Ming L

9.1

A friend shared her new discovery.
Perfumed and delicate on the nose with Asian pear, honeysuckle, pineapple, and white floral. The palate is ripe than the nose suggested but remains lively and clean. Acidity is about perfect.
A very small winery with about 2,200 cases produced annually. Kristy Melton of Freemark Abbey is the winemaker. — a year ago

Josh Boyd

9.0

Fantastic wine. It's a must do if you're in the Barossa. — 7 years ago

J Mc

9.2

so rich and voluptuous goddam — 8 years ago

Glyn Donaldson

10

Unbelievably smooth for a young cab. Great long finish. — 9 years ago

Luciana Barros

10

Very elegant, silk, medium body, French oak, sexy and mature — 4 years ago

Rob French

9.9

Dinner with jay and Melton. This was an absolutely amazing wine. Extensive flavors that ranged from fruits to clove and pepper. Complex. — 5 years ago

Mark Gudgel

9.3

Varozza consistently makes what I consider to be some of the very best red wines anywhere in Napa. The 2012 BloodLine, a blend of 66% Cab Sauv and 33% Petite Sirah, all estate, is truly an accomplishment on the respective parts of grower Jack Varozza and winemaker Kristy Melton. Big and bold yet elegant and easy-drinking, this wine, in my mind, represents the very best of red blends from the storied Napa Valley. Cheers! — 7 years ago

Mike Elmgreen

9.5

Beautiful pure cabernet and ready to drink right now. Cassis, leathery, beautifukky integrated tannnins, herbal, chocolate cocoa nib — 4 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.2

Bootleg is the newest Napa label under the Jackson Family umbrella, which also includes Cardinale, Freemark Abbey, Galerie, La Jota, Lokoya, and Mt. Brave. The label pays homage to “the winegrowing rogues, who smuggled vine cuttings from renowned French vineyards and replanted them in California.” Kristy Melton, formerly director of winemaking at Clos du Val, crafts the wines and this blend of 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Petite Sirah, 21% Zinfandel, 12% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. The fruit is sourced from vineyards on Atlas Peak, Oakville, Mt. Veeder, Rutherford and Spring Mountain. Parker called it “off-the-charts in terms of its hedonistic appeal” and I can’t disagree. Blackberry, kirsch and cassis combine to yield an ultra rich fruit bomb, but it doesn’t stop there, adding Rutherford dust, cocoa powder, licorice, purple flowers, cedar, and crushed rock. I’ve heard several comparisons of this to the wines of Orin Swift, and while both are fruit bomb, high octane wines, I’m more inclined to compare this to something like Andy Erickson’s Leviathan. — 6 years ago

Bob Halifax

9.1

Trust the Aussies to find a way to serve up a chilled, full bodied red for brunch (or whenever). Still fruit forward - like a big Aussie Shiraz can be - but this one had a bit more effervescence than I've tended to see with other producers. Not exactly vintage Champagne but great for our Sunday morning guest on the sunny patio. — 9 years ago