Ana Bumgardner

9.0

2016 - grilled dinner — 16 days ago

Ana Bumgardner

9.0

2017 Oak Park — a month ago

Shay A

9.4

Opened for a buddy’s birthday party. What a lovely surprise. Cork was a struggle, but hardly any seepage at all. On a table with a ridiculous amount of bottles, including standouts like ‘95 Opus, ‘85 Freemark Bosche, ‘74 Sterling Merlot, ‘13 Salon.

Pop and poured. Excellent youthful color! Deep ruby, hardly any bricking. Gorgeous aromatics of red and black berries, vanilla pipe tobacco, sweet spices. On the palate, it is wonderfully integrated and layered with stewed red and black fruits, fig, espresso, dusty coco (maybe fading signature Rutherford dust?), and a small bit of tannin at the finish keeping this buttoned-up and well structured. Excellent finish and balance. Held strong all evening. Seems as though this had a toe in the early ‘90s style of more bright Napa cabs and one toe in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s style of starting to increase ripeness…great marriage of the two. Pop and enjoy! — 2 months ago

Ed Chin

9.3

Everything is all there. The tannins are a little too dominant at this point. Needs a few more years to mellow out. Your patience will be rewarded. — 2 months ago

Ron R

9.4

I just found this hiding in our cellar, given the age on the wine, I thought that this would need to be dispatched with urgency. I could not have been further from how it actually presented.
The nose is lively and almost raucous. Loads of cherry jam and cinnamon. The palate is dense and compact, showing absolutely no signs of aging. Cherries, cedar and sweet jam are joined by powerful tannins. I’m floored as to how well this has presented. Kudos to the winery. — 2 months ago

with Anne-marie

Severn Goodwin

9.1

Blind dinner, open theme, at Little Cat Lodge, Hillsdale, NY.

(From our cellar.) — 3 months ago

Brent S

9.0

Questionable QPR — 5 months ago

S Christovich

9.2

Never a disappointment. And Mike, I’m thinking of you. Digging into a nice filet while I’m at it. — a month ago

leon egozi

9.5

305 group annual 10 yr Napa cab retrospective — 2 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish /brick rim. Pretty color, but looks much older than it is.

Muted on the nose with black fruits, light wood and chocolate notes.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with plums, cooked cherries, oak, light vanilla, licorice, light earth, herbs, spices, pencil lead, chocolates, light tobacco and peppercorn.

Medium minus in length on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a nice entry level Merlot from Napa Valley. Smooth and elegant with nice complexity.

Nicely balanced and fruit forward. Rich and spicy with a nice mouthfeel.

This 5 year old is peaking now and will not continue to improve.

Good right out of the bottle and easy drinking. A good pop and pour kind of wine, but better after 30 minutes of airtime.

Wine Spectator 91 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food. A good party wine.

A blend of 77% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Syrah.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$37. — 2 months ago

Ron R

9.4

An experiment. So consistently strong, and clearly has longevity. No rush to consume these…
So decadent, going close to the explosive line, but doesn’t cross it. Blueberries and rich black fruits mesh with sandalwood and brown sugar. Weighty on the mid palate with relaxed acidity. This is epic. Still in its prime so consume now. — 2 months ago

with Anne-marie

Karen Prettol

9.8

Really good! Fruity — 2 months ago

Peter Sultan

9.1

New Years bottle. No notes; exuberant red fruits, in balance. Still, I preferred a Bourgogne red at the table, as this not suited to my palate, feels somehow monolithic & uni dimensional — 5 months ago

Leslie

9.2

The wines bold flavors and tannins went beautifully with steak. It is a beautifully bold Bordeaux blend with ripe integrated tannins. — 5 months ago

Tom Garland

9.3

+1 hour decant(some fine/chunky sediment). A captivating dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: mellow notes of cherry, tobacco, menthol, wet forest floor. Taste: cherry, herbal, leather, bitter chocolate and a spiced graphite w/some slightly astringent tannin medium plus finish. — a month ago

with Brenda

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

This is another 91-92. 92-93 w/ a few more years of cellaring.

Pinot Noir grown in Rutherford. 😮 Bold. 689 cases produced. Thomas Keller at dinner told Burt George Owner of Joseph George retail shop in the South Bay that this was one of the most unique wines he’s had in quite awhile.

When I first put my nose to the glass, I got a good presence of barrel char, smoke, cinnamon stick, glove, nutmeg, vanilla, black licorice, darkish cola, strawberries, blackberries, dark cherries, hints of blueberries, dry hay/straw, dark spice, hints of black pepper, fresh, bright, dark, red flowers/florals.

The palate is fresh and settles after about 10 minutes in the glass. Black licorice, darkish cola, strawberries, blackberries, dark cherries, pomegranate, dry cranberries, hints of blueberries, dry hay/straw, dry brush, smoke, cinnamon stick, glove, nutmeg, vanilla, dark spice w/ some heat, hints of black pepper, dry top soil, dry crushed rocks with limestone, fresh, bright, dark, red flowers/florals. Good acidity, balanced, well tensioned, neatly structured and a nicely polished finish that lasts nearly 90 seconds.

There is some alcohol heat on the finish but it should fade in another 3-5 years. Be good to revisit it then and 5 years more down the road. — 2 months ago

K Brooks

8.9

Delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, dark berry flavor. Wonderful accompaniment to sautéed greens and pork dumplings in chicken mushroom broth. ($24). — a month ago

Paul J

9.4

1hr+ decant. This start out amazing but faded over time. Lovely dark red color with purple rims. Nose contained refined dark cherries and subtle baking spices. A nice sweetness was well balanced with the very present tannins but this fell out of balanced over time. The depth and finish were both great but also faded. Very nice wine that had so much more potential. — 2 months ago

with Brooke

Conrad Green

9.1

A slightly off hint of butterscotch on the nose. Dense dark fruit with stone and poised. A shame about the nose as the fruit is great — 2 months ago

with Paul and Ara

Doug Scott

9.6

Roses, ripe red fruit, blackberries, chocolate, wet earth, leather. Full bodied, mouth coating texture really stands out especially first day. Very smooth tannins, sage-savory rich finish. — 5 months ago