Moone Tsai Paige Cuvée Chardonnay 2021, Russian River Valley, California
Dark gold in color.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with nice complexity and a soft mouthfeel.
Showing lemons, apples, pears, light earth, vanilla, bitter herbs, oak and minerals.
Tangy finish with almonds and limes.
This is very tasty Chardonnay from Russian River Valley. Still young, but already enjoyable. Elegant and soft. Rich and fruit forward. I really enjoyed the nose.
Needed 45 minutes in the bottle to open up properly, remove some of the oaky notes, and balance itself out.
Would be nice to revisit this Single Vineyard Chardonnay in 3 years, and see how it evolved.
Good by itself as a sipping wine, or with food. I paired it with a double cream Brie cheese.
100% Whole Cluster Chardonnay grapes were aged in (45% new) French Oak barrels for 17 months.
13.9% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$120. — 2 years ago
[Tasted on August 18, 2023 at etc in Nashville with Jay and on February 23, 2024 at Kayne Prime with Rachel]
Wine is 2019 Black List XXX, which is 100% Cabernet Franc sourced from Oak Knoll. Blueberry, blackberry and black raspberry fruit, with dried herbs. Silky and rich. — 3 years ago
Took a while to settle. A black berry aftertaste. Very nice vino — 5 years ago
For old man’s celebration — 6 years ago
100% Cab from Soda Canyon and Atlas Peak. Aged for 20 months in 42% New French Oak. Mild tannins and very European in style. Notes of sweet baking spices, tamarind, cedar, vanilla, and black fruit (Blackberries, Cherries, etc.). This one is right up there with Blacklist XIII, which was a 50/50 blend of Cab and Merlot, but very similar in style and structure. — 6 years ago
Moone Tsai Black List XXXIV Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Napa Valley, California
It is time for my #FridayCabernetfix.
Deep inky in color with a short neon red rim.
Full bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, cooked cherries, spices, cedar, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco, espresso, light earth, dark chocolates, herbs and peppercorn.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.
This 4 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is still very young, but already drinking beautifully. Complex and interesting.
A different kind of Napa Cabernet. Fruit forward, but not 'in your face' kind of wine. Elegant and restrained.
I gave it 3 hours in the decanter, but it might not been enough. The high alcohol is nicely integrated already.
Will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 7 years and see how it evolves. Has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were aged in (65% new) French Oak barrels for 18 months. A tiny production of only 5 barrels.
15.4% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$330. — a year ago
[Tasted on April 14, 2023 at The Chef and I in Nashville with Jay]
Wine is Black List XXIX. 71% Petite Verdot and 29% Cabernet Sauvignon. Black plum, black cherry and blackberry fruit, with pencil shavings, cedar and graphite. Beautiful wine. A bit tight; could use some time in the cellar. — 3 years ago
A beauty. Still young but well balanced. Nice citrus notes with the a hint of fresh green grass and honeysuckle on the nose. Well integrated and balanced with a long finish. A delight. Not bad from a GSB grad 👍🏻 . #moonetsai moonetsai.com — 6 years ago


Rich mix of dark and red fruit plus nice vanilla finish. 2025 Christmas Eve dinner — 6 months ago
[Tasted on September 21, 2025 at Pastis in Nashville with Jay and Rachel]
96% Cabernet Sauvignon (Pritchard Hill, Yountville and Coombsville); and 4% Petite Sirah (Calistoga). 2019 vintage yielded wines which are powerful, rich, elegant and balanced. Blackberry, black plum and black cherry fruit, with graphite, oak and baking spices. — 9 months ago
Ruby/purplish in color with medium intensity and a wide reddish rim.
Nice nose of red fruits with spices, light oak, licorice, chocolates, herbs, earth, light bell pepper and spices.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with raspberries, cherries, red currants, peppercorn, dark chocolates, light earth and herbs.
Spicy finish with soft tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a very tasty Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills in California. Elegant and fruit forward. Spicy and entertaining.
Well balanced with a nice mouthfeel, and heavier in style. A good quality wine that would be interesting to revisit in 3 years.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after an hour of airtime.
Easy drinking and good by itself or with food. I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses. Paired nicely with the French Brie cheese.
Pinot Noir grapes (30% whole Cluster) were aged in 50% French oak barrels for 16 months.
14.9% alcohol by volume.
90 points.
$120. — 2 years ago
This was one of my wines from my annual WWC hosting. The other whites were Bereche Brut Reserve for the champagne, a 2015 Bongran EJ Thevent (burgundy) Chardonnay and a 2017 Moone-Tsai Ritchie Chardonnay.
Color me impressed. I have enjoyed Calera’s pinots quite a bit, but I haven’t had as much experience with the Chardonnay’s. It was almost like a Aubert Larry Hyde “lite”. As this was tasted blind, most guessed this was Chardonnay, but lots of back and forth on where it would be from. Initially, this toed the line between steely and slightly oaked with bright citrus, lemon, clean aromatics…but after an hour in the glass, this really bulked up and sported a down-the-middle type medium bodied profile. Not lean, not powerful. The tart lemon turned to a more lemon cream profile with lots of floral/honeysuckle notes, alongside herb crusted yellow fruits. No problem opening now, but I’d love to try another one of these in a few years. 92+ — 5 years ago



Scott E. Becker
[Tasted on January 23, 2026 at Kayne Prime in Nashville with Jay]
Wine is Black List XXXII. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Blackberry and black currant fruit, with notes of cocoa, coffee and spice. Silky wine. — 5 months ago