Matt

9.2

Gorgeous, true to form and place, lovely acid balance that offers a nice energy and backbone. Blackberry bramble, cocoa powder, coffee bean, smoked meat, blood sausage, wet slate. Plenty of juice and charm here. — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Halfway through my work conference here in San Francisco, and we wanted to make our way to the piers for dinner one night and get some prime seafood. I’m with 3 co-workers who know nothing about wine, so I ordered this. Every single person tasted and said “holy smokes, I didn’t know white wine could taste this good”. Merry Edwards SB is a crowd pleaser. Not a massive citrus bomb, with flavorful savory notes of wet rock and limestone. Perfect for seafood. 👌 — 9 years ago

Paul Weil

9.0

An always impressive effort, this Bordeaux style blend never disappoints. This vintage is par for the course- a big wine, with thick chewy tannins and rich mocha cherry flavors. The lingering finish is lice aniseed pop rocks on the tongue. — 9 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.0

When you have to travel on a Sunday, and that Sunday happens to be Mother's Day, you're not exactly psyched. This little oasis in the Delta Sky Club afforded me the opportunity to smile. Not a bad pour, regardless of the price. Typical Lynch-Bages cigar tobacco and leather with some luscious and velvety black fruit. Finished a little flat, most likely due to being open for a while in the fancy automated pour gizmo. But still smiling! — 9 years ago

Rafael Landestoy

9.3

What more needs to be said... — 10 years ago

with Ilida

r b

9.4

My mom said she found out about this app on the today show. Thanks mom, why can't you remember that time I won a karate competition by decapitation? — 11 years ago

Brandon Perle

9.0

It was smooth with great flavor. 2012 vintage. The only thing that kept it from being rated higher was a little more kick of spice. That being said, it was really nice. — 11 years ago

Mark Oldman

10

Dom Perignon 1964, in magnum, shared today with Jacques Pepin on a Global Express 5000 to the Aspen Classic. I brought a Spanish porron (i.e., wine bong) and Jacques was game. Incredibly, the Champagne still had bubble, along with terrific hazelnut, brioche flavors. The landing was extra smooth and Jacques – In his cool broken English – said he thought it was because the flight attendant must have slipped him some of the DP. Fine by me. Best pre-1970's Champagne I've had.
— 11 years ago

Terrance Johnson

10

Who said 2011 was a tough year for Napa Cab producers? Wow! — 12 years ago

Mindy Gimarelli

9.6

Olympic Provisions — 12 years ago

Joseph Gois

10

Nuts!!! Buff said. — 13 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

They should have called the Winery Floral Springs based on the nose. Beautiful; blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, touch of clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets. The tannins are 95% resolved. The body is lush & ripe. The length, tension & structure are nearing the end. Just a few years left of being worthwhile. However, the balance is stereo tuned. The fruit on the palate shows even more elegant & ripe floral fruits than the nose. Blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, light clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets for days. The acidity is like a waterfall. The beautiful, long, elegant finish is a little lean yet has a nice richness. Beautiful wine that just missed 9.2. Photos top to bottom and left to right. The Winery; which is separate from the other tasting room only on Hwy 29. The tasting room on Hwy 29 in St. Helena, Flora Spring caves and the front of their tasting room along Hwy 29. Producer notes and history...the stone winery on the grounds were built in 1885 by two immigrant brothers from Scotland, James and William Rennie. They were in construction, built the winery and planted 60 acres of grapes. The brothers had some bad fortune when phylloxera consumed the vines, and then a fire in 1900 destroyed their wine press and cooperage. In 1904, they sold the winery and fifteen years later Prohibition started. The winery was then closed until 1933. That year, Louis Martini, looked into their magic eight-ball and saw Prohibition collapsing and bought the Rennie property. They built a new stone house and also made a reserve wine from the hillside vineyards. However, the old winery remained empty until the Komes family bought the property, 325 acres, the old farm house, the newer stone house and 60 acres of vineyards. The son thought he’d persuade his dad to restore the old winery and proposed to call it Chateau Jerome. Although it had been designed by Hamden McIntyre an architect of several other classic 19th-century Napa wineries, by 1977, the place was a wreck. The tin roof of the building had so many holes in it. They called it the starlight roof. His father looked at it and stated, “I’ve worked all my life for my good name. I don’t want to squander it now.” John’s mother, Flora, however, sided with her son on the potential of the property. Carrie Komes suggested they could name the winery for her mother-in-law. Combined with the abundant springs on the land, they decided the name would be Flora Springs. It was a sure way to their mom’s heart and father’s wallet. Komes put his construction expertise to work on renovating the old winery, which still had scorch marks on the walls. So skeptical was his father about his son’s wine-making project, they divided the winery building. John rented half where he put his first fermenting tank, which he named R2D2. He invited a couple of friends from his wine-making class to help make wine at the new place. He also hired Mary Ann Graf, who in 1965 had been the first woman to graduate from the viticulture and enology department at UC Davis to help manage the project. She told John, “if you don’t hire a winemaker, I’ll quit.” He did and the 1979 Flora Springs chardonnay won a gold medal at the Los Angeles County Fair. In those days, it was fairs, not ratings. This was his first lesson in marketing as they sadly sold all the wine before they won the medal. Fairs were the big news instead of ratings as Parker had not yet risen to fame as he was the only one to call the grand 1982 Bordeaux vintage correctly. They submitted their 1981 Cabernet to eight fairs and won seven gold medals. From there, the winery just kept growing. They were the 67th winery in the county. Over the years, they had their ups and downs, but kept growing. One of their highlights was the creation this wine, Trilogy. It was one of the first Meritage blends in the valley. By 1984, they planted all the Bordeaux varietals; Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. They wanted to create a blend “by taste”, not by formula for a nice smooth wine that goes deep into the palate. They worked with a little of this and little of that. The first Trilogy was Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. It was dubbed as velvet in the mouth. A lot of what they do is taming the tannins. One man who bought Trilogy by the case said, “it’s the only red wine his wife would drink young.” From the leftovers, they began making single-varietal estate wines. Another highlight was the discovery of a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc in vineyards his father bought in Oakville. UC Davis could identify nothing like it in their vast library of clones. They were a bit ahead of the times, but this clone showed Flora Springs how different in that time period what Sauvignon Blanc could be like as it took all the grassiness out of Sauvignon Blanc. — 9 years ago

Mike Davila

9.0

Drinking with some friends without much exposure to fine wine, their first Italian, and they both said wow. Leather notes and resolved silky tannins. — 10 years ago

NYR

9.7

G said it was an 8.4 but was overruled. Smooth finish- delicious. 2010 vintage on April 3, 2016 — 10 years ago

with Gregory

Miles Perry

9.0

A smooth, fruity Cabernet with a hint of mocha on the finish. — 11 years ago

Paul J

9.9

Totally drinking it early, but was craving some Dunn!! Definitely needs some years, but has the boldness and power I love from a cab! Everything about this wine rocks! Enough said! — 11 years ago

with Brooke

Ira Schwartz

9.0

If tasted blind I would have said Bordeaux. The perfect amount of funk. — 11 years ago

Andy Juang

8.9

Pinot noir. Single vineyard, spicy. — 12 years ago

Sean Calder

Blogger Vinifico! The Original Vancouver Wine Blog

10

2012 M. Lapierre à Villé-Morgon - Delicious. Enough said. — 13 years ago

Luna

10

Juicy red berries, eucalyptus, intense floral notes. Super funky, but yet so balanced. Playful. Like butterfies in your belly, it’s like a crazy romance. One of the best I drank in 2017! — 9 years ago

Mickey K

9.5

Excellent, bold new world take on a traditional CDR. Tobacco and raisins. Maybe cinnamon or cardamom. But more fruit forward with jammy dark berries. Tangy. — 9 years ago

Moira Anne

9.5

Delicious and crisp wine, with slight berry note, but still quite dry and smooth. Great feature at total wine in VA — 9 years ago

Bryan

9.1

Big tannins and roses, with some cherry. Recalls whiskey! Enjoyed it very much even though the person in line at my local wine shop said "oh, 2012 vintage...it's fine, just a bit, understated." — 9 years ago

Matt Berkovitch

Sommelier Babbo

9.3

Savory, meaty, earthy, caramelized, charred soy. Nose like a bowl of bomb ramen So good. — 9 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

Certainly has the Hunter DNA even though Head Winemaker Jim Chatto said Mt Pleasant spent much of the 2000s trying to make a ripe South Australian style (see my 2005 note). Medium bodied earthy savoury and minerally. From vines planted in 1880. Another great vintage for OShea. — 10 years ago

Rafael Landestoy

9.1

I really enjoyed this especially for the price. — 11 years ago

with Ilida

Tim Herrmann

9.7

With a 2" depressed cork and questionable fill, we were all hesitant with our expectations, to say the least. Let me be clear: this wine was beautiful. Such an experience to taste a 61 year old wine that still has life in it. Liquid music, poetry you can taste, or whatever artistic production you want to draw upon, this wine was as captivating as a live performance. This was light garnet in color without any brown, with open aromas of soy sauce, cranberry jam, truffle, potting soil, dried prune, green tea, and black coffee, the wine's structure said Here, let me show you these flavors, like a welcoming dinner party host who isn't over-trodden about anything that just puts you at ease. Wines like this are art in a bottle. — 11 years ago

with Rajiv

Steve Wilcox

9.7

Been serving at chez panisse from very beginning. Enuf said — 12 years ago

Anthony Casagrande

9.6

Nothing needs to be said. Great wineries make great wines even in not so great vintages — 13 years ago

Adam Greenberg

9.3

Great Pinot, Went on a recommendation from a customer. He bought 23. I bought one. He said he's paid upward of $90 for the bottle and my store was selling it for 18. Either way. Great wine — 13 years ago