Jaden (james Cole)
James Cole
Tyson Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2012
Gentle nose of blackberry, creme de cassis, incense, warm spices, and the seductive hint of forest floor/wild fungus. Harmonious palate: full and unctuous, yet weightless. Acidity is as good as it gets. Supple silky tannins.
This bottle exceeds my high expectation. Love the simple yet elegant label too. — 4 years ago
James Cole
Privado Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2015
Amazing. Dark and inky on the nose. Palate of stone fruit, but not as baked as Napa cabs can sometimes get, which is good in this case. Manages to balance being fresh and bright with dark fruit. 100% would buy again. — 7 years ago
James Cole
Always Napa Valley Rosé 2013
So, Colleen of James Cole loves Rose. James Cole, at the time, did not make a Rose. James grew weary of her drinking other producers Rose; which prompted him to make one. It's a small production of about 200-300 cases. He releases this on Valentines Day and makes a beautiful inscription on the bottle just to her. Nice touch James. This is made from Malbec and is much darker in color than most Roses. Blackberry reduction, dark cherries, cherries, pouched strawberries, brilliant crumbled chalkiness and minerals, dark moist soil and a rich, thick, beautiful long finish. — 9 years ago
Regusci
Estate Bottled Angelo's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
If you are not familiar w/ Winemaker Charles Hendricks, this wine is a reason to get acquainted. Chuck makes his own private label Hendricks and the Hope & Grace wines. Through 14 and 1/2 of 15 he made James Cole & Regusci. This 01 is pure beauty & elegance. Perfect flavors, balance, purity, structure, acidity & length. Ruby dark elegant fruits; blackberries, dark cherries, dark raspberries, Asian spice, cinnamon, vanilla, dark earth with crushed rocks, suede leather, dry florals & black licorice. A wine you won't forget. He also makes the only Malbec's I really love! #gorgeous — 10 years ago
James Cole
Il Mostro Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2013
Consistently one of my favorites from James Cole. The 13 is no different. New Winemaker for the 15 vintage. We'll see if the style changes. Trained by Chuck but they've added a Wine Consultant. Interesting to see how new influences changes this wine. — 10 years ago
James Cole
Mud's Kitchen Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Again, nice but not the full, rich, lush wines that Charles Hendricks made, nor does it drink well early.
The fruit is ripe, bright; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, dark cherries, dark chocolate, loads of caramel, more retrained wood than their Cabernet, dry tobacco, dry brush, cinnamon, nutmeg, unstated spice, vanilla, dark berry cola, dark Belgium chocolate, anise to black candied licorice, moist clay, dry herbs, dry river stone, dry top soils, minty as it sets, still very primary, candied; dark, red flowers framed in liquid violets, the acidity nice but the finish needs integration & evolution badly. Shows some promise in another 5 years. — 3 years ago
James Cole
Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2009
It’s good to follow Winemakers. I follow Charles Hendricks. However, Charles last James Cole vintage was 2013.
100% Petit Verdot in anyone’s hands is tricky. This 09 made by Charles is elegant young...just as it is now. It’s just rounder & softer after 9 1/2 years in bottle. It still has teeth but, complex & floral with dark, grippy tarry, round tannins. The darkest of roasted & used expresso grounds, dry earth with dark & brilliant florals. Beautiful acidity and elegant persistent finish.
This offering has another 10-15 of good drinking ahead. Properly stored of course.
Photos of; James Cole Winery, outside tasting lounge, signature bronze logo statute and James’ classic car in their fermentation cellar. — 6 years ago
Hope & Grace
Doctor's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013
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
Hope & Grace
Napa Valley Malbec 2007
Chuck Hendrick's is the Hope & Grace Winemaker. He also makes his own private label "Hendricks" wine sold through the Hope & Grace tasting room. Amazing private label Cabernet and Pinot. He also makes my favorite Malbec's; Hope & Grace and James Cole through 2014. They are pure beauty & elegance. The fruits are pure, ruby, elegant, ripe, reduced blackberries, dark cherries, raspberries, juicy strawberries, melted milk chocolate, light baking spices, rich moist dark turned earth, crushed brown volcanic minerals, liquid violets, used coffee grounds, perfect acidity, structure, balance, length and the finish is in the forget about it category! It's a liquid fruit milk chocolate bar. — 9 years ago
James Cole
Napa Valley Rosé Blend 2022
Very Bandol in style. Simple, fresh, easy to drink. Tangerine, pink grapefruit, strawberry, hints of fresh rhubarb flesh, citrus blend, dry crushed rocks, river stone, some chalkiness, pink roses, white flowers, good acidity and simple fresh but uneventful finish. — 3 years ago
James Cole
Night Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2020
Bright red fruit. Good acidity. Enjoyed. — 3 years ago
James Cole
Marls Syrah Blend
92% Syrah, 6% Syrah, 2% Viognier
Beautiful dark fruit, spices and a trace of menthol. Beautiful wine! — 5 years ago
James Cole
Umbral Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Big bold beautiful- smiles for days - love this wine and a shout out to my bud who brought one of my favorites @Jeff Lanter — 6 years ago
Hendricks Wines
Gold Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
On the nose, ripe, ruby, fruits of; mulberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries, blueberries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets.
The body is rich, ripe & full. The tannins are a little sticky but well softened, round and a touch chewy. The structure, tension, length, balance, tension and balance are very close to perfect and harmonious. Fruits are; mulberry, huckleberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets. The acidity is round and rains like a waterfall perfectly over the palate. The very long, ruby, rich, well balance lasts minutes and is absolutely heavenly. Gorgeous, elegant, stunning wine.
Photos of; the vertical tasting we attended of all Hendricks Cabernets; 04, 05, 09 & 12 at the time w/ one of our favorite paintings in the background, Charles Hendricks working in the cellar, very old rootstock from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard where the fruit to make this wine normally comes from and a wide shot of the Stag’s Leap Vineyard.
Producer notes and history...Hendricks Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently sourced from a few of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. In those near perfect vintages, Charles only makes a small production wine of around 250-300 cases. Charles only produces it when he has exception fruit. He’s made Hendricks Cabernet in; 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012 & 2014. Notice he didn’t make Hendricks Cabernet in a great vintage year like 2013. He wasn’t happy enough with his fruit in 2013 to put his name on it. That says a lot and maybe all you need to know about his standard for quality. I do know what wine his 13 fruit made as I’ve had and it’s an unbelievable wine for far less money.
Charles also makes a fantastic Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands that is really quite amazing. Especially, if you give it 5 or 6 years in bottle. All his wines are sold exclusively through the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville as he is also the Hope & Grace Winemaker.
Charles graduated in 1982 from UC Davis in viticulture. He was also able to tailor his own curriculum and was one of the earliest to integrate winemaking and viticulture course work. Having knowledge of both viticulture and enology forms the basis for his well-rounded winemaking.
Over the years Charles has worked in both Napa and Sonoma Counties, gaining hands on experience in all aspects of winemaking. He has a strong reputation for excellence. In his career, he’s been a consulting winemaker for many wineries; Viader, Barnett Vineyards, Paoletti Vineyards, Regusci Winery, James Cole, T-Vine and Tamayo family Vineyard.
I asked Charles, “how does he make wines that are amazingly good in their youth but will age effortlessly for 15-20 years?” His answer was simply this, “its not that hard, you just have to know the perfect time to harvest fruit.” I would agree with that to a degree. But, you also have to know how to gently guide fruit onto it’s path into the barrel and not get in the wine’s way or overwork the process. — 8 years ago
James Cole
Old Vines Napa Valley Zinfandel 2013
A nice elegant zin with intense dark fruit and a soft palate. — 10 years ago
Somm David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
@Delectable this is the Tres Noir.
2019 was their first vintage for the bottling. The softest in the tasting. It however had some very dry medium to medium plus tannins. The fruits is quite nice. Floral; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, stewy plums, dark chocolate, mocha powder, dry clay & top soil, crushed rocks, dry tobacco, leathery, big, dark spice, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanillin, dry herbs, tree bark, sandalwood, light salted caramel notes, bright candied, dark, red, purple florals, nice round acidity with a well balanced, structured finish that is sound wire to wire. Not the wines that Charles made but the Tres Noir is pretty good.
— 3 years ago