ADAM STROMFELD

9.6

Soft and round rolling bright black cherries surprisingly a bit new world in a good way with great lively acidity on the back end . Beautiful!! Thanks Luca! — 5 years ago

with Leonard and Joe

Tom Garland

9.3

Big NorCal storm rolling in Friday night....calls for a nice bottle of wine!

Double decant(cloudy sediment). A mind-blowing deep dark purple. On the nose: black fruit, big crushed rocks, floral, very minerally, vanilla. Taste: black cherry, tar, mint, ending with raspberry coffee, tannins have sweetened but still there for the longer haul...nice structure, no hurry on my other 4 bottles. — 5 years ago

Linda H

9.1

Full bodied, oaky with good hint of cherry, got good leg and length. The grapes are grown and harvested on our family member’s property. — 6 years ago

ADAM STROMFELD

9.7

Rolling dusty black cherry notes. Elegant and perfect balance notes of cigar box and all spice cooked meat. YES — 6 years ago

with Rick, Russell and 3 others

Byron Hewett

9.3

With air, rocking, rolling and kicking butt! — 7 years ago

Liz Clark

9.0

Sarah Jane’s last night — 7 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.0

What the hell. Let's keep the cab train rolling! A strong bouquet of cherry and toasty oak. The cherry notes are accompanied by currant, cinnamon and a heavy dose of baking spices, and mushroom. The finish is long with dusty tannins. So many knock Silver Oak because it's big, oaky and relatively straight-forward. There certainly are more complex options out there. But that doesn't mean it's not well done. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Four day weekend. Gotta get it off to a good start. Been awhile since we had our 375ml of Ruinart.

The nose shows, ripe, slightly candied; black cherries, strawberries, kirsch cherries, rich, summertime watermelon, touch of orange citrus family blend, pomegranate juice, hints of fruit roll up & haunting apricots. Sea fossils & spray, a little bread dough, grey volcanics, chalky powder, orange, spring flowers with fresh & withering, red & pink rose pedals.

The palate is full & touch gummy/candied. Fruits are well extracted, deep, ruby; black cherries, blackberries, strawberries, kirsch cherries, rich, summertime watermelon, touch of orange citrus family blend, pomegranate juice, hints of fruit roll up & haunting apricots. Ghostly, not quite fruit brandy or fruit liqueur character, sea fossils & spray, a little bread dough, not quite medium, white spice with hints of palate heat, grainy, grey volcanics, chalky powder, orange, spring flowers with fresh & withering, red & pink rose pedals. The acidity lively and crisp. The round, well balanced & polish finish is always consistently satisfying and lingers for minutes.

Photos of; the House of Ruinart, Dom Thierry Ruinart, nicely light caves and rolling, hillside, Grand Cru Vineyard.

Not quite sure where “D” gets $83 when you can buy this all day at just under $65. — 5 years ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.0

A fantastic day in Santa Clara! Enjoying this wonderful wine with lunch before seeing the Rolling Stones at Levi Stadium.. A blueberry dark cherry on the nose. The dark fruits, floral and spice burst in the mouth lingering with cassis, chocolate and vanilla notes. Medium finish and a beautiful dark purple color. — 6 years ago

with Franca and Jill

Kurt Schuster

8.9

Lots of green notes. Green bell pepper, green herbs, and notes of unripe fruit. Very lush and 30 minutes presentation though, starting with the green notes in the front and rolling to a tart and warm finish. Round in the mouth but with just enough acid and tannins to provide good structure. — 6 years ago

Martin G Rivard

10

This 59 was Rocking and Rolling. Firing on all cylinders and showing gloriously. My contribution to this evening’s wine gluttony!!!!
It’s absolutely mind blowing how these wines can hold up and pass the test of time. Bravo to old world wine making!! — 7 years ago

with Christine and Kirk

Chris England

9.6

This may be the smoothest Hermitage I've had @ £83 it's like a pig rolling in velvet 🐷 so smooooth 😍 Great now but 97+ over next 5-20yrs 😎

🍷 Ruby w/ purple hue

👃 Cloves, Olives, thyme & piggy 💩 through blackberry w/ touch of liquorice & minerals

👄 Med+ body incredibly super smooth olive tapenade, blackberry & dark cherry - surprisingly well balanced @ this age 👍

🎯 Long dark fruit & olive pure silk finish — 8 years ago

Devin Bray

9.2

Highest altitude state in Valpolicella, very picky production. Rolling, dark, smokey-ripe dried fruit with lots of nice sour cherry retained from the Corvina to offset the brown sugared raisin fruit and unctuous, potpourri driven notes. Absolutely gorgeous even though it's very tight and needs a significant amount of time to unwind properly. Yum yum yum. — 9 years ago

Damon Kornhauser

9.2

Long forgotten in some backwoods Colorado wine shop's mini-fridge, and procured for about half of market rate after 15 years of bespoke provenance rolling through alpine summers and frigid winters. The fresh flavors long having evolved... euphemistically "matured" into deep nutty butterscotch and aged gouda and pear cider on the palate, and a deep gold on the eyes. In all honesty, this Phoenix like anomaly pairs extraordinarily with an aperitivi of parm and salumi after a day's cross country skiing in single digit mountain air. — 5 years ago

ADAM STROMFELD

9.8

Well if this isn’t a way to finish off lunch, I don’t know what is!!! Stewed blend of peaches and apricots on the nose. Who the pallet is a long finish of rolling summer stone fruit. Perfect balance! Utopia again! — 6 years ago

with Leonard

Simone Pizzi

9.3

Barbera as it should be. Generous, rustic, intense, honest. It's a wine that looks at you in the eye, speaks of rolling hills, countryside, farm animals and good values. Beautiful nose and excellent length. The great work in the vineyard shows glorious in the glass. Enjoy with no limits ! — 6 years ago

Steve Hahn

8.9

Nicely realized Cab Franc. Nose is a pleasant combination of berry and caramel. Not fruit forward but nice traces of blackberry and plum. Tannins take over late. Good complexity and a good unique wine.
— 6 years ago

E & K G

9.2

Keep the 2006 train rolling! Lively fruit and acidity blending so well. — 7 years ago

Diane Withrow

9.1

Ripe red cherries, lovely rolling mouth feel. Dry without puckering. Smooth. Fine. Fall not winter. Clarinet not crashing cymbals. I’m stopping now to have another sip.....yum — 7 years ago

Conrad Green

9.4

A little volatile whiff of high toned acetone. A very poised and clear character. Great purity and acidity. Minerality rolling on. Lovely age. Great shape — 8 years ago

with Howard, Tony and 3 others