Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

You definitely get the Merlot here. 67% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet.

2016 an excellent vintage. This still needs more cellaring.

The mouth entry is round, lush & velvety. Fruits lead mid toned but nice blackberries, plum, strawberries cherries, raspberries and a touch of black raspberries. Dark chocolate, mocha, dark, rich, slightly sweet forest floor, light fresh tobacco, excellent softly layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, hints of granite, red cola/licorice. Beautiful, dark, red florals, red roses petals, near perfect acidity, excellent balance/tension/structure with an elegant finish that lasts nearly two-minutes and falls evenly on fruits & beautiful earth. — 6 months ago

Rakan A

9.7

Sauvignon sublime — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Nice aromas of mint (not positive but this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is probably mainly from Coonawarra) and cassis, black currant aromas. Medium bodied with an inner core of latent strength, inherent in most Penfolds Reds. Tastes way younger than 13 years and will cellar for at least another 10 to 15 years or more. Postscript: I thought this statement was appropriate from Penfolds First Chief Winemaker and the creator of Grange, Max Schubert said, “Penfolds different cuvées may differ in character Year by Year, but all bear an unmistakable resemblance and relationship to each other. “ This is pertinent when tasting Bin 407. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

No notes made at the time and it was tasted a week ago. This is one of the Cuvées produced by Jim Chatto who was once the chief winemaker at Mount Pleasant in the Hunter Valley and now makes award winning Pinot Noir in Tasmania. Delectable. This is BIRD Pinot Noir. — 4 years ago

Chris Klein

9.0

Great flavor, just a tad thin. Overall, another great wine from Ojai! — 6 years ago

with Jim

David L

9.4

11’Colgin Cellars Tychson Hill Vineyard. Located just north of Saint Helena. Not that far from Grace family Vineyards.

Tightly wound straight out of the bottle. Decanted for 90 minutes. Certainly has made a world of difference.
Still full-bodied & depth, bursting with dark fruit, licorice flavor’s, back by nice floral notes, polished tannins. Slightly backwards!?! Last time I had this was five years ago & it wasn’t open for business. Now it’s screaming drink me. — 6 years ago

Aaron Rankin

9.1

Very hot with persistently grippy tannins. My first HSS, unfortunately from an off year. For the first hour it had an identity crisis, with classic, savory notes crudely juxtaposed to big fruit screaming for attention. The fruit won the screaming match, eventually even overwhelming the signs of oak. This was good, this paired nicely with steak, but I wish this knew who it was as it has so much potential. — 8 years ago

John Wanglin

9.2

Has for Christmas Eve — 6 months ago

Tom Garland

9.4

2 hour decant(little fine sediment). A striking dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: very aeromatic notes with perfumed dark berries, forest floor, spearment, smoked meat, truffles. Taste: silky, layered, plush wine with dark plum/cherry, milk chocolate, smokey cedar, earth, and a peppery graphite medium plus dry finish. YUM! Drinks well with the decant and time to go. — 10 months ago

with Brenda

Josh Eichorn

9.9

A perfect wine? Perhaps. Not many Napa wines can have this kind of horsepower at 19 years old (I was always told Napa wines fall apart after 15 years). I’ve never had Screaming Eagle or Grace Family or any of the new “premier cru” wines. What I will say, though, is that I have a hard time imagining a wine being better than this. Plush, with a solid core. Very little fade. Let it breathe, but it was drinkable right out of the bottle, rich with refined tannins, so much fruit, so much pleasure. The oak is now seamless with the wine, not an addition, but a part of it. If you had told me this was a more recent vintage, I would have believed you. This was Cosentino’s top of the line and what a top it was. Age has allowed for more complexity (I did taste this when it was newly bottled) and development, but this is a young wine, still. Nothing out of place. It is one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted. Quintessential Napa, the best the valley has to offer. I forget the story of “the secret clone” but knowing what all the steps are in making great wine, having this clone was just one of the many right choices in making this. This one may outlive me. It is in its prime with no end in sight. Perfect? I’m not sure. But I’ve not had better. — 2 years ago

Jean Kim

9.4

Silky tannins, fresh raspberry and tart cherry, earthy mushroom, moss, wet soil, dried rose petals. DELICIOUS. Keeps the palate intrigued - I keep picking up the glass to see what I’ll taste next. A wonderful collab between Raj Parr and Screaming Eagle. — 6 years ago

with Mark

Boris Mathiszik

9.0

This vintage doesn’t reach the heights of the amazing ‘16, but it is very nice. Classic sangio, medium bodied, screaming to be paired with a hearty meal. — 6 years ago

Laura McLaughlin

10

Delicious and bold — 7 years ago

KG

9.3

Delicious! Had it as part of a wine flight at Salish Lodge in WA. Celebrating our 2yr anniversary of the day we met. — 8 years ago

with Eric

Bob McDonald

9.5

A perfect balance between oak and fruit (blackberry) from this Barossa Shiraz. Great winemaking from John Duval who has quite the CV. John was Chief Winemaker at Penfolds from 1986 until 2002 being only the 3rd custodian of Penfolds Grange after Max Schubert (creator of Grange) and Don Ditter. In 2020 this wine received Shiraz of the Year and 99 points from the James Halliday Wine Companion. The product of old vines in the Barossa. Luscious but in balance and overall - delicious. — 8 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.8

Wow. Just classically awesome gg out of the gate.

Nose: screaming white and yellow flowers. So intense. A dusting of powdered minerals. Perfect. As this opens gods white flower perfume. Intense. Clean. Perfect.

Palate: perfection on the attack. Minerals form yellow flowers and stone fruits. Amazing density. Pulls no punches. Utterly delicious. Perfect balance.

A textbook nahe Riesling.

Honestly it’s so delicious I want to guzzle a bottle with a bag of potato chips. But it’s so good I just want to smell it’s all night.

Fass selections — a year ago

Steve Sánchez

9.2

Herbaceous and extremely savory nose. Oregano , thyme, charcuterie. Doesn’t overwhelm the fruit. Medium minus on the acid front. Not screaming by any stretch. The Napa heat keeps the finish lingering and savory finish stays long. 14.5% — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

See several previous tasting notes for this wine. This was made back in the day when Hunter Valley reds had strayed from their medium bodied, savoury, sweaty saddle origins to being riper and more full bodied like a South Australian Red. This was declared in a speech by Chief Winemaker at the time, Jim Chatto, at a dinner I attended at the winery. Also plenty of oak still evident at 15 years of age. I prefer the original Hunter Valley style which Mount Pleasant has wisely reverted to utilising the wonderful old vine fruit at its disposal. Tasted again 35 weeks later on 26th March 2022. Nothing to add to the note here. A Hunter Valley wine trying to look like a South Australian wine back in 2006 with ripe fruit and oak. Thankfully HV reds have returned to the medium weight savoury long living style that Maurice O’Shea made in the 1950’s. — 5 years ago

Turd Ferguson

9.1

Dam that’s pretty serious wine for $24. 13.5% Old vine Mencia. Loamy mineral. Blackberry. Raspberry. Chalky tannin. Best enjoyed while screaming obscenities at the dumbass POTUS on TV. Yes I’m drinking at 3pm on a Tuesday. — 6 years ago

Severn G

9.5

Chilled a little over cellar temperature, notes forthcoming...

Nose has insane qualities, not sure I've ever experienced a Riesling like this, beeswax, grapefruit pith, fresh cut white grapefruit, freshly cut spring hay and faint wet limestone.

Palate is restrained, yet screaming acidity, pulverized SweeTARTS, honey poured over citrus pith, limestone dust and faint white flowers.

Holy crap this is good!

Bocksbeutel with a glass stopper, unique closure for the classic Franconia bottle. — 8 years ago