Isaac Pirolo

9.5

Another wine I was introduced to by Monica Stevens of 750 wines. The Shifflett Ranch and Vineyards is situated at the end of Darms Lane in the Oak Knoll AVA of Napa Valley.

William & Mary Wine Co. is the creation of Will Segui and his wife Mary. The fruit is sourced from the Shifflett Vineyard, where Will’s mother-in-law is a Shifflett and the family has owned the property since the late 1940s. It’s worth noting that Will has been the only employee of @riversmariewines for many years. He has long run the operations there along with being an understudy of Thomas Rivers Brown. Needless to say, I was excited to finally taste the wine.

The 2016 William & Mary Wine Co Cabernet Sauvignon Shifflett Vineyard displays enveloping aromatics of cassis, blueberry, tobacco, earth, pen ink, and meat. There’s a beautiful interplay between its juxtaposition of vibrant flavor intensity and mellow demeanor, which exemplifies just how balanced the wine is. After several hours decanted the darker, secondary notions of graphite, cocoa powder, creosote, and espresso continue encroachment on the palate in an almost infectious manner. There’s a tightness to the wine that almost surprises because of how immediately approachable it is. Have no doubt it will benefit from years in the cellar, but damn, if it’s not delicious now. — 2 days ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.3

The 2015 Yao Ming ‘Napa Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a silky blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, all aged in 100% French oak (65% new) for 18 months. Once in the glass the wine begins to slowly unveil creme de cassis, Turkish coffee, tar and spicebox aromatics that impress. The palate is silky smooth, delivering a really good combination of tension and mouthfeel. Black fruits dance with licorice and allspice flavors on the palate. Seductive, yet mineral driven, this will cellar marvelously over the next two decades. Drink 2018-2035- 93 — 3 days ago

"Odedi"

9.1

This is a great Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. Fruit forward with black fruits and chocolate notes, earth, vegetables, bell pepper, spices and peppercorn.

Nose of sweet red candy that fades out with airtime.

Full bodied and bold with medium acidity and long legs.

Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up and shows some complexity and tannins.

After a few hours of airtime it is much earthier with lots of vegetable notes.

Would benefit from another few years in the bottle.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$26. — 19 hours ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Quilt pays tribute to Napa Valley’s wines, sourced from a patchwork of prime Napa Valley vineyards. Met Joseph Wagner on his trip to CT and tasted his wines. Beautiful deep red color with bold aromas of dark berry fruits, sweet spice and cedar. Flavors of blackberry and cherry, some herb with vanilla, oak and leather notes, well balanced. Fine tannins, great mouthfeel on lingering finish ending with cacao and espresso tones. Has room to age. Tasting Sample. Nice, but a bit pricey! — 19 hours ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.7

The 'Bin 707' Cabernet Sauvignon is an utterly captivating wine from Penfolds. In 2016 it saw considerable time (20 months) in new American oak prior to bottling. The result is a monumental wine, which slowly begins to open after extended air contact, revealing a complex aromatic profile of toasty oak, black tea, anise, crème de cassis and cigar box, which all come together in the glass. This full-bodied, moderately tannic red, takes on a gorgeous seamless quality as it glides beautifully across the palate, leaving behind layers of creosote, mocha, cigar ash and creme de cassis flavors. Rich and decadent, this continues to impress with its fantastic overall structure, depth and concentration that persists through the long finish. The 2016 is an absolutely majestic wine that will require significant time to develop and readers should plan on allowing this at least least another two years of bottle age before even considering approaching it. Nonetheless, this is a magnificent Cabernet which should go on to age gracefully for many years to come. Drink 2019-2045-97 — 3 days ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Happy Valentine’s Day! A little Napa Cabernet to go with our beef tenderloin and red wine reduction sauce.

The nose reveals, floral creme de cassis, ripe and ruby; blackberries, dark cherries, plum, blue fruits, baked strawberries and hints of black raspberries, limestone minerals, black licorice notes, lighter intensity dark spices, dark chocolate, vanilla, nutmeg, clove, volcanic minerals, rich dark soils, a touch of dry crushed rocks, steeped dark berry tea with red florals, violets and lavender.

The body is full with well rounded velvety dark, dusty tannins. The structure, tension, length and balance have just past its high point by a smidge. The acidity’s like a fresh water stream. Floral creme de cassis, ripe and ruby; blackberries, dark cherries, plum, blue fruits, cherries, pomegranate extract, dry cranberries, raspberries, baked strawberries and hints of black raspberries, limestone minerals, black licorice notes, notes of dark berry bubble gum, lighter intensity dark spices, black pepper dark chocolate, vanilla, nutmeg, clove, Provence herbs, volcanic minerals, rich dark soils, a touch of dry crushed rocks, steeped dark berry tea with red florals, violets and lavender. The finish has great balance with fruit and earth. It’s; soft, elegant, rich, lush and persistent for minutes.
— 7 days ago

Mark Flesher

9.5

Has been 14 months since opening up one of these. This wine has slightly developed, but still youthful and tannic as hell. Nose alone is worthy of a 92. Even still, the wine is full bodied blackberry and blueberry pie monster on the nose and front palate. Thick. Goes to a coffee bean and even a hint of truffle chocolate to the finish. Lots of tannin here, but still able to appreciate the ample dense and dark fruit. A touch more blue fruited than last time, this wine has substantial structure that has me confident that this could go another decade or 2. Only 1 left, so..... — 3 days ago

Trent Fletcher

9.9

Easily the best wine I've ever consumed. Popped the cork, poured a sip and let sit on the counter for three hours when I poured another small sip. Drank over the course of the next 8 or so hours. Never fully decanted.

With the first pour, this showed a beautiful nose and a bevy of flavors right out the gate; already layers of soft, fresh red fruit and liqueur, lavender, with graphite/pencil shavings; such balance.

As the wine evolved, the red fruit became a bit darker and the depth of the wine increased, but I never got to a black or blue fruit profile. The fruit was of an extracted (in a good way) nature, not syrupy, just gorgeous, rich, pure, fresh and vibrant. Dark cherry and kirsch liqueur continued to play off one another through the entirety of the bottle with creme de cassis, a hint of dark chocolate on the back end and sweet, silky tannins all surrounding a strong dark mineral core.

What got me all night was the power in every aspect of this bottle and how they were wound together with such perfection. 99+, possibly 100...just a joy to drink. — 5 days ago

todd herron DPM

9.6

Juggernaut 2016 Cab. A hell of a lot better than BOHEME! But not up to my standard. I can drink this though. What can I say about this wine? Well, it is a good wine for giving to a friend of a friend! Blueberry beginning with a tart mid palate. Another tart cab.... finish is dry. That’s about all I can taste. Maybe a little bit of earth tone to it definitely some graphite! Not my style! NEXT!!!!!!! Okay I decanted it for an hour and now its pretty darn good. No graphite! Lots of buttery finish! Spice on the mid palate. My rating is now 9.6. Buy this again and decant! What a difference from fresh out of the bottle. And its young!!!! WTH? — 3 days ago

Severn Goodwin

9.2

Decanting now, can you believe this is the only 2013 CA wine in our cellar?! All the rest is hiding, appropriately out of reach, in off-site storage. 👍

We tasted this at a walk-around in November of 2018, and I was impressed then...

Nose has chalkboard dust, milk chocolate, ripe plum, ripe raspberry, black cherry and cut green pepper (light).
Palate has chalky plum, ripe cherry, medium tannins, light green herbal notes, light toasted oak (few year old barrels?) and milk chocolate.

Very impressed at how approachable this wine is tonight after only about 2hrs of decant. Showing quite nicely at about 5 years past vintage. 2013 was very strong for CA, going to be legendary in my opinion; likely my favorite vintage in the prior 10 years.

Happy Valentine's Day 2019 to all. — 8 days ago