Paul J

9.6

Half bottle. 30+ minute decant. Definitely a top echelon nose - perfume, flowers (violets?), dirt, dark cherry fruit etc. Well balanced wine on the palate with dark fruit and a perfect combination of richness and finesse. Medium plus finish. Aging potential but don’t give too much air. Paired great with Chinese food. All the reason I’ve been buying this wine for the better part of a decade!! — 4 years ago

with Brooke

Jan de Weerd

9.3

Complex, earthy cigar box tannins right from the start transitioning in a vibrant dark fruit on the mid palet and a nice grippy finish. At its peak after about 30-60 minutes, flatting out after two hours. If it had more staying power I would have rated it in the upper echelon. — 4 years ago

with Tammy

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This is upper echelon Chablis. Brothy, sea shell, apple, musky. Great intensity but fantastic acids. Long ass finish. — 4 years ago

with Rebecca and Angelo

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.6

The 2016 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is a stunning wine from this famed estate. Needing more than an hour decant to fully develop, this starts off with beeswax, brandy soaked pear, nutmeg, and ripe banana that impress, as the intoxicating bouquet continues to bring you back to the glass. On the palate, the unctuous mouthfeel entices the senses. Silky smooth gliding through the palate, flavors reminiscent of baked pear, marzipan, banana bread and honeydew melon move through, leading to an exceeding long and satisfying finish. The salinity and light stony character of the wine further pushes this into the upper echelon of this prestigious region in the Rhone Valley. Enjoyable now, this wine will cellar well for decades. Drink 2019-2035- 96 — 5 years ago

Craig Stanfield

9.2

Consistently great. Not saying it’s in the same echelon, but the flavors remind me of Schrader To Kalon. — 6 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Hits the sweet spot where scents of Pinot fruit are in equilibrium with bright, chalky minerality. So fresh-smelling. Same on the palate. Nice fruit/acid/mineral balance. Lovely. Top echelon rose. — 6 years ago

with Angelo

Shay A

9.2

Wednesday Wine Committee. As always, wines are tasted blind. 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert.

Not a lot to say on this that hasn’t been said. One of the top SBs coming out of Cali year end and year out. Melka and Arkenstone are in an echelon alone in my opinion, followed by Addax, Bevan, Montagu, and this. Bold style SB. Not overly tart or acidic. Mineral notes and beautiful texture. I guessed high end Cali SB. ✔️ — 7 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Our friends also brought Tri-tip to cook on the Green Egg. Not just any Tri-tip. This is the Cardiff. On the packaging, it refers to a website called CardiffCrack.com and can be ordered from https://order.seasidemarket.com/ @Paul T- Huntington Beach you are going to want to try this without question or hesitation and have some older Shiraz with it.

This is the most tender & flavorful Tri-tip I’ve had...all of us. For me, most are too seasoned/salty and not all that tender. You could almost cut it with a fork. I’ll be making this again & again. This is Goldilocks third porridge...just right.

I find Two Hands to be in the conversation of upper echelon Barossa producers.

I thought this would be a good classic pairing for Tri-tip. This slid into the perfect pairing for the style of the Cardiff. They hugged each other nicely. Really good.

For me as it is with may other big red wine regions, this wine needs 10 years plus to start showing how incredible they can be and has another 7 plus years of good drinking ahead of it.

This was smooth, elegant with round supple tannins. Broad spectrum of ripe, black, purple & blue fruits. It’s core dark with sweet tarriness, expresso roast, pepper, fresh tobacco, dark spices & limestone minerals. Dark; red, purple, blue florals framed in a field of violets & lavender. The acidity is excellent and the wine wire to wire is supple, has great balance, elegance with long staying power & persistence.

Photos of our 2017 visit toTwo Hands. Tasting room approach, fountain on the back grounds and view from their tasting patio. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

Herbal aromas (typically Margaret River) with Geranium Capsicum and a touch of menthol. Some green notes - medium weight. Savoury wins out over Cassis and black fruits. Not in the upper echelon of Margaret River Cabernet. Just a silver medal. We went to the Cellar Door some years ago and the story goes that the Reserve Cab was served at the wedding of Prince Frederick of Denmark to Sydney Real Estate agent Mary Donaldson originally from Tasmania now Crown Princess Mary and one day will become the Queen of Denmark. Fred is a keen sailor who was representing Denmark at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and they met at Sydney hotspot The Slip Inn where Fred was flashing his Black AMEX so the story goes and was captivated by Mary and the rest is history. — 4 years ago

dan boedeker

9.4

Acquired from Somm Select, a TRB wine. Spectacular fruit, oak undertones that are minimal but appreciable at same time. Upper echelon Pinot in Sonoma. — 5 years ago

Bill Bender

9.2

If not my favorite Howell mountain Cab producer it’s certainly 1A. The True bottling is without a doubt on an echelon above level but this is always very gratifying. I opened this the day I received news of the sale of the winery. I hope I still have the opportunity to sit on the mountain top there and look over the valley. It’s definitely a serene and gorgeous highlight when I visit Napa. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

My first bottle of wine in 15 days and it was a nice welcome back. The last time I had the ‘08 Kongsgaard Cab a few years ago it was completely shut down and impenetrable. Now it is very open knit, with fine grained tannins and easy drinking plum and mocha fruit. It doesn’t have that upper echelon gear but it is damn good. — 6 years ago

Tim

9.8

Top echelon of Napa cabs, diamond mountain — 7 years ago

Kristin the Wine Girl

9.1

Cherry cola meets dusty tea nose. Like the new cherry cola tea Icee flavor you would have as a kid on a weekend shopping spree. Smooth and subdued, a refined yet fun and sexy fruit-forward leathered cola romp on a saddle. The upper echelon of the region. Giddy-up! Enjoyed with white saucy scallops and mushrooms over par-cooked onions and penne. — 4 years ago

Paul J

9.2

1 hour decant. Dark purple color. Has that classic French nose I love! Decent fruit that fades and thins out over time. Smells great but has that tart/bitter finish that tells you it isn’t in the upper echelon of wines. Decent QPR. Could be great in 5+yrs as it does show potential. — 4 years ago

with Brooke

Greg Gosselin

9.4

Drinking really well, with yet more potential. Top echelon. Superb. — 4 years ago

Alan Weinberg

9.2

Really good but not in the very top echelon. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Deep crimson in colour. A rich Pinot as it always is with savoury plum notes, integrated oak and soft resolved tannins. Block 3 along with Block 5 always regarded as in the Dress Circle of Otago Pinots along with Mt Difficulty and Terra Sancta (ex Ollsens) all located in Felton Road. As mentioned in an earlier post I prefer other areas in NZ for PN but Felton Road has always been in the top echelon of New Zealand Pinot’s. A “cool” wine in every sense of the word. Good drinking now and can’t see any major improvement apart from becoming more savoury with more cellaring. — 5 years ago

Alex Florea

8.9

Had this twice, we both loved it the first time, I got mostly cranberry the second time. First time was also at Eataly so there's points there for environment. It's certainly good, just can't tell where it fits in the upper echelon — 6 years ago

Paul J

9.4

30 minute decant was perfect, thanks Steve G!! Classic Silver Oak nose! Barnyard and flowers, love it! Best part of this wine! Very complex wine but lacked structure and not as powerful as I remember. Definitely a different style Napa Cab than what is being made today. Finish could be longer, but definitely an upper echelon brand, at least back then. Don't wait much longer to consume. — 6 years ago

with Brooke