Jamie Lauder

9.0

2012 vintage bought at the winery. Deep rich purple colour. Big black fruit aromas with kirsch, cardomann and black pepper. This is a smooth wine. Spicy ripe blackberry and cherry, baker’s spice and vanilla. Medium acidity and tannins, I wish it had more lift at the finish. Don’t get me wrong, this is a nice wine. — 6 years ago

Brian R

9.4

Sulfur free barbera. So fresh and alive. Really bright crunchy cranberry, raspberrry, pomegranate. — 7 years ago

Joyce Brooks

9.5

Dependable good taste! $13 H-E-B — 7 years ago

Keith Watson

9.4

West London Wine — 7 years ago

Thomas Darling

9.3

Such a cool wine — 9 years ago

Chris Ursini

Brand Manager Chambers & Chambers

9.0

Kicking off memorial day weekend right — 10 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Softer, rounded black fruits than in July. Blue fruits are starting to show a bit more. Cherry chocolate follows. Soft black earthiness with a touch of soft minerals. Light vanilla presence and medium barrel toast come out on the soft elegant finish. Good acidity is the one lacking element in their 08. It's off just a bit. 9.3-9.4 with the Ribcap steak...Michael Mina's-Bourbon Steak. — 10 years ago

Matt Duncan

9.6

Mint attack, coco prune, orange blossom. Robust tannin appears. Tremendous! — 11 years ago

Arian Ashworth

10

Matt keiser selection — 12 years ago

Kell Mc

8.9

Smooth, slightly dry finish — 12 years ago

Michey M

9.8

Vinoversity. Delish. Cali version if Rhone white. Lush creme brûlée passion fruit guava nectarine. Layered but still dry — 12 years ago

Yuki Watanabe

9.1

Burst of ripe fruits with hint of Tabasco, opens up very quick, taste of chocolate, beautiful wine by itself — 6 years ago

Kerry Bunting

9.3

Taste like strawberries 🍓. Lightly tannic. Light & bright. Good w/ or w/o food. Not funky, but tasty. — 6 years ago

Madeline Warren

9.0

Watermelon aqua fresca, grassy, sour cherry on the finish. Nice minerality. — 7 years ago

Jenks

9.1

Frequent crusher. Such lovely balance between oily custard texture and acidity. — 7 years ago

Kurt Schuster

9.4

Smelled of deep, rich herbal earth. Like a warm summer afternoon hiking in the foothills of Appalachia. The taste was so starkly different to be unrecognizable. Butter, like a steak basted in butter. Fruit was an afterthought, but the entire thing was still big and bold and tricks your senses. Like dating a red headed girl. — 8 years ago

Richard Johnson

8.9

Beautiful color nice acidity and texture. With mussels at Waterboy. — 10 years ago

Adam Lord

9.2

Great colour, length and body — 10 years ago

Mitch Finne

9.1

Delicious Malbec. Nice structure without any distracting flavors or excessive tannins. — 11 years ago

with Jason

Nick Rancone

9.0

A rare beast... — 12 years ago

Trish Barry

10

Nothing more to say about this wine except for AMAZING!!! — 12 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I kid you not, Charles Hendricks is likely the most underrated & under known Winemaker in Napa Valley.

If you have not had his wines, you are missing out on great wines & relative real value for Napa. He makes his own private higher end label-Hendricks, Hope & Grace and midway through the 14 vintage for; James Cole, Regusci & T-Vine.

There are few Winemakers that can make wines that drink well young & some that will age two decades plus stored correctly.

This Santa Lucia Doctor’s Vineyard is really good but, his private label Hendricks Pinot from Santa Lucia is off the charts. His 2008 Hendricks Pinot Noir is the highest rating I have ever given a Ca Pinot Noir, 98.

The 13 Doctor’s Vineyard is better than his 12 & is still a little early right now. It will improve over the next 5 years & hold there a couple of years before its gentle decline.

The nose reveals, ripe, well extracted & slightly baked; blackberries, stewed, deep, dark, black plum, black cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, dry pomegranate & cranberries with shades of blueberries. Dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, touch of savory meats, anise to black licorice, black tea, wet clay, steeped black tea, touch of herbs dominated with Rosemary, rich, black, earth, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, fresh tobacco, leather notes, volcanic minerals, limestone with bright, fresh & withering florals that are; dark, red, purple, blue mixed in violets and lavender.

The body is full, rich, lush and gorgeous. The structure, tension, length and balance are just hitting their good phase. It is simply a beautiful & complex Pinot Noir. Nicely extracted & slightly baked; blackberries, stewed, deep, dark, black plum, black cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, dry pomegranate & cranberries with more blueberries than the nose. Dark spices that bring palate heat, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanilla, touch of savory meats, peppery notes, anise to black licorice, black tea, wet clay, steeped black tea, touch of herbs dominated with Rosemary, rich, black, earth, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, fresh tobacco, leather notes, volcanic minerals, limestone with bright, fresh & withering florals that are; dark, red, purple, blue mixed in violets and lavender. The acidity is very good & excellent at containing the slightly higher ABV. The long, complex finish is, well balanced fruit & earth, polished and will persist until dawn.

Photos of; Their Doctor’s Vineyard, one of my favorite paintings that used to hang behind the bar in their tasting room & now hangs in Charles’ house (it reminds me of a Jackson Pollock), Winemaker-Charles Hendricks and the front of their tasting room in downtown Yountville.
— 6 years ago

Brian Tuite

9.4

I should really be buying and drinking much more of this. — 7 years ago

Martin Johnson

10

This wine is excellente! Deep silky dark fruit. This is a great sipping wine, yet it will sing with a thick steak or juicy grilled pork chop. This is a 2007, so good luck finding one. — 10 years ago

Rachel Marie

9.0

Nice for a dinner for one at Russell House Tavern in Cambridge — 10 years ago

Maynard Yu

8.9

Maynard had this 11 years ago

Emily

9.0

Drinks like a white. Tart and interesting. — 11 years ago

Fang

9.2

A good one. Really full flavored chard. Great drinkability. Will be buying a few more of these — 11 years ago

P A

9.2

Always a good bet — 12 years ago

Patrick Hu

9.0

Earth, leather on the nose. Really nice tannins. A winner. — 12 years ago