Jonathan McCarthy

9.1

Really needs some time in the decanter, wound up super tight. Funky earthy nose with sour cherry and topsoil, very fleshy, rustic body of blue and red fruits, a bit of red bell pepper, bakers chocolate, loads of pencil shavings, a faint suggestion of spruce. Really crunch skeleton with serious, almost saline minerality. Fruit fades before the minerals and earth. Really complex. Give it plenty of air and a long ponder. — 7 years ago

Robyn Grahn

9.6

Dark chocolate smell. Had the skeleton and the muscle. :) — 8 years ago

Jae Cho

9.1

Dark horse performance leading from the very beginning to win the gold on the skeleton! Didn't know Koreans could slide — 8 years ago

with Diana

Keith Herrick

9.6

Pure but mature. The skeleton of the wine stood out, but nothing oxidized about I️t. Truly delicious — 8 years ago

Eric

9.6

Dig it. All the trademark Buccella traits like plush candied oak with a Rhone skeleton of wild game and pepper. Cool neon purple too. Looks like they got a new winemaker in -15? Fingers crossed. — 8 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.4

Bottle no. 04760 (of 22512).

You need to enjoy this with an open mind.
Most would probably say this is over the hill but personally I enjoy the "skeleton" of aged CA Chardonnays.
At age 22 there's naturally no baby fat, oak or alcohol to distract your palate but just the framework of a super solid and balanced wine. — 9 years ago

with Kathleen, Laura and 2 others

jason carey DipWSET

9.1

Well this is a rather dramatic departure from the style of the last 10 vintages as I remember them. I could misremember way back but don't think so. The DCV is usually the "regular" (as opposed to Enfante Terrible) Zin that is most always ready to go right upon release. This vintage the wine is structure forward as opposed to fruit. The fruit is there and not over ripe or jammy, but underneath the skeleton. Did you guys change some of the vineyard sources for this wine? Doesn't look like it from your website. Anyhow I would give this a two day decant or 3-4 more years.
Great wine but not the usual early drinker. — 9 years ago

with Cynthia

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Beautiful Zin that keeps evolving in the glass. Perfumey nose of ripe, tangy mixed berries and warm gravel, with notes of fresh mint and dried tobacco leaves. Compact and intense in the mouth. Dense, lively dark berries, with a mineral streak. Good acids, full body/alc., and lots of tannin provide a solid skeleton. Tremendous length. This is great now and will age well for several years. $35 from wtso.com. — 10 years ago

Chris DeBarr

9.2

Redolent of plums and white pepper, but transparent with a decade of age. Lively, even prickly, the subdued fruit reveals a playful skeleton still frisky. Yeah, 10 yr old Dolcetto for ten bucks. What a steal!! — 10 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.6

Superb. This is why I like wine. Like walking into a vegetable garden when you stick ya nose in. Herbaceous and minerally with leaping currant fruit and juicy raspberries. Oak provides an oozing finish. Just a bit of funk but in a tactful manner like Mark Ronson. Acidity gives nice skeleton. — 11 years ago

Doreen May

9.7

Excellent Malbec. Very smooth. — 13 years ago

Jonathan McCarthy

9.1

Big, fleshy, and powerful. Lemon zest and pith on a crunchy mineral skeleton with a pretty whiff of orange blossom and a poised, athletic shape. Really nice. — 7 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

The last several years I’ve either opened a Royal City, Charles Smith Skull or Behrens Family Thanksgiving Cab (with the skeleton family on the label) on Halloween night. This is far and away the best showing for the Royal City I’ve ever had. 10 years in bottle seems to be the sweet spot for this wine. Blackberry compote, black olive tapenade, smoke, grainy tannins and a dash of herbaceous goodness. Not at all like Cayuse—there is no fox fur funk—rather it compares favorably to a higher end Northern Rhône but without the classy heft and long finish of a LaLa. Enjoyed it immensely. — 7 years ago

Ned Gray Creed

9.6

Olympics and Nebbiolo. Skeleton luge and boneless chicken. Swish. — 8 years ago

with Mark

Mark Hoffman

9.0

Actually petit Verdot — 8 years ago

Lance E. Farman

9.2

Tannins are a bit intense. Skeleton is there. Time is what the doc wants. — 8 years ago

Rachel Umbreit

9.0

Tasty, even though it is not as crisp as I was expecting for a Gruner Vetliner — 9 years ago

Sasha Agapov

8.9

2015 barrel tasting. Rusty, irony and already classic village Gevrey. Tightly packed with ripe cranberry, cherry and red currant, metallic tannins, seriously firm skeleton and pleasant finish you wish could last for days. — 9 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.0

Read the worrisome note from Ms. Larner in TWA#211 today. Decided to pop a bottle and I was happy to conclude that this wine wasn't "tight and astringent" nor "a skeleton of wood". Sure, the nose is slightly rustic showing cinnamon spice, iron, grilled meat and dried flower potpourri. On the palate there's still sufficient juicy plummy fruit and vanilla cream. Dark notes of ash, fur, chestnuts and leather provide depth and interest. It's a good Brunello, with modernistic concentration. Prime drinking for those who like their wines mature. Drink now or within 3 years, I'd say. — 10 years ago

Anthony Lombardi

9.1

@Delectable Wine - this is the 2011 Southard Stonetree Zinfandel. Zinfandel in Washington just doesn't happen all that often. Wines like this make one question why. Great density & complexity. Fruit driven to be sure, but enough of a skeleton to manage that power. Makes me excited about the possibility of Washington Zin. Hope more producers jump on it. — 10 years ago

Ben Cane

Head Winemaker, Westwood Wines, Sonoma CA

9.1

Serious mineral plushness. Fleshy and round with elegant yet fun acid skeleton . Great Chablis! — 11 years ago

Eric Hiatt

9.0

Ripe. Black pepper skeleton. — 12 years ago

Jonathan McCarthy

8.9

Racy! A little red sports car. Highly kinetic with crunchy strawberry, cranberry, and wineberry (R. phoenicolasius) on a prominent, angular skeleton. A faint touch of barbecue spices runs the last few yards of the race as the fruit fades. Quality stuff. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.

The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.

The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.

Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.

Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.

The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.

Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.

After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!

Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.

The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.

After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.

A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.

A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.

You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.

2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.


The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.

Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 7 years ago

Brent Mayeaux

Production Burn Cottage Vineyard

8.9

Not sweet. It says "sec" on the label. Under 5 g/L RS. Loads of acid. Super energetic. Pinot Gris skeleton consisting of some of the spice and green/sap you often find, but it goes somewhere else. Ripe crunchy apple, bruised flowers, saline and nutty at times. Not sure how to say it, but it was just good. My body wanted it in me. — 10 years ago

Will Meinberg

Sales Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

9.2

A brilliant clarity of expression. A velvety softness envelopes a wiry skeleton. This shit tastes good. It'll get better. — 10 years ago

Sherrie Gulmahamad

9.0

$11 for a liter of delicious easy drinking red?! — 10 years ago

Chris DeBarr

9.0

Corey's white Cab Franc supplies the meat of this grape's pungent flavors, like a red wine, but the skeleton reveals delicate bones of structure & acidity. Unique, fun, mind-twisting vino! — 11 years ago

with Thomas

Michele Guimond

9.0

Good bouquet. Will buy again — 11 years ago