Tanetha Jamay

10

John said this is his go to — 8 years ago

Robin Pembrooke

9.2

Very nice from st John wine box — 8 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.3

Very special opportunity to try this ~30 year old GSM from one of my favorite winemakers. Dark spicy fruit still very much alive with enchanting secondary characteristics--smokey mesquite / campfire, earth, rocks, leather on both nose and palate. Thanks @Max Kogod! Got any more? 🙂 — 9 years ago

Nancy Bernstein

9.0

Love this — 9 years ago

Jonathan Maltus

9.5

John Kolassa really showing well. — 10 years ago

Matt Orenstein

9.0

A nice medium body red, perfect for March Madness — 10 years ago

Wilf Gobert

9.0

Dinner with Flora Springs Proprietor John Komes at Toscana Country Club, Indian Wells CA. The 2013 vintage has not been rated and needs maturing but has flavor that may mature to better than the 2012. — 10 years ago

Pascaline Lepeltier, MS

Master Sommelier, Wine Director Rouge Tomate New York

9.7

1986, maybe 18% Cabernet Franc - really exceptional, with a great density of the mid palate, layers a secondary and tertiary and a very alive tannins structure — 11 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.2

And they said it was dead! Long live blood! — 11 years ago

Vinny Eng

9.6

I heart California! — 12 years ago

Fabio Priori

10

B Day Present From John Hanson, given to him by his father Nigel. — 12 years ago

George Heiligman

9.2

A most enjoyable wine. — 13 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.2

Another excellent BTG. Went well with the Stone Fruit Salad at Compline. — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.6

For as much ritz and glamour that is typically associated with Napa Valley, this week highlighted who the real rock stars are in their community... the farmers and firefighters. Haley Wight is the sixth generation to farm her family’s estate, the historic Lewelling Ranch in St. Helena, originally established by her great-great-great grandfather John Lewelling in 1864. She also happens to make extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon. So extraordinary, that I’m going to skip writing a note and just tell you that Robert Parker hits the nail on the head... “The wine displays gorgeous licorice, lead pencil shavings, black currants, loamy soil undertones and a touch of barrique. Dense purple, it has a full-bodied, multi-layered mouthfeel and a stunning finish with good acidity and velvety, well-integrated tannin, alcohol and wood. This is a scrumptious, full-throttle Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 15 or so years. 96 points.” — 9 years ago

Brett Birman

9.2

Lingering jammy finish, smooth, juicy, red fruit, high alcohol, reminds me of edmunds St. John rocks and gravel but on steroids. — 9 years ago

Richard Garcia

9.2

This was a real treat. Not sure if I'll ever see another bottle of it again. 😭 — 10 years ago

Paul Gordon

9.3

Very good GSM blend — 10 years ago

Naboth van den Broek

9.3

Very nice, complex nose And flavors, almost Madeira-like — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.3

John Favre brought this and an '88 to lunch. Didn't get a photo of that. I preferred the '93 which I thought was young but showed very well. Earth, warm mushroom, bramble and spice — 11 years ago

Rick Phillips

9.4

Drinking the 1998 in memory of a Great wine man Don St John.
— 11 years ago

with Letha

Michael Wilson

9.0

Yay for CA gamay ! — 12 years ago

with Scott

Gwen Kasprzycki

9.3

Had this at Zoso restaurant on St. John Island. — 12 years ago

Dan Fredman

Chef Sommelier World of Pinot Noir

9.2

Earthy, fruity, wonderful — 13 years ago

Michael McNabb

9.1

Delicious! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

They should have called the Winery Floral Springs based on the nose. Beautiful; blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, touch of clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets. The tannins are 95% resolved. The body is lush & ripe. The length, tension & structure are nearing the end. Just a few years left of being worthwhile. However, the balance is stereo tuned. The fruit on the palate shows even more elegant & ripe floral fruits than the nose. Blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, light clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets for days. The acidity is like a waterfall. The beautiful, long, elegant finish is a little lean yet has a nice richness. Beautiful wine that just missed 9.2. Photos top to bottom and left to right. The Winery; which is separate from the other tasting room only on Hwy 29. The tasting room on Hwy 29 in St. Helena, Flora Spring caves and the front of their tasting room along Hwy 29. Producer notes and history...the stone winery on the grounds were built in 1885 by two immigrant brothers from Scotland, James and William Rennie. They were in construction, built the winery and planted 60 acres of grapes. The brothers had some bad fortune when phylloxera consumed the vines, and then a fire in 1900 destroyed their wine press and cooperage. In 1904, they sold the winery and fifteen years later Prohibition started. The winery was then closed until 1933. That year, Louis Martini, looked into their magic eight-ball and saw Prohibition collapsing and bought the Rennie property. They built a new stone house and also made a reserve wine from the hillside vineyards. However, the old winery remained empty until the Komes family bought the property, 325 acres, the old farm house, the newer stone house and 60 acres of vineyards. The son thought he’d persuade his dad to restore the old winery and proposed to call it Chateau Jerome. Although it had been designed by Hamden McIntyre an architect of several other classic 19th-century Napa wineries, by 1977, the place was a wreck. The tin roof of the building had so many holes in it. They called it the starlight roof. His father looked at it and stated, “I’ve worked all my life for my good name. I don’t want to squander it now.” John’s mother, Flora, however, sided with her son on the potential of the property. Carrie Komes suggested they could name the winery for her mother-in-law. Combined with the abundant springs on the land, they decided the name would be Flora Springs. It was a sure way to their mom’s heart and father’s wallet. Komes put his construction expertise to work on renovating the old winery, which still had scorch marks on the walls. So skeptical was his father about his son’s wine-making project, they divided the winery building. John rented half where he put his first fermenting tank, which he named R2D2. He invited a couple of friends from his wine-making class to help make wine at the new place. He also hired Mary Ann Graf, who in 1965 had been the first woman to graduate from the viticulture and enology department at UC Davis to help manage the project. She told John, “if you don’t hire a winemaker, I’ll quit.” He did and the 1979 Flora Springs chardonnay won a gold medal at the Los Angeles County Fair. In those days, it was fairs, not ratings. This was his first lesson in marketing as they sadly sold all the wine before they won the medal. Fairs were the big news instead of ratings as Parker had not yet risen to fame as he was the only one to call the grand 1982 Bordeaux vintage correctly. They submitted their 1981 Cabernet to eight fairs and won seven gold medals. From there, the winery just kept growing. They were the 67th winery in the county. Over the years, they had their ups and downs, but kept growing. One of their highlights was the creation this wine, Trilogy. It was one of the first Meritage blends in the valley. By 1984, they planted all the Bordeaux varietals; Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. They wanted to create a blend “by taste”, not by formula for a nice smooth wine that goes deep into the palate. They worked with a little of this and little of that. The first Trilogy was Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. It was dubbed as velvet in the mouth. A lot of what they do is taming the tannins. One man who bought Trilogy by the case said, “it’s the only red wine his wife would drink young.” From the leftovers, they began making single-varietal estate wines. Another highlight was the discovery of a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc in vineyards his father bought in Oakville. UC Davis could identify nothing like it in their vast library of clones. They were a bit ahead of the times, but this clone showed Flora Springs how different in that time period what Sauvignon Blanc could be like as it took all the grassiness out of Sauvignon Blanc. — 8 years ago

Robbie Ward

8.9

Very Rhone like in delivery. Pepper and spice. Evolved nicely but no fireworks. Smooth and easy without raising the roof — 10 years ago

Erica Lasswell

9.5

Surprise blind tasting for my bday! John gave us a good one! Deanna and Gordana were closest guessing St Emilion. ;) thank you John Lancaster and Boulevard for such a treat! 76 Chinon!!! — 11 years ago

with Gordana

Josh Grove

9.1

Savory side has taken the lead, but this is still showing plenty of fruit. Yes, some CA Syrahs can age! — 11 years ago

Nate Garnero

9.1

Tasting really well, John and Anne visit and niner football weekend — 12 years ago

Nicolas Montigelli

9.5

This is superb. It mitigates the fact that I'm being lambasted with Sir Elton John at heretofore unsuspected volume levels. — 12 years ago