, red berries, vanilla & earthy leather w/ meat & herbs

👄 Med body of ultra smooth creamy dark ripe cherry & cocoa covered prune w/ vanilla

🎯 Long dark cocoa cherry creamy oaky linger — 8 years ago

Julie Kang

9.3

1961. Wine older than me. Lots of cedar box and cigar. Tannin completely resolved. Lots of tertiary aromas and flavor. Can’t believe after all these years....still going strong. At Bern’s in Tampa. Page 85 of the 180 page wine list. More like a wine book. — 8 years ago

with Jin

Aaron Means

9.7

THE. BEST. DOMESTIC. CHARD!!!!!! Yes, yes, yes. I'm blown away. This is the best domestic chard I've ever drank. This particular vintage is killer. I could poor this in a lineup of top notch Meursault and none would be the wiser, that's how good this is. Intense smoke/funk brought on by minerality that most domestic producers could only dream of. A legendary wine in my book. @June's All Day, Austin TX — 8 years ago

Brett Vanderbrook

9.0

I just finished reading "Shadows in the Vineyard" about the 2010 attempt to poison the DRC, and since I can't afford Villaine's flagship wines, I figured this would be the next best thing. Not disappointed at all. While I tend to dislike young red Burgundy, this is already crazy approachable. Much riper than I'm used to. Not necessarily new-world, but closer to The fruit of Beaujolais, or maybe Rhone. Earthy and complex with a bright red cherry. Vibrant. Elegant. Lovely. — 8 years ago

Janet Ross

9.8

In honor of Super Bowl Weekend decided to open this terrific red blend from Dick Vermeil Wines. Loads of dark fruit flavors, wonderful nose. Definitely a pop & pour. One of the best wine buys in my book. — 9 years ago

Erik Helms

Sommelier/Wine & Beer Buyer Whole Foods Oakland

9.2

Captivating aromatic bouquet after time spent decanting. This is a by the book Brunello, featuring dried cherry, black cherry, blackberry, loads of cinnamon, vanilla, bitter chocolate, & tar. All are seamless, deep, & savory. Spice & fruit comes first, & last remarkably long. Opened young, of course, but patience isn't a virtue of mine. || Decanted 5 hours. — 9 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.1

Sangio with a bit of Caniolo and Syrah. Feels txt book Chianti- floral, red fruits, fennel, orange rind and Campari with little noticeable oak. Savoury and medium bodied, go forth with some food in toe for maximum enjoyment — 10 years ago

Petter P

9.0

Just slightly overaged but a really enjoyable experience. Cherry, tobacco, sweet almonds, mullberry and that amazing smell of an old book. — 10 years ago

Cuvée Corner

10

With so few Napa Wines hitting the mark so surely, this folks is a TEXT BOOK example of how it's done right. Tasting this wine is a pure pleasure, it reminds me of a left bank Bordeaux. Lean where it should be, vivid acid taming abundant fruit and wonderfully stunning minerality. The structure of this wine could easily go another 10 years. Plums, cocoa dust, blackberries, cedar and dried underbrush. You can spend more, but you honestly won't get more! #winelover #wine — 11 years ago

Kathy Tufts

9.7

One of my favorites! — 12 years ago