Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.8

One of the two or three most moving wines in this vertical, the 1988 Cristal is eternal. Deep and vertical, with Gothic spires of soaring aromatic, flavor and structural intensity, the 1988 has it all. At thirty years of age, the 1988 is fresh, vibrant and incredibly powerful. Lemon peel, white flower, chalk and almonds are all given an extra kick of vibrancy from the bright acids and underlying energy of the vintage. Even after three decades, the 1988 remains searing, classically austere and beautifully focused, with tremendous pedigree and stunning balance. The 1988 is a rare Cristal where the Chardonnay, at 48% of the blend, is on the higher side. “When I joined Roederer in 1989, we were blending the 1988s,” Lécaillon explains. “They were such hard wines to work with because the acidities were so high. My teeth suffered. I thought ‘am I going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life? Maybe I should change jobs?’” Luckily, he did not. “In 1988, flowering was very bad for the Chardonnay. Yields were quite low and flavors were super-intense and concentrated. This, to me, is one of the keys for making great Champagne with real dimension. Interestingly, the same is not true of Pinot Noir. Keep a glass of the 1988 to compare with the 2008 later. In my opinion, 2008 is the new 1988.” (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2018) — 8 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. — 9 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Oh, yeah. My Friday's Cabernet fix.
Inky in color with a dark purple rim.

Sweet nose of blueberries, blackberries, sweet cherries, strawberries pie, vanilla, oak, blackberries, ripe plums, licorice, acetone, light cloves and peppercorn.

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

Extremely fruity and Dry on the palate, with dried figs, blackberries, sweet plums, earth, leather, cherries, oak, vanilla, cola, licorice, cedar and peppercorn.

Long finish with firm tannins, spices and black pepper.

This Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County is really enjoyable by itself to sip on. Complex and well balanced.

A Great wine to pair with a nice piece of filet mignon, which is exactly what I did.

It still needs a few years to chill in the bottle, but I loved it as it is.

14.3% alcohol by volume. — 10 years ago

William Leslie

10

Fruit flavors on the nose, but no oak. Flavors of sweet tobacco and cherry seem to be most pronounced. There is also a juicy blackberry flavor paired with black current. The flavors all work together well without overpowering another. The wine is extremely well balanced leading to a very smooth feel. The tannins are mellow and there is a small little bite on the end. Overall this is an excellent wine from an excellent winemaker and one not to miss. For drinkers looking to try a more expensive bottle but worry it's not with it, this is a great choice to calm your fears. Just make sure to properly decant. — 10 years ago

Ron R

9.0

Nothing distinctive, but well done, as described by my brother; Louis.

It's versatile and will work well with a variety of food. Oddly enough, Louis detected strawbs and cream. On the palette he detected small blackberries, black cherries and cassis. Tannins are fully resolved. An excellent example for the price. — 11 years ago

with Anne-marie, Pierre-Alexandre and 1 other

Anthony Lombardi

9.7

Just fantastic. So many things going on in this. Adore it on every level. Emotionally charged & powerful, it reads like the most memorable moment of a great ballet. You get the grace & finesse, but are patently aware of the strength & work underpinning it. Both electric & brooding. Truly great wine. — 11 years ago

Pam Starr

Owner/Winemaker Crocker & Starr Wines

9.0

Jerky teriyaki stones pencil lead and some barn. Really fantastic for 75. And it's opening in the glass over an hour. Great piece of history — 11 years ago

with Ken and Norm

Rebecca Pfiffner

9.0

If Captain Ahab had a piece of milky quartz in his mouth, kissing him would be like drinking this wine. — 12 years ago

Bob Halifax

9.8

Shame this our last of the '04's. Guess we need to work on newer vintages now. — 13 years ago

romo

9.3

A stinky, nasty piece of business from @Bill Bender. — 8 years ago

Elizabeth Verity

9.3

Not a watery boring Pinot - lots of depth. Gift from Rob for work on Avast — 8 years ago

Andrew Lohse

9.0

Black cherry, underbrush, cola, baking spice. Finesse. Med- bodied. Acid does a lot of work. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

They should have called the Winery Floral Springs based on the nose. Beautiful; blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, touch of clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets. The tannins are 95% resolved. The body is lush & ripe. The length, tension & structure are nearing the end. Just a few years left of being worthwhile. However, the balance is stereo tuned. The fruit on the palate shows even more elegant & ripe floral fruits than the nose. Blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, light clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets for days. The acidity is like a waterfall. The beautiful, long, elegant finish is a little lean yet has a nice richness. Beautiful wine that just missed 9.2. Photos top to bottom and left to right. The Winery; which is separate from the other tasting room only on Hwy 29. The tasting room on Hwy 29 in St. Helena, Flora Spring caves and the front of their tasting room along Hwy 29. Producer notes and history...the stone winery on the grounds were built in 1885 by two immigrant brothers from Scotland, James and William Rennie. They were in construction, built the winery and planted 60 acres of grapes. The brothers had some bad fortune when phylloxera consumed the vines, and then a fire in 1900 destroyed their wine press and cooperage. In 1904, they sold the winery and fifteen years later Prohibition started. The winery was then closed until 1933. That year, Louis Martini, looked into their magic eight-ball and saw Prohibition collapsing and bought the Rennie property. They built a new stone house and also made a reserve wine from the hillside vineyards. However, the old winery remained empty until the Komes family bought the property, 325 acres, the old farm house, the newer stone house and 60 acres of vineyards. The son thought he’d persuade his dad to restore the old winery and proposed to call it Chateau Jerome. Although it had been designed by Hamden McIntyre an architect of several other classic 19th-century Napa wineries, by 1977, the place was a wreck. The tin roof of the building had so many holes in it. They called it the starlight roof. His father looked at it and stated, “I’ve worked all my life for my good name. I don’t want to squander it now.” John’s mother, Flora, however, sided with her son on the potential of the property. Carrie Komes suggested they could name the winery for her mother-in-law. Combined with the abundant springs on the land, they decided the name would be Flora Springs. It was a sure way to their mom’s heart and father’s wallet. Komes put his construction expertise to work on renovating the old winery, which still had scorch marks on the walls. So skeptical was his father about his son’s wine-making project, they divided the winery building. John rented half where he put his first fermenting tank, which he named R2D2. He invited a couple of friends from his wine-making class to help make wine at the new place. He also hired Mary Ann Graf, who in 1965 had been the first woman to graduate from the viticulture and enology department at UC Davis to help manage the project. She told John, “if you don’t hire a winemaker, I’ll quit.” He did and the 1979 Flora Springs chardonnay won a gold medal at the Los Angeles County Fair. In those days, it was fairs, not ratings. This was his first lesson in marketing as they sadly sold all the wine before they won the medal. Fairs were the big news instead of ratings as Parker had not yet risen to fame as he was the only one to call the grand 1982 Bordeaux vintage correctly. They submitted their 1981 Cabernet to eight fairs and won seven gold medals. From there, the winery just kept growing. They were the 67th winery in the county. Over the years, they had their ups and downs, but kept growing. One of their highlights was the creation this wine, Trilogy. It was one of the first Meritage blends in the valley. By 1984, they planted all the Bordeaux varietals; Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. They wanted to create a blend “by taste”, not by formula for a nice smooth wine that goes deep into the palate. They worked with a little of this and little of that. The first Trilogy was Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. It was dubbed as velvet in the mouth. A lot of what they do is taming the tannins. One man who bought Trilogy by the case said, “it’s the only red wine his wife would drink young.” From the leftovers, they began making single-varietal estate wines. Another highlight was the discovery of a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc in vineyards his father bought in Oakville. UC Davis could identify nothing like it in their vast library of clones. They were a bit ahead of the times, but this clone showed Flora Springs how different in that time period what Sauvignon Blanc could be like as it took all the grassiness out of Sauvignon Blanc. — 9 years ago

Gae Saccoccio - NdC

9.0

Ampeleia, beyond this winery in the heart of Maremma (Tuscany) there was a swiss couple: Erica and Peter Max Suter, they bought an abandoned piece of land which since 2002 has been reorganized under the protection of Elisbetta Foradori. Roccatederighi's the ancient town nearby that spread over the Metalliferous Hills. All the Ampeleia wines bear names that recall ancestral ideas and profound concepts taken from ancient Greek culture: Kepos, Empatia, Ampeleia. Biggest enemy in the wine region is an excess heat and too much sun exposure of the vines which could provides too mushy wines or some dispreferred overipe. How does Marco Tait in the vineyards first then in the cellar, fight against such an adversary? Altitude, actually three different altitudes! Ampeleia di Sopra is where they've got vineyards between 450 and 600 m.a.s.l., here's for instance, the main reason why this vintage 2004, a blend of Cab Franc, Sangiovese and four others Mediterranean grape varieties despite his twelve years behind it is still that vibrating, breezy, unbroken and savory! http://www.ampeleia.it/ — 11 years ago

Jason Ruppert

9.1

What Matty Wicksteed said. A great amount of energy left for this one to work with. — 11 years ago

Tim Herrmann

9.6

What a surprise to drink at a (fun--needless to say!) Saturday work event. I loved this. Quite aromatic, it had all the layers of silky blackberries, licorice, raspberries, leather, fresh mint, and something meaty like ratatouille. And the structure: this has plenty of acid and tannin to go the distance, but it's super fresh and integrated so is drinkable today. — 11 years ago

Audrius Dargužis

9.5

Monumental wine. First of all, you have to let breathe for half an hour. Let it settle in your glass as if it were Brando preparing to watch himself on VHS, sunk in a big leather armchair. It smells like dried fruits and tomato sauce running hand-in-hand around a pine tree. Mouth is very silky and elegant. A work of art. — 12 years ago

James Parker Huston, CWE

Sommelier Charlie Palmer

8.9

Nice piece of history. Had better days for sure. — 13 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.2

Definitely the most broadly appealing and well-rounded of the Alvear range. Fruit-driven and concentrated, decidedly less salty and mineral-forward as the entry level Fino. Rounded, complex mouthfeel with nice slow-building acidity that coats the palate very well from front to back. Quite dominated by youthful yeasty aromas that are remarkably similar to fresh baked bread. It’s relatively dry and fresh but would work beautifully with sharp cheeses. — 8 years ago

Conner Esworthy

9.1

Never disappoints. Blend of SLV and Fay vineyards. Could probably age for longer but ready to drink now too. Deserves a prime piece of meat alongside it! — 8 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Time for my Friday's Cabernet fix. This time it's a great Israeli Cabernet.

Deep ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Sweet nose of cherries, blueberries, wood, earth, vanilla, molasses, red candy, spices, coffee, chocolates, tobacco and black pepper.

Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cherries, chocolates, smoke, licorice, oak, vanilla, pot pourri, herbs, spices and peppercorn.

Long finish with medium tannins and tangy cranberries.

This is a great Israeli Cabernet. Well balanced with nice complexity. Drinking nicely now, although still very young. Needs 7 to 10 years to mature.

Delightful and enjoyable by itself or with food like a big piece of steak. I paired it with a cheese plate and crackers.

Grapes are grown at 1200 feet elevation and hand picked. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Syrah and 1% Petit Verdot. Aged in French and American oak barrels for 12 months.

14% alcohol by volume.



$40. — 9 years ago

Christopher Fowler

9.0

Opened this a few days ago. It was entirely too fancy too guzzle on a school night after a difficult work day, but I saw it and I wanted it and I make no apologies. Elegant. Enough tannin to keep me on my toes. Pairs well with hamburgers and running out of fucks to give. #laterwine — 9 years ago

with Michael

E & K G

9.0

A bit more green than I expected. Stayed that way even after a good decant. Not bad but not great either. Awesome piece of steak tho, 560g!!! — 10 years ago

Jose Rodriguez

9.0

Very smooth, very good with a nice piece of steak — 10 years ago

Steve Matthiasson

Owner/Winemaker Matthiasson Wines

9.5

Had to take a picture of this in front of an apple tree, it is so pure, like a perfectly fresh picked piece of fruit, cold and covered in dew. — 10 years ago

Christine Havens

9.8

The 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche is a transcendent bottle, wherein no one element dominates, it's in absolute harmony, not unlike a great piece of music or art. It has pronounced power, and is at the same time weightless and ethereal. Layers of crushed raspberries, currants, blackberries and plum give substance to more fleeting layers of exotic spice, minerals, rose petals, black tea, and fresh alfalfa hay, all of which crescendos in a seemingly endless finish. A profound wine. — 11 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.2

So, I agree with all that Nathaniel wrote, except I would add wet to the floral aspect, which along with the interesting barrel selection likely accounts for the musk, which becomes very obvious after 20 or so minutes in the decanter (I like!). I also appreciate the mouthful of subtle complexity that teases a very long finish but dissipates at the 3/4 point making it work well with oysters, shrooms, tuna (Brett Jenning's amazing Elaine's, in Chapel Hill, NC; go there & drink this wine!!!)! Amazing wine at at this $ point!! PS miss my buddy Damon (bartender) but Jared (newer guy) is doing well and very accommodating! — 11 years ago

terroirista-cy

9.3

Tasting with Olek Bondonio
His wines are true expressions of the land and specially his Barbarescos are showing the quality of Olek's "work" less is more.
— 11 years ago

with Christos

David De Vleeschauwer

9.2

After a hard of work. Some VINO & a pack of french fries from the 'frituur'. — 12 years ago

Andrew Benn

10

2005
Drank with Ron and Howard along with filet mignon and Andy baked figs:

1 basket of figs - halved
Balsamic - brush on open face of fig
Coppa - one piece to cover fig
Laura Chenel goat cheese - dollop on each fig half to cover coppa
Bake 8 minutes at 450
Remove, plate, drizzle with wild honey
Serve — 12 years ago