Stephen Long

9.5

Sage and rosemary scented beef sausage that’s smoking on the grill. That’s the overwhelming nose but there is so much more. Chocolate, anise, Chinese five spice, black tea, gunpowder, cherry. — 6 years ago

David Shaw

9.0

Inky dense purple in color. Butter, black currant and herb notes in nose with a hint of mint. Sage and blackberry flavors in mouth, blackberry finish with length. Later, cola flavor emerges. Fine grained seed tannins in finish. Nice complexity, a notch above. — 6 years ago

Lara Van Dyk

8.9

Bovine dinner — 7 years ago

David Shaw

9.2

Last bottle, straight off the plane from the Arizona desert - look what I got waiting for me. Inky purple red in color. Dusty, later white pepper, mustard green, cassis and vanilla notes in nose. Slight matchstick. Slight skin astringency on front of tongue, raspberry water, black currant, mustard green and mint in mouth with cherry fruit leather and fine weight seed tannins on finish. Slightly alcoholic. A bouquet of herbs, veggies, weeds and red fruit in your glass, Washington state all the way. Could drink or age further. I'm pairing crackers and black pepper Boursin with this one, but garlic and herb might be better suited. — 7 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.3

Just got better as it took on air. Started out dark & right, opened up to show a mix of black & red fruit with palpable, fresh acidity, grippy tannins & cracked pepper aromatics. Syncline delivers again. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

This wine seriously has more bacon fat and pork than I've experienced in a bottle. The fruit is one of the last things I will have in this description. It's why there is a pig in the picture collage! I had to do it because right now that is the dominating flavor of the wine. I am going to come back to this in a bit. Let's see what happens after some time in the decanter. This starting to calm down a bit. On the nose, bacon fat, pork, grilled meats, BBQ sauce, olive, loads of milk chocolate, brine, brown sugar, dried blood, pepper, black plum, dark cherries, blackberries, faint strawberries, dry stones, loamy clay soil, scorched earth, soy sauce and decayed dark florals. The mouthfeel is thick and brooding. Everything on the nose is on the palate. The acidity is round. The finish is thick, rich with intense flavors that stick to the palate and linger endlessly. If I had more bottles of the 06 En Chamberlin, I'd wait another 8-10 years to open them. It's still a monster. Photos of; the front of their tasting room in downtown Walla Walla that is generally always closed, the stone vineyard of Cayuse that needs to be horse plowed, Christophe Baron (owner), ready to pick grapes and a field pig...just because their is so much pork in this wine. Producer notes and history...while visiting the Walla Walla Valley in 1996, Christophe Baron spotted a plot of land that had been plowed up to reveal acres of softball-sized stones. He became ridiculously excited. This stony soil, this terroir, reminded him of vineyards he had visited in France (Rhone Valley) and Spain. The difficult ground would stress the grapevines, making them produce more mature, concentrated fruit. Christophe Baron had found a new home. He named his vineyard after the Cayuse, a Native American tribe whose name was taken from the French cailloux–which means, of course, rocks. Hours of back-breaking work later, Cayuse Vineyards has become five vineyards encompassing 50 acres: Armada, Cailloux, Coccinelle (Ladybug), En Cerise (Cherry), and En Chamberlin. The majority of the vineyards are planted with Syrah, and the rest dedicated to Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Tempranillo and Viognier. All of the vineyards are planted in rocky earth within the Walla Walla Valley appellation. Cayuse was also the first winery in Walla Walla to farm using biodynamic methods. These highly stressed vineyards average a yield of only two tons or less per acre (30 hectolitres per hectare), resulting in wines true to each vineyard’s unique terroir. Cayuse specializes in four estate-vineyard Syrahs, along with Bionic Frog Syrah, Impulsivo Tempranillo, Widowmaker Cabernet-Sauvignon, two Bordeaux blends named Camaspelo & Flying Pig and Viognier. Look for their other partnership wines; Horsepower & No Girls if you haven't already. Nearly 100% all mailing list, restaurants and secondary markets. — 8 years ago

Scott Wiegand

9.0

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. This wine was a bit mysterious in the glass. I ordered it at dinner by the glass and didn't know much about it until I got home and looked it up. I would have sworn this was a Syrah based blend with some dark black fruit with coffee and black olive notes and had a fairly polished tannin structure to go along with a medium full bodied wine that I found very enjoyable. Definitely would buy again. — 9 years ago

Amanda C

9.0

Heavy bodied, heavy tannins, mildly spicy, black currant. — 10 years ago

with Vince

Kim Kolb

9.5

Huge black cherries on the nose. Huge plums on the palate. Big and luscious! — 11 years ago

Hannah Beswick

9.8

Peppery says dad. No says mom — 12 years ago

Tom Garland

9.0

Double decant(minimal cloudy sediment). A charismatic medium red color. On the nose: marky mark and the funky bunch is here!...luv the funky smell...along with black olives, earthy, cooked meat, herbs. Taste: blueberry, spice, minerals, red fruit, and tar. — 6 years ago

with Brenda

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

Shay A

9.2

Andrew Will wine tasting tonight at the storage facility. My knowledge and experience with WA state wines is small, so this was a great evening to learn and enjoy some very good wines.

A common theme with these wines is that they need air as well as bottle age. You aren't pop and pouring any of these. This one was the most fruit forward and flavor driven of the other single vineyard wines, with a good amount of black cherry, plum, herbs, spices and strawberry. — 8 years ago

David Kline

9.4

Sourdough with blueberry, dried black currant, thyme, mint, black nigella sativa seed, black sugarless cake, and violet fragrances. Inky black color with a sedimentary side, but tar, graphite, baker's chocolate, espresso bean, licorice, forest floor biomass, black olive, and smoky black currant forever. Great wine from a storied vineyard! — 8 years ago

with Madeline, Josh and 1 other

Escobar Miguel

9.2

Delicious notes of chocolate mocha and black tea great acidity much bigger style of merlot for the money — 8 years ago

Paul Henderson

9.1

Surprisingly restrained version of a Washington cab. Syrah, Malbec, and p. Verdot rounds it out nicely. Touch of oak. Red and black fruit, nice tannins and acidity — 9 years ago

with Chris

Matté

Manager The Wine Cellars

9.2

Smells like a race horse this one, smoky, sadle leather, very light tough of brett with some very broody Danson fruit, wood smoke, Chinese spice. Well evolved palate with plush blue and black fruit and powdery tannins. Really drinking very well at the mo. — 10 years ago

Eric Hwang

9.0

Ripe black fruit and slight phenolic (antiseptic) aromas. The phenolic burns off after a few minutes. Blackberry and cedar with a smooth, rich finish. — 11 years ago

Chris Miller

9.4

$26.99, delicious, rich blue and black fruit with hints of milk chocolate and vanilla — 11 years ago

Justin Hart

9.8

Wet stone, creosote, black cherry and a hint of oak permeate this 10 year old Malbec dominant blend. On the pallet, huge tannins still greet you first, followed by intense red fruit (cherry and red plum), aged meat, white pepper and tobacco. This is outrageously good wine. It could still age another 5 years at least (hardly any signs of oxidation so far). — 6 years ago

with Cherish and Jen

Dan Higginson

9.4

Blackberry, black cherry, spice, chocolate, coffee — 7 years ago

David L

9.2

15’ Montagne Russe Silver and Gold Chardonnay. Holy mother. This is a beast of a wine.
Butterscotch, Banana foster👍, apricots.
Creamy finish with flavors such as caramelized peaches and custard. This wine is not everyone. If you enjoy Rombauer Club Selection Chardonnay $65 .
Bingo you’re a winner. — 7 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Dark ruby in color with a brick rim and medium intensity.

On the nose, cherries, black currants, vanilla, licorice, cloves, spices, chocolates, peppercorn, coffee, earth, leather and wet leaves.

Medium bodied with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with raspberries, strawberries, cherries, earth, cloves, forest floor, spices and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cranberries.

This 11 year old Israeli Syrah is over the hill now, but still enjoyable by itself or with food. Not balanced anymore, but showing nice complexity.

This Single Vineyard Syrah was good right out of the bottle and died down pretty quickly.

100% Syrah grapes Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels and bottled unfiltered.

14.8% alcohol by volume. — 7 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.4

The Mercer Malbec looks dark ruby in the glass. The nose offers some beautiful dark fruit - plums, blackberries and currant - and sticks a lovely dose of French oak in there. A nice, savory hint of black olives lurks in the background. The palate is just as enjoyable, with a fruity focus augmented by peppery spice and cinnamon. This is a wine that will be a hit at the holiday table, no doubt. It's a festive, fun red that can hold its own with the standing rib roast. — 8 years ago

Stephanie Arend

9.1

Pretty good, Rachael's fav. "Dark berry and black currant". — 8 years ago

Brad Rosborough

9.4

Decanted for 30 minutes. Cassis, black plumb and other black fruits on the nose and palate. Great long finish. Tannins are present but soft. A hint of oak on the finish. Definitely improved with air and time. — 8 years ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Here is another great wine from Israel.

Inky in color with a deep purple rim.

Great nose of smoke, blackberries, blueberries, plums, cherries, earth, oak, cloves, licorice, mint, cocoa and black pepper.

Dry and fruity on the palate with cherries, blueberries, plums, oak, vanilla, licorice, chocolate and black pepper.

Long finish with soft tannins, peppercorn and bitter almonds.

This is a great blend of 66% Petite Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Syrah.
Enjoyed it by itself, but would be great with a big hearty steak.

Very young, still, and needs five years to fully mature, maybe even longer, but already enjoyable. To me, this was the best one, so far, out of this winery that I tried.

Aged for 16 months in American and French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume. — 9 years ago

Ted Germosen

9.0

#itsaSicilianmessage #Christmaswine #MtEtna #NarelloMascalese #MtEtnaSicily #Graci 2013 the nose exudes warm violets, blackberries, coffee bean, cedar, citrus rind & charred earth. Nice & stinky. The palate is lean, a bit crisp & smoky, crushed violets, horse saddle, leather, savory herb, black cranberry and slightly bitter, dark and lasting finish. Still a baby! #sommlife #somm #sommelier #instawine #Sicilianwine #Italianwine #Sicily #wineofthenight
#MerryChristmas2015 — 9 years ago

Sherri Housman

9.1

Nice WA Cabernet for the price. Dark berries, black currant, violets & vanilla. — 11 years ago

Rob Freelen

8.9

Great nose! Blackberry, spice box, black tea. Yum. Thanks Tj!! — 12 years ago