City On A Hill
Grosset
Polish Hill Clare Valley Riesling 2023
Infanticide. This changed a lot in the glass. A lot going on here, but we didn’t do it justice by drinking it so young. Green apple, coconut, lychee. — 2 months ago
William Hill Estate Winery
Bench Blend Napa Valley Red Blend 2014
This is a delicious red blend from Napa Valley.
Dry on the palate and very fruity with medium acidity.
Showing black currants, black plums, cooked cherries, figs, raisins, vanilla, cedar, licorice, light cola, coffee, earth, chocolates, mocha, peppercorn, herbs and Mediterranean spices.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.
This 10 year old is drinking so very nicely now. Elegant and delectable. Fruit forward and engaging.
Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel. Spicy and very complex.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after 90 minutes in the bottle. Peaking now, and will continue to drink nicely in the next few years.
A gorgeous wine at this point. Easy drinking and dangerously good.
Good by itself, and paired deliciously with the leg of lamb.
A blend of 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Petite Sirah, 24% Merlot, 18% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec.
15% alcohol by volume.
95 points.
$30 (at release). — 2 months 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. — 20 days ago
Chalk Hill
Estate Red Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2009
[Tasted on March 15, 2024 at Richland Country Club in Nashville]
49% Cabernet Sauvignon; 21% Malbec; 17% Merlot; 8% Petit Verdot; 4% Syrah; 1% Carmenere. Chalk Hill AVA is a sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley AVA and is known for its chalky white ash soils. Restrained red currant fruit with mineral and graphite notes. Balanced and Bordeaux-like. — a month ago
Jasper Hill
Georgia's Paddock Shiraz 1999
A exploration of nine 1999 Cote Rotie - Syrahs and Shiraz on their 25th anniversary. Another Aussie ended up being my #2 — 2 months 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. — 17 days ago
Bell Hill Vineyards
Old Weka Pass Road Pinot Noir 2016
A pale crimson with a tawny edge - almost transparent. A high quality Pinot Noir from Canterbury wizards Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhuizen. As I said last tasting note - pale but powerful. As good a new World Pinot Noir as you will find, and this is Bell Hill’s second wine. I can’t improve on the previous Delectable note from October 6 2023. These wines from Bell Hill aren’t cheap but are a lot cheaper than good Burgundy. — a month ago
Patz & Hall
Bootlegger's Hill Pinot Noir 2018
This site was, at one time a moonshiner site, subsequently planted by Charlie Chenoweth with Pinot Noir. Medium Ruby color with aromas of dark berry fruits with notes of herbs, citrus, herb and spice. On the palate flavors of blackberry, ripe strawberry and cherry with espresso, vanilla and herb tea spice, well balanced with acidity. Fine tannins on a long finish ending with cedar, baking spices and earthy character. Very nice! — 2 months 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 150 year vines showing through. An absolutely stunning wine - one of the best we’ve had this year. — 3 days ago