Mark Farrell

9.4

Medium ruby with a nose of black cherries, anise, wet gravel, mocha, pipe tobacco, and toffee. Full-bodied with smooth velvety tannins. I think this wine is in its prime. I love the bold, full mouthfeel on this wine. Nice, smooth finish. Birthday wine! — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Spring! It’s one of our favorite points in the year. More; daylight, a little warmer in CA and everything starts to bloom which, means a long summer of gardening and being outdoors every day/night is not far off.

Since it was such a great day and basically most Californians are shut-Ins, the voluntary self quarantining was getting to me. I did the landscaping and got an afternoon of fresh air today. A breath of fresh air...ahhh! Wow, was it needed after Gavin’s Newsom’s estimate of 25.5 million Californians would be infected with Coronavirus over 8 weeks yesterday.

So, a good night to celebrate another day of being virus free with my 2nd favorite N/V Rosé Champagne.

All my numerous previous notes apply.

Stay safe everyone and remember the new terminology of the new decade...social distancing! Cheers! 🍾🥂

Photos of; Spring in our backyard & a Billecart Grand Cru Vineyard.

— 6 years ago

David Snyder

9.1

Wines from Fifi are always great — 6 years ago

Nathan Wegener

8.9

Pleasant and balanced with warm fruit and dusty oak good value. — 8 years ago

Stanislav Lobanov

9.0

16.5/20 (90/100) — 8 years ago

David L

9.3

13' Vineyard 7 & 8 Chardonnay. Big boy Chardonnay. Pop & pour. Love drinking this wine. — 8 years ago

E

9.0

Berry, tannin, smooth, cherry. really nice! Costco, $8. With calzone. — 9 years ago

Sarah Cross

8.9

Dad's fav! — 10 years ago

Christopher Stadler

9.3

Super geeky sparkling gamay from a cru of bugey. Star of the day! Bright, tart berries, beautiful sugar/acid balance for a 8% wine. Bubbles were quite intense, more along the lines of a demi-sec. Can't wait to pour for Thanksgiving. — 10 years ago

Jorge Escobar

9.5

Very good wine for the price. Perfect for a weekday evening. Dry but very comfortable. — 11 years ago

Matt Nason

9.5

Beautiful herbs and red fruit, little bit of funk, classic. — 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. — 5 years ago

with Christina and James

Paco Suro

8.9

Solid #drycreek Zin. — 7 years ago

David L

9.5

12’ Alexana Revana Vineyard Block 8 . The very best five barrels each year. 11 months in barrel, additional 14 months in bottle before release.

A complete waste if you don’t decant this for two hours. Gorgeous color. Nose- Dried flowers & hint of spearmint. Palate- Dark raspberries, dark stone fruits, spices, black pepper. Touch of cola.
Moderate acidity. This would benefit with a little more age. @Martin G Rivard Santa with another delivery to my door. Can’t thank you enough. Love you buddy! — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.5

Radiant and transparent Cabernet showing excellent purity and very good typicity and acidity. Spottswoode is always so consistent for me and always so impeccably pure. The 2008 is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc that shows beautiful Cabernet traits, something the best Napa wines excel at. What many wines in Napa do not necessarily excel at is revealing the terroir of site, this vintage of Spottswoode shows terroir in spades. Cassis and currants, a dash of mocha, a touch of graphite and rock, with white floral and violet aromatics in the background. A nice streak of minerality shows up on the mid-palate and finish. The tannin are ripe, full bodied, but fine and supple. The acidity here is key, it elevates the aromas, as well as adds lift and energy to the palate, while refreshing the finish.
@spottswoodewinery makes some of the most consistent and honest wines from #cabernetsauvignon not just in Napa but the world. #spottswoode #cabernetsauvignon #sthelena #napa #spoton — 9 years ago

Thijs Hendriks

9.4

Deg 8 jan 2015 — 9 years ago

Antoine Cauchard

8.9

Bière brune qui titre à 9.2. Mousse abondante, et petit arrière goût de caramel boisé. Pour moi, une de mes brunes favorites — 10 years ago

Jon Grace-Cox

9.0

Very tasty. Smooth, with a pleasing bite. — 10 years ago

Regina Tochterman

8.9

Trader Joe's can make decent wines, apparently. Good table wine. Would get it again for a weeknight dinner or to share with my friends. — 11 years ago

Matt Bailey

9.3

Damn good!First sip was a little crisp (maybe still a little young) but for a hott summer evening really hit the spot. Definitely worth buying another and maybe another after that! — 5 years ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.0

8/17 gober barrio fede barrio lalo romero jcsap mazf romulo z4 — 5 years ago

Nezih

9.2

Carmenere is my favorite red and Montes is my favorite Chilean vineyard. Purple Angel is 92% Carmenere, 8% Petit Verdot. Woowza! — 6 years ago

Aaron Krauss

10

Sweet and not smokey or Petey. Rhonda loves it. Harper Seldin gave us a 10 year old bottle. — 7 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.3

Nice wine. It came to the party wearing a backpack, glasses and a hat with a mosquito net. — 8 years ago

with Jade and Paul

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Full body and rich with notes of caramel, raisin and toffee — 8 years ago

Daniel Martinez Cardenas

9.3

www.winex.com — 9 years ago

Lance Aker

9.1

Dark cherries and black currant. Deep purple color. Really gets better after being open for an hour. Moderate+ tannins. Had another glass 24 hours after opening and I think it was even better. — 9 years ago

John B. Paterson

Wine Director Frankies Spuntino & Prime Meats

9.4

Netflix, ⚡️⚡️ & chill — 10 years ago

with Emily

Kaitlin Ohlinger

9.4

Loved it- distinctly old world, olive, violet, tar, smoke. Memorable! @RedMtnAVA rules. #delectableapp — 11 years ago

Lydell Sarge

9.8

Very Smooth, fruity strawberry taste — 12 years ago