Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Joseph Phelps Party and the 83 Insignia from magnum.

The nose reveals; floral liqueur notes, more mid red fruits; strawberries, cherries & dark cherries. Blackberries, black raspberries, rhubarb, soft, volcanic minerals, limestone, steeped fruit tea, cedar, old leather & tobacco, dry crushed rocks, dark spices, dry herbal notes, eucalyptus, dry stems with dry & withering dark, red florals.

The body is medium full with a fair amount of tannins in a wine with this age. The structure, tension, length and balance are still quite sound with harmony. Floral liqueur notes, more mid red fruits, strawberries, cherries & dark cherries. Blackberries, black raspberries, rhubarb, soft, volcanic minerals, limestone, steeped fruit tea, dark spice with some heat, cedar, old leather & tobacco, cedar, dry crushed rocks, dark spices, dry herbal notes, eucalyptus, dry stems with some funkiness. withering dark, red florals. The acidity is nice. The long finish still show ripeness, good balance but, has leaned and shows nice persistence. — 7 years ago

Patrick Derdeyn

8.9

Heavy on the melon, plenty of a acidity and just a whisper of oak. — 8 years ago

Jay Ciccarelli

9.1

Floral nose. Light body great structure easy drinking fun and finesse combined. Very nice buy more. — 10 years ago

John Schlechter

9.3

Locorice braised candied cherries desert like distinctive — 10 years ago

Robert Waxman

9.3

Nice grapefruit — 11 years ago

Mark Jones

9.7

Great nose can't wait to taste — 12 years ago

Jeff Siwik

8.9

Opulent, ripe and structured, a superb combination of full flavor, intensity, and backbone. Its color is beautifully deep and concentrated. Subtle floral notes of lilac and rose petal lead into complex aromas of earth, black cherries, cranberry, black tea, allspice and clove. Full bodied and harmonious, the mid palate is layered with sweet, supple fruit and flavors of pomegranate and cherry.
Aged 8-10 months in barrel. Elegant, ripe dark fruits, cassis and violets with spicy and smoky notes. Young but pleasing. Refined and rich; shows plenty of red fruit goodness; a bit bright and lively now, the wine could use a year or two to settle down — 7 years ago

Susan Neil

9.0

Pale yellow with floral and apricot aromas, medium bodied with stone fruit flavors, white pepper, bitters on the finish with high acidity. — 8 years ago

Jonathon Harris

9.4

Drinking this wine made me forget Donald Trump was our president. Which begs the question, is it better to have drank, then to never drank at all?
— 9 years ago

Evelyn Marin

9.3

Is anyone making better Chardonnay in Oregon? — 10 years ago

Patrick Herrington

9.2

Floral nose, crisp with long stone fruit like finish
Very nice! — 11 years ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.0

After all these year still only tasty motor oil. — 11 years ago

Phil Stice

9.7

Polish. Pepper (black and white). Whole cluster floral. Olive. Meaty and bloody — 13 years ago

Nathan Kinney

9.6

Floral, structured, cherry, — 7 years ago

Joe Davant

9.5

My WOTN at the Charlotte Hirsch dinner, showing what proper aging can do to bring out a wine's fine points and soften its rough edges. All the elements of this wine were working together in harmony. Soaring floral aromatics, deep, rich fruits and a wonderfully smooth, long finish made this wine a real pleasure to drink. The more Hirsch I drink, the more I realize that patience is rewarded with their wines. 2011 was widely panned as a tough vintage in CA, but this 2011 was absolutely singing. — 7 years ago

with brent

Winton Sweum

9.1

Light gold; very floral nose, with peachy, subtle citrus notes, and a stone-fruit bitterness on a full, fine finish. (In magnum.) — 9 years ago

Russelton Handleberry

9.4

Solidness, richness, purfumery, goodness — 10 years ago

Erik McLaughlin

Vice President Seven Hills Winery

9.4

Textbook old school Napa Cab. What once was and should more often be again. Great secondary characteristics, yet still plenty of primary fruit. Possibly at peak but with life left ahead. — 11 years ago

John Rubino

9.5

Loving Australia GSMs! — 12 years ago

Oren Weissman

9.4

Worth the money, not amazing but very good with good floral notes and alcoholic nose — 14 years ago