"Odedi"

9.2

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Fruity nose and full bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate and complex.

Showing black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, toast, light vanilla, spices, dark chocolates, licorice, coffee, tobacco, light earth, herbs and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a delicious Merlot from Napa Valley. Rich and fruit forward. Nicely balanced with nice complexity. Tangy and interesting.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 90 minutes of airtime.

Still young, and needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly, but already drinking beautifully.

A great sipping wine that will also pair nicely with food.

A blend of 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 19 months in (32% new) French Oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$55. — 14 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2021 vintage. Old-school styled, Napa cabbage. The solitary nod to new-school is the medium-heavy body. Focused, dark fruit presence (not as much as Freemark Abbey but not far behind either). Plenty of value to be had here. Grip if you want it. Fruit if you so desire. Obvious balance. Nicely done. First Neal product visit/tasting but it won’t be the last. 1.24.24. — 2 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Well...this was one hell of a week. There is only one way to wind it down. Reach for an excellent bottle of vintage Champagne.

My first thoughts are how delicate this is on the palate. Further, how unbelievable it will be with another 8-10 years in bottle.

The nose shows; slightly sour lemon, the good parts of lemon Pledge, lemon meringue, white stone fruits, pineapple fresh with lots of juice, grapefruit, lime pulp, honeysuckle, soft, haunting caramel, brioche, limestone & slightly, dirty, grey volcanics, saline, sea fossils, sea spray, bread dough, vanilla, white spices-light ginger with spring flowers, mixed floral greens & lilies.

The body is light on its feet and dances on the palate. Delicacy abounds. Its soft, gorgeous mousse right there with the best money can buy. Slightly sour lemon, lemon meringue, green & with more bruised golden apple, white stone fruits, pineapple fresh with lots of juice, grapefruit, lime pulp, touch of apple cider, honeysuckle, soft, haunting caramel, ginger ale into cream soda, brioche, nougat, toffee notes, lighter nuts without skin, limestone & slightly, dirty, grey volcanics, saline, sea fossils, sea spray, bread dough, vanillin, marzipan, white spices-light ginger with spring flowers, mixed floral greens & lilies. The acidity is mellow yet lively, gorgeous and as good as it gets. The finish is all luxury. So well knitted & balanced, elegant, rich but not overpowering and gently persisting several minutes.

Photos of; The House of Taittinger, their caves so chalky white and built on the famous Crayères Cellars of Reims: 2.5 miles of tunnels (they own 1/4 to 1/3 of it) cut out of chalk by the Romans, the portrait of Thibaud IV who was a king, lord, manager, singer, conqueror, explorer & 11th century Crusader all rolled into one from which, this Cuvée was the catalyst creation and part of the 600 plus hectares they own in Champange.

Some producer notes; Taittinger's history can be traced back to 1734, when it was originally known as Forest-Fourneaux, founded by Jacques Fourneaux who worked closely with local Benedictine monks to learn how to produce wine. They were just the 3rd Champange house.

The estate was bought by the Taittingers – a family of wine merchants – in 1932, and thanks to the great depression and subsequent low land prices, the family also picked up huge swathes of vineyard. From 1945-1960, Francois Taittinger established the cellars in the Abbey of Saint-Nicaise, and after his death in 1960 his brother Claude took over, pushing the estate into a Champagne house of world renown. Such was the status of the label that the Taittinger family soon expanded its business into other luxury goods. However, this eventually led to financial difficulties, and in 2005 the Taittinger brand – including the Champagne house – was sold to the American owned Starwood Hotel Group. The sale was badly received by the Champagne industry, with many fearing the new owners – unfamiliar with the culture of Champagne – would put profit ahead of quality.

Just one year later, Claude’s nephew, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who had always been opposed to the sale, negotiated a €660m deal with the Starwood Group, and the Taittinger family resumed ownership of the company.

In 2017, Taittinger planted its first vines in England, near a village in Kent, for its venture into English sparkling wine. The first bottle will be ready in 2023.

1/8/21 — 5 years ago

John Angell

9.5

An excellent triple. Haven't paired it with any food, unfortunately, but a very pleasant, drinkable Belgian. Definitely a fruity finish, reminds me of New Belgium Triple but not quite the coriander finish. I'll look for it at my local beer stores, although I would guess it's regional. — 9 years ago

Stuart Rasley

9.2

Belgians are the new American IPA. Or some such.... Merry Christmas Eve! — 10 years ago

with Lisa

.:;2):’kicndnebxhjd

9.0

Pretty lively. You've gotta love the sense of place with lots of cinnamon, chocolate powder, red and black pepper, currant, and blackberry rolling around in your mouth. There is significant minerality going on (volcanic rock's my bet) and it's balanced by new world juiciness. My only knock on it is faint pyrazines would have made this wild but I'm just speaking of personal hopes. Had this with Mediterranean food.. Zero regrets!! — 10 years ago

Jamie Lauder

9.2

2017 vintage.
From Bosche Vineyard in Rutherford, Napa Valley.
94 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 6 % Merlot.
27 months in French oak …68 % new oak.
Ripe raspberries, black currants, black cherry and black olives.
Dried herbs, earthy and savoury with well integrated tannins.
We tasted this upon release and it was a monster…a big, brawling youngster.
It has calmed down immensely and become a well respected member of society. — 2 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale lemon color with aromas of stone and citrus fruits with toasty aromas, aged in about 35% new oak. On the palate flavors of melon and peach with lemon citrus zest and nutty vanilla notes, good balanced with acidity. Medium+ finish ending with fruit, oak and mineral character. — 10 months ago

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. — 4 years ago

Severn G

9.1

On the Lawn at Tanglewood for our final evening of the season, pre & post-season the BSO fills the Lawn with Popular Artists. Tonight we're relaxing with Ben Harper and Troy Andrews, aka 'Trombone Shorty'. A lively show is ahead, fingers crossed we're trending more towards the New Orleans funk tonight.

Nose has blend of ripe and under-ripe strawberry, maraschino cherry and rhubarb pastry.

Palate has rehydrated cherry, dried strawberry and hints of fresh green herbs. Nice balance, clean, needs some more air to really get going, our final bottle of the vintage. FAW ♥️♥️ — 7 years ago

Nick Piccone

9.5

Everyone thought I was drinking wine at the pregame — 8 years ago

Giovanna Berardi

8.9

Very much enjoyed this with family on New Year’s Day! — 8 years ago

E & K G

9.1

A new favorite! Rich, just a touch of sweetness on the finish. #wheninhawaii #drinkhawaiian — 9 years ago

Carl Fischer

9.4

Everything I love in a new world Pinot. Bright cherries and strawberries, herbal notes of tea, light bodied, soft tannins, great acidity. All Anthill Farms' pinots are consistently good and crowd pleasers. When people say they don't like pinots I usually turn to this or El Molino to convince them otherwise. — 9 years ago

Frederick Kuehn

9.5

Candied blood oranges and tangerines mingle supported by vibrant acidity and the complex honeyed aromas of botrytis. An absolute pleasure and treat. — 10 years ago

Marc Melser

9.3

We had the 2019 Vintage on 12/20-21/25. Purchased at Maury’s Steakhouse. A very good Napa Cab with tastes of blackberry, plum, chocolate and oak. A nice spice and Rutherford dust on the finish. Medium to full bodied; New World for sure. Would buy more. — 7 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale lemon color with aromas of stone and citrus fruits with toasty aromas, aged in about 35% new oak. On the palate flavors of melon and peach with lemon citrus zest and nutty vanilla notes, good balanced with acidity. Medium+ finish ending with fruit, oak and mineral character. — 8 months ago

Myke Morgan

9.1

Malbec’s are not usually my thing, and apparently they are new for Freemark Abbey as well?
At any rate I was surprising pleased! Light cherry notes, a bit bitter or earthy, and a slight tannin reminiscent of their Cabs. Unsurprisingly I suppose.

2014 Vintage was a delicious surprise! — 3 years ago

with Anjanette

Taylor Loy

9.7

Amazing. Full of flavor, smooth, fairly dry. Lots of rich caramel, malt, spice. Finish of dark chocolate cocoa powder. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.

The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.

The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.

Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.

Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.

The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.

Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.

After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!

Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.

The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.

After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.

A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.

A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.

You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.

2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.


The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.

Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 8 years ago