Bob McDonald

9.3

Mid Ruby in colour. Red fruits of cherry and strawberry with a bit of whole bunch influence on the nose. The palate showing savoury red fruits but also a little sweetness. Certainly a good future in front of it - I should try the next one in 1 to 2 years time. Tom Carson has probably never made a bad wine in his life and he has a great terroir to work with when he is not in demand for judging at Royal Shows. Tasted another bottle 65 weeks later on 24th July 2022. Quite red cherry on the nose and palate. Sooty notes from whole bunch in the ferment. The perfect balance between sweet and savoury. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

A modern style of Australian Chardonnay - restrained and worked at the same time. Funky Grapefruit and stone fruit aromas. Barely medium weight - quite delicate. A little spike of French Oak but altogether quite harmonious. A joy to drink - still with a short term future. — 6 years ago

Chad Douglas

9.0

Holy crap this is tasty!

What a wonderful summer sipper! Enjoying this at the Little Bitterroot Lake in Montana with my family. Great times!

Fresh citrusy nose with hints of white flowers, pear, and chalk.
Med body with bright, nearly effervescent crunchy acidity.
Chalky lemon forward with some grassy green pepper hints as well as 🍐/🍏 .

Wonderful OR PG! — 7 years ago

Jason Dunn

9.0

A little dry, tart, a little fruity. Better with food. — 8 years ago

Alton Komori

9.2

2013-luscious, fruit forward slightly heavy bouquet, nice legs and mouthfeel; medium light, slightly tannic finish; need to let it breathe; still a little young; great with tomato chunk pasta with cheese; worth revisiting. — 8 years ago

Shawn Gleason

9.9

Black cherry, plum, just a little hint of pepper. Chocolate finish. Nicely balanced tannins. One of my favorites. — 8 years ago

George Kia

9.2

The only place I find this is at Maggiano's Little Italy — 9 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

The 2017 Amber Knolls Cabernet is a youthful wine. A baby that is already quite complex and mysterious. This wine had a very captivating and unique nose. Plum cola, smoked dates, with a very volcanic "tufa" limestone kind of thing going on here probably noted moreso than with any other wine in the lineup. This wine seems to be weighted a little more to the back with red and "purple" fruit character, very Malbec-esque! Medicinal kind of quality with some herbs and spice. Seemed to also be showing the "warm red fruit" character vs. the Crimson Ridge Red Hills Cab. I believe the tannin here seems to be even softer than the 2016 Amber Knolls Cab at this point, but a lot of grit and powerful punchy fruit will continue to intensify in the years to come. 92+, Optimal drinking 2022-2040. — 5 years ago

Max Reichwage

9.1

A little over the hill but still pretty, cork was soaked, with heavy sediment in the bottle, not much fruit left but plenty of spice — 6 years ago

Christopher Beatty

8.9

A little on the sweeter side. — 7 years ago

Sharon B

9.1

Happy Friday! I popped open this very nice, full bodied, dark plum colored Petite Sirah. Right off the bat I smelled notes of dark fruit. A little tannic but has a nice finish with blueberry and blackberry on the tongue. I probably should have decanted but I was too anxious to open it! Cheers! — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.0

Bright ruby red. Bramble berries on the nose with a little bit of black fruit and an odd not that is almost like Chilean guava. Moderate tannins (6.5/10) and medium bodied. Dark berries and woody notes. Slightly plush mid palate. Long bodied and slightly thins out. Solid drinkable cabernet. Drink till 2019. — 8 years ago

with India

David Sweeney

9.3

Carted this bad boy back from NZ in a carry on. As good as remembered. Little cherry, a little funky on the nose. Good weight for a Pinot, not too fruity. — 8 years ago

Stewart Ben

8.9

Decent with nice tannins and a bitter finish. Leathery and I think even a little young still but I like it. The tasting I did here in Nov of 2019 made me feel they are a little over rated. But this one hits the mark for me. — 5 years ago

R Bl

8.9

At 15 years old, perhaps slightly past peak maturity but still fruit dominated, with a little tannin. Nicely balanced though only a trace of structure; very pleasant. — 6 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Beautiful example of a riper-styled Zin. Classic nose of blackberry, brambly notes, gravel, and a little maple syrup. Rich and weighty, the fruit accented with earthy peaty notes and a bit of bakers chocolate. Long, savory finish. — 6 years ago

Mike Daniel

8.9

Fruity. A little complexity. Great value. Dark fruit on the pallet. Slight length in the finish. Very tasty for around $10. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Nose of lightly; sweet, tart and sour ripe elegant fruits of; blackberries blueberries, pouched black plum, black raspberries, cherries, strawberries, faint rich moist, black soil, light; clove, cinnamon and vanilla and bright, fresh, fragment red florals. The fruits match the nose and are ruby ripe with a shade of candied characteristics. A little more pronounced moist rich dark earth than on the nose, vanilla, light clove, gentle, soft crushed dry rock powder, fresh dark, gently perfumed red & dark fresh florals. The mouthfeel is big, rich & lush. The balance of earth and fruit is like a fine Burgundian. The length is long as is the rich finish and the acidity is perfect. Beautiful fresh wine. @ Wakatipu Grill, Central Otago — 8 years ago

Chelsey Thompson

9.4

A little lighter flavor than I expected, but very smooth. Great with steak. Would but again. — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.3

Second night... little changed, but the tannins have subsided to a manageable level. Evocative of Graves or Margaux. Wet clay and cherry tobacco with plenty of structure. Some serious quality for Lake County. — 9 years ago