Sam T

9.3

Awesome but needs a few more years. This one will hold up for the long haul! — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.1

Mix of garnet and ruby red. Mature nose with truffles, plums, cocoa, spices and cassis. Integrated tannins (6/10) and medium plus body. Smooth and integrated palate with cocoa, raspberries, black fruit, herbal and a little bit of minerality. Medium plus to long finish. Drink till 2020. — 7 years ago

with Sean and India

Thomas Brenner

8.9

The best of a few Cabs I had that day. — 8 years ago

Maggie Harrison

9.0

balanced. elegant. ripe, clean, complex, not jammy, long acid and tannins. nothing out of proportion here. — 8 years ago

Daryl Calhoun

9.6

Remarkable evening last night at VHR sponsored tasting of the 2014 vintage VHR. Heather and Bruce (@Bruce Phillips) hosted a lovely evening for the VHR faithful popping a Shramsburg Champagne toast with heavy appetizers followed by comparison of the 2012 and new 2014 vintages. Notes for 2014: Obviously young, but the aromatics hitting the nose are alive and run the continuum of all the green leaves in your spice drawer mixed together. Heavy mouth feel with flavor from the darker end of the spectrum: licorice, dates, tobacco. Finish is long and constant. Will be interesting to see how this one changes over time. — 9 years ago

with Ryan

A. R.

9.5

Wow. What an explosive wine. Young but very approachable, with lots of room to grow. On the nose, dark fruits, violets, a slight herbal tinge. In the mouth a huge rush of dark fruits, rose petals, violets, tobacco, fine tannins and bright acidity. Long, long finish. IMO- an equal to some Ridge Montebellos... — 9 years ago

Jeffrey Mack

9.4

Love this Merlot. Happy New Years! — 10 years ago

R Howell

8.9

Light yet long on the palette. 2012 in early 2015 went down very well. Stood up to filet mignon nicely.
— 10 years ago

John Skupny - Lang & Reed Wine Company

8.9

A surprise, an array of both bright and mature flavors- what a great match for old fashion Spaghetti & Meatballs! — 11 years ago

Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe

9.5

Dark red cherry & currant, mineral core, touch of tobacco leaf, long finish. Great wine! — 11 years ago

Jeff Manuel

9.1

Just as I remembered...lots of black cherry. — 12 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.0

Lemon, lime, melon, and toasty oak flavors. Fuller bodied. The finish is LONG. Got for $23, which was a steal, but I wouldn’t buy if more than that. There are better quality wines that cost less. A WS Top 100. — 7 years ago

Al Shikoh

8.9

Dark ruby violet. Blackberry, graphite, and a slight herbal note on the nose. Dense and concentrated red and black fruits on the palate with prominent, chunky tannins and long, gravelly finish. Blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot fermented with native yeasts then aged 19 months in 50% new French oak. Made by Diana Snowden wife of Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac in Burgundy. Would undoubtedly benefit from more time in the bottle. 14.5% ABV. $50. — 7 years ago

with Kelly

Michael Mathews

9.1

Massive bold dark fruit. Huge tar, cedar and cigar box bouquet. Dark, luscious and complex. Long legs and incredibly long huge mouthfeel and finish. — 8 years ago

with PJ, Sonia and 3 others

Basia Tunkis

9.5

Different Chardonnay, lime and citrus notes — 8 years ago

Kristen Weinstein

9.3

Solid Napa Cabernet that's very drinkable already. Raspberries and chocolate, so yummy! — 9 years ago

with Josh

Rebecca Fletcher

9.0

Cranberry, cranberry, black and red fruit forward. Baking spice, hints of chocolate and jammy. M- acid, m body and tannin. Raspberry and strawberry jam. Spice. Balanced. Long finish. — 9 years ago

Aaron Rankin

9.3

Very short in the tooth but so long in the finish. I've read it described as effortless and that's spot on. I will hold onto my other bottle for 5-15 years though. — 9 years ago

Caroline Bedillion

9.0

2012 vintage will be great with a little more age. — 10 years ago

with Rhydon

Kyle Mueller

9.5

Restaurant had half off wine and let me get this one. Long finish that goes on for days..... Great opportunity to try a great wine! — 10 years ago

Mark Morgan

9.5

Giants sucked tonight, but the wine was great. Still has a long way to go after 6 yrs, wish I had more. — 11 years ago

Bill Ward

9.8

Plush and rich and long — 11 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

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. — 7 years ago

Rochelle

9.5

Really nice and enjoyable ! Rich plum and chocolate on the nose, also full of fruit and it's also present in the body of the wine! great integrated tannins long finish good juice! — 8 years ago

Alex Kegelmeyer

9.0

Citrusy with a strong aroma of orange zest, fresh coriander and sal del mar, finishing smoothly with a palate cleansing clean high acid taste. Pairs well with salmon, sautéed mushrooms, summer evenings. — 9 years ago

Brian Ager

9.5

Usually Merlot is not among my favorites, but clearly I have been drinking the wrong wines. This wine is wonderfully smooth and balanced with medium-high tannins. Aromas of tobacco, raspberry and pomegranate fill the glass. It has a full bodied pallate of dark cherries and nutmeg, with hints of cocoa and a bit of spice that continue into a long enjoyable finish. Drank at VIC's in NE Minneapolis for mystery wine night, and paired with a Kobe beef burger! ($36) — 9 years ago

Louisiana Pizza Kitchen

8.9

Good berry. Nice fresh. 22.50 btb Uncorkd — 10 years ago

Justin Manni

9.1

Very young, but drinks well. Smooth with a low acidity. Will be even better in a few more years. Drink from 2016-2022 — 10 years ago

John D

9.4

Lovely. Blackberry, plum, tannins in balance. A deep rich wine. Maybe it's the petite sirah (4%) that smooths the Zin but there's almost a Bordeaux earthiness in the nose that isn't in many Zins and none of the black pepper notes. Deep color, nice tannin, long finish of plums and a hint of raspberry. Must find more 2009s as they are ready. — 11 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.3

My only bottle. Held off as long as I could and the reward was very high. Excellent! — 11 years ago