Fairhall Downs
Sons of Eden
Zephyrus Barossa Shiraz 2016
Belle Glos
Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's been a crazy year full of ups and downs, but today we're so thankful for family, friends, and great wine. — 8 years ago
Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Steam Beer
When the roll downs are rolled down and the store is closed, the Anchor Steams open up. It is a blessing to live so close to the national treasure that the Anchor brewery is. — 8 years ago
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC)
Richebourg Pinot Noir 1998
Valley of the Giants
Cabernet Merlot 2013
Tasting for new Club Red at the Downs Club. Margaret River the home of the best budget and top shelf Cabernet blends. Good berry fruits with vanilla notes. — 10 years ago
Lindeman's
Henry's Sons Chardonnay 2013
As the label says "rich and luscious". This is the 2nd wine chosen out of 56 white wines tasted at the Downs Club. A full bodied flavoursome Chardonnay which should sell well. — 10 years ago
Fairhall Cliffs
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Great Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Good balance of sweetness and acidity. — 12 years ago
Angove Family Winemakers
McLaren Vale Grenache Blend 2017
Chosen from a 47 Wine blind tasting to be the new Club Red for the Downs Club to be sold for around $20. Many of them were very similar Cookie Cutter type Wines but this will sell well. — 8 years ago
Flora Springs
Trilogy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1993
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
Domaine Vrignaud
Fourchaume Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay
I have a number of ups and downs w garagiste purchases lately, but this is spot fricken on! Lactic, creamy, bright, sour and Stoney! The type of Chablis I miss! — 10 years ago
Whetstone Wine Cellars
Bella Vigna Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008
2008 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Bella Vigna Vineyard
Winemaker's Vineyard
Notes: Steeply sloped (think black diamond for all you folks who snow ski), southeasterly facing hillside. Goldridge loam soils. Two-thirds 777 and a third Swan clone. Ton and a half to the acre. Harvested on October 3rd.
Winemaker's Tasting Notes: 100% French Oak, 40% new wood. Punch downs only. Indigenous yeast primary fermentation and natural completion of ML. Unfined, unfiltered. Lighter shade of ruby in color. Big, floral nose of rose petal, dark red fruits, sassafras tea, and soy. Secondary notes of pencil shavings, vanilla, and a touch of bacon fat. Full-bodied, rich flavors of baked berry pie, pomegranate, and baker's chocolate. Finishes super long with flavors of ripe cranberry and bacon fat. 14.5% alcohol. 330 cases produced. — 13 years ago
Château La Faviere
Intégrale Bordeaux Supérieur Red Bordeaux Blend 2011
The $50 mystery case train rolls on. Best Hundy we ever spent on wine. I paid <$5 for this wine and can’t find it online for less than $52. Committed to not looking these wines up before popping the cork. Merlot dominant, whole cluster in Demi’s that are turned every 4 hours for 6 months in lieu of punch downs or pump overs. Good stuff. — 8 years ago
Sella & Mosca
Terre Rare Riserva Carignano del Sulcis 2005
This is surprisingly delicious. Well-balanced and smooth. Smells like band-aids but tastes like red apple skins, mint, and goat cheese. I never considered Sardinia a desirable wine region, but this wine has opened my eyes. While wine usually churns up a groundswell of emotion, I feel nothing other than a baseline contentment. After a year of lurching between ups and downs, the oenological version of flatlining feels lovely. Vino di vino. — 8 years ago
Gosset
Excellence Brut Champagne Blend
At the monthly Champagne night at the Downs Club. Preferred this to the Perrier Jouet. More fruit slightly broader with enough citric acid to cleanse the palate. — 8 years ago
Lindeman's
Henry's Sons Arthur's Rich and Spicy Shiraz Cabernet 2013
Another on the short list for the Downs Club red. Ripe plum and black currant flavours. Crowd pleaser. Short term cellaring. — 10 years ago
Howling Wolves
Margaret River Shiraz 2013
Veru dark in colour. Good balance of fruit/oak. Cherries and earth notes. Excellent complexity for the price. On short list for next Downs Club Red. — 10 years ago
Domaine Roulot
Meursault - Charmes 1er Cru Chardonnay 2004
Surprisingly a deep complex nose right out of the gate..The palate however I found closed and somewhat musty. Like a championship thoroughbred on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs this came down the stretch and just kept opening and opening, gaining weight and intensity. It crossed the finish line with honeyed fruit , flowers and hints of stones. Wow. — 11 years ago
Forchini Vineyards & Winery
River Terrace Proprietor's Reserve Estate Grown Pinot Noir 2008
I likely. A 70 year old man w a 1/4 acre property still doing hand punch downs. Cheers, my man! Minerals and spice... A a true Cali PN — 12 years ago
Bob McDonald
The winner of the Downs Club Premium Red taste off from 41 masked Reds. Not my final choice but democracy prevailed by 4 votes to 3. This was in my final 3. A nice balance of sweet red fruits with some spice and hint of pepper. Balanced and smooth. Will cellar up to 10 years but overall a little too sweet for my palate. A quality producer in the Barossa who specialises in individual Cuvees of Shiraz from separate paddocks. — 8 years ago