Paul T HB

9.6

Short Rib wine. 👍🏼
Winery notes,

Unique circumstances helped create the monumentally impressive 2013 Le Petit Vice. Proprietor Patrice Breton worked with Paul Hobbs and Mike Smith in the beginning, and finished the wine with the help of Philippe Melka, and Shawn Johnson… Four of Napa Valley’s most accomplished winemakers.

Aged for 22 months in Taransaud and Marques French oak barrels, — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Earlier this week, a rep for Crown Point wines hosted a tasting to show off a few of their newer releases. New to me, they are out of Santa Barbara and have the duo of Adam Henkel (former assistant winemaker at Harlan for 8yrs) and Philippe Melka (who came on starting with the ‘15 vintage) making the wines.


This wine is their Estate Selection, which is 73% cab, 16% malbec and 11% merlot. I believe this was the first vintage for this wine. It sports a very soft profile and is made in a riper style. Aromatically it smells of baked boysenberry, fig and mixed berry pie with milk chocolate chips. The ABV is around 15.2% and it shows here. Extracted on the palate with chocolate covered dark fruits, baking spices, nutmeg and Andes mint. — 5 years ago

with Clare and Weston

M. Christopher Roebuck

9.4

Ummmmmm, believable....

94 points — 6 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.8

Napa Gold!!!! Epic Chardonnay from Gandona.
Another piece of heaven crafted by Melka! — 6 years ago

with Kirk and Christine

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Second wine at Great Falls Wine Outlet this Friday and second Skipstone. Deep garnet red. A little savory on the nose with some earthiness, tobacco, animal nuances, plums, and spices. Medium tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. A bit bigger than the 2005 but not as integrated. Dark plums on the palate with some floral notes and crushed gravel. Long and lingering finish. Definitely has potential to improve. Drink till 2025. (92+)

Made up of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc. Made by Philippe Melka. Selling for $109.99 at The Great Falls Wine Outlet. — 7 years ago

with Sean and India

Erik Wochna

9.2

10' vintage...killer wine, gonna make a Melka groupie out of me — 7 years ago

David L

9.3

12' Dana Hershey Sauvignon Blanc. This wine has settled down quite nicely. Pop & pour this amazing SB. Let it open up in your glass for about 15 minutes. Pineapple, honey, melon...moderate acidity & creaminess throughout the palate. Just a beautiful wine!
17 months in oak. If you enjoy BIG tropical style SB's this is it
Melka now has his own & Dana near the top of my California SB's! Edit- Tasting much better the second hour. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

It was my first time trying Moone-Tsai wines aside from their widely distributed Napa Valley Cab, so some of these were totally brand new to me. Melka is the winemaker.

Much more rich and dark fruited compared to the Howell Mountain. This is a blend of vineyards from Pritchard Hill, Caldwell (Coombsville) and St Helena. Very Pritchard Hill like on the nose with herbal crunch, savory graphite and cassis, oozing blackberries and cherry liqueur. Once on the palate, it channels its Coombsville fruit displaying a touch of licorice, candied blue and black fruits, baking spices and espresso. Big, but slightly more approachable than the Howell. — 4 years ago

Joshua Fisher

9.3

Custom crush client at BRASSWOOD. Winemaker Philip Melka — 5 years ago

David L

9.4

06’ Melka Cab blend. Consume over the next 2/3 years. Blueberries, dark cherry, dipped chocolate, black licorice, banana skins (yes) . All front & middle palate. Just wish it had a bit more finish?!? Crowd pleaser without a doubt. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

This wine is in a good spot right now. Don't think that any more bottle aging would do this one any better. The nose is volcanic, blackberry, medium to full bodied. The middle of this wine develops a little bit of plum and cocoa powder in the middle and some black pepper on the finish. More tannin than I thought it was going to have. Melka wine doing really well right now. — 6 years ago

with Dan

UGAWineDawg

9.1

11/20/17 - One fine Philippe Melka product - opened up nicely and exhibited Melka’s silky smoothness. Hints of dark fruits, ripe berries and a nice tannin touch that finished well. A true value play here. — 7 years ago

Eric

9.4

One of my very favorite blends. Melka produced. Great balance. — 7 years ago

Shawn R

9.6

Has Melka written all over it! — 7 years ago

Susan Sangiacomo

9.0

My thoughts are all over with this wine. First off, I love Melka. However there is something off with this wine. Some musty flavor, and not the good old cab musty flavor that I usually like. My initial experience with this wine wasn't positive. I visited the winery and I learned more about the packaging than the wine creation. So I couldn't help but be disappointed (instead of impressed) when I received my first shipment, because I felt I was paying for all that packaging that I threw away instead of the juice. Note to winery: sell the site, the grapes, the winemaker....who cares about the label and box. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Attended a Parallel Wines private tasting last night. Very nice and classic in style. Didn’t realize how small their production is...less than 600 total cases. This is their 20th year and Melka has been with them from the beginning.

This was in the zone. Classic ‘13 Napa cab. It’s flavor packed and loaded with structure. Sweet and ripe dark fruits up front with lots of juicy blackberries and blueberries wrapped in dark chocolate and baking spices on the nose. Nutmeg, cassis, baked mixed berry pie on the palate. It’s very compact with a dusty finish. A blend of different vineyards, with a lot of fruit coming from the backside of Howell Mtn. — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Attended a Parallel Wines private tasting last night. Very nice and classic in style. Didn’t realize how small their production is...less than 600 total cases. This is their 20th year and Melka has been with them from the beginning.

Starting to channel some butterscotch and creme brûlée notes. It’s rich without being overly oaked. Honey roasted almonds and even some marzipan. This is 100% Ritchie vineyard and while it doesn’t have classic Ritchie nuttiness, there is a hint of roasted marshmallows that I find common in other Ritchie Chards. — 4 years ago

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.
— 6 years ago

Paul T HB

9.6

Bottle # 2 is finished now, 4 left
Its better on the 2nd day, if you can hold off not drinking the entire bottle the first day.
Glass cork is cool, had a french one last year with same glass top, kinda of a pain to open but nice presentation when you take it to a party. — 7 years ago

Jana Jarvis

9.5

Vintage 2009. Can smell fruit of blackberries, cherries & blueberries up front. Not too tannic. Drinking well at the beginning and end. Balanced. — 7 years ago

with Jared