Pure perfection! See previous rating!!!! Oakey, smokey, perfect bouquet, initial palate, and finish! WOW! - enough said. Okay..............::::
The cork is perfect. The bouquet is an oak tree forrest after it rains and a blackberry bush full of ripe fresh oversized blackberries. The legs are thick and long and will drive you crazy. The color is dark purple black midnight black out. (Yes.....) seriously! The initial palate is vanilla, spice, black pepper, and chocolate. There is a definite remnant of black cherry and cigar fading into the finish. The finish is long and fantastic. Not too dry, not too tart. Good grief this wine is amazing! — 9 years ago
Yes I give it a ten. Although I hate these rating numbers, I know that this is my favorite wine from the Ehlers Estate. The wine maker tells us it has hints of dark chocolate, coffee, and lavender. I would agree totally. Lets dig in shall we.
This is a 2013 , 100% organic, 100% petit verdot from St Helena in Napa. The estate is Ehlers and the grapes are not purchased but grown in their vineyard. Starting with Bernard and Anne Ehlers buying a dying vineyard in the late 1800's followed by Jean and Sylviane Leducq purchasing it and putting their flare for French Bordeaux in the mix with the help of a renowned enologist Jacques Boissenot, the Ehlers Estate name still remains and the wine has become fantastic. Today Kevin Morrisey makes the wine and WOW! Please visit their web site to see this amazing family of wine makers. They put passion and pride in every bottle. The cork is perfectly preserved and the color is a very dark opaque purple like that of a cabernet. The legs are long and thick and very slow to fall. The bouquet is definitely lavender and sweet basil. The initial palate is minimally acidic if at all. There is a hint of dark berries and black cherry and maybe toasted coconut. I don't taste the blueberry but in the finish there is a definite chocolate and buttery long long finish. I want to have a sip after eating a bite of dark chocolate. There is also a hint of coffee in the finish. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cant stop drinking it. As a matter of fact Im ordering two more bottles right now!
- Dr Todd — 9 years ago
If there's a better Cab Franc wine maker on the planet please let me know immediately. Long been Raats fan, but this wine (their flagship) is my favorite vintage of theirs that I have had to this point. Improved in the decanter as the night went on. I think it's another few years before this vintage really hits it prime (only reason I didn't give it a 10). I will be laying a few bottles down for when it does peak. Classic peppery herbaceous red fruit flavors and silky mineral finish, exactly what you would expect from well made Cab Franc. What really sets this wine apart from the rest is the remarkable balance of flavor, acidity, and tannins. Elegant finish has legs as long as your first summer lifeguard crush. — 9 years ago
Color: dense plum falls off fairly abruptly to a rim of brick. Real decent legs but not crazy.
Nose: lots going on here. Dust. Baked fruit. A little citrus. Reminds me of a baked cobbler. A mix of sweet Mediterranean spices. I distinctly get slow-braised lamb in caramelized onions.
Taste:
Tannins are very soft but certainly present. Medium-to-heavy body, little sweetness, for sure on the drier side. Jam, prunes, dark berries. Finish is a bit funky, like a camembert. Overall impression is a cool but bold well-balanced and nuanced wine. — 10 years ago
Earth. Wood. Wet bark. Crazy legs. Spice. Blueberries. Astringentcy is understated. Really long linger. Smokey. A velvetiness lingers — 9 years ago
What a treat! Extremely powerful in its youth but that's what happens when you use 60%+ new French oak. Initially decanted this for 2 hours, but it ended up finally showing the tip of the iceberg at 3. The nose was enticing, showing spicy cedar, clove and cigar ash components, and brambley red fruits. The juice itself was dark purple and had long, slow moving legs, showing its high alcohol and concentration. The pallet exhibited notes of pomegranate seeds, tobacco, black pepper, black berries, smoke, vanilla extract, faint hints of dark chocolate powder and we'll integrated tannins tightly weaving all the complex layers together and producing a gripping finish. This juice needs much more time in the bottle, but was an absolute pleasure to experience now. Way to go David Tate! You're a heck of a wine maker!
Drink 2018-2030
$89.99 — 9 years ago
If you want a really good cab that is affordable, this is it. St Supery 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 18 months in French Oak, this California cab has bold character. The cork is perfect. The color is pitch purple black. The legs are moderately long and thick. It is 14.5%. The bouquet is slightly acidic, but aromatic with emotions of fresh picked lavender and roses. The initial palate is blackberry and vanilla just as described by the wine maker himself. The finish is dry and makes your lips ache for moisture. There are hints of coffee and spice. Its not a 10, but I like this wine. The Skalli family has this as their basic cab and it rocks at 37 dollars a bottle!!!!!!!!!! A much better choice than Simi Landside which is 40.00 - which is more of a pinot lovers wine.
— 9 years ago
This is Four Vines 2010 biker Zinfandel from Paso Robles! The cork was not perfect and had a 2 cm absorption line. The color was dark purple, almost opaque with a hint of brown like an old world Italian Chianti. The legs are slow, thick, and long. The bouquet is plumb and licorice. This threw me off but as soon as I put it in my mouth...BANG! Smooth as silk, spicy like red pepper, and tongue tingling deliciousness! The initial palate was very boysenberry and almost ripe plumb - the elongated dark purple ones. The finish was long with a blast of red pepper and spice and as the wine maker says, ...a long trail of oak! Absolutely no sourness, no tannic acid, and no sweet restaurant wine finish. I am surprised that I would like a plumb flavored wine, but the bone dry finish makes it a perfect wine. What a different flavor this has. I did not decant it and I Should have. The longer it sits in the glass, the better it tastes. Im moving it from my original 9.3 to a 9.8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have to try this wine! And did I mention its only 25 dollars a bottle?
— 9 years ago
I've gotta hand it to Chuck's daughter on this vintage and say that she is becoming a great wine maker! It's funny, I preferred the Merlot over the Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. As a matter of fact, they both tasted quite similar to one another, but the Merlot had a one up on papa's wine; that one up was TANNIN STRUCTURE.
It had that similar raisin like nose, but showed some herb spice notes and nutmeg, with a core of sugar coated strawberry and ripe cherries. In the glass, the liquid was dark ruby with an intense purple hue, and long legs. The pallet exhibited notes of stewed black and red fruits, vanilla, clove, dark chocolate, and finished with finesse and lingered with an ever so charismatic bite.
In conclusion, I feel as if the Emmolo Merlot for the $50 is much more adequately priced than some of the Caymus family wines, and had a fantastic tannic structure, with acidity to accompany it. It wasn't AS sweet of a red as the Cab, so I will call it WOTN.
Brava Jenny Wagner!
CHEERS! — 9 years ago
Stringer Syrah is pure sunshine rocket fuel. Fancy at the beginning of the night or this wine will turn ballistic on your sleep. Compelling spicy pepper & pear tastes, plum dark jammy drupe. Sticky palate incorporated with crazy tannin legs. Take a night to air out the powerful oak on this goblin and it turns into a mean contender. — 9 years ago
WOW!!!!! Tonight I have opened my 2009 signed by the wine maker himself after meeting him, Kilikanoon - Green's Vineyard Shiraz of Barossa Valley, Australia. The cork is well preserved but very short, and the absorption is all over the place, traveling up 1/2 of one side of the cork. The color is opaque with a midnight purple hue on the surface edge. The legs are very slow to form and I mean very slow with a thick and slow drip. The bouquet is raspberry vanilla with a hint of spice. The initial palate is blackberry jam and boysenberry with a slap of butter. The finish is dry with hints of kiwi and sweet blackberry. It is not too heavy but heavy enough for my liking - too heavy for most people that I know however. This wine is smoother than smooth. I'm loving this wine. I may drink the entire bottle! WOW! Different in an awesome way! Im sure its sold out and not available anymore! Thank you Kevin Mitchell!!!!!!! I should have bought two cases of this one! All I can say is WOW! Look out cali cab lovers. This shiraz is AMAZING! - the French and Spanish should travel to Australia and take notes! — 9 years ago
Good Evening fellow wine lovers. Tonight we are drinking one my very favorite wines, 2010 Burly Cabrenet Sauvignon. WOW. Before we begin, I want to thank Bernice and Hank McCrorie for bringing us their amazing wines. Bernice actually talks to me via email and on the phone when I call them. No other wine maker has ever done this. She's from Sonoma County and he's from Asheville North Carolina. This couple has made an amazing product. Please visit their website www.Burlywines.com The cork is perfect with almost no absorption ring. The color is opaque deep purple / black. The legs are long and slow. The bouquet is blackberry and raspberry aromas. The initial palate is so buttery smooth you won't believe it's this big! There are flavors of black current, blackberries, and fig. The new oak barrel aging gives it a hint of spice with a smooth finish that of a green apple. It is mildly dry leaving absolutely no aftertaste. All you can think of is MORE! Before you know it, your two glasses down and telling yourself to slow down. This is a perfect wine. It's a bit pricey but so worth the expense. I give it 98 points and a 10 on the delectable scale! But as much of this wine as you can. Also try the Chardonnay! You will change your mind about Chards if your a Pinot Grigio fan!
— 10 years ago
Kimberly Anderson
Dark red color and crazy legs. Heavy raspberry nose. Raspberry, blackberry, dark chocolate and some spice. Vanilla finish. Good but lacking my some depth. — 9 years ago