John Chawluk

8.9

Nice gift from sister in law Landa. Full bodied fruit forward Pinot Noir. — a year ago

Jay Lash

9.5

A favorite for both of us — 4 years ago

Kristin Cancellieri

9.0

Delicious jammy blend. Smooth hints of vanilla and pairs well with smoky bbq flank steak — 6 years ago

with Lorraine

Shay A

9.5

November’s 4th Friday was a big hit. There is no way I’ll be able to upload all the wines, nor give them the reviews they deserve, but there were a few worthy of mentioning!

Wow! A stunner at this age, just as good as the ‘03 right now but with more in reserve. Powerful. Floral aromatics with a streak of yeast down the middle. Great mousse and extremely energetic on the palate. Lightly buttered English biscuits, powdered lemon bar, classic crushed limestone with warm fruits like golden delicious apples. Just beginning to open. Thanks @joe leatherwood — 7 years ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Mark Flesher

9.3

Nice, aged Cabernet. Debated opening this one. This started more on the plum and raisin side and a little muted. 15 minutes later? Fig and mushroom with basil and oregano, but not a whole lot of fruit. 30 minutes after that? Dirty black cherry, plums, seemed to find itself after a 31 year sleep. Rather substantial weight in the middle. Finishes with a gritty note. Tannins are definitely dropping here and this one is showing all it has. Good time to drink now! — 7 years ago

with Dan, Shay and 1 other

Mark Flesher

9.4

Really still not able to be rated right now but would be solid at 94 (previous rating given here). This wine is so young that it was finally starting to show its character after being open for an hour and a half....but overall, still locked up. Nose on this wine is hawthorne, rose petal, and red fruits. The wine is medium bodied, red fruit dense, medium acidity to the middle, and finishes with anise and red clay notes among a floral and youthful red berry backbone. The proper thing to do with this wine is cellar it for another 5 years. Considering that I've now consumed 9 of 12 bottles purchased, that's not going so well. Will go another 10 years with ease. — 8 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Wonderful Merlot. Nose of wild berries and bittersweet chocolate. The entry of this wine is dark. Brambly and blackberry and baking chocolate. The middle has a chocolate covered almond character to it. Hint of herb. Finished with toasted oak and nice acidity. I am 100% sure I will not have the willpower to hold on to my other bottle of this. I can also appreciate the 95 this one scored as well. Nice, nice Columbia Valley Merlot! Rolland and merlot are an excellent combo! — 8 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.5

Lovely wine! Very harmonious IGT from Tuscan hill south of Florence. The blend composition; Sangiovese, Merlot and Cab Sauv., which provides an interesting and unique complexity. Dark cherry, raisins, dates on the nose, pleasant acidity and perfectly balanced. Soft tannins and medium dry. Long but not overly lingering finish. Quick fact this wine is from Sting (the singer) vinyard. Great job! — 2 years ago

Erin Miskey

8.9

Crisp, enjoyable, would order again! Vinovore — 5 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.1

🏅 Rating 91+/100 (4,15⭐)

Delamotte NV Magnum

Reductive style with underlying Chalky Chardonnay minerality of Côte de Blanc. Full of flowers & tropical fruit. Very sunny and warm base vintage. My guess would be 2012 base. Lovely champagne for relaxing branch with friends and oysters.

Blend:
Chardonnay : 55%
Pinot noir : 35%
Pinot Meunier : 10%

Along with its "sister" winery Champagne Salon, Delamotte is the historical House of the Laurent-Perrier group. — 6 years ago

Conrad Green

9.6

A lot of floral lift at the front. Wonderful drive and freshness through the middle. Definition, lemon curd, some saline. This is great and really long. Wow. — 7 years ago

with Bex

Mark Flesher

9.4

Ready to rock and roll. Blackberry and red clay on the nose. Entry of black cherry and cola with acidic character. Middle is dark, smoky, leather, more blackberry and hint of cocoa. Still finishes with a young semi sweet baking chocolate and Rutherford dust! Black pepper finish is unmistakable with a ton of black fruit, and plenty of life left. Dang. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Opened tonight. And, I feel like a broken record saying that here is ANOTHER great 2011 considering the "damned vintage" that this one received press for being. I have 43 more 2011 Napa wines and I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing the same thing another 43 times. Not powerful, but these wines truly show the complexity that Napa cab CAN be. Nose of iodine, black licorice. Very front of this wine is sweeter black cherry giving way to an herbal infused middle (getting more dried basil with a hint of oregano and cumin). The red clay terroir is unmistakably present here through the middle and finish, which is usually more present for Ponente only at the very finish. The wine finishes with black cherry and black licorice dominated notes. I have a feeling that this wine is still on the way up. Has a few more years until it is at the top of the hill, but drinking OH SO WELL right now. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Gooseberry, bramble, violets, hint of sage. This is a full-bodied Merlot. However, the middle picks up a cola note but doesn't really go to a chocolate like the 2010 and 2012 had more of a tendency to do. This one really did not have a ton of acidity nor did it really have a ton of tannin to resolve. There was definitely enough tartrate in the bottle though! I really look for this one to continue aging quite nicely for another 10 to 15 years. But oh man, this one is drinking pretty darn nice right now. — 8 years ago

DAL 9000

9.4

Mild mild aroma of citrus and green apples. Green apple citrus tartness in the middle then a quick finish. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

I am a big fan of David Swift Phinney wines. In 1998 David founded Orin Swift Cellars; Orin is his father’s middle name and Swift is his mother’s maiden name. Aged 10 mos in French oak, 42% new, Ruby with complex aromas of fresh fruits, floral and herb spice, nice mouthfeel. On the palate flavors of raspberry and cherry with cacao and hints of pepper spice. Rich full chewy tannins, well balanced on long finish ending with fruit and earthy spice. — 4 years ago

Andrew Lohse

8.9

Fairly classic, down-the-middle Sonoma style if that’s your thing — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Thanksgiving wine 2019. Red cherry licorice and a hint of cola. At first this wine was a bit acidic but needed about 30 minutes to work itself out. Graphite hits in the middle. Medium + bodied wine. Got a little brambly towards the finish bit definitely not in a bad way. Going to hold nicely for the next 10 years. Beautifully done. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

This is a big wine. Although it does not have the luscious fruit characteristic of the 2015, it has arguably more brambly young acidic raspberry fruit in the front and middle. As close to full bodied as it gets. A little bit of mint in the middle. Finishes with some oak and baking spice. This is a bit closed off IMO and still think these will benefit from time in the bottle. Really nice but still think I'm in love with the 15 vs the 16 or 17. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Another Christmas wine from yesterday. I know this wine gets a bad rap, and its reputation has been a bit of a roller coaster. We were even a bit underwhelmed when we visited a few years back. All that to say, this was a welcomed surprise. It needed an hour+ in the decanter to blossom.

Superb aromatics of baked blackberries, saddle leather, bay leaf, violets and clay. A persistent battle between fruit and secondary notes. The palate was big without being overbearing. Silky. Just glides down the middle of the palate with dusty red and black fruit, vanilla pipe tobacco, pencil lead, and dark roasted plum.

Can be a tough price to pay based on other wines at similar quality and cheaper prices in Napa Valley, but this really is a gorgeous wine that is still years away from its peak. — 7 years ago