LaShaune DeJean

9.0

A tasty (not overly sweet) fume Blanc with a hint of peach. It's a good brunch wine from Texas #buylocal — 2 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Beautiful nose. Wow. Honeyed and so ripe but with incredible purity and detail. Tangerine and a hint of sponti. Beautiful minerals. A sense of depth. Wow. What a palate. Freak show. That acidity is LIT! 🔥🔥. Wow, such depth and elegance with super precision but also that loose vibe this wine always has. Lovely, long finish. Stunning. Holy sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit. Clay Davis approved. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

On the nose, ripe, ruby, fruits of; mulberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries, blueberries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets.

The body is rich, ripe & full. The tannins are a little sticky but well softened, round and a touch chewy. The structure, tension, length, balance, tension and balance are very close to perfect and harmonious. Fruits are; mulberry, huckleberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets. The acidity is round and rains like a waterfall perfectly over the palate. The very long, ruby, rich, well balance lasts minutes and is absolutely heavenly. Gorgeous, elegant, stunning wine.

Photos of; the vertical tasting we attended of all Hendricks Cabernets; 04, 05, 09 & 12 at the time w/ one of our favorite paintings in the background, Charles Hendricks working in the cellar, very old rootstock from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard where the fruit to make this wine normally comes from and a wide shot of the Stag’s Leap Vineyard.

Producer notes and history...Hendricks Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently sourced from a few of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. In those near perfect vintages, Charles only makes a small production wine of around 250-300 cases. Charles only produces it when he has exception fruit. He’s made Hendricks Cabernet in; 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012 & 2014. Notice he didn’t make Hendricks Cabernet in a great vintage year like 2013. He wasn’t happy enough with his fruit in 2013 to put his name on it. That says a lot and maybe all you need to know about his standard for quality. I do know what wine his 13 fruit made as I’ve had and it’s an unbelievable wine for far less money.

Charles also makes a fantastic Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands that is really quite amazing. Especially, if you give it 5 or 6 years in bottle. All his wines are sold exclusively through the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville as he is also the Hope & Grace Winemaker.

Charles graduated in 1982 from UC Davis in viticulture. He was also able to tailor his own curriculum and was one of the earliest to integrate winemaking and viticulture course work. Having knowledge of both viticulture and enology forms the basis for his well-rounded winemaking.

Over the years Charles has worked in both Napa and Sonoma Counties, gaining hands on experience in all aspects of winemaking. He has a strong reputation for excellence. In his career, he’s been a consulting winemaker for many wineries; Viader, Barnett Vineyards, Paoletti Vineyards, Regusci Winery, James Cole, T-Vine and Tamayo family Vineyard.

I asked Charles, “how does he make wines that are amazingly good in their youth but will age effortlessly for 15-20 years?” His answer was simply this, “its not that hard, you just have to know the perfect time to harvest fruit.” I would agree with that to a degree. But, you also have to know how to gently guide fruit onto it’s path into the barrel and not get in the wine’s way or overwork the process. — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.0

Not familiar with this producer. At first, there was some funk it needed to blow off...little bit of Brett, even a touch of VA. Finally some old plum, smoked fig and cherry tobacco leaves arrived. Fairly light bodied and bright on the palate...medium acidity, black cherry flesh, sage and herbal spice on the palate. Thanks @Bradley Davis — 3 years ago

with Weston and Dan

Shay A

9.3

2018 Fall dinner for the Confrerie St Etienne.

It was a treat for me to explain this wine and the hands that helped create it. A true tribute to Ulises Valdez who left us too soon. His relationship with Mark Aubert extended here as Mark was the consulting winemaker (alongside UV’s daughter, who has sense left to attend UC Davis). Bright and ripe black cherry. Lots of baking spice with acidity to carry for a while. Candied licorice and cranberry. Wonderful representation of this famed vineyard. — 4 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.5

SNM (Sunday Night Magnum!) with @Steve Haro @Andrew Neyer @David Moffat @Matt Davis.
Another special wine in tonight’s magnum lineup. This was my contribution. An anniversary gift from my betrothed a few years back. The 2004 was the #1 rated wine on WS Top 100 in 2013. The 1999 lived up to expectations. Tons of blackberry, mushroom, leather, and awesomeness. More austere than I expected. This can easily go another 5 years without breaking a sweat. Maybe 10. This is one of the last truly special bottles I have, but so happy I cracked it open with good friends who appreciated it. That’s what wine is meant for. — 4 years ago

Kirk F

8.9

Sorry to all our Minnesota friends tonight. Enjoying a beautiful evening poolside with a nice chardonnay. 80 degrees. Heaven. — 3 years ago

Charles Duncan

9.0

House gift from Sue Davis & Suzette — 4 years ago

Marie Limousin

9.5

Drunk with Joe Davis, producer in Lompoc in wine ghetto for 2 hours as part of tasting with Amit , kids waiting patiently for 2 hours!
Lovely wine — 4 years ago

Alex Dudnik

9.1

Very smooth and enjoyable. Really good value for the price. Had this one with a speaker at Seasons in Davis. Couldn't resist to buy a bottle for home studies. — 5 years ago