Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2018 vintage. Just released and super youthful but already with great structure and balance in place. Staying power on the front end and a dazzling finish on the back end. Not a bad way to start the day. — 4 years ago

Paul K

9.6

Gorgeous. This is chocolate covered cherries with fine grained tannins, beautiful structure and balance. This was a fun wine to drink on my night off. Mama has the kids and I’m halfway through this with nothing but PTI and Sportcenter in front of me. Life is grand!!! @David T thanks for the great review and suggestion! Saving the other bottle for 2029. You’re welcome to join me. Hope you like MN Vikings. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Opened tonight. And, I feel like a broken record saying that here is ANOTHER great 2011 considering the "damned vintage" that this one received press for being. I have 43 more 2011 Napa wines and I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing the same thing another 43 times. Not powerful, but these wines truly show the complexity that Napa cab CAN be. Nose of iodine, black licorice. Very front of this wine is sweeter black cherry giving way to an herbal infused middle (getting more dried basil with a hint of oregano and cumin). The red clay terroir is unmistakably present here through the middle and finish, which is usually more present for Ponente only at the very finish. The wine finishes with black cherry and black licorice dominated notes. I have a feeling that this wine is still on the way up. Has a few more years until it is at the top of the hill, but drinking OH SO WELL right now. — 7 years ago

Charles Mires

9.0

Extra spice and acidity up front but a fine effort — 7 years ago

Karyn Fricke

9.1

Cherry berry very nice. A little on the hot side but good. — 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

Sandeep Konchady

9.0

Really great taste, mild yet flavorful. — 5 years ago

L.A. Warren

9.0

Lots to love about this gem from Lebanon.

Very smooth on the front end with lots of ripe red berries.

Paired with steak with mushroom sauce, roasted carrots, mashed potatoes and onions. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

After an hour and a half, this one settled down. Quite "weedy" initially, but then became a very nice wine, almost with a youthful kind of nose. If tasted blind, I would have said this was a 2009-2011 high end CDP. But, there's a HINT of mushroom on the nose and front of the palate, along with raspberry tart and some mature pipe tobacco and worn saddle leather, hint of clove. Finishes with a lot of fruit influence. Tannins have resolved quite nicely on this wine. The youth of this wine is starting to give to a more mature side. Nice. In a good spot right now. — 7 years ago

Sanjay k

9.1

That was really good.

89 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): The 2013 Three Valleys is a plump, juicy and expressive Zinfandel-based red. Dark cherry, kirsch, sweet spices, dried flowers and tobacco are front and center in a soft, supple red to drink now and over the next handful of years. Once again, the Three Valleys delivers superb quality for the money. Drink: 2015-2020. (Jul 2015) — 7 years ago

Lauren Atkins

9.0

Wow. Doesn’t taste like a Pinot!! Great spicy notes, easy to drink but complex — 7 years ago

E & K G

9.3

Part of a 2004, 2008, 2010 vertical. All double decanted. The 2008 was still very energetic with the darker fruit coming out front and you could still feel a bit of “heat” on the palate, but in a good way that highlighted the flavors. Starting to round out but still very much alive vs the 2004 that was much more “calm”. — 8 years ago

Regina Martin

9.3

Good! O's special — 8 years ago

Rick Stiles

9.0

Up front tannins and loooong medium fruit with pronounced cedar and plumb. Very smooth and mellow all the way to the end. I venture to say it would be better with a few more years in the bottle, but we couldn’t take it anymore. — 5 years ago

Andrew Robinson

9.5

Cherry and slight carbonation up front with a blackberry finish. Dank!!! — 6 years ago

Perrine M Ryan

10

An absolute dream. It smells like it wants to go to a campfire. — 7 years ago

Michael Ma

9.0

Balanced but fruit is front and center through to the finish with a soft velvety tongue. The bourbon barrels come through with a deliciously harmonious, and unique surprise. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

Enjoyed while cleaning out the boss' cellar. Say what you want about this wine, but the one thing you can say is that this wine is incredibly consistent. This wine reminds me of the family uncle who always gives you some silver dollars at Christmas...even though you are now a grown adult. And if you actually listen to his crazy advice on investing when you were a kid, you just might be able to be that Uncle when you grow up. This wine is a thoroughbred. Meant to be consumed at least after 10 years. And this wine is in a really good spot. The nose does show a tiny bit of age as does the palate. This is front-loaded with slightly aged blackberry and a bit brambly. This wine smoothed out quite a bit over 3 hours. Finish with very nice integration, a hint of stiff oak tannin but a lot of it has resolved. Very enjoyable. This wine still has another 10 or 15 years left. — 7 years ago

Wulf Losee

8.9

2014 opened June 2018. Lots of red fruit and some black pepper on the nose, but not much fruit on the front of the mouth, but it has a jammy mouth feel all the same. Smooth tannins the rest of the way down with just a hint of pucker on the end. Personally? I like a wine that challenges me a little, but this is a very nice Cab. — 8 years ago

Neal Ferry

9.0

Breath....Breath...,open up please — 8 years ago