Adriana Fabbro

9.7

My nomination for Wine of the Year and it’s… a Napa Chardonnay?!? This wine challenged and expanded my beliefs about what this region, site and variety could be.

Also, we seem to be catching this wine at exactly the right point.

This Spring Mountain estate was focused almost entirely on white wines until recently and has some of the region’s oldest Napa plantings of Riesling and Chardonnay. (Of course now that they’ve been acquired by some PE group for an absurd sum, Cab is being planted everywhere but that’s a story for another day)

Their Chardonnay is idiosyncratic — no malo and low abv (the 2012 vintage is a mere 13%), but you wouldn’t know from its richness.

Mindblowingly complex and - most importantly - indulgently delicious (in other words, I blew my wine budget for two months on two bottles good).

Initial aromas of plastic / petrol (like riesling) that take on more of a toasted vanilla / caramel flan with air. On the nose and palate: pear and lemon, salt and stone. The flavors are concentrated and intense on the attack and yet the wine has such a light touch on the palate and a graceful finish — toasted hay, salty and flirting with bitter marzipan — that just goes on and on and on.

It brings me back to that afternoon on Spring Mountain with the perfect fall light, changing leaves and the coyote we saw crossing our path as we made our way up the winding drive way.

Absolutely fucking brilliant. — 5 months ago

Mike Holzer

9.6

Holy shot this wine is good. Full body dark fruit on the nose and palate. Intense long lasting delicious. Love it. Want more. Thanks Wendy! — 8 months ago

Luis Bañón

9.2

Superb wine for superb moments — 4 years ago

with Carlos and Yiping

Dylan Thomas

9.0

With halibut cheeks, dandelion greens, sand dab fillets from west port farmers market, g-town — 4 years ago

Aura Rainbow Sanchez

9.1

Great recommendation
Super new to my pallet-loving it — 5 years ago

Rob Sternthal

9.2

A lighter Cabernet with a slightly sweet taste. Not overpowering in any way. Slight tannins. — 6 years ago

TheSkip

9.8

Finest IPA in the land. #micdrop — 7 years ago

Mike Beltran

9.2

19 yrs old and still stunning late harvest CHARDONNY... Complex with vibrant fruit and acidity. Only two barrels made. The finest late harvest CHARDONNY I have ever had.... Lush and balanced. Only have one bottle left. Very lucky to have a few bottles.....
— 8 years ago

with Joe

Patrick Dolan

9.3

Slight vanilla and crisp smell. Some pear too. Taste has some bitter and sour notes but malactic makes it a little smoother. Minerally. Better with food. Had butter garlic clams. — 11 years ago

Nicole Taylor

9.0

Honey. Melon. Mineral. — 5 months ago

Eleanor Reali

9.0

Very nice, simple and tasty, complex as it warms. Marley would have liked it very much, so it was perfect for sipping during Christmas Eve cooking — 5 months ago

Paul T HB

9.7

Still going strong 💪🏻 — 8 months ago

ESF

8.9

Legit WA CS here, very traditional nose, varietally correct, not overextracted or overdone. Really enjoyed the cassis, currant, mocha and subtle herbaceous notes. On the palate it was well balanced, sturdy tannins without being clumsy, more rich varietal flavors leading to modest finish. This is a Blue Collar wine, lacking elegance but built solidly. — 10 months ago

G

9.6

2009 is perfect! And, I love these tiny bottles! — 4 years ago

Sean Christensen

9.0

Like a flat sour beer — 5 years ago

Pippy Thatcher

9.0

Yes, now we're talkin' -- heavy. Cherries; slight licorice. — 5 years ago

Renee guillien

9.6

Just balanced thread of Shiraz pepper and velvet consistency on the tongue. Will age very well, but very good now also. — 7 years ago

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! — 7 years ago

with Jeffrey and Kati

Peter Quinsey

9.3

Big and tasty. — 10 years ago

Puerto Rico Wine News

9.3

Really nice stuff — 11 years ago

John Jaye

9.0

Lots of fruit, tannins are almost gone, and a nice finish — 5 months ago

Aaron Forel

9.0

Exceptional quality, Ruby red deep color, great aroma and best with food. Highly recommend Cabernet. — 6 months ago

Robert Stackowiak

9.4

A big Cabernet (83 percent) but not over the top. Great with a steak. Blackberry on the palate. Also has 8 percent Malbec, 6 percent Cab Franc, 3 percent Petit Verdot. At 10 years old, Tannins have smoothed a lot, but more aging possible. October 2023. — 7 months ago

Doug Powers

9.2

So, Freedom Hill PN has always been a wine that always was so tannic and structured, that it was easy to mistake for a “weird” Cabernet back in the day. This 1999, nope, is nothing like that, yep, a little more structured, but effusive redfruits and lovely balance, definitely on point tonight!! — 10 months ago

with Jim

Andy Hock

9.1

Wow delightful and refreshing. Lemon/rind and mineral. Get some! — 5 years ago

Bill Morgan

9.0

Big bold Rutherford Cabernet. What could be better ? — 5 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.2

A savory juicy textured herbal food pairing champ. Like cooking sous-vide with an immersion circulator, what was once a geeky oddity has found a permanent home on our table. Not a universal solution, but really the right tool for the job in certain situations. Like pan seared halibut with fennel or spring vegetable risotto. — 6 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.3

I love this wine. I love this wine because it exists all the way at the 'painstakingly clean and precise' end of the skin-contact spectrum. Don't get me wrong, I love the super-natty wild and wooly and of the spectrum too. But this. This is so purely and exactly what it sets out to be. And I love it. — 7 years ago

John Willison

9.0

Dark burgundy color. Tart berry and damp earth nose. Dominated by cherries - tart, dried, black. Drying mouthfeel on the finish. Old/new world. — 8 years ago

Alejandro Artigas

9.9

It's still a puppy and needed a good amount to open up. From start to finish one of the best American Pinots I've had. Elegant and complex, red fruit and a lot of earth notes. — 10 years ago