Shay A

9.4

Never thought I’d see the day I’d give a Napa malbec a score this high. Though age is a factor, this is the best Napa valley Malbec I’ve had. Everything in balance. I poured blind for a few people and Aussie Shiraz, Cabernet, and Napa Petit sirah were the guesses. On the nose, it shows ripe blackberries, currant, licorice (but not an overload like many Malbecs), dark chocolate shavings, mocha and some cedar. What separates this from other Malbecs is the complexity on the palate...not just a licorice and inky profile. Candied black cherries, ripe blackberries, baking spices, melted chocolate, and a hint of black pepper spice. Nothing flabby, dense or overly tannic about this. Smooth and in the zone. My thanks to @David T who opened my eyes to this wine (and producer)! And props to Mark who called H&G as a possible producer when he tasted this blind! — 6 years ago

with Mark and Dan

Bob McDonald

9.6

Aromas of raspberry and hints of Thyme and Mint. Oak has fully blended into the fruit at 12 years and is totally balanced. The hallmark of this wine has always been its soft silky tannins; like its more famous elder sibling Hill of Grace for many more $. Medium bodied and in a great place right now in its development. Superb wine in a good vintage from a Vineyard planted in 1912 - dry grown ungrafted vines. Winery says can cellar to 2025. 9 weeks later picked the next one a little soon but I did. Notes as above. Cannot say more - just an excellent wine. Perfect with roast lamb. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Had this in a recent blind tasting. Aged for 12 months, very pleasant light berry fruit aromas with slight undertones of earthiness. On the palate cherry and currants with subtle spice. I would consider this one of the lighter bodied CA Pinot’s I have tasted. Soft tannins lingering ending with a mineral tang. Nice, from their 1500 acre Grace Benoit Ranch in Carneros. Consistent quality from recent tastings. — 8 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Champagne Paul Bara, Bouzy – Special Club Grand Cru, Reims, 2005

Overview
A standout grower Champagne from Bouzy, carrying the prestige of the Special Club designation and the depth of a Grand Cru. Crafted with meticulous care, this cuvée rested over 36 months on the lees before disgorgement, bringing a richness and complexity worthy of the vintage.

Aromas & Flavors
The nose is expressive with layers of baked brioche, toasted hazelnut, and almond cream, underpinned by ripe orchard fruits and subtle citrus zest. On the palate, it delivers a beautifully yeasty core, with flavors of apple tart, quince, lemon curd, and a touch of honey. Mineral edges and a faint chalky salinity keep the richness in perfect check.

Mouthfeel
Elegant yet powerful. The mousse is fine and persistent, coating the palate with creamy texture while the acidity provides both lift and tension. The lees aging shows in the roundness and savory depth, giving a long and polished finish.

Food Pairing
Perfect with seared scallops, lobster in beurre blanc, or a simple truffle risotto. Its balance of richness and freshness also makes it a stunning partner for aged Comté or Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Verdict
An impressive expression of both terroir and time in cellar. Champagne Paul Bara’s Special Club 2005 shows off why Grand Cru Bouzy fruit, combined with extended lees aging, creates a Champagne of immense character and grace. A bottle that commands attention at the table, while rewarding patience and appreciation. Cheers! — 8 years ago

Mark Coleman

9.0

Huge but really well balanced and compelling. — 10 years ago

James Rienstra

9.0

More good stuff from Michael Savage. Honeysuckle, pear, and lemon. Nice minerality. — 10 years ago

Alicia Cypress

9.4

Was excited to find I still had a 2009 left! It's in a beautiful place. Big bold cherries. Great integrated acid and tannins. A nice change of pace from the lighter style pinots and a reminder of why I fell in love with this winery. — 11 years ago

Sarah Piddington

10

This was a recommendation from a friend and I owe him a hug! What a fabulous wine. It just keeps getting better! — 11 years ago

Mo Daly

9.4

mclaren vale orange arneis — 12 years ago

E & K G

9.1

From a wine dinner with Sashi Moorman himself! Great flavor and intensity of new world fruit, but with the restraint and grace of the old world. The minerality and tension really keeps you engaged. — 6 years ago

Severn G

9.2

On the Lawn at Tanglewood this afternoon with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Our conductor Andris Nelsons is leading GERSHWIN (Piano Concerto in F), GERSHWIN (Variations on “I Got Rhythm,” for piano and orchestra) and STRAVINSKY (Petrushka) with the amazing Jean-Yves Thibaude as the piano soloist on the two first works presented today. Jean-Yves is by far among our favorite pianists to grace the Koussevitzky Shed stage, so graceful, yet poignant!

Hot days call for cool wines, today there are some fun ones planned for sharing.

Similar notes from our last bottle.
Savory herbs, beeswax, citrus pith. So wonderful! — 6 years ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.4

Vintage after vintage - this item aims one of my absolute favourites from central Tuscany. Delicious sophisticated drinking. — 8 years ago

Seth Morgen Long

Broker • Arterberry Maresh / Winemaker • Morgen Long

9.3

Felt lucky to find this youthful and robust bottle. Extremely tight and backwards but revealing of what grace lies ahead. Some castelvetrano olives, Comte and rustic baguette helped tease out the beauty from this beast. — 8 years ago

Angela Bortugno

8.9

Enjoying some of the wines we brought back from Australia. While the Hill of Grace is what Henschke is known for, this Pinot from the Adelaide Hills is an elegant, light style. I’m enjoying the red fruit and “Dentyne “characteristics. Medium+acidity makes this a great food wine. Lovely tea tannins lead to a sweet tart finish. — 8 years ago

TheSkip

9.1

Delightful. Much better than the 2011!! Right bank from the left coast! — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

From 30-year old vines. 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha. Tempranillo spent 36 months on 4-year old American oak, Garnacha spent 30 months on 2-year old American oak, bottled in 2011, released, fall of 2015. Just opened another bottle, Ruby with nose of red fruit and earthy notes. The palate shows cherry and raspberry with some vanilla, mocha and tobacco notes. Well developed. The finish had typical Rioja earthy mineral flavor, silky tannins and a long ending. Nice! — 9 years ago

Trevor Maskell

9.1

2014 fresh as a daisy Monty. Great structure and fruit depth. Bright and easy to drink but possesses so much interest. Gorgeous — 10 years ago

Michael Ducker

9.5

Perfectly balanced rose. Drinkable and delicious — 11 years ago

with Jordan

Paul Stroud

Sommelier/Wine Director

9.6

What a great wine. So different from Santa Barbara but still very true to her style. — 11 years ago

Christina Turley

Sales & Marketing Turley Wine Cellars

9.3

Tasting through the fall releases for the mailer. Vines in this wine anywhere from 41-129 years old. — 11 years ago

with Turley

Garrett Pierce

Sales Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

9.0

Light and friendly. Could have easily been a rosé from the south of france. — 13 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

The ‘Grace Vineyard’ Pinot Noir is a barrel selection from this exceptional site in the Dundee Hills AVA. The aromas are intoxicating right out of the gate, as this warm vintage Pinot Noir is not needing a long decant. Rose water, ripe red plums, strawberry puree and guava aromas all combine with lovely earthy and wet rock nuances that all are woven together in the beautifully glass. Exuding sheer class on the palate, this gorgoeus Pinot Noir slowly unveils ripe red fruits that mingle with minerals, potpourri, exotic spices and shades of wild blackberry jam. The silky texture entices and adds to this wonderful drinking experience. Fantastic in its youth, the Grace Vineyard Pinot Noir will shows wonderful promise for an exceedingly long evoloution ahead. Drink 2020-2040 — 6 years ago

Al Shikoh

9.3

very lush and ripe style featuring black cherry, caramel, and toasted coconut, 14.3% ABV; new cuvée blending fruit from 3 of their top vineyards including Mark Bradford, Grace, and Côte Sud: $125 — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

On the nose, ripe, ruby, fruits of; mulberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries, blueberries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets.

The body is rich, ripe & full. The tannins are a little sticky but well softened, round and a touch chewy. The structure, tension, length, balance, tension and balance are very close to perfect and harmonious. Fruits are; mulberry, huckleberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets. The acidity is round and rains like a waterfall perfectly over the palate. The very long, ruby, rich, well balance lasts minutes and is absolutely heavenly. Gorgeous, elegant, stunning wine.

Photos of; the vertical tasting we attended of all Hendricks Cabernets; 04, 05, 09 & 12 at the time w/ one of our favorite paintings in the background, Charles Hendricks working in the cellar, very old rootstock from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard where the fruit to make this wine normally comes from and a wide shot of the Stag’s Leap Vineyard.

Producer notes and history...Hendricks Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently sourced from a few of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. In those near perfect vintages, Charles only makes a small production wine of around 250-300 cases. Charles only produces it when he has exception fruit. He’s made Hendricks Cabernet in; 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012 & 2014. Notice he didn’t make Hendricks Cabernet in a great vintage year like 2013. He wasn’t happy enough with his fruit in 2013 to put his name on it. That says a lot and maybe all you need to know about his standard for quality. I do know what wine his 13 fruit made as I’ve had and it’s an unbelievable wine for far less money.

Charles also makes a fantastic Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands that is really quite amazing. Especially, if you give it 5 or 6 years in bottle. All his wines are sold exclusively through the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville as he is also the Hope & Grace Winemaker.

Charles graduated in 1982 from UC Davis in viticulture. He was also able to tailor his own curriculum and was one of the earliest to integrate winemaking and viticulture course work. Having knowledge of both viticulture and enology forms the basis for his well-rounded winemaking.

Over the years Charles has worked in both Napa and Sonoma Counties, gaining hands on experience in all aspects of winemaking. He has a strong reputation for excellence. In his career, he’s been a consulting winemaker for many wineries; Viader, Barnett Vineyards, Paoletti Vineyards, Regusci Winery, James Cole, T-Vine and Tamayo family Vineyard.

I asked Charles, “how does he make wines that are amazingly good in their youth but will age effortlessly for 15-20 years?” His answer was simply this, “its not that hard, you just have to know the perfect time to harvest fruit.” I would agree with that to a degree. But, you also have to know how to gently guide fruit onto it’s path into the barrel and not get in the wine’s way or overwork the process. — 8 years ago

Andrew Lam

9.0

Well integrated fruit and nice spice. Had with a variety of food from octopus to porchetta. — 8 years ago

with Jeremy and Graciela

Bob McDonald

9.6

There is a certain unique character with Mt Edelstone only repeated in it's illustrious elder sibling Hill of Grace. Undefined but silky is part of it. Notes of roasted coffee bean. Some pungency like H2S but not. The highlight is the silky supple tannins. A beautiful wine one could never tire of. 2004 vintage. From 90 year old ungrafted vines. — 10 years ago

Alia Connor

9.5

Nom nom. Great acid and funk. Did it start to fall apart the longer it was open? :( bday wine #3 from Passage and my fave so far. — 11 years ago

Jason Kreizenbeck

9.9

A rare treasure to get to enjoy the Grace Family Cabernet from 1990. Cannot wait to enjoy this with family tonight! — 11 years ago

with Scott

Raitt

9.1

Excellent at this price, juicy, fruity, right acidity, smooth. Pleasant from opening to 4 hrs later! — 11 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.5

Wine of the night for many, the facts: made from 80% Roussanne and 20% Grenache Blanc, from vines between 10-40 years old, and a small quantity of the “Vieilles Vignes” cuvee, produced entirely from Roussanne vines of at least 65 years of age. Deep gold in color, this is indeed in the mature stage. A complex and full nose showed layers of almonds, sea breeze, candied citrus and honeysuckle. The palate indeed confirmed the small bit of oxidized notes (sherry like saline) that went very well with the yellow fruits and flowers, full bodied with grace, minerality and good acid cut which no doubt is how it was able to age. — 12 years ago

with Javier