David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

One of the few CA Chardonnay I enjoy. You can spend more on one, but for under $40, this works really well.

Arnot-Robert’s rides the fence of CA Chardonnay & White Burgundy nicely. Has a bit of Ca Chardonnay backbone with the creamy body of White Burgundy.

Nose does not show much at first. Green apple, pear, lemon, lime. White peach, caramel notes, cardamom, paraffin, cream, yellow & spring flowers.

The body is creamy with nice viscosity. Green apple, pear, lemon, lime. White peach, caramel notes, cardamom, paraffin, cream, very light honey notes, sea spray, light chalkiness, yellow & spring flowers. Excellent round acidity, beautiful, soft structure, well balanced and a pleasant finish.

A couple more years in bottle add a point or two & more complexity. .

A little history from their website. Watson Ranch Vineyard is perched on a steep hillside overlooking the San Pablo Bay at the southernmost end of the Napa Valley. The ranch was named after early Napa attorney, Augustus Watson, who owned the property in the early 1900s. The adjacent property is an abandoned limestone quarry which historically employed over 300 people, mining material to make portland cement used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. — 10 months ago

Jaume Claramunt

9.1

De Ca l’Emília de Capellades, sempre bones recomanacions — 4 years ago

Sims Witherspoon

9.7

Probably not the forum for this, but can't help it, too good — 5 years ago

Stephanie Horbaczewski

9.4

This is a spectacular wine. YPO forum retreat — 2 years ago

Karyn Fricke

9.0

Smooth, plum fruity flavors. Aged well. — 3 years ago

Tim Adams

9.2

Perfect New Years Eve Wine - it’s juicy, fun and full bodied. And I hate saying full bodied. — 5 years ago

Bill Funke

9.3

Oklahoma wine forum — 6 years ago

Benjamin Hall Jr

8.9

40% Cesanese 60% Syrah blend from Lazio. 2016 is a bit young. Full bodied. Filled with sour cherry and currant. Having across the street from the Roman Forum with eggplant parm Roman style... quite lovely as the wine augments the flavors in the nice nightshade dish — 6 years ago

Dawn E.

8.9

Apparently the window for drinking Tempranillo is 5 to 10 yrs (Wine Folly). WE vintage chart indicated the 2016 Rioja to be a 95 " can drink not at peak. WS rated this at a 92; I would not go that far! I always wonder about ratings? Is it an estimate for when the wine is near maturity? Please note the above information I utilize as a soft guide; deeply appreciate advice given through this forum!
This wine needed some coaxing, two days on the counter..no cork plus 90 min. decant. Old World in style, tobacco, violets, rich Bing Cherries, licorice Snaps and cedar. Patience is everything I took a sip of this two days ago and thought about dumping it! — 3 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.3

Nose has old tar, countless stems of red roses, dried cherry, library stacks and dried raspberry.

Palate has jammy and bright cherry preserves, fresh tart cherry, old leather, moist earthy notes (positive trait) and some neutral wood.

Mellow tannins after an extended decant, this bottle is really singing. I am lucky to have tasted older vintages to give an understanding of where this wine is going. Now, whether or not I have the patience to hold the remaining bottles another 20-years is a major question, very nice today.

Decanted ~3hrs, in a cool place. Not my kitchen today, which was quite warm as I preserved our first real harvest of 2019 tomatoes, converting them into pizza sauce. I beat our first processed batch from 2018 by an entire week...don't believe anyone telling you we're not living through climate change, or more appropriately 'climate disruption' to quote Ralph Nader. This is why the best Nebbiolo is now coming from northern Italy, and the best Pinot will transition to Germany. OK, enough politics, this is a forum for wine, mostly. Cat photo-bombs appreciated in your bottle pics (sorry none from me today). — 5 years ago