Neal Ferry

9.0

Loaded with Fruit….. — 5 months ago

with TwiLea

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

8.9

The 2017 Fabius shows dark florals and balsam herbs, giving way to crushed ashen stone and hints of damp earth. Here I’m finding velvety textures and fleshy black fruits energized by bright acidity that give way to a staining of minerals and spice. This tapers off lightly structured with remnants of plum and hints of tobacco. It’s a balanced and pleasurable expression of Syrah from Montalcino that refines for six to eight months in a mix of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th-pass barriques. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 3 years ago

Jeff Dunn

9.3

What a badass bottle! The wine is fantastic too — 3 years ago

Paul T HB

9.9

Mag,
2nd day is essential, opened yesterday & decanted 4 hours today. This is right there with the 2005.
Its been 4 years since my last 07, it still has plenty of life but why wait when you can decant🤷🏼‍♂️
The 29 Estate vineyard is situated on the east-facing hillside at the base of the Mayacamas range, a couple miles north of St. Helena and just above Highway 29. The soil here is clay loam with gravel deposits, deeper at the bottom of the slope and shallower and rockier toward the top (the Sauvignon Blanc is planted in the rockiest spot, followed by the Cabernet Franc and then Cabernet Sauvignon). The slope and soil content ensure good drainage, while the rocks and gravel allow the roots to penetrate deep, ensuring more stable vines and more consistent ripeness. Average yields here for Cabernet Sauvignon are a moderate 2.8 to 3.2 tons per acre, held down by the vine stress associated with steep vines.

Vineyard 29 is located in the narrow hourglass part of Napa Valley and benefits from consistently good air flow. Even in 2008, there was just a touch of frost at the bottom of the vineyard, according to McMinn, who noted that his Aida vineyard just two miles to the north is typically six or seven degrees warmer. The site also benefits from its eastern exposure, capturing early morning sunlight but with the mountain above protecting the vines against the most intense afternoon sun. The result is slow, consistent ripening of the grapes and healthy sugar levels with much less risk of desiccation, which in turn means rounder, more integrated tannins. Although St. Helena is a very warm region, day-night temperature variation at Vineyard 29 is among the widest in Napa Valley, according to McMinn.

Thanks to Vineyard 29’s well-aerated site and protection from the hottest afternoon sun, the estate Cabernet always has sound acidity; it has never been acidified, according to winemaker Emerson. The pH of the Vineyard 29 estate wine is typically between 3.75 and 3.9, and alcohol levels are moderate by Napa Valley standards, almost always in the high 14s (with 2009 the only vintage to have exceeded 15%). The wines are frequently characterized by black and blue fruits—cassis, blackberry, blueberry—and notes of chocolate, licorice and spices. Compared to the Grace Family Vineyards wine, made from a vineyard barely 200 yards to the north from the same plant material, the Vineyard 29 wine is characteristically a bit less floral and delicate but riper and denser, combining power with typically plush, ripe tannins. Emerson noted that Vineyard 29 is typically harvested at least a week later than the Grace site, noting that the tannins “take a long time to lose their chalky character and come around.” Luckily, he added, “the fruit here can hang for a long time without getting too crazy with sugar.” And the estate routinely picks in two passes, typically seven to ten days apart.

— 4 years ago

Nathan Renfro

9.6

2003 vintage. Wow this wine is singing! Gotta be right in its prime now. Soft silky tannins but still with just a bit of an edge. Blue fruit and cassis galore. So we’ll integrated and structured. Getting hints of tertiary flavors of leather and tobacco. Medium plus finish. Great luscious mouthfeel. — 2 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.2

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the Delectable family.

Good wine, good food, good to see family again, good to hear a favorite song about '...twenty-seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back...' all makes for a perfect afternoon.

Nose has black cherry, menthol, moist peaty soil, dried blackberry, ripe blackcurrant and cedar box.

Palate has dehydrated cherry, ripe blackberry, tart cherry, leather, medium tannins, medium acidity with medium finish. — 3 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.4

Masses of crushed black cherries laced with Christmas spice, lavender and dusty cedar waft up from the 2010 Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vecchie. It’s fleshy and round upon entry, offering ripe cherries, plums and burnt citrus that saturate the palate. Brisk acids work hard to add vibrancy and lift, in spite of the staining of concentrated primary fruit that lingers throughout the finish. The result is one of gravelly tension yet also satisfaction, like biting into a fresh yet tart raspberry. The 2010 Vigne Vecchie is the current release for this bottling, which spends six or seven years refining in 50- to 70-hectoliter Slavonian oak botti prior to bottling. It’s an experience wine, to say the least. (Eric Guido, Vinous, June 2021)
— 4 years ago

Kelsey Song

10

A great 30th birthday wine! — 2 years ago

Mel Carrico

9.7

Very good, slightly tart, dry and juicy, one of my favs! — 3 years ago

Jeffro Beaudeen

9.4

Holey Shinoley Batbrain another amazing save! figured I'd be dumping this one along with its brethren on the shelf into my fine wine vinegar barrel but instead someone slipped in at some point and replaced the contents with a fine premier cru burgundy . . Reminiscent of a Mid90s Charles Dugat Gevrey Clos St Jacques . . and is drinking like an a-point seven year old instead of it's 26 current years of age . . slight and bring out the rim; solid plum and some Asian spice notes, evolved secondary and some tertiary notes, tinge of barnyard that helps a pair with the 36 hours sous vide braised then flash fried elk tongue I am pairing it with . .  perfect balance of fruit and acidity, long long long lingering finish -- what a fabulous surprise . . I would've been delighted had it been that vinetard designated premier crew burgundy at a couple hundred bucks, but to open some thing like this for probably eight dollars and change when I bought it makes the smile slightly broader. Happy I have more 😁🍷 — 3 years ago