Jeff Orlowski

9.1

Very nice Cab Franc. While relatively young, has aged nicely since the first bottle I opened in Fall 2020. — 2 years ago

with Michael and Joe

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I kid you not, Charles Hendricks is likely the most underrated & under known Winemaker in Napa Valley.

If you have not had his wines, you are missing out on great wines & relative real value for Napa. He makes his own private higher end label-Hendricks, Hope & Grace and midway through the 14 vintage for; James Cole, Regusci & T-Vine.

There are few Winemakers that can make wines that drink well young & some that will age two decades plus stored correctly.

This Santa Lucia Doctor’s Vineyard is really good but, his private label Hendricks Pinot from Santa Lucia is off the charts. His 2008 Hendricks Pinot Noir is the highest rating I have ever given a Ca Pinot Noir, 98.

The 13 Doctor’s Vineyard is better than his 12 & is still a little early right now. It will improve over the next 5 years & hold there a couple of years before its gentle decline.

The nose reveals, ripe, well extracted & slightly baked; blackberries, stewed, deep, dark, black plum, black cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, dry pomegranate & cranberries with shades of blueberries. Dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, touch of savory meats, anise to black licorice, black tea, wet clay, steeped black tea, touch of herbs dominated with Rosemary, rich, black, earth, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, fresh tobacco, leather notes, volcanic minerals, limestone with bright, fresh & withering florals that are; dark, red, purple, blue mixed in violets and lavender.

The body is full, rich, lush and gorgeous. The structure, tension, length and balance are just hitting their good phase. It is simply a beautiful & complex Pinot Noir. Nicely extracted & slightly baked; blackberries, stewed, deep, dark, black plum, black cherries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, dry pomegranate & cranberries with more blueberries than the nose. Dark spices that bring palate heat, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & vanilla, touch of savory meats, peppery notes, anise to black licorice, black tea, wet clay, steeped black tea, touch of herbs dominated with Rosemary, rich, black, earth, dry stones, dry crushed rocks, fresh tobacco, leather notes, volcanic minerals, limestone with bright, fresh & withering florals that are; dark, red, purple, blue mixed in violets and lavender. The acidity is very good & excellent at containing the slightly higher ABV. The long, complex finish is, well balanced fruit & earth, polished and will persist until dawn.

Photos of; Their Doctor’s Vineyard, one of my favorite paintings that used to hang behind the bar in their tasting room & now hangs in Charles’ house (it reminds me of a Jackson Pollock), Winemaker-Charles Hendricks and the front of their tasting room in downtown Yountville.
— 4 years ago

Mono Head

9.2

2003 Mondavi. Very smooth. Well integrated.
9.2. Much smoother and better integrated than the regusci 75th. That one Is more potent. — 6 years ago

Martin Sher

9.5

Fantastic effort, classic cab here done with elegance and even restraint. Made with grapes from the Regusci property if I’m not mistaken. — 6 years ago

Kim Crompton

9.3

SF w Bri + Amie — 6 years ago

David Schiraldi

9.1

Good. Not as good as the patriarch — 7 years ago

Jeff Orlowski

9.1

Oak nose. Full body, dry, notable tannins and acidity. Red fruit and baking spice. Nice! — 2 years ago

with Michael and Joe

Steve S.

9.1

2017 is 100% cab. Soft pepper and black currant o the nose. More currants, dark berries and warm spices finish off a good wine. Noted that when drank with a curry the spice finish is massively and positively enhanced versus non spicy food. — 4 years ago

Steve S.

9.3

Darkest ruby red color. Full of black currants, black berries, dark red cherries and plums. Hints of chocolate and burned wood. — 4 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.1

Ruby red. Flush with cherry, pomegranate, pencil shavings, herbs, caramel. — 4 years ago

Patrick Derdeyn

9.4

Exciting to try this new(ish) project from TRB. He is making a Napa and an SV under this label and it’s a real winner. Among the best cabs we tasted all day and even better when the bottle was finished with a steak at dinner. — 6 years ago

Mono Head

9.0

2007 regusci seventh fifth anniversary
A little bit of sourness at the end; dark berries, thick mouth feel. Though not amazing . 9.0 — 6 years ago

Frank Chudy

9.2

Frank had 3/17/18. Very good and rich — 6 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

I like this producer and the Patriarch. However, as smooth, elegant and beautiful this 11 is tonight, It's short on body, a little concentration and a fair amount of structure from what this producer does in good years. It more the 2011 vintage (bad spring fruit set, cool summer temps and October rains for those producers that waited to pick) than the winemaker. On the nose; ripe plums, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries, strawberry liqueur notes, lots of baking spices, violets, volcanic minerals and dark & milk chocolate. The body is M with M-M+ tannins. Plums, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries, boysenberries, strawberry liqueur notes, lots of baking spices, violets, volcanic minerals and dark & milk chocolate, mocha, light caramel, crushed dry rock powder, suede style leather, light spice, nice acidity and a good ripe fruit driven finish that simply lacks the structure & some concentration that you normally get from this producer & vineyard. 2011 is definitely not a long-term cellar. 8-15 years in most cases...a little longer with the very high-end producers. — 7 years ago

Walt M Britt

9.0

Regusci Vineyard Napa Valley Stag’s Leap District. Michele loved it — 3 years ago

Steve S.

9.3

2017..... Cherries, cherries, cherries and more cherries. Add some warm spices and mix it all up and you have a formidable wine. — 4 years ago

Gary Roberson

9.2

Wonderful with our Italian Food Anniversary Dinner 2020. — 4 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.0

Always respect your elders. Which in this case is worth the trouble. Dense fruit. Subtle waves of cherry, blackberry, toffee. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

The final bottle to wrap up the night and the perfect progression to follow up the Cabernet. It’s really hard for me to say which bottle was better, the Regusci Angelo Vineyard or this Malbec from Winemaker Charles Hendricks? However, I would say this is the most, beautiful, elegant and polished Malbec I’ve had. It’s peaking but, still has a lot of life left in it. I can’t believe someone was willing to sell this bottle on Wine.com for $50. It was like committing robbery winning this auction.

The mouthfeel spectacular and gorgeous. Dark creamy currants, touch of pepper, sweet dark tarry round tannins, black licorice, mocha chocolate, well layered baking spices, subtle, savory meats, rich dark earth, soft leather, touch of tobacco, fragrant purple flower with beautiful lavender notes. The acidity perfect as was the long, elegant, well balanced, rich polished finish. — 5 years ago

with James and Christina

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. — 6 years ago