Joe Gillies

9.6

Decanted for 30 min. Deep, inky puple color. Loads of dark fruit... blackberries, blueberry, licorice, and sage. With a short decant, it is drinking beautifully now but zero rush to drink. This still has many more years left in the tank. — 3 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

It's time for some Merlot on this MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing black fruits with light wood, spices, coffee, dark chocolates, earth, tobacco leaf, light black pepper, herbs, light vanilla and licorice.

Tangy finish with soft tannins.

This 5-year-old Merlot from Napa Valley is peaking now, and drinking very nicely. Fruit forward with an elegant mouthfeel.

Wine Spectator 91 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, and good for parties. Good with food too.

A blend of 77% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Syrah. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$35. — 9 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2008 vintage. Had never come across the "Little Hill" until today. Light-medium body. Decanted and was fairly musty for 2-3 minutes before it started to blossom. Some blue fruit/menthol/eucalyptus throughout the experience. Demonstrative spice component on the back end. Could really only ding this on being slightly "watery" on the front palate. Otherwise, this is kicking now and has plenty of life and love to give. 5.27.23 — 2 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

A real solid $20 Chard, Barrel aged 10 months sur lie! Medium lemon color with aromas of stone and citrus fruits with notes of warm baking spice. On the palate ripe apple and lemon flavors with vanilla and nutty toasty oak. Well balanced on medium+ finish ending, a bit buttery with slight oak and mineral notes. A favorite!! — 4 years ago

Leo Gentile

9.4

Delicate pale straw color. Tart Gala apple and pear. Crisp with balanced acidity true to the vineyard and deftness of the winemaker. This wine can keep going for years to come. Drank over three nights and final glass was no less, perhaps more enjoyable than the first. — 4 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.2

Color of purple with grapefruit. Nose of cherry jam, medicinal note, dried strawberry, a bit plum, a bit blackberry, a bit minty, quite fruits oriented. Taste is similar with addition of good smoky note, ripe grapes and cherry jam, rose, medicinal note again, and quite sweet. Aftertaste is bit hickory with zesty bitter note. Will be popular for sweet teeth. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

A Fav! Medium lemon color with aromas of stone fruits, spice, floral, cedar, biscuits and citrus. On the palate flavors of apple, pear & ripe apricot with citrus zest, honeysuckle and nutty toasty oak notes, rich with creamy tones. Smooth, long finish, well balanced with acidity, ending with fruit and integrated creamy oak. Nice! — 4 months ago

K L

9.3

One of the best everytime! — 10 months ago

with Matt

Jan A

9.3

Delicious Australian.. (Eeer New Zealand) rendering of burgundy chardonnay style. On the nose a mixture of sulphur and citrus. Palate shows a bit subdued acidity and roundness. Wifey likes it a lot so buy more 😀 — 2 years ago

Brad Swick

8.9

Dry, with a nice bite, but kind of flat and short flavor. Tasted 11 December 2021 Much better flavor on day two! (8.4 day 1, 8.9 day 2) — 3 years ago

Roman Ochocki

9.3

My kind of #californication 🙂 Deep and spicy (finish) with strong bitter chocolate. Mild tannins, medium acidity. Black fruits - barely palpable. But a leather, smoke maybe - they do the job. My second wine from William Hill - the first one was fantastic blend (2014). — 4 years ago

Collier

9.0

Great wine. Sweet but not too sweet. Strong, fruity smell, “lychee” like taste — 5 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.5

Riverain is Steve Nordhoff and Dean & Laurie Gray’s label that produces just a few hundred cases from some select vineyards in Northern California, including a Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Gamble Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.

According to Dean Gray, Riverain is a historically French term meaning “local & friendly people who reside near the river.” @Greg Ballington deserves credit for the reco, and while I’ve had a handful of Syrahs from the Cardiac Hill Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley, this is my first that’s made by Thomas Rivers Brown.

Screams old world, particularly Northern Rhône. Loved it from the get-go, but the acceleration at 90 minutes open is significant. Campfire grilled meat, finely ground pepper, black olive, and creosote, with a core of savory black fruit, and a beautiful secondary combination of cedar and lavender. There’s a distinctive combination of balance, purity of fruit, and savory structure that’s hard not to recognize. — 7 years ago

Andrea Watt

9.5

Still delicious and has changed less with age than I expected. Not sure if I should have sat on it longer. It has gotten nuttier with hazelnut becoming more prominent. Still a lot of oak and lemon, with a touch of flint and brioche. It’s — 5 months ago

Tom Garland

9.2

From 375 ml bottle...good things can come in small packages.

Double decant and pour. A still dark purplish garnet color with some bricking(decent chunky/fine sediment). On the nose: subtle brooding notes of dark fruit, currants, wet forest floor, worn leather, smokey grilled meat. Taste: creamy, elegant, balanced, savory wine with some dark cherry, earth, dark chocolate, cedar, tobacco, and a cocoa dried herb medium plus finish. YUM! — 5 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

Pale to mid yellow in colour. The wine was a little cold to begin with. Aromas of talc and lime marmalade, dried flowers - a faint paraffin note - No Kerosene or petrol (TDN). A beautiful aged Riesling from the Clare Valley from Petaluma - a long time favourite producer of Riesling. With air and warming up, some yellow peach notes developing. I see HH said this benefits from decanting which I didn’t do. Drinking at its peak. Sadly my last 2012. — 2 years ago

John Malcolm

9.5

An excellent wine. Buttery with lots of yellow peach, honey, apricot. Silky smooth. — 2 years ago

Lenny Castiglione

8.9

Group of six half thought it was a fine Bordeaux. Still had lots of fruit and some tannin. Sweet palate — 4 years ago

with Hande

Robert Swart

9.0

Notes of petrol, mossy forest, and intense berry finish. Medium bodied and complex. Well balanced tannins. Thanksgiving wine. — 4 years ago

Mary H

9.1

25% new oak - strong oakiness but well balanced, plum fruit but not jammy. Soft tannins - barely noticeable - but the wine does have a bit of age. — 6 years ago

with Adrienne and Louis