Bob McDonald

9.6

The final wine at the Peter Lehmann dinner at the Downs Club and the whole point of the dinner. Delectable: this new cuvée is called the Masterson and is a Barossa Valley Shiraz. Wine Pricing in Australia has become an arms race and this new Cuvée has set the benchmark at $1650 for a magnum - only available in magnum. This was sourced from a vineyard in the Moppa sub district of the Barossa owned by Glen Hammerling from vines planted in 1992 on original rootstocks, dry grown in deep sandy loam with ironstone over clay. The wine itself is an exercise in restraint. Matured in a large 2500 litre fourdre imparting minimal oak influence. You could happily drink this wine now or cellar for over 30 years. It is so well balanced. A brilliant wine but is it worth $1650? I think the pricing is too ambitious but the owner of Peter Lehmann, John Casella, the owner of export star, Yellow Tail, probably doesn’t care as he continues to make money from his budget line. 1458 magnums created and only 1000 released for purchase. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Over 20 years ago Jerry & Flora Komes purchased their first vineyard which became a retirement project and a passion for their son John. Very dark red with black fruit aromas. On the palate cherry, currant and raspberry. A nice blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec, smooth and refined tannins and oak work in harmony, with a layer of complexity. Will continue to develop in the bottle. — 8 years ago

Marshall Todd Herron DPM

9.8

2013 Shafer one point five cabernet sauvignon from the Stags Leap district of coarse! Well, perfection dad and son! John and Doug, you guys have mastered it. The cork was in perfect condition. After a 45 min eternity of time for decanting, the color is as dark as the night sky on a stormy night in the hills of Tennessee. The legs are slow and thick. The bouquet is peppered cranberry juice with a twist of rip figs growing on the tree. The initial palate is reminiscent of buttered toast and blackberry jam. There is a hint of spice and black pepper. On the finish which is very long, I detect black coffee and dark chocolate - not the Dove version, but the bitter version. There is an fired oaky wood flavor with a blast of a maduro cigar! The finish is very dry and if I don't get a sip of water soon My tongue my shrivel up. But I need another sip first!
Fantastic wine!
Here is a toast to the Shafer family and to my wonderful and beautiful Dayanara on our new home!
Cheers!
— 8 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

They should have called the Winery Floral Springs based on the nose. Beautiful; blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, touch of clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets. The tannins are 95% resolved. The body is lush & ripe. The length, tension & structure are nearing the end. Just a few years left of being worthwhile. However, the balance is stereo tuned. The fruit on the palate shows even more elegant & ripe floral fruits than the nose. Blackberry, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries and plum floral fruits. Nice spice, vanilla, light clove & cinnamon, used leather, dark rich soil, crushed volcanic minerals, black fruit tea, black raspberry cola and dark fresh florals with violets for days. The acidity is like a waterfall. The beautiful, long, elegant finish is a little lean yet has a nice richness. Beautiful wine that just missed 9.2. Photos top to bottom and left to right. The Winery; which is separate from the other tasting room only on Hwy 29. The tasting room on Hwy 29 in St. Helena, Flora Spring caves and the front of their tasting room along Hwy 29. Producer notes and history...the stone winery on the grounds were built in 1885 by two immigrant brothers from Scotland, James and William Rennie. They were in construction, built the winery and planted 60 acres of grapes. The brothers had some bad fortune when phylloxera consumed the vines, and then a fire in 1900 destroyed their wine press and cooperage. In 1904, they sold the winery and fifteen years later Prohibition started. The winery was then closed until 1933. That year, Louis Martini, looked into their magic eight-ball and saw Prohibition collapsing and bought the Rennie property. They built a new stone house and also made a reserve wine from the hillside vineyards. However, the old winery remained empty until the Komes family bought the property, 325 acres, the old farm house, the newer stone house and 60 acres of vineyards. The son thought he’d persuade his dad to restore the old winery and proposed to call it Chateau Jerome. Although it had been designed by Hamden McIntyre an architect of several other classic 19th-century Napa wineries, by 1977, the place was a wreck. The tin roof of the building had so many holes in it. They called it the starlight roof. His father looked at it and stated, “I’ve worked all my life for my good name. I don’t want to squander it now.” John’s mother, Flora, however, sided with her son on the potential of the property. Carrie Komes suggested they could name the winery for her mother-in-law. Combined with the abundant springs on the land, they decided the name would be Flora Springs. It was a sure way to their mom’s heart and father’s wallet. Komes put his construction expertise to work on renovating the old winery, which still had scorch marks on the walls. So skeptical was his father about his son’s wine-making project, they divided the winery building. John rented half where he put his first fermenting tank, which he named R2D2. He invited a couple of friends from his wine-making class to help make wine at the new place. He also hired Mary Ann Graf, who in 1965 had been the first woman to graduate from the viticulture and enology department at UC Davis to help manage the project. She told John, “if you don’t hire a winemaker, I’ll quit.” He did and the 1979 Flora Springs chardonnay won a gold medal at the Los Angeles County Fair. In those days, it was fairs, not ratings. This was his first lesson in marketing as they sadly sold all the wine before they won the medal. Fairs were the big news instead of ratings as Parker had not yet risen to fame as he was the only one to call the grand 1982 Bordeaux vintage correctly. They submitted their 1981 Cabernet to eight fairs and won seven gold medals. From there, the winery just kept growing. They were the 67th winery in the county. Over the years, they had their ups and downs, but kept growing. One of their highlights was the creation this wine, Trilogy. It was one of the first Meritage blends in the valley. By 1984, they planted all the Bordeaux varietals; Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. They wanted to create a blend “by taste”, not by formula for a nice smooth wine that goes deep into the palate. They worked with a little of this and little of that. The first Trilogy was Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. It was dubbed as velvet in the mouth. A lot of what they do is taming the tannins. One man who bought Trilogy by the case said, “it’s the only red wine his wife would drink young.” From the leftovers, they began making single-varietal estate wines. Another highlight was the discovery of a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc in vineyards his father bought in Oakville. UC Davis could identify nothing like it in their vast library of clones. They were a bit ahead of the times, but this clone showed Flora Springs how different in that time period what Sauvignon Blanc could be like as it took all the grassiness out of Sauvignon Blanc. — 7 years ago

Jan Streitburger

9.8

Gift from son, John. Bought back from CA. Beyond delicious! — 10 years ago

Brian Duffy

8.9

The bottle in the photo actually produced by Emille Pinson, 23yo son of Pascal Ponson. Extra Dry Brut. Very nice start to food/wine extravaganza with John Jennings at Babbo. — 7 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Nice to share some 08's out of Magnum with John's son Tom. Great example of seeing how John's wines age. The mix of dark berry fruits soften beautifully & allow the blue fruits share the stage equally. Tom thank you for sharing. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Family-owned and operated producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which was started in 1999 by Dr. John and Karen Bergstrom. Their son Josh and his wife Caroline help run the winery. Dark red with berry fruit aromas and woodsy spice. On the palate cherry and raspberry with pepper and oak notes. Well balanced with acidity, complex lingering finish ending with mineral tones. Very nice! — 8 years ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.8

John Wayne's son, Ethan, teamed up with Jayson Woodbridge at Hundred Acre to crate this 80 proof homage to his 100 proof dad, who was a lover of great brandies and kept a stash of a few barrels on his boat, that has been sealed for 30 years. Duke Special Reserve brandy, made from a blend of the last two remaining 24 and 30 year-old barrels, produced by a 12th-generation master distiller. Originally distilled in an alambic pot still using seven fraction distillation. This is just spectacular stuff, as you would expect from a 24+ year old brandy. — 8 years ago

with Katherine and Janette

Antonio Gianola

9.5

Stunning Irish Whiskey. Best i have tasted. Spicy with white pepper and spiced heather in finish.

Internet search yielding the following: "JJ12 John Jameson 12 year old blended Irish Whiskey estimate from the 1970's. Distilled & bottled at the Bow Street distillery which closed in 1971." — 9 years ago