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

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

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Spring! It’s one of our favorite points in the year. More; daylight, a little warmer in CA and everything starts to bloom which, means a long summer of gardening and being outdoors every day/night is not far off.

Since it was such a great day and basically most Californians are shut-Ins, the voluntary self quarantining was getting to me. I did the landscaping and got an afternoon of fresh air today. A breath of fresh air...ahhh! Wow, was it needed after Gavin’s Newsom’s estimate of 25.5 million Californians would be infected with Coronavirus over 8 weeks yesterday.

So, a good night to celebrate another day of being virus free with my 2nd favorite N/V Rosé Champagne.

All my numerous previous notes apply.

Stay safe everyone and remember the new terminology of the new decade...social distancing! Cheers! 🍾🥂

Photos of; Spring in our backyard & a Billecart Grand Cru Vineyard.

— 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

David L

9.5

12’ Alexana Revana Vineyard Block 8 . The very best five barrels each year. 11 months in barrel, additional 14 months in bottle before release.

A complete waste if you don’t decant this for two hours. Gorgeous color. Nose- Dried flowers & hint of spearmint. Palate- Dark raspberries, dark stone fruits, spices, black pepper. Touch of cola.
Moderate acidity. This would benefit with a little more age. @Martin G Rivard Santa with another delivery to my door. Can’t thank you enough. Love you buddy! — 7 years ago

E

9.0

Berry, tannin, smooth, cherry. really nice! Costco, $8. With calzone. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Another great wine from Chile. Crimson red with aromas ripe red and black fruits and floral notes. On the palate this wine shows strawberry, blackberry and blueberry flavors with cinnamon spice and black pepper. A blend of 92% carmenere and 8% petit verdot, this wine had a long and silky finish with smooth tannins and ended with cacao notes. — 9 years ago

Jon Grace-Cox

9.0

Very tasty. Smooth, with a pleasing bite. — 10 years ago

Regina Tochterman

8.9

Trader Joe's can make decent wines, apparently. Good table wine. Would get it again for a weeknight dinner or to share with my friends. — 10 years ago

Matt Nason

9.5

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

Rob Brobst III

9.3

Nice wine. It came to the party wearing a backpack, glasses and a hat with a mosquito net. — 7 years ago

with Jade and Paul

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Full body and rich with notes of caramel, raisin and toffee — 8 years ago

Daniel Martinez Cardenas

9.3

www.winex.com — 8 years ago

Thijs Hendriks

9.4

Deg 8 jan 2015 — 9 years ago

Antoine Cauchard

8.9

Bière brune qui titre à 9.2. Mousse abondante, et petit arrière goût de caramel boisé. Pour moi, une de mes brunes favorites — 10 years ago

Kaitlin Ohlinger

9.4

Loved it- distinctly old world, olive, violet, tar, smoke. Memorable! @RedMtnAVA rules. #delectableapp — 10 years ago

Lydell Sarge

9.8

Very Smooth, fruity strawberry taste — 12 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

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

Paco Suro

8.9

Solid #drycreek Zin. — 7 years ago

Stanislav Lobanov

9.0

16.5/20 (90/100) — 8 years ago

David L

9.3

13' Vineyard 7 & 8 Chardonnay. Big boy Chardonnay. Pop & pour. Love drinking this wine. — 8 years ago

Lance Aker

9.1

Dark cherries and black currant. Deep purple color. Really gets better after being open for an hour. Moderate+ tannins. Had another glass 24 hours after opening and I think it was even better. — 9 years ago

Christopher Stadler

9.3

Super geeky sparkling gamay from a cru of bugey. Star of the day! Bright, tart berries, beautiful sugar/acid balance for a 8% wine. Bubbles were quite intense, more along the lines of a demi-sec. Can't wait to pour for Thanksgiving. — 10 years ago

Jorge Escobar

9.5

Very good wine for the price. Perfect for a weekday evening. Dry but very comfortable. — 10 years ago

Edna Wang

9.5

Tasty Zin $28 — 13 years ago