Michael Wehner

9.6

At a benefit auction… fine bubbles, perfect dryness. Enough of these and I will overbid — 3 months ago

with Margaret

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed out of red Solo cups over the course of a few hours. The 1994 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with lovely notes of black currants, plums, blackberries, tobacco, purple flowers, leather, baking spices and a mix of organic and inorganic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. These mid-90’s vintages of Viader are showing really well right now. Drink now through 2029+. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured into red Solo cups. The 1995 pours a deep garnet color with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some decent sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of mostly ripe and some desiccated black and red fruits: black, currants, blackberries, black cherry, plum, cocoa, tobacco, old leather bound books, dried purple flowers, a mix of organic and inorganic earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. I sometimes feel like Cardinale is an overlooked label in the Jackson Family lineup. It’s been around for decades and these wines always impressed me, especially with age. Drink now through 2035. — 9 months ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

8.9

Parking Lot - Trader Joe’s 30$ Barolo. 14.5%. Tasted on the spot! With the mini snack cups from T.G. Brownish tinge, tealeaves and quite tart. Lacks classic Barolo flavors - will pass up on this one. Sad 😞 - Great vintage how can anyone screw this up? Might this needs hours of air and or a proper glass? Will add to these notes - in 3 hours. May be i am wrong? — 2 years ago

Sarah Milsow-Guenther

8.9

Pleasantly surprised at this one. Still had lots of flavor for the vintage. Nice acidity and went really well with the pasta we had for dinner. Really nice wine for the price point from a newer (at the time) winery. — 4 years ago

Randall Brater

9.1

vanilla and blackberry on the nose.

Smooth and balanced on the palate. Initial hit of acid and ripe fruit gives way to a bit of green pepper before finishing with hints of ripe plums. — 4 years ago

Bob Boyle

9.1

This is a blockbuster of a wine that still needs more time. Nose of cedar & dark fruit, mouthfeel still quite young and fruit still imprisoned by immense structure.
Interesting notes, since some reviewers describe it as Cab/ Syrah blend, and some straight Syrah; my thoughts is those bottles might have had a higher alcohol content and the reviewers were betrayed by a les-than-perfect identification algorithm, or were in their cups by the time they decided to post a review. Great wine nonetheless! — 6 years ago

Joe Christenson

9.2

Bright, crisp, minerals, and green apple. Nice way to start the Christmas Eve festivities — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

From magnum. Popped and poured into red Solo cups; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2008 pours a deep ruby purple color with a near opaque core; medium plus viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart, red and black fruits: mixed brambles, black cherry, black pepper, leather, dry earth and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is medium plus. Still pretty fresh and considering this is one of the more long-lived examples of Zinfandel I can think of, there is almost no end in sight. Drink now through 2043. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured into red Solo cups. The 1995 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and some desiccated, black and red fruits: cassis, brambles, tobacco, leather, organic earth, minerals and gentle baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (mostly integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This was a fantastic showing for the Napa and there’s quite a lot of life left. Drink now through 2035+. — 9 months ago

Bob Boyle

9.1

Very good wine, mineral nose, good body and clean finish. For those tasters who stated the vintage of their wine as 1681 I think you may have “ been in your cups”, either a truly age-worthy wine, or you noted the founding year of the winery, on the front of the bottle, instead of the vintage on the back label. Given there were multiple ratings of the 1681 vintage, it appears to indicate the joy of a good wine over careful reading of the label. — a year ago

jesus g

Hospitality Schramsberg Vineyards

9.4

Yeah, red solo cups. Just one of those days — 2 years ago

Randall Brater

9.0

velvety, rich and creamy in texture

orange chocolate, plums, green pepper, dried figs, tart blueberries, red and black currants — 4 years ago

Lauren Vance

Buyer Whole Foods Market Oakland

9.0

Funky nose of wet straw & petrol, which blows off quickly to white/yellow flowers, honeycomb and citrus leaves. Oily, heavier body of apricot/peach fruit cups, mandarin, and quince. Might guess Riesling/Semillion in a blind taste — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Popped and poured; enjoyed out of red Solo cups over the course of a few hours. The 1993 “Herb Lamb” pours a deep garnet/purple with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and significant sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with heady notes of mostly ripe and some desiccate fruit: black currants, blackberries, black plum, a mix of red and purple flowers, tobacco, Poblano pepper, leather, cocoa, some tilled earth and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Delicious. This was an outstanding showing. Drink now through 2033+ — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed from red Solo cups over the course of a few hours. This bottle of the 1966 came to party! The wine pours a garnet color with a near translucent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears and loads sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of black and red currants, Montmorency cherry, tobacco, Poblano pepper, pencil shavings, old leather bound books, espresso, loads of organic and inorganic earth, and a pleasant mix of cool and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. What a fantastic performance by the ‘66. Drink now though similarly stored examples won’t be falling off a cliff anytime soon. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Before I get into the notes, Flora Springs “Trilogy” is one of those wines from my formative years in this wine journey. Subsequently, it holds a special place in my heart. You can probably imagine how excited I was to enjoy the 1994 a vintage I likely drank long ago, out of a double-magnum no less! Giddy.

Popped and poured from double-magnum into red Solo cups and enjoyed her the course of an hour. The 1994 “Trilogy” pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and significant sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated dark and red fruits: brambles, currants, plums, tobacco, old leather, dusty earth and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and the texture is silky. The large format has no doubt had an effect on this wine’s nearly evergreen properties but what a treat! Drink now regardless of format and enjoy this in its full maturity. — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Best of Day 3. The 2015 “Ma Belle-Fille” pours a light gold color with medium+ viscosity. On the nose, developing with notes of fruit cups (the ones with pineapples and peaches), lemon bars, honeysuckle, and cashews. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and buttery but integrates better by Day 3. Leesy. The alcohol is medium+. For my palate, this was tough to love the first couple days as it lacked balance. By Day 3 however, it was quite becoming. Still a baby at 9 years. Drink with immense patience or better yet, after 2028 and through 2035 easy. — 2 years ago

Michael Chelus

9.1

Cherry, raspberry preserves, currant, blackberry, licorice and oak. Full-bodied and soft tannins. — 4 years ago

Patrick Peters

9.0

Dry, slight fruit, more tannin and fizz than expected. Paired well with dark chocolate peanut butter cups. This is a crushable bottle on a warm day! — 5 years ago