Deborah M

9.4

Dinner with Lingua Franca founder, Larry Stone. The Bunker Hill salinity had me wanting more oysters. What an incredible expressive Chardonnay. Loved the character of that wine. — 7 months ago

Raul Puga

9.5

Such a great wine with some years ahead of it. Love me some aged California Chardonnay — 9 months 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! — 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

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) — 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. — 5 years ago

Patrick Loomis

9.4

Grippy tight and tannic at opening but softened into juicy plum and cranberry with graphite and soft tannins. Lovely. Drink now if you have any of the 96 left. — 7 months ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.8

Fantastic cult wine that I’ve had the pleasure of trying a couple of times now. Lives up to the hype. Amazing in all aspects. Big but super pretty and just keeps rewarding you with greatness every time you return to you glass. — 8 months ago

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. — 9 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. — 3 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 — 5 years ago

with Hande

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. — 6 years ago

Anil Saxena

9.0

I’m biased. Monastrell is my fav grape. This is one of the better ones I’ve tried. It’s rich, supple, dry and lovely. — 7 months ago

John Malcolm

9.2

Lovely wine. Bright red cherries, and a bit of chocolate and spice. Fine tannins. Paired beautifully with salmon. — 7 months ago

Shane Walker

8.9

Clear, pale lemon colour. Clean, pronounced floral bouquet. Dry, with high acidity and medium bodied. Intense flavours of lime, lemon and citrus blossom. Long finish with significant minerality. A very good wine that would no doubt be better after a few years.

Britannia Restaurant, Queen Anne. In the South Pacific en route from Tonga to New Zealand. — 9 months ago

with Michele

K L

9.3

One of the best. Favorite vineyard. Always perfectly balanced and exactly what we’re looking for in a Pinot. — 2 years ago

with Matt

Paul J

9.0

Dark red color. Seemed restrained and young. Dark fruit with medium depth. Reminded me a little of the single vineyard Sequoia Grove cabs but at a much better price point. — 3 years ago

with Brooke and Steve

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