J Matt Nickels

9.5

Twenty six years since harvest and the fruit is rich. Frankly, this is the most ‘Right Bank’ American wine I have ever had. Bravo — 3 months ago

erto l

9.2

in goes the corkscrew and out is the cork
pour in the glass, sniff and “damn…”
pour in da Boss’s glass, sniff and double “damn… gimme more”. twenty minute battle of short pours later and it all gone:-)
seriously though,
bottle shows MUCH better than previous in November 2021. the acid is just right now. few left to consume over next few months (why wait if it perfect now (‘sides acid dropped a lot in six months)) If i get one for meself (sorry Boss) maybe i’ll update the tasting notes.
Or get yer own “damn” bottle(s) and know for yourself:-) — 3 years ago

Jayden Barker 🇦🇺

9.0

Incredible Chardonnay. The 2015 held incredible fruit quality, showing off a cold climate in the Hunter that lent its hand to perfectly creamy and acidic Chardonnay that had all the works of a drinking and food pairing kind of wine. Tingle on the front with the mineral notes, melded into a beautiful quince, citrus sort of play, with little oak that helped balance. Was best when left for a while, as the 16' has also proved to be. — 8 years ago

Ryan M

9.2

Who likes tannins! Tannins are very overpowering at first but then mend themselves into a velvety coat on the tongue. Haven't had much Mondavi but this is pleasant. Lots of oak, flower box, and plums. Chalky and earthy. Think of a thick bold Pinot noir but without the spice and less mud. Opening up after an hour in my new Zwiesel Burgundy glasses.

Surprised to learn some of the grapes are from To Kalon!! Haven't had a good Oakville #napacab in a while and this is a delight for $30.

•VINEYARDS• Fruit for our Napa Valley Cabernet includes two of the valley’s most renowned sub-appellations. Twenty-six percent is from our historic To Kalon vineyard in Oakville located on the well-drained alluvial bench surrounding the winery. An additional 10% comes from our Wappo Hill Vineyard in the Stag’s Leap district. The varying mesoclimates and soils of these two vineyards elicit a wonderfully concentrated, expressive, and classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and are combined with fruit from a number of the area’s finest vineyards for the perfect expression of the region. Appellation: Napa Valley Grape Sourcing: Napa Valley (26% To Kalon Vineyard, 10% Wappo Hill Vineyard)
•WINEMAKING• The grapes were hand harvested into small bins and carefully sorted in our gravity-flow cellar. The clusters were gently de-stemmed directly into traditional oak tanks for cold soak, fermentation and extended maceration-a total of 22 days of wine to skin contact--maximizing the extraction of varietal character and complexity while keeping the tannins fleshy and supple. The new wine was drained and gently pressed into French oak barrels (17% new) for malolactic fermentation, assuring seamless integration of fruit and oak. The final blend was assembled through repeated tasting trials over the 17 months of barrel aging, and bottled in June of 2015. — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2003 vintage. Incredible, vibrant color for a twenty-year old Pinot. Herbs, plum and sandalwood on the nose. Medium-bodied. Smooth concentration on a long finish. This pinot’s got at least a half-decade of ridiculously dialed-in drinking ahead. Never would have guessed this CA pinot was this age…woulda posited five-six years old maybe? — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

2018 vintage. The most approachable young Gevrey I’ve ever had. A little mushroom and dry earth but mostly singing rhubarb and cherry with just a hint of oak/cedar. Medium body. Don’t think I’d want to run across this in a dark alley in twenty years but in ten years? I can see it holding up well for that long. — 4 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.0

Broad and dark-fruited, this Twenty Mile Bench Pinot tastes of black cherry, pine sap, earl grey, Christmas spices. Pleasurable and easy to drink at six years of age. — 7 years ago

with Stacy and Mitchell

Jeffrey Woo

9.0

Dark ruby hue (almost inky). Aromas of bell pepper, black cherry, leather, plum, toast, and vanilla. Medium body, with rounded tannins and plus acidity. Plush palate and a decent finish. Easy to drink. Value pick from Grocery Outlet. 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot. — 3 years ago

Ericsson

9.4

Pretty stellar wine, twenty six year old RdD magnum gran reserva. Took hours and hours to fully open, even after decanting. Initially there’s a lot of barnyard, fungus, funk, sweat, musty leather smells but it does turn the corner eventually to violets, humid forest, wet dirt, and even some soy sauce. On the pallet it becomes very balanced and round with wet rose petals, dates, dirt and ever so slightly spicy. The wine is completely integrated. Just keeps me yearning for old wine. — 3 years ago

Jimmy Miramontes

9.0

A nice, recent find. I'm usually not too much of a fan of Bordeaux blends from SB County but the 2013 vintage of this is nice. I don't think it has the holding power (read acidity or tannins) to last much longer before reaching its peak but what's there now is still pretty bold & fruit-forward. Had it with some slow-cooked pot roast & it paired quite nicely. — 8 years ago

with Gabriella