Paul K

9.4

Drinking window wide open! Black cherry, black plum, licorice, and tobacco with currant covered tannins. Everything comes together so well with minute long finish of crème de cassis. Knocked out by this. — a month ago

Randy Fuller

9.5

This wine has a burnished look, deep brown. The nose is a treat all on its own. There are aromas of brown sugar, coffee and orange zest which combine for an amazing olfactory experience. The palate is just as joyful, with caramel, raisin and mocha notes. The acidity is fresh and exhilarating. Although the wine is described on the label as “cream,” it does not strike me as creamy. The viscosity is nice, though. It will pair well with dessert, or serve as one by itself. — 3 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

Walla Walla Bordeaux-Style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (48%), Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (14%) and Malbec (8%). Totally opaque ruby color with purple highlights. Aromas of dark fruit, cedar, dried herbs and graphite. Abundant dark cherry/plum/currant/berry flavors with additional notes of those dried herbs, iron and wet soil. Ripe, plush, nicely structured and well layered. Smooth tannins and extremely long finish. Alcohol is noticeable out of the bottle but does calm down with aeration. — 4 months ago

Marc Melser

9.3

We had the 2014 Vintage on 7/15-16/23. An excellent Cab with tastes of black cherry, blueberry, oak, vanilla and lavender. Full bodied, fruit forward and well balanced. The tannins are all smoothed out. Outstanding! — 9 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a somewhat translucent (fine sediment), near opaque core fading out to a garnet with a slightly watery rim. Medium+ viscosity with pretty significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of plums, cassis, dark cherries tobacco, some leather, some faint pyrazines, dried purple flowers, clay-like earth and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and luxurious with soft and attractive texture. Initial conclusions is this could be a Merlot, or Bordeaux-based blend from France, USA or Italy but since I seem to get more non-fruit characteristics, I’m calling this a Merlot-based blend from France, Bordeaux, Right-bank, St. Émilion, 2000 vintage. Whoa! 2005 Togni! Dang…this baby has some real Bordeaux sensibilities. Delicious stuff that is drinking very well right now. Apparently, this bottle had been opened the night before so it had plenty of time to breathe. I would expect well cellared examples should drink well through 2035. — a month ago

Bill Mowry

9.0

Floral, citrus, and mineral. Lemon with peach. Well balanced and quite nice. — 4 months ago

with Lou

"Odedi"

9.4

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish/ brick rim.

Beautiful nose of black fruits, cedar, chocolates, herbs, tobacco leaf and cola.

Full-bodied and elegant with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, mint, vanilla, spices, licorice, espresso, cola, light herbs, eucalyptus, light earth, tobacco leaf, dark chocolates and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 20 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is drinking beautifully now. Showing a gorgeous nose, that I kept on smelling for a while.

Feels much younger than it actually is, complex and well balanced.

Good right out of the bottle with grippy tannins, and better after a couple of hours in the decanter.

Peaking now and good by itself or with food. Will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.

A gorgeous wine. I love these older Napa Bordeaux blends.

A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Aged in new American oak barrels for 22 months. Unfiltered and unfined.

13.8% alcohol by volume.

94 points.

$225. — 6 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Haven’t sipped this in quite awhile. 375ml to refresh my palate memory.

40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier. Varietals fermented separately in stainless steel vats. 5 to 10% of wine is vinified in old Burgundy oak barrels.

Texture is round and elegant. The fruits are; both peach, mango, apricots, slightly oxidative white citrus-lime hovers the edges & pineapple juice. Nougat, marzipan, toasted nuts, brioche, saline, crushed chalk, white spice that presses into the palate, notes of cheese cloth, limestone marl, moist, pulpy, grey volcanic minerals, yellow lilies with spring white flowers, jasmine blooms, round, soft acidy and a well; balanced, structured & tensioned finish that lands squarely on mid minerality and lasts 90 seconds.

Photos; Charles Heidsieck signage, Charles Heidsieck, chalky tasting area in their cellar and Cote de Blanc vineyard. — 2 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

One of the few CA Chardonnay I enjoy. You can spend more on one, but for under $40, this works really well.

Arnot-Robert’s rides the fence of CA Chardonnay & White Burgundy nicely. Has a bit of Ca Chardonnay backbone with the creamy body of White Burgundy.

Nose does not show much at first. Green apple, pear, lemon, lime. White peach, caramel notes, cardamom, paraffin, cream, yellow & spring flowers.

The body is creamy with nice viscosity. Green apple, pear, lemon, lime. White peach, caramel notes, cardamom, paraffin, cream, very light honey notes, sea spray, light chalkiness, yellow & spring flowers. Excellent round acidity, beautiful, soft structure, well balanced and a pleasant finish.

A couple more years in bottle add a point or two & more complexity. .

A little history from their website. Watson Ranch Vineyard is perched on a steep hillside overlooking the San Pablo Bay at the southernmost end of the Napa Valley. The ranch was named after early Napa attorney, Augustus Watson, who owned the property in the early 1900s. The adjacent property is an abandoned limestone quarry which historically employed over 300 people, mining material to make portland cement used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.0

As far as I’m concerned, these School House Mescolanzas are like, the anti-Napa Zinfandel. They are just so different from anything else out there. Until they get close to 10 years from vintage, they are backward; lean, green and mean. But if one has the patience, they eventually become quite charming. For this bottle, I did not follow my own advice.

Popped and poured, consumed over four days. On Day 1, this was completely coiled and the oak seemed a bit out of balance. I finished my glass and placed the cork back in the neck of the bottle. I checked in for a small taste on Day 2 and 3. By Day 4, it had opened enough to really enjoy. The 2016 School House “Mescolanza” Zinfandel Blend pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core. Medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. There appears too be some very faint signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing. Expressive of dark bramble fruits, stone minerals, and baking spices. On the palate the wine is dry with medium(+?) tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes on the nose. The finish is medium(+). This has all of the trappings for very nice expression of this wine but it’s a little young to my taste. Best after 2025 and these will drink well through 2037…and possibly longer. — 8 months ago