Jeremiah Diaz

9.3

Medium ruby in color; raspberries, black cherries, and cedar on the nose; medium acidity; medium plus tannins; tastes like blackberries, red plums, tabacco, and black olives with a long finish. — 8 months ago

Ming L

9.5

The darkest and meatiest southern Rhone blend I’ve tasted with tremendous complexity. Explosive nose of black lack, blueberry jam, cured meat, grilled herbs, black pepper, dark chocolate, sweet soy source, and hint of violet. There is just the sense of Unami. Rich palate but structured like a skater that’s smooth, precise, and effortless.
I had the fortune to taste the 14’ True Believer 2 years ago, and I don’t really know what constitutes a reserve bottling, but this has more Syrah (53%).
Chris Hammell is the long time Bien Nacido vineyard manager, and cultivated the True Believer vineyard on the western edge of Bien Nacido. — 4 years ago

Richard Davies

9.0

Needs lots of airing. Give it at least 3 hours. Body comes out then. — 5 years ago

Jay Kim

9.3

Ruth’s Chris Northbrook, Illinois (Oct. 9, 2019) — 6 years ago

Teresa Garcia-Reyes

9.4

Amazing - lots of fruit, smooth — 7 years ago

with Jeff

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

The Phelps Pinot’s take awhile to come around. This 11 overachieves the vintage and has put on weight since I first tasted it at Phelps. Plenty of life ahead of this wine. I will wait another 2-4 years to open another. On the nose; dark cherries, cherries, blue fruits hues, dry cranberries plum and blackberries, limestone minerals, violets, red floral and red roses. The body is medium. The tannins silty/silky soft. The fruits are ripe & ruby. Sweet & sour dark cherries, cherries, pomegranate, blue fruits hues, dry cranberries plum, and blackberries. Silky volcanic minerals, limestone, cola with a touch of red vines, dark rich dry soil, hints of crushed rocks, fruit tea, violets, and red. Roses, beautiful rainfall acidity. The length, structure, length and balance are harmonious. The long, elegant, well polished finished lasts over a minute and is fruit and floral driven. @Compline...Master Sommelier Matt Stamps & Ryan Stetins new restaurant & retail shop downtown Napa. Food is very good & inexpensive. Good retail shop wines all $12-$48. Leave it to a Master Sommelier to find really good affordable wines. They have a bright future. — 8 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.0

Good but not as epic as I’d hoped. — 8 months ago

Jan de Weerd

8.9

Basically…disappointed. We were ready for a big Cab but this was a bit of a dud. Limited finish and also did not develop much on the palate. 9 years old had expected layers of leather, cigar etc but none of that. Mostly single note and lack of vibrancy. What should I do with the other two bottles I have?? — 2 years ago

with Tammy

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

A joint venture of Jorge Ordonez, Bodegas Borsao and Chris Ringland, located in the town of Bulbuente (Zaragoza) Spain. Alto Moncayo is the flagship of the winery. A single-grape variety of Garnacha, from vines between 40 and 70 years old, aged in new barrels for 20 months. Bold aromas of fruit and spice. On the palate black fruit flavors, rich and full-bodied, with complex spice. Fine tannins, savory, good structure ending with a smoky character. Very nice! — 5 years ago

Billy L.

9.8

@Eric LaMasters - Your recent posts on this wine spurred me onto checking in on the 2014. Fabulous! Power, purity, concentration, blue & black fruit, tannins already integrated; real pleasure to enjoy. Chris Maybach & TRB excellence! Cheers 🍇🍷👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 — 6 years ago

Penny Sadler

9.1

Chris Ringland 's wines are balanced and complex. I'd put them against any old world Syrah. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Another scorching day, another record temperature falls. Still too hot to go red and I wanted to rock a nice Cabernet. Well...not yet. A little Sauvignon Blanc to battle the heat. And, a warm up to next weeks JP party. On the nose; jasmine, green apple, lemon, lime, pineapple, honey notes, bees wax, soft volcanic minerals and yellow florals. The fruits on the palate are not as pronounced as they are on the nose. Peach, green apple, lemon, lime, pineapple, honey notes, bees wax, soft volcanic minerals, oily body, round acidity & finish with yellow florals. @ no chips & salsa 💃 @Paul Treadway Huntington Beacher — 8 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.0

A special project wine for the US and China marketplace. This is a 100% Shiraz with a medium-bodied style, ripe and very generous with plenty full flavors of mulberry, ripe blackberry, mocha and hints of blackforrest chocolate cake. It has a noticeable freshness on the palate which and a smooth cocoa powder finish, quite appealing to those who are looking for ready to go Shiraz from Australia. — 9 months ago

Natalie Corrado Fitz

9.0

2016 was so yummy — 4 years ago

Jennifer Gray

9.5

Refreshing, easy to drink. A bit tart, but in a good way. — 5 years ago

Peg Hanssen

9.9

“Chris makes a dazzling comeback with this rendition of his Pinot Gris, a follow-up to his highly-rated 2017 PG that took Gold at the San Francisco Wine Competition. Chris’s second round is seriously refreshing and bursting with tangy lemon, ripe peach and juicy melon that make this wine a little too easy to sip and even harder to put down. The wine blends grapes from three top-tier vineyards across the Willamette Valley giving it complex layers of flavors and aromas. Chill, open, and enjoy. It is an easy drinker on its own, but also has enough structure to pair with almost any food. Especially great with a roasted fresh picked beet salad, or spicy Thai food.” – Naked Wines — 6 years ago

Charles Huff

9.6

Rangy and effervescent. — 7 years ago

John Beasley

9.0

Good winter chard — 8 years ago

with Ludi and Neal

Eddie Valadao

9.4

Perfect balance for my palate. A bit of earthiness, with hints of spice and fruit. Mild tannins but wonderful — 8 years ago

Raul Puga

9.3

Great fruit and balance. Nice finish — 9 years ago

with Carlos and Joe