Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

The nose reveals; dark currants, blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries. Black tea, expresso roast, anise, crushed dry rocks, big vanilla, clove, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, woody notes with dark fresh & withering flower bouquet.

The body is big and lush. The tannins are big, meaty and tarry. Very dark currants. Blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries & strawberries as they open up. Black tea, expresso roast, steeped fruit tea, anise, crushed dry rocks, dry clay, big graphite, big vanilla, dark spice, clove, light dry herbs, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, cedar with violets dark fresh & withering flower bouquet. The acidity is round, fresh and beautiful. The big, long, well balanced finish is excellent and look forward to having this in 15-20 years. This one will be a stunner!

Photos of, the barn where they make wine and hosts tastings, our private tasting area inside William’s old office. William desk and their outside terrace area.

Producer history & notes...Seavey Vineyard is located along Conn Valley Road in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, about 15 minutes from the valley floor.

This historical property was originally a cattle ranch. However, records indicate grapes were planted on some of the hillsides as early as the 1870’s. The stone dairy barn, still in existence, was built in 1881.

William & Mary Seavey purchased this property in 1979. The estate was originally founded by the Franco-Swiss Farming Company in 1881 which, closed down when Phylloxera destroyed their grape vines and the Volstead Act (Prohibition) went into effect. At the time of their purchase, they were a horse and cattle ranch. They quickly planted the slopes with grapes and initially sold their fruit to Raymond Vineyards. They have never purchased grapes, all their wine is made from estate grapes. Their vineyards are separated into 20 plus individual blocks.

Today, the property is about 200 total acres of which, 40 acres are planted to vine. Their hillside vineyards produce low yields of rich concentrated fruit. A small block of Chardonnay grows in a cooler lower part of their property. Besides grapes, they also raise cattle which are used to graze the hillsides. They feed the vineyard with the cattle cuttings. In 2003, they were one of the first Napa wineries to install solar.

Mary passed away in 2008 and William died in 2016. There daughter Dorie returned to the family business and now oversees the winery operations. Her brother Arthur also handles national and some small international sales, primarily to restaurants. However, most of their wine is sold direct to consumers.

Seavey’s first commercial vintage was released in 1990 a year after they renovated the stone dairy barn into a working winery. Today this stone building is the centerpiece of the property and is where tastings are hosted.

Since 2011, Jim Duane has been their day to day Winemaker. He’s worked at Robert Mondavi and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It should also be noted that Philippe Melka Winemaker/Consultant has been with Seavey since 1995...one of Philippe’s two initial wine making jobs in the Napa Valley were with Seavey and Lail Vineyards.

Seavy makes about 3,200 cases annually depending on what mother nature brings. They make around two hundred cases of Chardonnay, slightly more Merlot and the rest is of the production is comprised of their Caravina and Estate Cabernets.
— 7 years ago

Casey Whitelaw

9.8

2013 - the absolute richest red I've had in a long time. Fruit subdued w/Wood & leather dark initial impression with very dry finish. Also felt a warm and funny buzz after 2 glasses (almost reminiscent of absinthe? - but that might just be us!!) — 8 years ago

with R

Elan Esakoff

9.7

Well structured and full-bodied with smooth tannins a long beautiful finish. My initial comment was, "there are no words". Pairing it with some ribeyes and some perfectly grilled salmon, a vegetable kugel, and a slab of mac & cheese. The perfect meal! — 9 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

10

The cork is perfect. The color is opaque. The legs are thick, long, and slow to flow. The bouquet is English lavender and honey. The initial palate is amazing!!!!! WOW! Im so impressed! Black cherry and cranberry bliss. There is a red pepper , spicy tang that I absolutely love! I so want to share this with someone so bad. There is butter, coffee, , and clove. There is black currant and oak. The finish is not that dry and leaves a desire for more!!!!! I dare you to try to have just one glass because I have just had two glasses and I am aching for three ! Good grief, Im doing it. Three it is! Cheers my friends! Stay thirsty... ha ha. — 9 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.3

#KWN Wine 3. From the get-go, clearly had some age to it. Exhibits initial cherry fruit, which immediately falls into the background. Secondary flavors of leather, forest floor and clay quickly overtake the palate. A Smoky finish with hints of eucalyptus. Opened up nicely over a couple of hours. Magical. — 9 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

9.8

This is Neal 2011 100% Napa Cabernet. The cork is perfect. The color is pitch purple black. The bouquet is a bit sharp but very nice with hints of roses and blueberry bushes filled with ripe fruit! The initial palate has a quick boysenberry and blackberry with a somewhat dry long finish of chocolate and silky smooth coffee. I need another sip NOW! — 9 years ago

Nate Miles

9.1

Popped and waited 30 minutes. Initial pour was aggressively herbal, almost chive-y. Quickly passed and settled into a satisfyingly mineral phase. Later on, transformed into black cherry and shining acidity. Quite the shapeshifter. With all that said, methinks this cat needs to sleep awhile longer, still wound a little tight. — 10 years ago

James Haynes

9.1

15 dollars. Dry red. Bright initial taste. Lots of minerals. Lingers in a good way. Nice nose. — 10 years ago

Andrew Davidoff

9.0

Closed.....needs to breathe. Initial nose is intoxicatingly rich and powerful. Dark chocolate and cassis pervade. After decanting for 1/2 hour the underlying notes of citrus rind and pepper - however faint, begin to make an appearance. — 11 years ago

Joaquin Martinez

9.0

Wine with great initial plum aromas and crushed strawberries with hints of cedar that slowly become more pronounced. As it breathes you get great smoky aromas. The palate itself has good acidity with moderate tannins and touches of plums, tobacco, rich red fruit and overall a great succulent flavor. — 7 years ago

DAL 9000

9.0

Aroma of plums and bourbon. Initial dark fruit and spice with a hint of that caramel bourbon. — 8 years ago

John W

9.3

2010 vintage. On the nose, strong cherry, red berries, currant and anise with oak and vanilla. On the palate, considerably lower tannins than the 2014 I had recently. Silky smooth mouthfeel, but not as rich and textured as expected. Initial hints of oak, vanilla, pepper, cherry, red berry, and Extremely long finish of cherry and vanilla. — 8 years ago

Scott Petrus

9.0

Ensconced in velvet. Violets were the predominant flavor. The wine had a great nose and initial flavor. There was something out of place in the finish. Tasted up opening and a hour later. Really improved with air but never overcame the minor flaw. — 8 years ago

with Kyle

Charlie Beatty

Buyer wineworksonline.com

9.8

Wow yes a long week in wine Bizz! Now fun begins, trying 2 great Roar 2014's Pinot. Pisoni vs Rosella. The Pisoni 2014 is Awesome! Even a Big Wow in my book. Bright Cherries rich Berry flavors and good acidity it always tough doing Brother vs Sister from the same Family! My initial review gives this a CB 98! Available in tiny quantities. We are at Bedtime ( mine at least) 2 hours later! This great wine started to fade! Be Aware! Still same press! — 9 years ago

with Steph, Chris and 6 others

Zeus Fonsi

10

I bought this bottle last year after being mesmerised by a bottle of initial, and I opened it to celebrate a birthday. This is as close to a perfect bottle of bubbly as I have been able to do find. The oxidized nature of Selosse wines makes complete sense in this type of bottling. Tastes like it has more years than it does.
The acidity amps up all the gorgeous apple, pear and dried fruit flavors and the minerality is there playing along but not overpowering while the finish is silky and outstanding.
Truly an amazing bottle. Save your pennies and try one! Bucket list bubbly for sure — 9 years ago

DAL 9000

9.2

Delicate almost no aroma but some plums. Initial taste is smooth and velvet cocoa with blackberry and a hint of cherry. After reading the "cedar notes" on the bottle, the power of suggestion had me tasting it as well. — 9 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

9.4

Thank Goodness for Napa Cabs! Especially after that last Oregon Pinot Noir! This is Honig 2013 cabernet sauvignon. A solar powered vineyard and family owned. Love the bee and the H! The cork was perfect. The color is opaque purple. The bouquet is fantastic with aromas of blackberry jam and African violets. The initial palate is butter chocolate spicy blackberry and figs. The finish is long and has an oaky dry ending. There is no sour anything!!! This is delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow we try Turnbull... — 9 years ago

Paul Costigan

Founder Courtier Wines

9.3

2004: Entrancing nose of dried herbs and grilled beets. Surprisingly well developed, initial blind guess was that it might be from the mid 90's. Terrific layers of fruit with a hint of light brine and white pepper. Memorable. — 10 years ago

Ryan Mullins

9.4

In perfect condition three months after initial coravin access of a half bottle. Left in a cellar in between. #fuckingawesome — 11 years ago

Evan Kennedy/Caroline Kielar

9.0

Very good, easy to drink on its own, but would certainly hold up to a variety of foods ... would be quite good with fish. On the nose - initial strong notes of apricot and possibly pineapple, more subtle notes of green apple, peach, and purple grape. On the palette - quite fruity, relatively long finish. Maybe a bit of fig taste. Comes across as sweet but in further thought is rather off dry. Creamy in the mouth. Strong mandarin flavor. — 7 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

9.2

This is an amazing 2015 cabernet sauvignon from Rutherford. It has a velvet label!!!!!! Chocolate, spice and everything nice. And of coarse there is blackberry and black cherry on the initial palate. The finish is moderately dry. Another sip please!!! — 8 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.4

A truly phenomenal Chardonnay which evolved strangely through the evening. Gorgeous lush oak and vanilla upon our initial 1st sips. The oak somehow faded to reveal gorgeous tropical stone fruit characteristics. It was weird but I really dug it!! Super cool to experience the transformation which is something I've never seen before. Thanks to my buds Shawn and Jennifer Rose @Shawn R for sharing this masterpiece with us!! How would you rate it?????? What did you think?!!! — 8 years ago

with Christine and Shawn

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

9.0

2012 Donaine De La Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Rhone blend. Omg I am drinking a French wine from the Rhone. Im not sure what this is supposed to taste like, but for a 14.5 % it sure is light in color and thin on the palate. The bouquet is black cherry pie. The initial palate is Boysenberry and Black licorice.I almost taste cinnamon and oak. The finish is dry on the front part of the tongue. There is a desire for more. Not bad For FRenchia — 8 years ago

Ron R

9.4

Initial notes of maturity, peaches, apricots, bread, with yeast.
Palette is consistent, with additional lemon zest and wood. Nice balance and acidity. Surprisingly showing its age. Drew lavished 95 pts on this, so editorial liberties kick in here. — 8 years ago

with Andrew

Pirom Phadoemchit

8.9

Tasted blind:

Med+ intensity, lots of black fruits, stewed cherries, cherry pie, underlying new oak, beginning to just show some tertiary character.

Palate was ripe, med+ tannin, med acidity. Similar flavors on the palate. A bit of black pepper and cinnamon. Good finish.

Initial conclusions were either a a high quality southern Rhone producer, possibly Languedoc (Mas Du Mas Gassac), perhaps a Minervois, an Italian super Tuscan (similar to 'Ornellaia), Napa (in a cooler vintage) and only was Bordeaux a final guess! — 9 years ago

M. Christopher Roebuck

9.1

Really interesting. The initial attack is oddly to my sweet receptors, but it's a bit of a head fake. The middle is a right amount of acidity, followed by solid tannins. Color leans toward brick brown. Dark fruits, licorice...
91+ points — 9 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

10

Penfolds Bin 389 Shiraz 2013. Bam! Black currant, spice, leather, and lip curling deliciousness! The cork was perfect. The color was very opaque! The bouquet is blackberry pie and vanilla ice cream. The initial palate is black currant and spice. It has a leather and pepper finish with a slight sour hint of raspberry. It has a long finish and leaves your mouth dry but dying for another taste! Wonderful wine from south Australia! It is as good as any California red Ive ever had! FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— 9 years ago

Tom & Lois Kelly

9.8

Effing awesome. Very soft with initial taste, introduction of filet or veal brings out notes of tobacco, charcoal, leather - much bigger than solo. 2005 vintage is perfect today. — 10 years ago

Justin Hart

9.0

Wonderful black cherry notes on the initial palette with flinty-rose aroma and plenty of tannic grip. That flinty aroma transfers into a very subtle minerality behind the initial black cherry, further underlaid by currant and plum. Yum!! — 11 years ago

DAL 9000

9.6

Initial aroma of a peppery zin. Lingering middle that coats the tongue. And builds slightly and then then fades. Very excellent zin. — 12 years ago