Jay Kline

9.5

And they call this their “second” wine. After McHenry in Santa Cruz, Seavey was an absolute show stopper for me on our recent trip to wine country. We had the opportunity to try five different wines with three bonus pours from recent and library wines and I tell you: All 👏🏼 eight 👏🏼 were 👏🏼 bangers 👏🏼. From their Chardonnay (which was sprung on us the moment we arrived, was acid driven and had the most delightful spine of minerals that I could have sworn it was GC Chablis), to their Rosé (which is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend and bends what’s possible with the genre) to their Founder’s Reserve (which didn’t present much in the value dept. but was a killer wine nevertheless). Anyway, this 2005 Caravina is positively singing right now. Opulent amounts of plums, cassis, brambles, and sweet tobacco with secondary characteristics juuuuust starting to make their appearance: leather, truffle, and forest floor. Moderate acid. Firm tannins still! What a beauty...in a sort of masculine way. America! — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

As a Sommelier, it’s interesting to read professional reviews. Something you need to keep up on for what consumers will be looking to buy.

As someone who attends a lot of tastings, you get to get to do your own comparisons. For me, a lot of Bordeaux. It’s my true love. I’ve been to Bordeaux eleven times. Two of them En Premiers.

When I tasted this so called critically difficult/bad vintage from Chateau Belle-Vue, I saw its potential and wasn’t wrong. Now, eleven years later, this wine is singing. While the critics haven’t tasted this wine as recently as this year, they would tell you this wine was average. It is anything but! If I put this wine in a blind tasting, I am confident many would call higher end Napa Cabernet and this is a Bordeaux producer from an ancillary region, under the radar known producer and a difficult vintage.

If I’ve learned anything about wine, it’s in all difficult vintages anywhere, there are producers who still make good wine. This one is magic for around $20 upon release. I’ve had $100 a bottle plus Bordeaux and Napa Cabernet that weren’t this good.

The nose shows, ripe, earthy fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, dark cherries, creamy raspberries on the glass edges, some blueberries & boysenberries and baked plum. Rich, forest floor, steeped black tea, used coffee grounds, limestone minerals, crushed, dry, rock powder, black licorice, hints of herbaceous notes, touch of mushroom, purple flowers, violets and faint lavender.

The body is full, round and lush. The structure, tension, length and balance are harmonious. The tannins are dark, round, soft, velvety and slightly tarry. Ripe, earthy fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, dark cherries, creamy raspberries on the glass edges, some blueberries & boysenberries and baked plum. Rich, forest floor, steeped black tea, used coffee grounds, tarry notes, limestone minerals, crushed, dry, rock powder, dry top soil & clay, black licorice, dark cocoa powder, cinnamon, dark spice, some vanilla, hints of herbaceous notes, touch of mushroom, graphite, burnt charcoal, suede leather, pipe tobacco, purple flowers, violets, dark red florals and faint lavender. The acidy round & beautiful. The finish is; ripe, ruby, lush, elegant, well balanced between fruit & earth and persistent for minutes.

The well know professional critics would tell you this wine is old or late. I will tell you, from my storage, it’s has another 7-10 years of life ahead of it.

Have it with a good butchered Ribeye (not store bought) seasoned with coarse ground garlic salt & pepper.

Photos of, a modest Chateau Belle-Vue, the beautiful backside of the chateau, barrel cellar and Estate vines.
— 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

90% Cabernet, 7% Petit Verdot and 3% Merlot. On the nose; rich, lush dark, cassis. Blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, soft minerals and fresh, red & dark florals. The fruits match the nose. Dark, rich soil, leather, crushed rocks, nice amounts of baking spices and fresh violets. Lovely round acidity. The finish is; big, rich, round and elegant. It's a beautiful wine. Photos of; the metal framing of their new winery and tasting facility; which they should move into in January 18 and open to the public in April. The cellar room concrete floor & walls are already poured and painted underneath the metal framing. Also, their new Syrah vines and some experimental Bordeaux varietals planted this spring, their Healy vineyard sign and their barrel cellar. Look for Doubleback to continue to push quality in their new winery starting with the 18 vintage. — 8 years ago

Michael Francisco

9.4

If you got it now is the time. Right at peek. Still great fruit, asid, & stones but full of mushroom, sweatty leather, butcher shop floor, & dirt. The tanmins are soft and pushed back behind everything else but still there. To me this is what I want when I lay wine down. — 8 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.2

Tonight's wine is provided to me by a close friend in wine. The 2013 Peter Michael Le Moulin Rouge Pinot Noir.

On the nose is luscious dark fruit, black cherry, black raspberry, cranberry, caramel, clove, vanilla, forest floor and just a hint of alcohol.

The palate has dense rich fruit, black cherry, black raspberry, cola, vanilla, smokey oak and forest soil.

There is medium + acidity, medium smooth tannin, well balanced full bodied with a full mouth feel and a good long finish.

This is a good expression of a California Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 9 years ago

Ted

9.5

Satiny smooth. Earth and damp fall forest floor. Slight cherry starting to show. To me this unusually dark in color but I haven't had many Echezeaux so I don't know if this is how they roll. Very nice with 3 more bottles to try in the future. — 9 years ago

with Jeni

Nathan ratapu

9.5

This wine. On the floor from the smell: brings me back to tasting freshly picked strawberries in the car with my best friend. on the palate: strawberry marmalade, juniper, black pepper, plum, raspberry sauce, cloves. Elegant — 9 years ago

Martin Redmond

9.0

2013 vintage. A rare grape indigenous to Lazio. The wine is a dark ruby color with promising red fruit, juniper, and forest floor aromas. On the palate it’s medium-bodied and fresh with a very smooth texture, and a subtle savory character. It shows distinctive Morello cherry, red mulberry, hints of red currant, black olive and vanilla flavors with an earthy undertone. Reminds me of a cross between Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc — 10 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

10

1970
Off the charts an amazing tasting experience for me. Check out the shipper stamp in the bottom left. This producer no longer exists, DRC bought them out in the 60s.
As for the wine, a beauty she was with haunting and funky notes of dried red fruits, forest floor, savory and mushroom. The palate was plenty live, the mid palate and finish gained weight and depth with an hour of air and the neck cracked. Elegant and silky tannins carried the wine to a pretty and persistent finish. #vosne #romanéestvivant #grandcru #1970 #leroy #drc — 10 years ago

with TJ

Daniel P. Drake

9.6

On the recommendation of my store of choice I decided to purchase a couple bottles of the Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley which I tend to love because they tend to follow the lines of good Burgundy wines. They tell me this is the best they have tasted from Oregon. This new wine making venture is being run by winemaker Mike Etzel Jr. Son of Mike Etzel of Beaux Freres fame. The also have wine consultant Louis Michel Liger-Belair of Vosne-Romanee. Sounds like a great pairing. On the nose I am getting strawberry, cranberry, red raspberry, hints of mint, vanilla and forest floor. On the palate there is a light mouth feel with red cherries, cranberry, young strawberries, and clove. There is a nice medium acidity, medium low tannins, minerality and a long finish. A very nice QPR at $23.99. I am very pleased with this find. Highly recommend. — 11 years ago

Joe Davant

9.4

I’ve been holding off on drinking any of the 2012 vintage from Hirsch because the folks at the winery said this vintage that needed time in the bottle. @Bill Bender’s notes about the 2012 Hirsch Reserve encouraged me to open a bottle, and I’m glad I did. The wine was deep and broad with more earth, forest floor, mushroom, and loamy notes than I have come to expect from Hirsch wines. The structure has settled down and the more beguiling feminine aspects of the West Ridge are now showing themselves. This was fanatic with crispy roast duck at Gideon Ridge. On a side note, I’ll give a plug to that restaurant. IMHO, it’s the best restaurant in the high country, with great food, service and views. Just plan ahead because reservations are often 6-8 weeks out during the summer season. — 6 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.3

2011 St. Innocent ‘Zenith Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The Zenith Vineyard is St. Innocent’s estate vineyard, located eleven miles northwest of Salem, Oregon. This 2011 Pinot Noir shows wonderful forest floor and wet stone character on the nose with blood orange rind, cran-cherry and cigar ash also coming in aromatically. The aromatic range is seriously good right now. The palate is silky smooth right now as the mouthfeel entices. The richness reminds me more of a 2012 bottling as there is a seamless quality to the wine that grips you. Red and dark fruits weave together, with also citrus and earthy tones quite primary. Downright delicious, this is a stunning bottling by eminent winemaker, Mark Vlossak. Drink 2018-2028- 93 — 6 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.7

Stunning. The aromatic intensity of this wine is simply bonkers. Violets, clove, dusty barnyard dirt floor, old leather, garrigue, tar, vanilla, plums, cherry compote all baked into a blueberry pie. The mineral, spice and floral components of this wine are extremely intense, yet somehow perfect offset by and harmonized with bright whole cluster character. I was literally biting into this wine after it had been open for 2 days, yet there was no excessive weight. Despite the youth, massive structure and dense concentration of this bottling there is a sense of finesse and balance than only the finest producers can coax out of such a hot and explosive vintage. In a market becoming consumed by bombastic and heavily macerated wines from Châteauneuf, this reigns supreme for its superb freshness and complexity and reminds me of how special this place can be when the vines and their juice are handled with care and restraint. I believe this will grow up to become a simply impeccable wine. — 7 years ago

Dawn E.

9.2

Not sure about this...a little cherry on the nose...on the palate...minerals...black tea leaves...limestone...chalk...bitter finish...going to vacuum pump and let this sit in the fridge....disappointed...lesson to me let it age! Update...after a few days in fridge and all day in decanter..this is So Good...dark cherry..earth..wet forest floor..vanilla...very complex..glad I didn't give up on this — 7 years ago

Erik Nordman

9.2

Rad Spätburgunder from the Pfalz; Koehler-Ruprecht never steers me wrong. Bracing and a bit rustic yet still elegant. Pours a medium (-) ruby garnet hue. Benefits from a tiny bit of air before serving but not like, necessary to decant it either. Wild raspberries and strawberries, blood orange peel, fennel seed, woodsy spice and birch bark, mushroomy, forest floor earthiness, and some floral rosehip character on the nose. The palate has more bracing, alpine red berry fruit, woodsy spice, rose floral character, and forest floor, supported by lively, medium (+) to high acid, and medium (-) tannin. Light to medium (-) body. Solid stuff. In a nice place right now, maybe would peak in a couple years but no compelling reason to hold on to it much either. — 8 years ago

Sean Smith

9.5

'06 might become one of my favorite Willamette vintages. The '07 of the same juice proves to be quite thin (not my style), but this bottle proved to be full of flavor. Concrete and raspberry on the nose. Forest floor, cherry and slight caramel with a long and silky smooth finish. If you put this in front of me with no label, I'd probably guess it's a 13' or 14' due to its richness - even after a decanting. There will probably drink well for the next 10 years. — 9 years ago

with Kelli

Tom Kobylarz

9.1

Of the 2 Bordeaux drinking the best tonight, but long term the Brane-Cantenac 2005 will outlive this wine by 10 years easy. While very complex, a fine touch a green is traceable.

A classic currant and forest floor nose, fall leaves abound with a spike of spice and a barely there green that while subtle is apparent.

The pleasure here is higher for its more mature tasted and feel, while the brawny 2005 is a better wine it was not as enjoyable to me and feel it will be another notch enter in 3 years, and likely 2 notches better in 5.

The elegance and feel on this wine is ready to go and will easily go another 5+ years. — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.4

Right out of the gate the nose on this is classic Red Burgundy. It takes me back to the first time I had a real Red Burgundy myself as this had the elegance and perfume aromatics and flavors of earth, mushroom, red berries, a touch of floral and plenty of forest floor. Hard to stop smelling this it is so food! — 10 years ago

Ron Aronovich

9.0

Dark velvet in color. On the nose, distinct forest floor and fall leaves dark and blue fruits, limestone even. Nicely structured palate. To me, blackberry, spices and tobacco predominates with well integrated tannins. — 10 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.4

This afternoon I am at my store of choice picking up some 2010 Bordeaux. They have a bar attached that you can have glasses of beer and wine. I am have this wonderful Willamette Valley Pinot. On the nose I am getting good fruit and a good funk, what a combination. Cherries a plenty, raspberries, strawberries, caramel, smoke and a nice forest floor. On the palate I can taste the cherries, cranberries, a touch of orange zest, a nice complimentary oak, nice acidity and medium plus tannin. A very easy smooth, creamy and drinkable pinot. The Willamette never ceases to amaze me on how consistent their pinots and how Burgundian they are. The store price is $49.99. — 10 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.0

Smells of oak! Hazelnuts, and first floor.

First flavors - Tarragon, Thai basil, licorice, more herbaceous than fruit laden, yet still gives rise to the cassis and sweet blackberry, prune. Big tannic backbone, lends me to believe it will last for quite awhile in the cellar. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Masterclass in San Francisco with Saskia De Rothschild, Chairwoman DBR Lafite.

Saskia told me they are buying an existing property or starting one in China.

The nose reveals; ripe and slight stewed fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, dark plum skin, dry cranberries & poached strawberries. Dark, dry soils, limestone minerals, touch of bandaid=VA, saddle-wood, steeped black tea, dry river stone, dark rich & dry soils, crushed rocks, dry underbrush, cherry cola with dry and fresh dark and red flowers.

The body is full and thick. This wine is just coming out of its infant stage and just starting to stretch it arms & legs. The tannins are firm, rounded and powdery. The structure, tension, length and balance show the beauty of the vintage but, the drinking window on their 2000 is somewhere between 2035-2080. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, dark plum skin, dry cranberries & poached strawberries. Dark, dry soils, limestone minerals, touch of bandaid, saddle-wood, steeped black tea, dry river stone, dark rich & dry soils, lots of graphite, crushed rocks, limestone, dry crushed rocks, gritty volcanic minerals, dry herbs, dry underbrush, cherry cola with dry and fresh dark and red flowers. The acidity is round and beautiful. The finish is very good now but, if you don’t cellar it 35 years from birth, you are cheating yourself out of something truly special. Its well balanced, rich, ripe and persists for days. 95 now with more to come in 16-25 plus years.

All wines arrived weeks ago directly from the Chateau.

Photos of; the Crown Room on the 23rd floor of the Fairmont where the Masterclass was held, tasting set up, Saskia De Rothschild, Chairwoman DBR Lafite presenting and another view of the city of San Francisco/Bay and the Golden Gate Bride in the background.
— 6 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

Super-sappy and sinewy, and loaded with cherry and lavender. If there was a forest floor flavor of hard candy, this wine would be the model. I love how Beaux Freres manages to be both crowd-pleasing and wine nerd stimulating. Also, Wine Spectator scored this wine 89 points, which is kind of sad and makes me embarrassed for them. — 7 years ago

Ellen Clifford

8.9

Continuing in my Napa cab education this showed up at the door for me. It is excellent winter wine. It would warm you even if chilled—at 15 % abv no doubt but the taste is coziness defined too: ripe cherries, blackberry preserves on some sort of cheese on an earthy whole whole wheat cracker. The tannins could use, say, one or two more years to fully integrate but they aren’t objectable. Holiday spices and a whiff of forest floor and a long plummy finish round it out. Take this wine to an ice skating party if such things exist in your life. — 8 years ago

Jonathan Kozaczuk

9.3

Got to try several vintages ('04, '09-'12) at a vertical tasting. Standouts for me were the 2010 for its balance and complexity, and the 2004, with its earthy, forest floor aromas, dried herb/dried dark fruit flavors, and integrated tannins. Showing age well but still plenty of life left. — 8 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.4

Starting off 2017 with the right mindset; focusing on family and friends. And great wines! First vintage of Revana. After more than a 15 year nap, this beauty is drinking like an elegant right bank Bordeaux born from valley floor fruit and crafted with the artistry of Heidi Barrett. Cedar, burnished leather, spice box, and dusty blackberry dominate the nose. The palate is still showing plump black fruit, along with crushed rocks, graphite, and black olive. Hints of cherry and black pepper linger on the finish. Very elegant. Thank you @David L for gifting this gem to @Diana L and me. We are thoroughly enjoying it together on this chilly evening, awaiting the snow. Cheers to you and Kristen! — 9 years ago

with Diana

Benny Riccardi

9.0

Will age some and come back. Seeing cloudy whites makes me want to push my winemaking. — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.5

Not a birth year for me, but it was the year I was conceived. Perfectly stored at this mecca for Spanish wine, this was fresh as a daisy!
A garnet core with deep brick color intensity and lighter rose-orange at the edges.
The nose revealed with ease, and deeper with oscillation, the forest floor you expect, with mint, tobacco, cigar box, dried flower petals and mature red cherry and plum. The palate continued this attack, but without the mint. The flavors fanned out on the palate with an elegant, but unwavering persistence, adding tea and a very subtle iron component.
The acidity was pitch perfect, with silky and mature tannins that seemed to always be just the right amount of structure. A fantastic tasting experience and one I will not forget. #1976 #CVNE #rioja #tempranillo — 10 years ago

Sam Coturri

Winery Sixteen 600, Enterprise Vineyards and the Moon Mountain District

9.3

Bright, spicy berries and forest floor. Made me crave truffles. Interesting start to my day. — 10 years ago

Ken Rogers

9.6

For me, this is as close to perfect a Pinot Noir as there is: a subtle nose of cherry and earth, a soft and supple mouth feel with cherry, cranberry and rose petals with a hint of forest floor on the palate. Complex, beautiful, just wonderful. Unfortunately, the current 2012 vintage under his new Camlow Cellars label (which we just picked up last weekend) is the last year he'll be working with Keefer Ranch fruit, but winemaker Craig Strehlow has consistently nailed it for me. We'll definitely try the new juice--also from Green Valley--when it's ready. *fingers crossed* — 10 years ago

with Michael