Kurt Schuster

8.9

Large and bright flavors of berries, Varian cherry pies, baking spices, with good acidity. Virging almost towards jam but sticking nicely in the baked pie category it stays taught and sweet. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.3

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.

Our trip ended with a tasting of Lewelling & Hayfork, courtesy of daughter Haley at their family home in the vineyard. Although I’m not posting pics of the Lewelling cabs (2017s and didn’t have labels yet), they are impressive, and the Wight vineyard cab is flat out delicious!

The fruit here is the same as Lewelling’s wines, but there is usually a splash of petit Verdot to give more color and structure compared to the 100% Cabernets that Lewelling bottles. Dense, ripe and chewy. Very dark in the glass showing sweet smoke, blackberry compote, baking spices, and espresso aromatics. Whereas the Lewellings have a beautiful red and black cherry liqueur type profile, this is decidedly darker, but every bit as tannic and age worthy. Added notes of graphite, currant, creme de cassis and mixed berry pie at the finish. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.5

To celebrate 15,000 followers on Instagram, here's a beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dark ruby in color with a short purple rim.

Extremely fruity on the nose with blackberries, blueberries, raisins, figs, vanilla, cedar, toast, graphites, earth, spices, peppercorn, leather, smoke, chocolates, mocha, coke and coffee.

Full bodied, smooth and bold, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and extremely fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, cherry pie, raisins, vanilla, cedar, leather, chocolates, tobacco, licorice, peppercorn, spices, earth, mocha and dark roast coffee.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a wonderful Napa Cabernet. Still young, but drinking very nicely now, with lots of fruits and nice complexity.

Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up (2 hours). After 3 hours, big tannins come in.

This should lay down for another 10 years, to be appreciated even more. At this point it might be too fruity for some. Aging it for 7 to 10 years will do the trick.

I paired it with cheeses and light appetizers.

Drunk from a 1 liter bottle.

14.8% alcohol by volume.

95 points.

$80. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday. She prefers champagne over red wine (and she really enjoys red wine) so this was definitely a perfect bottle. Awesome, creamy mousse. Roasted almonds, brioche, and rich key lime pie. This is definitely on the young side, but extremely enjoyable now. Very little tart notes here. Yeasty and chalk driven. Bubbles go forever. I enjoy the more oxidized style champagnes, and while this is maybe more reductive in style, there is an awesome savory/sea salt note steak down the middle of the palate here. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.6

WNH event number 4. Perfect Pizza Pairing bottles. Not a bad bottle in the bunch!

Another bottle in the running for WOTW (weekend) so far. Blueberries, graham cracker and fresh squeezed blackberries in the nose. Rich and full bodied on the palate with silky structure. Milk chocolate covered dates, and baked mixed berry pie. Hedonistic and wonderful. Killer bottle @Eric LaMasters ! — 6 years ago

with Mike, David and 5 others

Eric L.

9.7

Wow, one of the very best Chardonnays I’ve had in quite some time. Absolutely delicious. Layers of lemon, tropical fruit, marshmallow, and pie crust. — 7 years ago

Ryan Guy

9.4

Nose of mushroom and compost, leather, tar, vanilla and blackberry pie. Spicy on the tongue, with almost bitter cherry and blueberry skin. Dark chocolate and mocha strike on the mid palate with minerality to finish. Plush yet elegant. Drank side by side with ‘09 - prefer the ‘10. Alcohol stays in balance on this vintage, subtle oak notes show to finish. Drink now with a splash decant. — 5 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.6

The 2016 ‘Estate’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunning blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, with 6% Petit Verdot. Needing a one hour decant to fully awaken, the 2016 ‘Estate’ Cabernet Sauvignon slowly unveils deep Turkish coffee, creme de cassis, cocoa powder and sweet pipe tobacco aromas with lighter suggestions of blueberry pie and graphite that all meld in the glass. The palate is dense and powerful yet shows a wonderful restraint and vibrant sense of tension that runs through the core of the wine. Moderate tannins frame the dense dark currant jelly, mocha, black tea, anise, exotic spice and herbal undertones round out this expressive palate. Fantastic and literally thrilling in its youth, the 2016 ‘Estate’ Cabernet Sauvignon will provide drinking enjoyment for the next two plus decades. Drink 2020-2040- 96 — 5 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

The 2016 Figgins Red Wine is a stunning new bottling by superstar winemaker Chris Figgins. On the nose you can really smell the Petit Verdot undertones as this shows off gorgeous blackberry compote with blueberry pie, sagebrush and green pell pepper aromas that all build marvelously in the glass. The palate is gorgeous, showing a silky texture and wonderful sense of minerality. A bright beam of salinity runs through this beautiful wine, slowly unveiling bright black cherry and Turkish coffee flavors that collide with blueberry pie and Chinese black tea flavors. Polished and layered, this is seriously good in its youth but it will evolve well for decades to come. Drink 2020-2040- 95 — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.4

II’ve loved all the Sandhi 2012 range of whites & this £65 S&B is superb 👍 Paired with enough curry to get a small village going regular for a week 🤣 💨 sorry I didn’t take pics of that feast 😁

📍 Sandhi Sandford & Benedict Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2012 @sandhiwines

🏵 94 points

🍷 Golden yellow

👃 Chopped pineapple, crushed rock mineral, lemon oil, key lime pie, honey gloop & white jasmine flowers w/ light oak, vanilla & apple

👄 Med+ body of creamy refreshing clean tropical & citrus yummyness without being overly syrupy & a hit of green apple, pineapple, honey & minerality in med acidity

🎯 Med+ fresh apple, citrus & tropical trickle w/ a dry mineral honeyed pineapple slapette — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.3

😇 I looked up to the sky & the Purple Angel came down upon me filling my glass with light blocking purple ruby rain that oozed aromas of black & blue berries w/ thick chocolate, vanilla, dates, heavenly minerals & smokey oak - “drink this godly juice” she said in a booming voice🍷

I dared embrace the heavenly nectar & succumbed to a full on palate explosion of ripe dark concentrated blackcurrant/berry bathed in raspberry cocoa and minerals💥

My mouth was left open in awe as my purple stained teeth yielded to the long silky fruit loaded intense finish & I myself turned into a naughty purple devil - spank me angel, spank me 😈

🎵 “And through it all she offers me protection l, A lot of love and affection” you’re gonna be singing this all day now 🤣 “And down the waterfall wherever it may take me .. “

📍 Montes Purple Angel 2013

🏵 93 points

🍇 92% Carmenere & 8% Petit Verdot

💥 14.5% ABV

✅ For £32 this is a cracking wine 😍 some may say even Angelic 😁
— 6 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Here is a great Napa Valley Merlot for #MerlotThursday.

Inky in color with a short purple rim.

Very fruity on the nose with blackberries, blueberries, figs, raisins, cherry pie, licorice, cedar, vanilla bean, spices, chocolates, medium roast coffee, graphite, beef jerky, peppercorn, earth and light vegetables.

Full bodied, rich and jammy, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and extremely fruity on the palate with blackberries, sweet cherries, figs, raisins, oak, licorice, vanilla, spices, earth, vegetables, pencil lead, coffee, mocha, dark chocolates and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy cranberries.

This is a great Napa Merlot. Well balanced with nice complexity and a great mouthfeel. A Cabernet lover Merlot.

Good right out of the bottle, but much better after an hour in a decanter.

This 6 years old is drinking very nicely now, and will be good in the next 10 years. As it opens up, it becomes earthier with vegetable notes and bigger tannins.

90 points wine Enthusiasts.

Enjoyable by itself or with food. I paired it with a charcuterie board of Meats and cheeses, olives and crackers. Delightful and delicious.

A blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$40. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.7

Insane. This wine is ridiculous and large in every sense. This is Bevan-esque! So much blue fruit in a velvet glove. For a Melka wine, I was surprised at the softness and accessibility. Hedonistic style. Begs to be enjoyed early...blueberry pie, nutmeg, cocoa nibs, bay leaf, and vanilla extract. Not for the faint of heart! — 7 years ago

with Dan, Mark and 3 others

AJ Gubser

8.9

Nose of potpourri, cumin, cinnamon, anise,
and maybe some pie cherries in there.

Nicely balanced on the palate. Nice cherry fruit with med+ acidity and tannin. Spice and earth notes mixed in.

Very well made, balanced, drinkable wine. Kinda hard to believe this is 14%. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.6

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.

Theorem was one of our highlights last year, so we made sure a return visit was lined up this year. Base of Diamond Mtn with one of the most beautiful properties I’ve seen. Over the last 12 months, they’ve added a couple new wines (with more to come from Moon Mountain). TRB is the winemaker.

In the running for red wine of the trip. When visiting last year, I preferred the ‘14 (ripe, balanced, savory) over the ‘15 (more acidity, touch lighter, high toned)...this ‘13 takes the best of each and marries them. This is a classic high end TRB Cabernet from a stellar vintage. Truffles raspberries, candied black cherries, cocoa dusted mixed berry pie and graphite aromatics accompanied by sweet blueberries, freshly squeezed blackberries, toffee and espresso, baking spices, and fine grained tannins. Built like a tank. Superb. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.7

One of the most open knit SQN Syrahs I’ve ever had. I got to this after it had been opened maybe 30mins and it was singing! A wine that envelops all the senses. Smoked brisket, teriyaki sauce, iron, stemmy blackberry aromatics. A plush and iron fist in a velvet glove on the palate. Glycerin like texture. Ripe blackberries and rhubarb pie in the middle with a savory, smoky finish that lasts forever. Incredible! Thank you @Keith Fisher — 6 years ago

with Dan and Weston

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon by La Jota is a seductive blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Cabernet Franc, 7.5% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot which was aged for 22 months in 65% new French oak prior to bottling. Needing more than a two hour decant at this juncture, the wine takes on glorious creme de cassis, Turkish coffee, blueberry cordial and wild thyme aromatics. The palate shows marvelous complexly and range. Black tea, blueberry compote, mocha and blackberry pie flavors all beautifully mingle in the glass. Rich and layered, this hedonistic effort will cellar marvelously for decades. Be sure to give this at least a two hour decant if enjoying in its youth. Drink 2020-2045- 95 — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Day 2 of Napa in the books!

20yrs young! This was also served to us blind and we all guessed it was mid-late 2000s Seavey Cab. All the red and black fruit notes are still present with mellowed out tannin. Very smooth and polished. Big note of baked mixed berry (cherry, blackberry) pie that is covered in a cloud of sweet vanilla pipe tobacco. Ripe & rich up front, savory in the middle, balanced finish. Incredible for its age. — 6 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Dark ruby in color with a purplish rim.

Sweet nose of blackberries, sweet cherries, black currants, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, spices, chocolates, mocha, coffee, cocoa, tobacco and black pepper.

Full bodied and bold with medium plus acidity and long legs.

Sweet on the palate with blackberries, black currants, cherry pie, figs, raisins, vanilla, oak, licorice, cloves, spices, alcohol, chocolates, tobacco, mocha, earth, peppercorn and coffee.

Long sweet finish.

This portogese Port is always enjoyable. Well balanced with nice complexity.

Not too complex, but very enjoyable by itself. Showing a bit too much alcohol on the palate and better a bit chilled.

I paired it with chocolate covered pomegranates.

20% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$20. — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

At £40-50 Montelena always seems to deliver with their Chardonnay 👍

& no that’s not a manipulated picture - a bird flew by as I took the shot 😎

🍷 Golden yellow

👃 Honey buttery creamy citrus w/ oak, washed stone minerals, green fruits in cinnamon pie, light fuel & hint of peach driven tropical

👄 Med bodied buttery creamy fresh zesty refreshing mouth coating silky citrus w/ melon oil, apples, pears goo & honey

🎯 Long citrus, apple & pair finish with a slight dry sweet linger — 7 years ago