Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Most of the wines I open tell me a story w/ each sip. Most tied to my late wife Sofia. My memories of this producer precedes her.

This is a producer that flashed early in my wine journey. Generally, one you have moved on from today. That’s until, their 2013 is offered at $39 recently. A grand vintage. For me, I wanted to see the wineries progression and experience earlier memories that flood back w/ each sip. It has done that.

I have a Napa history infatuation. This one is kinda of a pleasure-pain thing. While I enjoyed this producer many years ago, the 2020 Glass Fires destroyed 90% of their vineyards, almost all their structures & their 19 & 20 vintages. I can’t express enough what a gut punch that is for its owners & staff. It is an insurance nightmare and let’s not forget that after all the time it takes to re-plant vines, it takes at least 7 years before you get useable fruit to make wine. So…a ten yr plus setback w/ nearly no revenue stream.

The wine tonight w/o a ribeye, showed excellent fruits that the 13 growing season brought. But what followed was a lean mid plate and finish. With the steak, not so.

The palate shows M+ velvety, dry tannins. Ripe, rich, lush, ruby fruits of: blackberries, black plum, baked plum, dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries, poached & fresh strawberries & an understated array of purple fruits. Moist, grey, volcanic clays, moist tobacco w/ ash, used leather, graphite, dry, crushed rocks/limestone-sandstone, dry brush, dark cola, black licorice to anise, dry herbs-bay leaf, sage, dark, mid spice with some palate heat, sweet tarriness, dark, fresh, candied & withering red roses, lavender & dry violets, excellent acidity with a well balanced-knitted, nicely structured & tensioned, elegant finish that lasts minutes and long sets on dry earth & spice.

This is nice on its own but so much better with a ribeye. 92 on its own with a hour decant. 92-93+ with an hour decant plus a juicy, well seasoned MR ribeye. — 4 months ago

Bill Mowry

9.0

Eagle Ridge is one of my favorite boutique wineries in Livermore. They use all estate grapes and the Petite Sirah is their signature wine. This 6 year old PS has flavors of plum and brambleberries. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Lush, fruit forward. Candied dates, prunes, clove, roasted character on the front. Gives way to a darker smoked meat character. Was the best with the homemade salad dressing consisting of avocado, fresh basil, Greek yogurt, green onion, garlic and parsley. In a way I could see all of these characteristics in this wine. In the past these have seemed a little tight and a bit closed off on the finish, but this wine was ready for the show. I think this producer is really quite underrated when it comes to the time it takes for these to really start expressing and I would put these up against any of the South African 'first growth' wineries. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

The nose reveals; dark currants, blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries. Black tea, expresso roast, anise, crushed dry rocks, big vanilla, clove, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, woody notes with dark fresh & withering flower bouquet.

The body is big and lush. The tannins are big, meaty and tarry. Very dark currants. Blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries & strawberries as they open up. Black tea, expresso roast, steeped fruit tea, anise, crushed dry rocks, dry clay, big graphite, big vanilla, dark spice, clove, light dry herbs, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, cedar with violets dark fresh & withering flower bouquet. The acidity is round, fresh and beautiful. The big, long, well balanced finish is excellent and look forward to having this in 15-20 years. This one will be a stunner!

Photos of, the barn where they make wine and hosts tastings, our private tasting area inside William’s old office. William desk and their outside terrace area.

Producer history & notes...Seavey Vineyard is located along Conn Valley Road in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, about 15 minutes from the valley floor.

This historical property was originally a cattle ranch. However, records indicate grapes were planted on some of the hillsides as early as the 1870’s. The stone dairy barn, still in existence, was built in 1881.

William & Mary Seavey purchased this property in 1979. The estate was originally founded by the Franco-Swiss Farming Company in 1881 which, closed down when Phylloxera destroyed their grape vines and the Volstead Act (Prohibition) went into effect. At the time of their purchase, they were a horse and cattle ranch. They quickly planted the slopes with grapes and initially sold their fruit to Raymond Vineyards. They have never purchased grapes, all their wine is made from estate grapes. Their vineyards are separated into 20 plus individual blocks.

Today, the property is about 200 total acres of which, 40 acres are planted to vine. Their hillside vineyards produce low yields of rich concentrated fruit. A small block of Chardonnay grows in a cooler lower part of their property. Besides grapes, they also raise cattle which are used to graze the hillsides. They feed the vineyard with the cattle cuttings. In 2003, they were one of the first Napa wineries to install solar.

Mary passed away in 2008 and William died in 2016. There daughter Dorie returned to the family business and now oversees the winery operations. Her brother Arthur also handles national and some small international sales, primarily to restaurants. However, most of their wine is sold direct to consumers.

Seavey’s first commercial vintage was released in 1990 a year after they renovated the stone dairy barn into a working winery. Today this stone building is the centerpiece of the property and is where tastings are hosted.

Since 2011, Jim Duane has been their day to day Winemaker. He’s worked at Robert Mondavi and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It should also be noted that Philippe Melka Winemaker/Consultant has been with Seavey since 1995...one of Philippe’s two initial wine making jobs in the Napa Valley were with Seavey and Lail Vineyards.

Seavy makes about 3,200 cases annually depending on what mother nature brings. They make around two hundred cases of Chardonnay, slightly more Merlot and the rest is of the production is comprised of their Caravina and Estate Cabernets.
— 8 years ago

J Greene

9.2

2nd review on this, third time tasting. Great wine but scored a bit lower than original (maybe I was too excited about one of my fav wineries). Just needs more time. The nose is beautiful but the palate needs a bit more time to balance out. Great complexity and on its way the being a well balanced delight…just another few years. — 8 months ago

Martin Sher

9.1

Any day of the week! Great off dry Riesling from one of my favorite wineries. Sweet orchard fruit that goes down with frightening ease. — 6 years ago

Hugh O'Riordan

9.2

First , I am a Grenache fan. Actually toured the Piorat region wineries with a guide a few years ago. This is a luscious, chewy, delicious example of the Grenache grape. — 7 years ago

Sam Agami

10

Wow, old school perfection! California wine from a forgotten age. Pure Italian-American greatness. Reminds me of the wine my childhood landlord would make from the vines that grew behind our house just upstate from NYC. Dark fruits abundant, soft acidity and tanins, nice touch of oak, without obscuring the graps as so many California wineries are obsessed with doing for some reason these days. Found this at a random liquor store on a road trip, will seek it out now. Even better than the Cribari Chianti or Coppola Rosso, which were my previous favorite in this genre, the wonderfully underappreciated "backyard" wine... — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

One of CA's oldest wineries, Far Niente, founded in 1885 by world traveler John Benson. The winery flourished until Prohibition, at which time it was abandoned and fell into complete disrepair. The stately stone shell of a winery was purchased in 1979 by Gil Nickel. Tropical and stone fruit aromas with complex spice and oak notes. On the palate apple, melon and citrus flavors, creamy, with toasty oak, fig and honey tones. Lingering finish ending with vibrant acidity & mineral character. Consistent. Nice! — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.2

A wonderful tasting put on by Classic Wine Storage featuring Long Shadows Winery. If you aren’t familiar with these wines, they are phenomenal WA state wines that are made by the likes of Randy Dunn, Phillipe Melka, Michel Rolland, John DuVall, and more.

Dominant Sangiovese with some cab and a splash of Syrah. Rich style sangio wine. Sweet oak, dirty cherries, herbs, and a high percentage/bitter dark chocolate. — 8 years ago

Joe Roth

9.3

One of the best and underrated Napa wineries — 9 years ago

with Michael

Erin DiGiulio

9.4

Very good, drinkable and pleasant — 9 years ago

Boris Mathiszik

8.9

Nice cab. I found it lacking a bit of refinement considering we were at one of the best wineries in the Valle de Guadalupe. But solid wine, and amazing winery. Syrah leading the way in this region I strongly believe. — 5 years ago

Keith Ward

9.2

Still standing tall! Amazing Bordeaux blend from one of Australia’s preeminent wineries! Very balanced, great forward fruit and a super-long finish! Had with aged beef - to die for!! — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Last week was a combo of 4th Friday and Open That Bottle Night on back to back nights. Needless to say, the lineup between both days was full of heavy hitters, so I’m only posting standout bottles.

One of my bottles. One of my favorite wineries and easily one of the top 5 winery visits I’ve ever done. To me, this is “classic” Continuum in that is has just a impeccable balance of both fruit and herbal/savory notes both aromatically and on the palate. I let this slow ox for a couple hours, checking in ever so often, and found this hit stride after about two hours of air. Lovely bouquet of potpourri, lavender, graphite, sage, currant, ripe blackberries, black cherries and mocha. On the palate, its profile is soft yet all encompassing. Mulberries, cassis, tobacco leaves, herbs de Provence, licorice, dark cocoa, baking spices and a touch savory toward the finish. Enjoyable now and not getting better. My thanks to @Bill Bender for this. — 6 years ago

with joe, Weston and 1 other

Rick Baumgarten

9.5

Another terrific example from one of my very favorite wineries. Dark and nearly opaque. Inviting floral nose. Rich earthy taste of dark fruit, spices, vanilla and pepper. Long, round finish. This will continue to improve for at least four or five years. — 7 years ago

Miquella Martinez

8.9

Good fruit flavors medium body. — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.4

A wonderful tasting put on by Classic Wine Storage featuring Long Shadows Winery. If you aren’t familiar with these wines, they are phenomenal WA state wines that are made by the likes of Randy Dunn, Phillipe Melka, Michel Rolland, John DuVall, and more.

This wine is made by Michel Rolland. Large and in charge merlot. Mocha, sweet pipe tobacco, and a lot of ripe blackberry. Nutmeg and cinnamon. Cab lovers merlot. — 8 years ago

Christopher

9.0

Nice sweet refreshing red. — 8 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Artesa (ahr TESS uh) means "craftsman" and connotes "handcrafted" in Catalan, language of Barcelona and their owner, Codorníu, one of the world's largest and oldest wineries. Ruby with sweet berry fruit aromas and floral notes. On the palate cranberry and cherry flavors with spice. Fine savory tannins medium finish ending with mineral notes, nice value. — 9 years ago