Anderson Hill
Henschke
Hill of Grace Vineyard Shiraz 1996
Roederer Estate
Estate Bottled Anderson Valley Brut Rosé Blend
Beautiful toast on the nose and palate. Creamy and yeasty. Great expression of California sparkling wine, only thing it lacks is a long finish of a good champagne. — a month ago
Vine Hill Ranch
Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Bruce Phillips and his wife were pouring their 2021. Talked w/ him at length. Very nice couple.
The 2021 showed well young with room for improving with 10-25 years in bottle and beyond. It showed some evolution, wasn’t all primary. Elegant, very well balanced with excellent structure and finish. Drink 2033-45 properly stored.
The general Napa consensus on 2022 vintage will be a story of did you pick before or after the 6 days of extreme heat during the harvest window. One producer told me his would add 5% of 2023 to some of his 2022’s, which is allowed. He mentioned that he was going to add 15%. But, I think he just misspoke? Get ready for an amazing 2023 vintage from Napa. It was a cooler, not hot-hot, which was a near perfect growing season for long slow even ripening. Some say a vintage of a lifetime and others would only say exceptional.
The Saturday-Sunday Pavilion tasting at Pebble Beach Food & Wine is an excellent four hours to taste a lot wine, taste curated dishes from chefs from all over the country and meet the people behind the bottle. These short ribs were one of the top two or three things I tasted at the Pavilion Saturday. — 25 days ago
Littorai
Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015
Alive and absolutely kicking! Beautiful wine, with depth and vibrancy that could go on another 10 years or more! — a month ago
Rutherford Hill
Napa Valley Merlot 2019
It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish /brick rim. Pretty color, but looks much older than it is.
Muted on the nose with black fruits, light wood and chocolate notes.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with plums, cooked cherries, oak, light vanilla, licorice, light earth, herbs, spices, pencil lead, chocolates, light tobacco and peppercorn.
Medium minus in length on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a nice entry level Merlot from Napa Valley. Smooth and elegant with nice complexity.
Nicely balanced and fruit forward. Rich and spicy with a nice mouthfeel.
This 5 year old is peaking now and will not continue to improve.
Good right out of the bottle and easy drinking. A good pop and pour kind of wine, but better after 30 minutes of airtime.
Wine Spectator 91 points.
Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food. A good party wine.
A blend of 77% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Syrah.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$37. — a month ago
Cakebread Cellars
Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir 2020
very very light, oaky notes, red fruit, slightly acidic, smooth finish, personally I think it was aged a perfect amount, got better as it airated, I don’t really taste a specific fruit note but it is fruity in general, possible berry notes. paired every well with steak — a month ago
Bob McDonald
Still a very dense crimson with no tawny rim, at 28 years of age but the tawniness is beginning. A certain feral, Animale, earthy note. Palate is ultra smooth, medium bodied / very savoury yet with a sweetish earthy note with a hint of raspberry. Jancis Robinson was invited by Stephen Henschke to a vertical tasting at the winery in May 2013 to cover vintages back to the late 1950’s. She described the 1996 as “pure hedonism “ and gave it 19/20. Medium plus intensity on the delicious palate with those gnarled old 160 year vines showing through. An absolutely stunning wine - one of the best we’ve had this year. — 11 days ago