Antonio Galloni

Founder, Vinous

9.4

A blend of fruit from Weitz (which they call Leopoldina) and Fortuna. Dark, rich, sumptuous and so inviting. A great example of the year and a superb value by Napa standards. Tasted during the Vinous Learn Oakville seminar 💥🤪😍. — 6 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.0

The subtle nose of roasted hazelnuts and heel worn church stone staircase.

Bright, fresh berry, tart, Rainer cherry, good tannic structure, the acids break free and throw their charms right up in your face.
More acid than I have ever had, from an IGT red wine. An excellent tipple.
Buona Fortuna!
— 7 years ago

Tetsu Nakazawa

9.2

Molto delizioso. E gigondas che non ho una volta di assagiare anche ha una reputazione brava. Sarebbe in grade alto, ma per fortuna ho una volta di provare. Garnet wine aveva il sconto. Grazie garnet wine! — 8 years ago

Mary Morley

8.9

Excellent! — 8 years ago

Dave Schneider

9.2

I wasn’t sure I would like this as much as I did. Lots of dark inky purple texture ( as expected) but really nice and well balanced. — 9 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Deep ruby red. Lots of oak influence on the nose, notes of toasted almonds, charred cedar, cinnamon and vanilla. Moderate plus tannins (7.5/10) and full bodied. Tons of layers on the palate starting with cedar in the attack followed by baking spices, dark berries, purple floral notes and a little gravel in the finish. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2029. (92+)

All fruit from the Fortuna Vineyard. — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.6

Great nose definitely needs a decant,
Parker 99 ,
Its a blend of their best Cabernet barrels from Leopoldina & Fortuna Oakville — 10 years ago

Tetsu Nakazawa

9.0

Aspettiamo questo molto perche il chateau. L’ho avuto a sconto per fortuna. L’ho aperto per l’annivercita di nostro matrimonio. Mia moglia ha cucinato il marzo bourgonese con vino rosso. Sarebbe perfetto con questa botteglia. A mia moglia piace questa botteglia, sono contento anche. Ha un’attaca sofice, ma i gusti complicati. Dopo una settimana, era ancora buono. — 6 years ago

Eric

9.5

Top 3 Merlot for me. Inky tobacco and great fruit. Bring yer wallet. — 8 years ago

Nerd_Emperor

9.0

High 9.4% ABV and a nice coffee/whiskey flavor. I'm not a big fan of these flavors in my beer but I can roll with this. You will feel the buzz in no time. Matter of fact you will be quoting lines from the movie "Boss N💛gga" after you finish off this pint. Lol — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

My last bottle of 03 Alder Springs. I still have one bottle of the 02 Fortuna (better). Bottles from the earlier days of Behrens & Hitchcock. They’ve gone from B&H to Erna Schein to Behrens Family Winery. Back in the day when we first acquired these wines, we had to open them the night before, decent and put them back in the bottle overnight and re-decant the next evening in order to drink them as they were monsters with huge alcohol. 13 bottle years later, it’s more complex, rounder but still a big wine. While the alcohol has tamed some, it’s still hot...just not unbearably hot. This wine still has a ton of life in it. The nose still shows alcohol and is starting to take on a dark fruit liqueur/Port style. Blackberries, dark cherries, raisins, prunes, dates & blue fruits. Anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks and decayed dark florals. The body is full, round, lavish and lush. The palate also shows a dark fruit liqueur/Port character. Ripe, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, stewed plums, raisins, prunes, dates, blue fruits, anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dry sage, medium, dark intensity spice that heats up as it rises off the palate, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, chocolate pudding, well used leather, cedar, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks, decayed dark florals and fading violets. The acidity is nicely rounded, the length, tension, structure may outlive some people 55+. The finish is; big, round, well balanced but just a little hot. After a couple hours in the decanter, it really rounded out and the alcohol decreased quite a bit. Photos top to bottom and left to right; the latest incarnation of the winery, workers in the Alder Springs Vineyard, Owner/Winemaker Les Behrens and their tasting room; which is actually a restored 1947 Westcraft trailer. A quote on Les’s philosophy on winemaking, “We let the vineyards steal the show and the wine speak for itself.” They are also well know for some of the coolest wine labels. One of my favorites was, “The Heavyweight.” — 8 years ago

Jeanne Heavner

8.9

Very good! — 9 years ago

Rob Curto

9.0

Well balanced! — 10 years ago

Steve Belmonte

9.7

Amazing vino — 6 years ago

Tetsu Nakazawa

9.1

Era sconto per cyber lunedi. Penso che e’ molto value. Spero che mia moglie piace.
E’ veramente buono come e’ autentico bourgogne. Per fortuna a mia moglie piace molto, significa e’ buono veramente. E’ bingo! Sono felice. Magari che abbia comprato piu molte botteglie allo sconto. — 6 years ago

Jason and Jennie

9.6

96+ This is the bomb. This has delivered every vintage for me starting in 2013. So much structure. The piedras la bam is very dense and cant wait to try that at home after some time. The three kings again suits my palate. It's more elegant and structured than the sweet fruit of the grand daddy. Both are dynamite but I prefer the clone 7 over clone 4. The hossfield coliseum is a great value merlot. The fortuna is fruity and soft, but i personally am paying more for the weitz. — 8 years ago

Geoff Troup

Sales Eder Brothers, Cellar Fine Wines

9.2

And 2 years later this wine is even more complex. Tannins are still prevalent, raisin and roasted meat mid palate, finish is all sandpaper and tobacco ash. Incredibly ashy throughout. Quite a wine for the price. — 9 years ago

Jeanette Bangs

9.0

Pub ashtrays, Tapas and sunshine. Fortuna-te to be heading to sunny Spain 🇪🇸 soon, Y Viva España! — 9 years ago

Rich Friedland

9.0

Chewy and textured. Pungent brie rind. This thing is so interesting. Pair this with something simple like pasta. This glass is the main dish. — 9 years ago

Christina Hansen

9.5

Wow, Fortuna was with me today when I picked up this amazing Amarone. I wanted a wine to pair with the chicken marsala I was making for dinner and at $16, it was a bargain I couldn't pass up! It is still very young so it is a fruit forward wine. Almost like a mox between port, dry sherry, and primativo. The raisins used to make this produced a wine with aromas of ripe black cherry, stewed plums, clove and cinnamon. The pairing was superb but it has the structure to stand up to game roasts or osso bucco. I may buy a few more bottles to open in 5-8 years. At this price, I can't lose! Need to run to TJ'S to stock up.

Edit: this wine really came together after being open for two hours - tannins. Alcohol, and body are well integrated and balanced. — 10 years ago