Mike R

9.2

2012 - drink if you got them - not improving from a year ago - big and bold but missing one gear from being a sports car I want it to be - still smiling at the lake with @R Bowers on his anniversary and not social distancing very well — 6 years ago

with R

Ned Gray Creed

9.5

Steep climb, well made wine. I’d drink that tons. — 7 years ago

with Mark

David Lee

9.1

A superior pet nat that drinks more like a mineral brut Champagne. Chewy, citrusy with green apple and good length and a lot of electric tiny bubbles. — 8 years ago

Christian Bronstein

8.9

Don’t be a hater...embrace the can!!!! — 8 years ago

Bill Klinetob

9.5

Reisling was refreshing. Slightly citrus and sweet — 10 years ago

Matt Sterr

9.0

10% Petit Sirah, co-fermented. Great flavors and nice restraint. Like the style. — 10 years ago

Aileen Wee

9.0

Nice smooth, lightly sweet after taste lingers in your mouth. So pure as if you can taste the superior rice quality and spring water clarity. — 10 years ago

Paul Watson

9.1

Tejada, 50/50 tempernillo Grenache. Closest thing to compare to is a new world Rioja. Dried cherries, great mid palette feel and lengthy finish. Solid juice from a family-owned and farmed parcel in Lake Co. — 10 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.2

There’s an awful lot to like here for @$30. Beautiful ample nose of ripe pear and tart apple. Round, rich attack in the mouth, more weight than anticipated. Very pleasant to pop and pour... drinks very well already. ABV listed at 12.9, the wine shows nice acid/fruit balance and little noticeable oak.. I assume barrrels were 2 or 3 year old. Grapes from four very good vineyards..Rorick Heritage, Heron Lake, Haynes Old Vine, and Brousseau. Nice partner tonight for Veal Piccata and simple cheesy fettuccini. — 6 years ago

Erik Sjolund

9.5

Very nice CO PN w strawberries but more wild raspberries n a minerality. Very stringent. Developes in glass to leather, with fruit still there. — 7 years ago

Kirk F

9.3

Enjoying a beautiful view of Lake Superior this evening. Remarkably calm here and sending best wishes to the Carolinians in Florence’s crosshairs!

Second time having this particular KB and the first thing that strikes me is the color. Relative to most of their bottlings, this is nearly translucent, a brilliant ruby in the glass. Cola dominates the nose and then, on entry, its all classic KB. Cherry and even a touch of caramel. Lovely. — 8 years ago

Timothy Snyder

9.2

This is very good. Roughly 20bucks at bevmo but part of the 5 cent lineup. Light and tasty. — 8 years ago

Dakota Hewlett

9.4

An outstanding porter, best enjoyed on the shores of Lake Superior! — 10 years ago

Sam Friedland

9.0

Very nice Michigan Riesling. Pears and Mellon . 2013. Went excellent with big Superior lake trout. — 10 years ago

Lou Sab

9.0

Superior...a deep draught of espresso chocolate and flavor filled burnt cream. — 10 years ago

Peter C

9.1

Really balanced. Lake Superior brewery. — 10 years ago

with Kamau

Eric L

9.6

Very light and dry, nice. — 6 years ago

Vanessa

9.0

Pic #3. 2013 Domaine Huet, Le Mont, Vouvray Sec. Golden hue with notes of melon, honeydew, cantaloupe, pear, white flowers, and grapefruit on the palate. Well-balanced and complemented the Lake Superior whitefish served in a mussel jus, with guanciale, and Brussels sprouts. Also in this pic is a tortellini enveloping a bite of good thunder cheese, tossed with zucchini agrodolce, baby corn, Swiss chard, and black trumpet mushrooms (which was paired with the Barbera on next pic, 4) #vouvray #cheninblanc #winesofloire #loirevalley #touraine — 7 years ago

with Deked1

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.

The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.

The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.

Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.

Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.

The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.

Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.

After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!

Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.

The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.

After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.

A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.

A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.

You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.

2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.


The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.

Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 8 years ago

Randy Fuller

9.2

The 52% Petit Verdot comes from Matchbook’s Dunnigan Hills estate vineyard, the 24% Cabernet Sauvignon is taken mostly from Sonoma County’s Chalk Hills area, while the 24% Merlot hails from Lake County. Production was 2,878 cases, the wine hits an alcohol mark of
13.8% abv and retail pricing is $22.
The nose is big and fruity, with a dark, spicy smoke on it. A fruit-forward palate follows, with notes of sage, anise, coffee and a bit of graphite. Nice tannic grip means fire up the grill, and the finish sings of blackberry and nutmeg. — 11 years ago