Carly Porter

9.6

Our anniversary wine. Lots of spice and pepper- just perfect — 4 years ago

Laith A

9.2

Jammy and peppery.. good example of a California Zinfandel! — 5 years ago

Sarah Milsow-Guenther

9.3

Decent. Too cold when we opened but it really opened as it warmed up. One of Sparkman’s better wines in my opinion. — 5 years ago

Zack Hall

9.3

Fire. So bouquet like a watt of a fine women 80’s perfume red lipstick. Dayum. Not overly heavy or high abv. Light. Enjoyable. — 6 years ago

Velma Cooper

9.4

Velma had this 7 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

8.9

The biggest and most full bodied wine of the evening was the Cos d'Estournel. From the hot 2003 vintage this also made it the youngest red of the evening. Big, irony, camp fire embers, black currants and cassis, toasty and well integrated oak buffer the wine. Time has peeled back some of that concentration revealing the heat that stuck out to me as the one big thing out of place. In the context of the vintage this might be OK but it turned me off. Good, but disappointing especially considering how critics went out of their way to speak of its lack of signs of heat. — 7 years ago

Jed

9.3

Lots to say about this surprisingly great wine. Beautifully satin smoky earth. Fruit flavors very muted now, showing the wine's deeper, meatier core. A great example of how good AV fruit and a good bit of bottle age can create the kind of deep, complex Pinot we've generally associated with Bourgogne, these Indian Creek bottles are a second label Navarro created to handle this difficult forest-fire vintage. Worked out much better than expected. I think I'll buy another case. — 8 years ago

JKT

9.0

Cved 2/28/20 after MB tasting of Ampeau Merseault ‘97 fire comp. color is much darker amber. Nose a bit on the oxidized side but not overly so and balanced profile and long finish. Opened next day and went well with dinner. — 4 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.1

It's sunny and just over 30°F today, so fire in the chimnea time! First flames of 2019.

Nose has warmed pear spread on lightly toasted brioche, lemon curd lite and wet limestone.
Palate has great mineral core surrounded by ripe pear, under-ripe yellow apple and touch of pineapple core.

Great bottle to start our afternoon. — 5 years ago

Arden Barnett

9.1

First introduction to the power of J.L. Chave. Dried blueberries and cherries fill the nose followed by a rush of pepper and freshly dried herbs, particularly thyme and rosemary. Dried cranberries and red currants lead the charge on the palate with smoked meat and the earthiness that I love from Rhône style wines right behind. Terrific mouthfeel with the right amount of tannins and acidity, and a long fruit forward finish. Chave’s Hermitage is a top dream wine for me, and this just adds fuel to the fire. — 6 years ago

Todd Boulanger

9.2

Nice. Taste of a lemon zest. Enjoying with friends by the fire. — 7 years ago

with Lamar and Leah

Erik Helms

Sommelier/Wine & Beer Buyer Whole Foods Oakland

9.1

An earthy, Burgundian style forest floor shines on this one. Reminds one of redwood forests and bright blue skies. Oh, and the wine isn't too bad either. — 8 years ago

Austen Ito

9.0

Ripe red cherries, raspberries. Sweet spice, earthy, leather. Medium acidity, medium + tannin and body. Intense style of pinot. — 8 years ago

Mac Tabilis

10

Amazingly smooth and the after bite is fire. I am very impressed well worth the buy!!! — 5 years ago

Austin Paramore

9.2

First candle lit dinner with Remi. JB and Ali got her down while Ali artfully cut and ate her steak with one hand. Also, the grill caught on fire, but JB saved the steaks at the perfect level of char. The spinach was delicious, and the dirt that Ali left on it from the farmers market will help tremendously with digestion. — 5 years ago

Leah Kraemer Lee

10

So smooth but full bodied — 5 years ago

Lauren Gentle

8.9

Lovely notes of plum with a hint of mint,wine that deserves to be sipped slowly while sitting by a roaring fire in winter — 6 years ago

Peter 0'Neill

9.6

Spectacular. 12 year on from my last bottle and this continues to blow the doors off. Just amazing complexity on the nose with notes of camp fire, chocolate, coffee, olives, sandalwood and plums. The palate holds the notes of red fruit, pencil, coffee and sandalwood for about a minute. It has great texture and presence and it has plenty of backbone to hold itself through to the finish. Previous bottles have been as good as red wine gets. This is right up there. — 7 years ago

Amy Rehagen

9.0

Light petrol, high acid, great body, humboldt fog, lathe turned oak...delicious in front of a raging fire. — 7 years ago

with Ryrie and Jamie

Steve Anderson

9.4

Wine pairing with Korean food? Maybe should have called @Michael Meyer, but when in doubt check out one of MW Jeanie Cho Lee's books or articles. One of several recco's was a younger fruit driven Cali Pinot. This one would likely have been a touch ripe on its own, but went well with a variety of wood fire table-grilled beef and pork belly. — 8 years ago