Per

8.9

Velvety red with nicely balanced strawberry, blackberry, and peach flavors. A great wine to drink on its own.  — 9 months ago

Leo Gentile

9.5

Inky purple without the slightest hint of oxidation. Subdued nose despite the rich ripe fruitiness on the palate. No cooked fruit just gobs of blackberry and black raspberry. One of my favorite sins from Ridge and the 2914 is drinking near its peak. — 4 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.5

Still youthful with dense , purple to the eye and earthy graphite to nose with blackberry on the tongue. Great richness and long finish. — 5 years ago

CookDrinkFeast

9.0

#Tannat

Inky purple. Notes of eucalyptus on the nose at first but it blows off with time in the glass. The palate is juicy with blackberries, plums and spices. It is very dry. The tannins are smooth. Hold this wine in your mouth for a while to get the full effect. This wine is delicious. — 6 years ago

Taylor Burnside

9.1

Light-bodied and delicious. Perfect for socializing! — 6 years ago

Michael Hildebrand

9.6

Seriously delicious. The most memorable cab franc I have had. — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

10

To me Shafer is among the worlds best wineries. Aged 32 months in 100% new French oak. Vivid deep purple color, and outstanding aromas of red/black fruits, cherries and blackberries, with hints of cedar, floral oak & spice. Tasting this wine was absolutely magnificent, concentrated dark berry fruit flavors, spices, leather and oak, exploding on my palate. Soft velvety subtle tannins provide a nice deep lingering finish. Truly an outstanding Cab, one of the best. If you can find yourself a bottle, do not hesitate. Should last at least 10 more yrs. — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Served alongside beef short rib, xo sauce, pickled mustard seed, cumin stir-fried asparagus. Yes, the 2003 Dominus is big. However, it is also balanced and showing classic Napa typicity with beautifully ripe and some slightly wizened black and red fruit, tobacco, cocoa, some purple flowers and baking spices. I found this to be quite balanced after all the air it saw. Wonderful structure for continued aging as well. Drink now through 2043. — 2 years ago

Brian Hearty

9.2

2012. Pulled to pair with rack of lamb chops and it was a great match. Deep purple fruit with smooth spicy oak. Not sure I would be able to identify this blind as a Spanish wine, but as a big red blend it’s very tasty. My wife and daughter really liked this one better than the Gigondas I had opened, so I was able to enjoy most of that one! — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Deep Ruby, purple edges, with aromas of fresh berry fruits, cigar box spice and earthy mineral notes. On the palate rich ripe fruit, blackberry & black cherry with hints of dried spices. Good balance with slightly firm tannins, opened quickly, and lively acidity. Long finish, complex ending with oak, herb, mineral and earthy character. Will improve with short term aging, but don’t wait too long as you might be disappointed! Very nice Shiraz! — 5 years ago

Jayna Fontenot

9.2

Purple, opaque color and strong legs. Subtle sweet blackberry on the nose with oak. Hits the pallette smooth, and tastes fruity and thick and lightly sweet. I found myself wishing for more of a tannic finish to balance it out, but this wine would be great with barbecue ribs or a spicy steak. — 6 years ago

Hailey Bouchard

9.3

Beautiful purple color — 7 years ago

Devin Bostick

9.4

Cranberry leather smell, residual sugars (and brown sugar) alcohol hibiscus smell, rich bloody purple color, tastes like woody candied aged blackberries and the balance is tremendous, great alcohol bite that comibines with aged succulent fruits and a heated final jaminess that ease and tingles through the finish. — 7 years ago

Lee Richey

9.3

2016 vintage, very reliable fun wine for the budget. Easy drinking yet flavorful. — 7 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

I suppose since this is Castello di Ama I shouldn’t be surprised it’s very good. Gobs of ripe fruit and freshness on the nose, with a nice crushed rock background. In the mouth, it’s dry, fresh as heck, and has good concentration and balance. Totally dry. Phenomenal with Chinese takeout on a warm evening. — 3 years ago

Sharon B

9.6

One of my favorite wines! Dark purple in color, full bodied, silky smooth with lots of dark fruit on the palate. Never disappoints! — 5 years ago

John Glatt

10

Quogue house.
Canadian white.
Savina liked this one. Nice sweet citrus flavor without acid. — 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

Keith Lite

9.5

A big bold plumy purple bomb As dense and luscious as a wine can get in a glass. Decanted for 2 hrs and its still a baby with blackberry, dark chocolate licorice and pepper on the nose and on the palate. A long long finish and loads of tannins to sum it all up — 7 years ago

with Bruce

Andrew Savaloja

9.0

I sure like this one. Dark purple, big jammy dark fruit, cocoa and coffee flavors. A real treat — 7 years ago