Shay A

9.2

A few days late in posting the Wednesday Wine Committee wines. Standard format with 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine. All served blind.

Enjoyable and drank younger than its age. I always get a cherry swisher sweets note with St Estephe wines. Very tart black cherries, currant, tart plum and herbs all over this wine. Tannins still holding up nicely. Not getting better, but will probably hold for a bit. I guessed mid-‘90s left bank Bordeaux. — 7 years ago

with Dan, Will and 1 other

Byron Hewett

9.2

2004 is a power vintage for Brunello. Terrific underlying material. I will hold mine for another ~5 years. — 8 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.1

Decent drinking PB in a difficult vintage. Black currant & red berry fruit with a slight austere style showing, earth, cedar, leather & graphite. Med bodied that is fully mature & should hold for a number of years. — 8 years ago

Alex Jones

Marketing/Development Kunni/Westerly Wines

9.0

Hot at first but Asian plum and Korean bbq sauce shows later along with wild cherry/dark fruit. It’s massive and may not hold but really enjoyable now. — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Last Friday was our normal 4th Friday happy hour at the storage facility, but since this month had 5 Fridays, why not keep the party going?!

Such a baby! Still needs time in the bottle. Decanting helps, but only so much. Like a young Bordeaux, this can go an easy 20+ yrs from now. Very dark and heavy in the glass. Tight. Blackberries, black currant, cassis, cedar, olive oil, herbs. Heavy on the palate as it's working its way to integrating fully. Hold! — 9 years ago

with Mark

Joakim Bogström

9.1

Garnet. Orange medium-sized rim.
Lovely balanced with aromas of cigarbox, dried red apples, figs and chocolate. Really a blend of red ripe fruits and dark fruits. Peppery.
Dry. Medium acidity. Medium high plus tannins. Medium plus alcohol. But very well integrated. Full, lean body.
Great balance.
Serve at 16 degrees celsius with braised ox, cabbage and butter fried artichokes.
Drink now ord hold for another 4 years. — 9 years ago

Tyler McNulty

9.1

Hold it - '13 — 9 years ago

Peter Marks

Master of Wine, Educator Constellation Brands

9.6

Amazingly rich and silky seductive. Cedar, earth, black currant, bay leaf and dried cherry. At the peak of perfection but should easily hold another 5-10 years. — 10 years ago

with Adrienne

Mike Davila

9.7

Great wine, impeccable balance and in a good spot. No sign of age but my preference is to drink them younger, 15 years is fine but I would not hold for 25 — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.3

I'm not sure of the make-up but I get a Bordeaux profile from this so I don't think it's pure cab. Very floral with hints of cedar on the nose. Dense dark fruit, licorice, tobacco. To my palate this wine has the closest flavor profile to TRBs own Rivers-Marie cabs. This was decanted 2 hours and probably could have benefitted from more. I'd say hold or decant 3+ hours for optimum drinking ....but it is a rich, expressive wine right now. — 11 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

There is nothing like taking a $31 bottle of Napa Cabernet and turning it into liquid gold. All you have to do is buy a good producer’s decent vintage or better and hold it in bottle for nearly 10 years or longer. Bottle age can’t be accomplished in a decanter, no matter how long you decant it. It simply will not round out the wine, make the tannins well resolved, integrate all the flavors that equate to a nice complex wine.

I was saddened to see a quality Napa Valley Pioneer recently sell its winery. I am sure somewhere Joe Heitz is beside himself. However, nothing stands for forever. We’ll see what the new owners do with it. Certainly, the last free quality free tasting in Napa Valley is gone forever. To be continued...

The nose reveals; dark currants, ripe, ruby, slightly candied fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, blueberries and cherry kirsch. Sweet tarry notes, black, rich, turned soil, anise, steep fruit tea, limestone minerals, dry crushed rock, underbrush, soft leather, hints of dry herbs, moist clay with candied, bright, dark, red, blue florals and violets for days.

The body is full, very round and gorgeous across the palate. The tannins are about 80% resolved but, still showing some teeth. The structure, tension, length and balance have hit the top of the bell curve and will hold there awhile longer. There is nothing in this wine that bites back or is astringent. Dark currants, ripe, ruby, slightly candied fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, blueberries, raspberries on the high palate and long set with cherry kirsch. Sweet tarry notes, black, rich, turned soil, anise, steep fruit tea, caramel, some milk chocolate, limestone minerals, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, underbrush, soft leather, touch of graphite, hints of dry herbs, moist clay with amazing candied, bright, dark, red, blue florals and violets for days. The acidity is like a palate waterfall. The long finish is; delicious, gorgeous, ruby, well balanced, elegant with polish that persists nicely for minutes.

Photos of; Heitz vineyard, tasting bar/room on Hwy 29, sitting area outside the tasting room and Heitz winery and Estate vines. — 7 years ago

Bill Bishop

9.3

Served from magnum. The 1979 Gruaud Larose is drinking beautifully. Light brick rim to dark ruby color. Just a touch of Bret in the nose but plenty of plum-like fruit. Nice acidity with plenty of fruit up front. Ripe. Soft tannins with nice lingering fruit in finish. Perfect now but will hold for several years to come. Drank on my 64th birthday with BBQ ribs. Great pairing. — 8 years ago

Jeff Loo

9.3

Exotic American oak but complemented well with red fruit, spice and a kiss of oak. Drinking very well today, decanted for 45 minutes, did the trick. Will hold for easily another 20 years, no problem but so delicious now. — 9 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Beautiful expression of Unico, showing complex aromatics, both elegant & floral This btl is consistent with previous btls, fully mature & should hold for many years. — 9 years ago

Colin McCartney

9.3

Explosive nose with brambly, dark fruit, white pepper, and some asian spices floating through in the mix....restrained, as always, for a zinfandel but still giving a mouthful of plums, cedar, spice and tannins that hold on for awhile....these are neck and neck with Hartford single vinyards for my favorite red zins.... — 9 years ago

Annie Marlow

9.5

Absolutely amazing. Thin body, rich tannins. Excellent with high fat foods, can hold its own. Absolutely rebuy. Delightful. — 9 years ago

with Tony and Bryan

Rebecca Fletcher

9.4

2013 vintage. Minerality, citrus, crisp green apple and pear. Almonds. M+ acid. M body and finish. Very lean. Orange/tangerine zest. Needs time. Very little of this wine was made. Hold it if you have a bottle. — 10 years ago

Justin Brilman

9.1

Big, bold and full of life. Red fruits and chewy tannin. Drink or hold for a few more it's got plenty of life. — 10 years ago

Robert Skufca

9.9

Outstanding!! Worth the wait to drink at age 21. This wine will hold for several more years. — 11 years ago

Ryan Mullins

9.2

Drink now or forever hold your piece — 7 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.4

What a tremendous bottle ! Very dark rubi color, with no signs of aging. Nose of black currant, some secondary aromas and a hint of flowers. Very polished tannins, in a medium length mouth and the traditional rich and round Pauillac mouthfeel. Its incredibly good to drink right now, but will for sure hold at the very least another 10 years or so. Very highly recommended. — 7 years ago

with Adriana

Paul Masson

9.1

Much more advanced than Lafite with marked tertiary forest floor, approachable tannins. Drink or hold — 8 years ago

Raj Harb

9.3

First of 3 of these. Structured and mineral. Hold for a while. — 8 years ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Very intense, coiled, mineral. Dark fruit with great texture. Not showing much now. Lean, classy but a bit ungenerous. This could go any number of directions from here. Clearly great material but incubating right now. Hold. — 9 years ago

with Matt

Bill Bender

9.0

Nice structure but still very tight, much more so than the Howell Mountain as you might expect. I'm calling this one a hold. — 9 years ago

Ben Hearns

9.2

Outstanding wine from Lebanon. One of very few wines that is compared to a French wines and can hold its own. Terrific with our food. — 9 years ago

John Paul Kaminga

9.9

1947 vintage: amazingly fresh (hints of fresh fruit, but mainly candied, dried and cooked fruits), very intense and long (so many roasted, spicy and confected nuances), still sweet but I don't think it would hold up to many desserts, much better as the start to a meal, pair with super rich foods — 10 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Very savory. Nose features cracked peppercorns and smoky, stony minerals, with cassis fruit definitely in the subservient position. Mouthfilling yet only medium bodied. Linear, light, and long, with savory notes dominating. A unique style. Can hold or maybe improve over next several years. — 10 years ago

Neil Cornish

8.9

Darn. Not showing tonight. Dominated by acid and tannin. Fruit just isn't ripe enough to hold up. Did better with food — 11 years ago

with Jon, Michael and 1 other

Bertus van Zyl

Assistant Winemaker Regusci Winery

9.1

Loved the brambles and berries from the Zin, great acidity. Took some time to really open up, this should hold up for quite a while. — 13 years ago