K Brooks

8.9

Quite nice Syrah with Swedish meatballs & cream sauce ($13) — 4 years ago

"Odedi"

9.3

To bring in the New Year, here is a delicious wine, one of California's icons. Happy New Year to all of you.

Dark ruby in color with a short brick rim. Not showing age at all.

Great nose of blueberries, cherries, currants, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, spices, graphite, dark coffee, chocolates, tobacco, beef jerky and peppercorn.

Full bodied, elegant and smooth, with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with blueberries, plums, currants, oak, cedar, leather, vanilla, licorice, spices, tobacco leaf, peppercorn, pencil lead, light vegetables, coffee and chocolates.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a great Cabernet blend from California. Showing great complexity with a soft mouthfeel.

This 13 year old is a delicious Bordeaux blend. Well balanced and engaging, with a tangy finish that makes it interesting.

Needs a couple of hours to open up properly, show the tannins and become its own.

Good by itself or with food. I paired it with light appetizers. A good wine to pair with BBQ Meats.

Thank you Scott for sharing this with me.

Drinking very nicely now and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Aged for 18 months in mostly American oak barrels.

13.1% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$230 (current vintage). — 5 years ago

Joseph Barsky

9.5

2005 Vintage. 13% Alcohol. Secondary notes of cinnamon and tangerine with a slight honeyed taste but still good acidity and minerality. — 6 years ago

Ian Staub

9.2

Wow, this really blew me away. Upon opening, lots of tertiary aromas - cedar, leather, rich earth - which gave way after decanting to a beautiful and pure fruit expression. Wild raspberries & ripe red cherries, both a touch funky, crunchy and mineral. Baking spice, dried leaves, and some green steminess are there too. Great fruit-driven acidity with integrated silky tannins. Drinks like something much much younger than it’s 13 years. I’m there with people who are saying this is Burgundian. Elegant and complex, will definitely be grabbing some more! — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.4

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc
A little closed up, but that's to be expected from such a young wine built for aging. Air helps to unfold the layers buried within. While 2014 was a cooler year, the weather played well to the style of Sassicaia as its target is 12.5-13% abv every vintage, so the conditions here were less of an issue. The acidity and density are here to last for some time, probably more than you think and should go the distance just fine. Elegant, yet powerful, with pure red currants and cassis, a touch of bright blueberry fruit, with a savory and spicy edge from the Cabernet Franc, then graphite and lavender florals appear, this is a beautiful young and fresh Sassicaia. Rocks and stone on the nose hint at minerality. Elegant and persistent on the medium+ palate, gorgeously pure and distinct with firm medium+ grain tannin. A long, dense, tightly wound finish that is fresh and persistent, entirely to young but with loads of potential. — 9 years ago

Mike Mayer

9.4

Wonderful nose of dark fruit, oak and cinnamon. Fantastic tastes of blueberries, blackberries, cassis, baking spices and oak. A bold wine with solid tannins that are still working to put on silk gloves. This is a blend of grapes from all 15 AVA's in Napa back in 2010. Probably has another decade or more in terms of optimal bottle life. Steve Reynold's at his best. — 9 years ago

with Lisa

Masafi

9.5

Tasted on Saturday 13 November 2021 — 5 years ago

Neil Wanee

9.2

The body more like a Chardonnay with a slightly spicy finish — 5 years ago

Cullen Perry

9.0

super interesting expression, not too much toast, lemon, good acid, amber color — 6 years ago

Worth Bugg

9.0

Good. Little sweet. Less than Cocobon. $13 at Costco. — 6 years ago

Sean Stephenson

9.9

Light and smooth — 7 years ago

David L

9.5

13’ Last bottle. — 8 years ago

JKT

9.1

Gordons Čhanin tasting 6/13/17. $45. #7. Like 2013 but more fruit notes and good finish. Lively and very new world in a good way. Complexity underneath and could age well. Softer than '13 and seemed older. — 9 years ago

Neil Wanee

9.5

Our 2019 edition had Chremisa in large letters on the bottle and it was fabulous. It was different than any Gruner we’ve had. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Raj Harb

9.3

Such purity. A notch below the ‘13 — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Had to get a bottle for holidays. Beautiful dark color, blend of Tempranillo, Graciano & Mazuelo, aged in new French oak for 24 months. Concentrated red fruit aromas with light oak and spice. On the palate ripe red fruit flavors, complex with layers fruit & spice, noting espresso, cacao and toasty oak. Tannins are a bit biting now but should softer with time. Lingering, great balance on the finish ending with . Decant to drink now, otherwise let this baby sit in the cellar. No ‘12 or ‘13, so grab ‘10 & ‘11 now — 7 years ago

Craig Williams

9.3

Disgorged August ‘13; an absolutely unique Champagne experience with its solera approach to assembling the base wine. Complex, layered, oxidative and long. — 8 years ago

JKT

9.2

Gordons Chanin tasting 6/13/17. $43. #5. nose that's balanced and great mouth feel and structure and great long finish. Minty hints. Like 2013. — 9 years ago

Raine Craft

9.2

This wine will set you down in the middle of a candle lit heurigen, listening to a waltz whist surrounded by the Austrian Alps of the summer season. — 9 years ago