Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2017 | a pretty marriage imo. Fruitiness of Cabernet, warmth and spicyness of Syrah | paired wonderful with beef from bbq and Cantonese style egg plant — 10 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It's time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Deep purple in color, almost inky, with a short purple rim.

Fruity nose of blackberries, cooked plums, sweet cherries, cedar, light vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, coffee, light cocoa powder and peppercorn.

Full-bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, cola, light herbs, earth, chocolates, coffee, peppercorn and tobacco.

Tangy finish with round tannins and raspberries.

This is a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley. Tangy and interesting.

Spicy, rich and extracted, yet elegant. Nicely balanced with a nice mouth feel.

I had the 2018 not too long ago, and it is very consistent.

Very young, but already drinking nicely, after a couple of hours of airtime. A good quality wine that will age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

A good sipping wine that doesn't necessarily need food, but will be great with a big piece of steak as well.

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Aged in mostly French oak barrels for 18 months.

14.2% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$85. — 3 years ago

Mark Farrell

9.4

Medium ruby with a nose of black cherries, anise, wet gravel, mocha, pipe tobacco, and toffee. Full-bodied with smooth velvety tannins. I think this wine is in its prime. I love the bold, full mouthfeel on this wine. Nice, smooth finish. Birthday wine! — 4 years ago

Matt Bailey

9.3

Damn good!First sip was a little crisp (maybe still a little young) but for a hott summer evening really hit the spot. Definitely worth buying another and maybe another after that! — 5 years ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.0

8/17 gober barrio fede barrio lalo romero jcsap mazf romulo z4 — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.3

This iconic wine is always enjoyable at this age. Showing great complexity and mouthfeel.

Dry on the palate with black fruits, earth, chocolates, tobacco, spices, mocha, coke, vegetables, pencil lead and peppercorn.

Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.

This 8 year old is drinking very nicely now and will age nicely in the next decade.

Needs 3 hours to open up properly and show some tannins.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

A great wine to have with good friends. Thank you David for sharing.

I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses. Delicious.

Robert Parker 93 points.

A blend of 80% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$120. — 6 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2019 vintage. Planted in 1996, this 11-acre block encompasses the highest point in the Bien Nacido Vineyard. 7.3.24. — 10 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

My last Little Wine #8 - see previous notes, from only 17 weeks ago - these will be brief. A blend of 5 vintages of 2015 to 2019 inclusive. Very much the product of ancient vines which it is. Black fruits with plums and dark chocolate with those trademark silky tannins and low acid. One could not help but love this. I see Suckling gave this 97 points. I just took delivery of this year’s allocation which is mainly from the fabulous 2021 vintage in South Australia. — 2 years ago

John pappel

8.9

Picked up 8 cases. At 5.85 CAD a great bargain for a nice rose. A lovely Grenache for the Summer, but full flavoured enough to enjoy year round. A great second bottle after a nice Chardonnay with Thanksgiving turkey. — 3 years ago

Matt Nason

9.5

Beautiful herbs and red fruit, little bit of funk, classic. — 4 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 5 years ago

with Christina and James

David Snyder

9.1

Wines from Fifi are always great — 6 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

1986 vintage. Sampled 5 bottles for a BDX dinner at Mister A's-San Diego. Double decanted and tasted through 5 hours. Rustic and chunky. Zero finesse but it's Montrose. Can hold steady at this quality for another 7-8 years easy. 3.14.24. — a year ago

Aaron Rankin

9.2

Very much ‘No Girls’ in that this tells exactly you what it is and how it’s feeling. Feed it simple comforts and it’ll love you forever. Interesting and earnest, if uncomplicated.

Very approachable young while showing the Cayuse funk kiss. This is going to enter my rotation of burger wines. — 3 years ago

Ryan Taylor

9.0

A wonderful zin, taste of juicy fruit, red raspberry. Dark red color, light on the tannins. — 3 years ago

Lauren Peterson

9.6

Delicious light bubbly with a touch of sweet — 4 years ago

Matt

9.0

Nice to see this shedding some fat and shaking a little of that hedonistic richness that I loved tasting it a couple years ago. Question is, which version is better? Would like to see at the 8-10 year mark. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Cakebread wine offerings are among my Favs, Chard is no exception, consistent quality year/year. 95% of grapes sourced from Carneros, ‘18 saw 8 months on 1/3 new oak with about 20% of wine going through malolactic fermentation. Aromas of stone fruits, slight & honey scents. On palate complex flavors of apple, peach & lemon zest, balanced with good acidity & great mouthfeel. Long finish ending with fruit, wet stone and toasty character. Very nice, will benefit from short aging. — 5 years ago

Nezih

9.2

Carmenere is my favorite red and Montes is my favorite Chilean vineyard. Purple Angel is 92% Carmenere, 8% Petit Verdot. Woowza! — 5 years ago

Aaron Krauss

10

Sweet and not smokey or Petey. Rhonda loves it. Harper Seldin gave us a 10 year old bottle. — 6 years ago