Matt Schwartz

8.9

Build No9. Caramel, cotton candy, vanilla and coconut on the nose. Werther’s original, crushed wet stone and light smoke on the palate. The oak is there but not overpowering. — 6 months ago

Martinez

8.9

Pinot Noir from a tiny family-run estate in Ronda. Founded by Austrian architect Martin Kieninger, the winery works with mostly Austrian varieties and rootstock Kieninger brought from Austria - Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and Pinot Noir, a variety that seems to thrive in the Ronda-. Whole-cluster fermentation with indigenous yeasts and 12 months aging in French oak barrels. Shy nose. Red fruit and herbal notes. Full-bodied and quite bold (15% ABV!) for a Pinot Noir. Not terribly complex. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. The last of the group and third SLWC bottle from the 2014 vintage. To my palate, distinctively different than the previous two which had much more in common but make no mistake, this is still very good. Lush and shamelessly approachable. I think this is only available to SLWC club members but not 100% sure. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. This was the opening salvo and a very good one at that. Perfumed, lush, velvety fruit with lovely structure. Hugely quaffable and already drinking very well with a short decant but I think this is pretty characteristic of the 2014 vintage. — 5 years ago

Mark Farrell

9.8

Deep ruby color with a nose of blackberries, casis, cedar, graphite, anise, and maybe hints of fig and red bell peppers. Some finishing vanilla and pipe tobacco as well. Nose has quite a bit going on. This wine has the structure that can only be formed from a master architect. Full-bodied with both balance and power. Plenty of tannins to allow for at least a decade of additional aging. I like them young, but I’m probably a year or two early. Still excellent. These Myriad wines are consistently good. I haven’t had a bad one yet. This is the best one I’ve had so far. — 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

This a blend of Grenache Mourvèdre & Syrah! However, it reminded me of a good Tempranillo we had in Rioja at the Hotel Marqués de Riscal we stayed at in 2015. Beautiful Hotel designed by the Architect who did the Guggenheim Museums. The producer is one in the same,

The body glides on the palate. It exhibits the right level of sweetness. Excellent viscosity. Blood orange, rhubarb, strawberries, cherries & watermelon. The perfect intensity of minerality, soft chalkiness & white spice with pink rose petals. Excellent acidity with a beautifully balanced & polish finish. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. To my palate, this was clearly the WOTN. It was positively bursting with character. It reminded me of the Heart of Fay that we began the evening with but it was dialed up a couple notches and just had a richness and sophistication about it that indicated its pedigree. I’m still not positive that it’s worth the tariff but it is undeniably really freaking good wine. FWIW, this saw a 30-min decant. — 5 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

There's an uncanny similarity between the tasting notes of this wine with that of the 15' Overnoy Poulsard I had a couple of years ago, which leads me to believe that vinification or in particular, biological factors, may be the grand architect of these wines.

Pours out with an orangey hue of red. Reductive smokey aromas, followed by dried roses, twigs and grass, tabacco, dried herbs, and earth. The palate felt a little simple and short - cherries and grass, on a bitter, high acid finish.

So armed with lessons from previous Delienne openings, the wine went back into the cooler for an overnight dose of slow-release oxygen. This was when it took a unexpected turn towards the Poulsard memory. Cherries and grass had turned into the distinctive blood orange and tea notes. A slight acetic note arose, which integrated well with the palate giving a rather savory impression. A peculiar chicken essence note was especially memory-inducing. I felt like it put on some weight too, with a lovely silky texture. It's an oddball for sure, but not an unwelcomed transformation, as you see, the aforementioned Poulsard was my engagement tipple. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. The fourth bottle and the second of the two rando bottles. This was actually one of the better 2011 wines I’ve had from Napa. I thought it was not only an accurate representation of a cool and wet vintage, it was quite a delicious example of one and still has years to go. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. I brought this bottle. It was part of my most recent delivery from Seavey and I was curious to try it out. Well...it was clearly infanticide. This was reductive at first and most of that blew off after about fifteen minutes. This was just so wound up. Delicious, fresh and almost crunchy fruit with a lot of structure. This was very bright compared to the Heart of Fay that preceded and just fell a touch short due to it being somewhat reticent. That being said, cellar time will be very kind to these and I would imagine this will show better down the road or with a lot of air, which this didn’t get. — 5 years ago