B A

9.2

A real treat at ten years old. Key lime pie and slate — 5 days ago

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. — 2 months ago

Sam Friedland

9.1

Beautiful Syrah, at the peak. Pepper taste, mature tannin, chocolate-coffee taste! — 5 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

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. — 18 days ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.5

First of all Kudos to Ant Hill love the wax seal over cork! Deep Ruby with aromas of dark Berry fruits with notes of herbs, citrus, floral and earthy spice. On the palate flavors of blackberry and cherry, tea, vanilla and herb tones, well balanced with acidity. Firm fine tannins on a long finish ending with fruit and floral herb character. Very nice! Will age well! — 5 months ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Very interesting wine from Ridge. Old vine carignane. Great fruit, really carries through. Acid in balance. Very nice pairing with some Cajun ribeyes on the grill. — 6 months ago

Erik Longabardi

9.2

Compared to the ‘03 on a hot vintage this was also fire (but the ‘03 was the winner). — 25 days ago

Austin Hohnke

9.0

Rich, honeyed, and intoxicating nose. Mott’s apple juice color. Broad on the palate with persimmon and canned peaches. Botrytis.
Air was kind. Have a few more ‘17, so will see how it develops. — 4 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Pale lemon color with aromas of ripe fruits, citrus, vanilla and nutty scents. On the palate complex flavors of apple, peach, pineapple and lemon citrus, well balanced with acidity on a nice mouthfeel. Long finish ending with oak, vanilla, mineral and citrus notes, will continue to age. A beautiful Chardonnay. Pair this with a Red Snapper topped with a celery, tomato and olive compote. — 5 months ago

Tom Garland

9.4

Franklin Barbeque (Austin, TX) brisket and Abreu tonight!!

2 hour decant(decent fine/cloudy sediment). A superb dark magenta color. On the nose: Intoxicating notes of stewed dark fruit, espresso, balsamic, worn leather. Taste: creamy, rich, mouthcoating wine with dark cherry, dark chocolate, earth, pepper, and a cedar-leather long finish with a touch of heat. YUM! drinks well with the decant and more time to go. — 8 months ago

with Brenda