Sipping Fine Wine

9.7

Fortuna Terrae means luck of the land in Latin, aged in oak for 18 months, deep inky Ruby red color with complex aromas of berry fruits, floral, herbs and spicy nose. On the palate flavors of ripe blueberry and cherry fruit with spicy herb, cacao, vanilla and toasty oak. Fine soft chalky tannins, well balanced, good acidity, long finish, almost creamy, ending with fruit, spice and earthy notes. Will last for a decade!! — 7 months ago

Robert Stackowiak

9.2

Dried cherry. Valley floor dusty. 5 years old. September 2021. — 5 years ago

Raj Ajrawat

8.9

Hitting all cylinders — 6 years ago

Antonio Galloni

Founder, Vinous

9.4

A blend of fruit from Weitz (which they call Leopoldina) and Fortuna. Dark, rich, sumptuous and so inviting. A great example of the year and a superb value by Napa standards. Tasted during the Vinous Learn Oakville seminar 💥🤪😍. — 6 years ago

Tetsu Nakazawa

9.1

Era sconto per cyber lunedi. Penso che e’ molto value. Spero che mia moglie piace.
E’ veramente buono come e’ autentico bourgogne. Per fortuna a mia moglie piace molto, significa e’ buono veramente. E’ bingo! Sono felice. Magari che abbia comprato piu molte botteglie allo sconto. — 7 years ago

Jason and Jennie

9.6

96+ This is the bomb. This has delivered every vintage for me starting in 2013. So much structure. The piedras la bam is very dense and cant wait to try that at home after some time. The three kings again suits my palate. It's more elegant and structured than the sweet fruit of the grand daddy. Both are dynamite but I prefer the clone 7 over clone 4. The hossfield coliseum is a great value merlot. The fortuna is fruity and soft, but i personally am paying more for the weitz. — 8 years ago

Gary Wilson

9.0

Good cab! — 10 months ago

Claire S

9.0

Pen Druid + High School — 3 years ago

with Laura

Laith A

9.4

Beautiful wine!! Smooth as silk with a great fruit profile and no hard edges! — 6 years ago

Tetsu Nakazawa

9.0

Aspettiamo questo molto perche il chateau. L’ho avuto a sconto per fortuna. L’ho aperto per l’annivercita di nostro matrimonio. Mia moglia ha cucinato il marzo bourgonese con vino rosso. Sarebbe perfetto con questa botteglia. A mia moglia piace questa botteglia, sono contento anche. Ha un’attaca sofice, ma i gusti complicati. Dopo una settimana, era ancora buono. — 6 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.0

The subtle nose of roasted hazelnuts and heel worn church stone staircase.

Bright, fresh berry, tart, Rainer cherry, good tannic structure, the acids break free and throw their charms right up in your face.
More acid than I have ever had, from an IGT red wine. An excellent tipple.
Buona Fortuna!
— 7 years ago

Nerd_Emperor

9.0

High 9.4% ABV and a nice coffee/whiskey flavor. I'm not a big fan of these flavors in my beer but I can roll with this. You will feel the buzz in no time. Matter of fact you will be quoting lines from the movie "Boss N💛gga" after you finish off this pint. Lol — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

My last bottle of 03 Alder Springs. I still have one bottle of the 02 Fortuna (better). Bottles from the earlier days of Behrens & Hitchcock. They’ve gone from B&H to Erna Schein to Behrens Family Winery. Back in the day when we first acquired these wines, we had to open them the night before, decent and put them back in the bottle overnight and re-decant the next evening in order to drink them as they were monsters with huge alcohol. 13 bottle years later, it’s more complex, rounder but still a big wine. While the alcohol has tamed some, it’s still hot...just not unbearably hot. This wine still has a ton of life in it. The nose still shows alcohol and is starting to take on a dark fruit liqueur/Port style. Blackberries, dark cherries, raisins, prunes, dates & blue fruits. Anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks and decayed dark florals. The body is full, round, lavish and lush. The palate also shows a dark fruit liqueur/Port character. Ripe, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, stewed plums, raisins, prunes, dates, blue fruits, anise, black cherry licorice, a little eucalyptus/mint, dry sage, medium, dark intensity spice that heats up as it rises off the palate, dark chocolate, black tea, layers of baking spices, chocolate pudding, well used leather, cedar, dark, sweet, rich, turned earth and fresh, dry crushed rocks, decayed dark florals and fading violets. The acidity is nicely rounded, the length, tension, structure may outlive some people 55+. The finish is; big, round, well balanced but just a little hot. After a couple hours in the decanter, it really rounded out and the alcohol decreased quite a bit. Photos top to bottom and left to right; the latest incarnation of the winery, workers in the Alder Springs Vineyard, Owner/Winemaker Les Behrens and their tasting room; which is actually a restored 1947 Westcraft trailer. A quote on Les’s philosophy on winemaking, “We let the vineyards steal the show and the wine speak for itself.” They are also well know for some of the coolest wine labels. One of my favorites was, “The Heavyweight.” — 8 years ago

Dave Parker

9.5

Beautiful wine with dinner at La Dolce Vita in Beverly Hills — 10 months ago

Marco Rino

8.9

setolo, ammorbidito da 12 mesi in botte che per fortuna non copre il carattere del vino — 3 years ago

Mike Holzer

9.3

Last night. Dont remember tasting profile but was really good a step below fortuna 2010 brunello but a bit better than fortuna 2013 brunello. Last bottle. — 5 years ago

with Sean-Patrick and Roy

Randy W

9.7

Decanted at home for 2 hours then at the restaurant for an hour was amazing really opened up after 3+ hours. First earthy then more fruit. — 6 years ago

Steve Belmonte

9.7

Amazing vino — 7 years ago

Eric

9.5

Top 3 Merlot for me. Inky tobacco and great fruit. Bring yer wallet. — 8 years ago

Tetsu Nakazawa

9.2

Molto delizioso. E gigondas che non ho una volta di assagiare anche ha una reputazione brava. Sarebbe in grade alto, ma per fortuna ho una volta di provare. Garnet wine aveva il sconto. Grazie garnet wine! — 8 years ago