Vinny Brooklyn

9.0

96% Zinfandel, 2% Carignane & 2% Petite Sirah. 55 barrels produced. 14 months in barrel. Ridge ATP wine. Good fruit & structure. — 4 months ago

Tom Garland

9.3

Louis Martini Winery:
Underground cellar (in the 85 year old barrel cellar)food and wine experience.  6 dishes paired with their small production wines only available at the winery

WINES
2008 Monte Rosso cab
2013 cellar 254 Meritage
2019 cellar 254 merlot
2013 Monte Rosso cab
2015 Lot No 1 cab
2016 Lot No 1 cab
2017 Monte Rosso Gnarly vine zinfandel

FOOD:
Burrata,mustard green salad
Farro risotto with speck
Yellowtail tuna
Hamilton ranch lamb loin
Carboncino — 3 years ago

with Brenda

David Shaw

9.0

Purple-red, moderately extracted pigment, very good clarity. Raspberry, cherry, butter, thyme and stone notes in nose. Raspberry, soy sauce and tar flavors, grainy tannin sediment, moderate to high skin astringency, mineral finish with seed bitterness. Needs time to open. Ready to drink after three hours decanting, rounded mouthfeel, excellent depth of fruit - raspberry, cherry, blueberry water plus barrel char. — 7 years ago

Kellin

9.4

Elegant doesn’t even begin to describe this single vineyard Pinot. Barrel notes shine through dark red fruit, substantial minerality, and balanced acidity. Gorgeous wine. — 8 years ago

.

9.5

My favorite bottling of Mike’s Quivet line. I’ve had the ‘10 several times and it’s always been good, but this was the best bottle yet. Juicy purple and black fruits, a touch of mesquite wood smoke, and what I can best describe as barrel room aromas. Full-bodied but not at all heavy, there’s a depth of flavor that keeps calling for my attention. A stony/mineral element shows up in the finish, which seems to go on and on. This is one of the most enjoyable wines I’ve had this year. Sorry to say it’s my last bottle. — 8 years ago

Bart Bartlett

9.3

An excellent balance of fruit and earth that's lasting on the palate. The oak-aged barrel flavor comes through to give a sweet smokiness. This wine is simply superb. — 8 years ago

with Jennifer

Jason and Jennie

9.4

Holiday cab blind tasting

My ranking
1) 2015 quivet pellet
2) 2012 gallo estate cab (80 bucks. this had great tannins- an ager compared to quivet)
3) 2014 occasio reserve cab black label
4) 2014 steven kent smith ranch cab
5) continuum barrel sample — 9 years ago

Brian W. Anderson

9.0

Lovely bright gorgeous fruit and barrel goodness. — 9 years ago

Martin Mazner

9.0

Great to have friends like Connor who brought this wine to dinner. Perfect example of stags leap petite with powerful fruit tamed by age and great barrel wood selection. Spent so much time admiring the lovely waterfall legs I almost forgot to drink. Blackberry flavors tinged with earth produced great taste and bouquet — 2 years ago

Neil Valenzuela

9.0

Medium ruby color. Mix of Cab and Malbec. Aromas of cherry cola, blueberry and baking spices. Smooth, very delicious! Had at the Yountville tasting room and brought home a few bottles. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

10

Blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, and 1% Merlot sourced estate-owned vineyards in Rutherford (30%), South Napa (22%), the St. Helena home ranch (17%), and Stag's Leap District (Barboza Vineyard, 17% and Las Rocas Vineyard, 14%). Just opened this, 14 years in the bottle after a couple of years in the barrel! Still tasting well, young and juicy, should easily last another 14 years in the bottle. Deep Ruby, dark fruits, spice, complex nose. Palate reflects juicy rich berry fruits, well structured harmonious wine. Fine soft rich tannins, long finish ending with fruit, tobacco and earthy tones. Wow! — 4 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Second winery on day two in Sonoma was Hanzell Vineyards with Whitney. Third wine was the Hanzell Chardonnay, which is their flagship Chardonnay bottling. All the fruit comes from five of their estate vineyards with an average age of 29 years; de Brye, Zellerbach, Day, Ramos and Ambassador's 1953 vineyards. This bottling is fermented in a mix of stainless steel (62%) and new French oak barrel (38%), the later goes through lee stirring for two months. Aged for a total of twelve months in neutral French oak with all barrel fermentation going through malolactic.

Medium to medium plus lemon yellow with a slight golden hue. Lovely Chardonnay nose with layers of stone, tree and tropical fruits followed by an interesting note of herbal tea like chamomile and honeysuckle. A touch of citrus zest and brioche. Some more mouthwatering acidity on this bottling from Hanzell (7/10) with a medium plus body. Rich palate with a touch of butter, citrus, honeysuckle and some white stone fruits. A nice creamy mouthfeel with a long, lingering finish. Drink till 2032. (93+)

$$$ - Tasted at the winery. Retail price is $78.00. — 8 years ago

with India

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

On the nose, ripe, ruby, fruits of; mulberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries, blueberries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets.

The body is rich, ripe & full. The tannins are a little sticky but well softened, round and a touch chewy. The structure, tension, length, balance, tension and balance are very close to perfect and harmonious. Fruits are; mulberry, huckleberry, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, black cherries & creamy raspberries. Vanilla, hints of sweet tarriness, black licorice, whiff of spice, soft understated limestone minerals & crushed rock powder, fruity black tea, hint of fresh herbaceousness, rich, black turned earth, fresh dark floral bouquet and fields of lavender & violets. The acidity is round and rains like a waterfall perfectly over the palate. The very long, ruby, rich, well balance lasts minutes and is absolutely heavenly. Gorgeous, elegant, stunning wine.

Photos of; the vertical tasting we attended of all Hendricks Cabernets; 04, 05, 09 & 12 at the time w/ one of our favorite paintings in the background, Charles Hendricks working in the cellar, very old rootstock from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard where the fruit to make this wine normally comes from and a wide shot of the Stag’s Leap Vineyard.

Producer notes and history...Hendricks Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently sourced from a few of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. In those near perfect vintages, Charles only makes a small production wine of around 250-300 cases. Charles only produces it when he has exception fruit. He’s made Hendricks Cabernet in; 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012 & 2014. Notice he didn’t make Hendricks Cabernet in a great vintage year like 2013. He wasn’t happy enough with his fruit in 2013 to put his name on it. That says a lot and maybe all you need to know about his standard for quality. I do know what wine his 13 fruit made as I’ve had and it’s an unbelievable wine for far less money.

Charles also makes a fantastic Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands that is really quite amazing. Especially, if you give it 5 or 6 years in bottle. All his wines are sold exclusively through the Hope & Grace tasting room in Yountville as he is also the Hope & Grace Winemaker.

Charles graduated in 1982 from UC Davis in viticulture. He was also able to tailor his own curriculum and was one of the earliest to integrate winemaking and viticulture course work. Having knowledge of both viticulture and enology forms the basis for his well-rounded winemaking.

Over the years Charles has worked in both Napa and Sonoma Counties, gaining hands on experience in all aspects of winemaking. He has a strong reputation for excellence. In his career, he’s been a consulting winemaker for many wineries; Viader, Barnett Vineyards, Paoletti Vineyards, Regusci Winery, James Cole, T-Vine and Tamayo family Vineyard.

I asked Charles, “how does he make wines that are amazingly good in their youth but will age effortlessly for 15-20 years?” His answer was simply this, “its not that hard, you just have to know the perfect time to harvest fruit.” I would agree with that to a degree. But, you also have to know how to gently guide fruit onto it’s path into the barrel and not get in the wine’s way or overwork the process. — 8 years ago

B Williams

8.9

Had at twelve thirty club in Nashville. Very good with Waygu Bolognese. — 3 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This is about as good as Carignane gets. I would happily put this up against a great Carignane-centric Priorat. Gorgeous nose has deep, pure, red berry fruit, wet river stones, and a zesty dusting of spice. Just beautiful balance in the mouth. Rich fruit with no jammy excess, subtle barrel scents, subtle stony notes. Great acids. And for Carignane, with is not known for its length, it has a surprisingly lengthy, juicy finish. Very impressive. — 3 years ago

Ron R

9.3

Such a great presentation 34 years in. Ullage loss is almost zero, which tells its own story. Ethereal, but still displays lively fruit, and bright acidity and barrel toast. Sails on... — 5 years ago

with Mike, Diana and 3 others

Jess Ica Orona

9.2

2016- Bright green apple, pear, nectarine, lemon curd, a touch of sweet cream. Taste is bright, high acid, moderate phenolic bitterness. Medium body, dry through the middle lead to a silky finish. Normally I HATE chards but this is the kind I like. Virtually no barrel/mallow. Fruit focused and clean. Love it. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

The best wine they offer by a country mile.

On the nose, beautiful, ruby, ripe dark currants. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plum, creamy raspberries, sweet, moist, dark soil, dry stone, dry top soil, touch of black licorice, soft spice, light incense, fresh dark flowers, lavender & violets.

The body is full yet feels lite in the mouth. The tannins are firm, but rounded, softened & beautiful. The fruits are ripe & very ruby. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plum, creamy raspberries, sweet, moist, dark soil, dry stone, dry top soil, touch of black licorice & tarry notes, soft spice, light incense, slight vegetal character here & there, soft leather, graphite, expresso roast, soft, beautiful grainy minerals, tobacco leaf, fresh dark flowers, lavender & violets for days. The acidity is round and near perfect. Excellent, structure, tension, great length and well balanced. The long, elegant finish goes on and on. Easy to drink now but better in 7-8 years. Best drinking window, 2025-33.

Photos of; their Estate Vineyards with the Andes in background, barrel branding sign, twelve 196?’s bottles of wine. They are the last twelve bottles and the price per bottle is $1500 and you have to buy the last remaining twelve. Now, you know what to get me for Christmas. The lavender landscaping in front of their Viña Restaurant. — 8 years ago

David Quammen

10

11/8/17 - Dos Homies at Werling Ranch. One of the most balanced wines I have had in a while, smooth and the perfect dryness. Tastes like they tossed it into a whiskey barrel for a little while. Goes well with anywhere. — 9 years ago

Dana Giammaria

9.4

Love Hearst wines. Let this one breathe and it's fabulous. — 9 years ago