Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of ruby and cranberry juice, a bit cloudy, quite light considering she is Syrah. Now of strawberry jam, fresh berries, like cranberry or raspberry, and overall dominated by waves of berry note. Taste follows similar notes, with addition of citrus zest, a bit vanilla, low tannin, sweet ripe blueberry, cured meat, a bit mineral, and a bit of spice. Aftertaste of warmth, a bit peppery , and zesty, medium long lingering. Clean, full of flavors, and tasty but definitely not your traditional Syrah. — 8 years ago

Ian Staub

9.0

Nicely balanced rich red fruit with oily leather, herbs, and oak. Velvety mouthfeel. Loved it. — 9 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.2

This drank way above the price point. Clearly Aussie juice, a brighter, more tropical version of Chard. Loads of toasty oak up front give it vanilla and sweet spice notes but it's still light and clean, with vibrant tropical and citrus notes. Flint and minerals, lemon curd. No loss of acidity after 5 years. Peaking now! — 9 years ago

Rachel Més Que

9.3

Love. Bright dark fruit flavors, a slight smoke and oak finish, perfectly dry. — 10 years ago

Lauren Thompson

8.9

Perfect balance of oak and acidity — 10 years ago

John Malcolm

9.3

Excellent! Oak, fig, lemon, and honeysuckle. Smooth with an oh-so-lovely aftertaste. So regretting that I only had one bottle in my cellar. — 10 years ago

Lindsay Simmerman

9.0

Spending Thanksgiving in Australia. Kind of. Just enough oak but doesn't outweigh the fruit in this well balanced, amazingly price Chard. — 11 years ago

Carol

9.0

Nice balance between fruit and oak flavor. — 11 years ago

Marc De michele

9.0

Quintessential Chardonnay with an amazing balance of malo and oak. Quite a charmer for the price! An awesome little find for the shop. — 12 years ago

Scott Shimomura

9.0

Hoppy nose. Slight funk. Oak. — 12 years ago

Isaac Salinas

9.5

Wonderful. Full body and flavorful with an oak taste. Very smooth finish. Yup. Would pair wonderfully with the goat cheese and spinach stuffed steak from Publix. Will get this again soon! Great for 40+ price range. — 13 years ago

David and Megan Kees

9.5

Great balance between bright notes and oak. Apricot flavors are strong with this one. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Founded by Bruce Cohn in 1984, Winery is located in the heart of Sonoma, surrounded by a 100-acre Olive Hill Vineyard where the soil is warmed by underground natural hot springs. A big Cab, aromas of ripe black fruits with intoxicating earthy tones. On the palate blackberry and ripe blueberry flavors with tobacco and bits of cacao surrounded by big firm tannins, lingering finish ending with rich fruit, oak and earthy character. — 8 years ago

Stephanie Schwindel

9.2

Oak, peppery, blackberry, leather, cherry, acidic, bright — 9 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Recently purchased by Bill Foley of Foley Family Wines, continuing traditions of Fred Furth who founded Chalk Hill in 1972, which encompasses 280 acres of vineyards. A blend of 84% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Sauvignon Gris and 6% Sauvignon Musque, the latter 2 adding an interesting dynamic to the wine and distinctive aromas. One of the few SB's to see some oak giving this wine complexity. Peach, herb and earthy tones, well balanced with acidity, smooth yet robust on a lingering finish ending with citrus notes. — 10 years ago

Alan Doughty

9.0

Subdued briary fruit on the nose. Quite graceful on the palate, with bright black fruit flavors complimented with noticeable coconut/vanilla oak notes. Needs time to integrate. — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

In contrast to the Chappellet this was rocking although 5 years younger and both from Pritchard Hill. Deep dark fruits, chocolate, black cherry and some oak but very well integrated. I've never opened a Continuum that doesn't kick ass. Young but no reason to wait. — 10 years ago

Matt Mason

9.5

Plum, black raspberry, cedar, oak, spice — 11 years ago

Eli Barton

9.1

Great nose, very integrated light oak, clean, fresh, good structure and acidity. Really enjoyable 2009. — 11 years ago

Punky Mahle

8.9

Massive oak but still pretty w gobs of fruit — 12 years ago

Petros Gentilini

9.4

A monster packed with Flavours !! Lovely balance .. Lots of fruit ... Well Intergrated oak and amazing aftertaste .. — 12 years ago

Kristen Grimes

9.5

chalk and ripe soft fruits on the nose... mild peach or nectarine... label says yellow apple and pie spices, balanced oak and minerals with a good body, a lingering of baking spiciness. smooth easy drinking! — 8 years ago

Andrew Willingham

9.0

Dark purple, almost brown on the eye moving toward white at rim. Medium+ viscosity. Nose sees ripe, cooked/chocolate covered cherries, oak. Palette sees more oak, sweet black cherries. Tannins are very rounded and less harsh than I expected given CabSav single varietal. I haven’t had a Novelty Hill wine in awhile, want to have more- this is solid, consistent, complex enough to enjoy but something you won’t feel too guilty about sharing with guests 😬 — 9 years ago

Jonathan Kirschner

8.9

2014 vintage. Nice light oak — 10 years ago

Ron R

9.4

20 years in the making, and still, it's breathtaking.
Lovely notes of ripe cherries, sage and tobacco fill the glass. On the palette, you could be forgiven for thinking that you're drinking an aged Pauillac. Judicious oak treatment blends perfectly with intense blackcurrants, caramel, graphite and coffee. Beautifully weighted and balanced. This still has loads of runway ahead of it. In my mind, this wine represents first-growth quality in Cali. — 10 years ago

with Anne-marie

Michael Schamis

9.2

A classic California Chardonnay nose. Full and rich with notes of oak and butter with just a touch a white peach and stone. Lush and full on the palate with a nice touch of spice. Creamy flavors of stone and smoky oak lead more subtitle flavors of spice box and citrus pith with big, lush acidity. The finish is full and warming with touches of white pepper and lingering acidity. Thanksgiving wine #2! — 10 years ago

with Jeffrey and Kati

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

8.9

This was the first of the three Chardonnays we got from Flora Springs Winery for #ChardonnayDay. Beautiful moderate intensity yellow, completely clear. Definitely a little tight with some slight creamed butter and corn. Later that evening it developed a more complex nose, with a little nuttiness, wet grass, freshly broken twigs and a slightly perfumed undertone. Moderate acidity (6.5/10) with lots of citrus notes. A little sharp to start but definitely smoothed out and became more rounded with more citrus and light oak influences. Slight tanginess, with a medium body and long finish. Needed the time to balance out and was worth the wait. Drink till 2020. — 10 years ago

Heather Felton

9.0

Stir crazy at home on a wintry weekend night. I enjoy the cherry, toasty oak flavor of this merlot. — 12 years ago

Bryan Maxson

8.9

Tasty, still needs some time. The fruit is softening but the 22 months of oak shows a little heavy — 12 years ago

Kevin O'Connor

9.7

This is amazing, one of the best Sonoma cabs I have ever had! Licorice, currants, dried cherries, tobacco and just the right amount of oak to balance it out. This is the second to last vintage made by Duncan Arnot Meyers and it is amazing! — 12 years ago

with Megan