2005 vintage. Great fill and cork. Decanted and tasted after two hours. Small amount of chunky and powdery sed. Nose a bit musty but never funky during a high decant. Medium-heavy body. Tremendous power throughout. Can easily go another two decades. Still packing the signs of youth such as individual flavors easily evident vs melded/integrated ones. Tasted more like a 2020 vintage. Was hoping for more black tea, espresso, orange citrus peel, soy sauce notes (and there were some). This one's gonna need a bigger boat...er...another 7-8 years or a 5 hour decant to shed some of that overt power in a trade off for nuance. Delicious in its own way but not easy. Demanding. 04.04.25. — a year ago


Inky in color with a very short reddish/ brick rim.
Full bodied with medium acidity
Showing black fruits with earth, bell pepper, tobacco, oak, dark coffee, pencil lead, bitter herbs, earth, light roasted bell pepper and forest floor.
Soft tannins on the tangy finish.
This 10 year old Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is probably on its way out. Still very drinkable, but a little unbalanced and showing lots of earth notes.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after two hours of air time.
Showing nice complexity at this point, but a little bitter for my taste.
Although still good, I expected more from this second wine from this producer and this vintage.
90 points.
$80 (current vintage). — 3 years ago
These are recalled impressions, not contemporaneous notes, from two nights ago, when the family council of elders met for a steak/wine pairing event at my brother Angelo’s house.
Another consensus favorite, the ‘16 version is stellar. So deep, but with that elusive (for Zin) old-world sense of balance, structure, and restraint. Paired beautifully with both kinds of steaks — 5 months ago
One of the wines I supplied for an annual lunch hosting (co-host this time). I was really hesitant to open this given the fanfare of this specific wine, but also how DrCrane can be an in-between wine for me (so explosive young, shut down at 5-10yrs, re-open 10+). Decanted two-three hours.
Classic deep purple-black DrCrane in the glass. Aromatics are immediate with ripe blue and black fruits, baking spices, mocha and graphite. Just a little bit of high-toned EA to make it pop, along with this roasted character I always get from DrCrane wines. Opulent and polished in every way on the palate, this is a tidal wave of flavor with no hard edges. It’s a towering wine in the sense of so much concentration and depth on the mid-palate, but it’s so incredibly polished at the finish…almost shockingly so. The ripe fruits and the dark chocolate linger longer than any Napa cab I can remember. Iron first in a velvet glove.
No need to worry, these are open for business. Plenty of structure to carry a while, but this window seems like it was made for how this wine is drinking now. — a year ago
Lovely. Drank over two nights. Aroma built nicely, warm on the way down — 4 years ago
This is an intense, full-bodied wine. A striking minerality with scents of cherry on the nose. On the palate, the rich cherry flavor comes through with beautiful violet tones melding together harmoniously with a ferrous-driven minerality. The finish is long with the violet and cherry flavors making way for iron notes and strong tannins, which are almost too strident on the finish. I see the tasting window starting in 2017 or 2018. I decanted most of the bottle for two hours while leaving a serving in bottle for the second day. These notes are based on second day. Tannins were smoother second day, although still quite strong. I had the 2016 in the fall, and it had more complexity with softer tannins on the finish. — 4 months ago
I have enjoyed this producers vineyard over many vintage and this might be the best.
The 22 vintage is stunning and as good as it is, 23 might be better based on a somewhat limited exposure at this point.
The entry is glorious…such balance and wire to wire it doesn’t change much.
Green apple, perfect lemon & lime pulp into subtle candy, grapefruit, white stone fruit, kiwi, tropical melons, pineapple, cream reduction, saline, perfect sea fossils, fine powdery taut chalkiness, crisp volcanics, white spice, grey volcanic minerals, limestone marl, mix of fresh & dry stubble herbs, honeysuckle, light caramel, warm lightly done toast, yellow florals, spring flowers with greens, grand waterfall acidity, beautiful structure-tension, incredible balance with an elegant finish that lasts two-minutes and long sets on volcanic minerals and spice.
Decanted 1 hour.
When I first started buying this bottling, it was $50-$60, now $150. Might be my last bought. My white spend has a more limited range than my red. Don’t think I’m alone.
A property Sofia & I have visited in 2015. — 6 months ago
The 2022 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is a fabulous introduction to the range. Served last in this series of Chardonnays, the appellation Chardonnay is perhaps a bit more floral and lighter in body, but other than that, it is in no way inferior to the vineyard designates. This is beautifully done. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, August 2024)
— 2 years ago
Popped and poured; consumed over two days with little way in evolution. Cork pulled perfectly. The 2013 Caravina pours a deep garnet color with an opaque core and some very fine sediment. Medium+ viscosity and moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is intense…redolent with black fruit, black currants, blackberries, some black cherry, black plum, tobacco leaf, eucalyptus, espresso, some green bell pepper, iron rich tilled earth, purple flowers, vanilla and baking spice. On the palate, the wine is very dry with medium++ tannins and medium+ acid. The tannins are integrating well but remain very firm. The black fruits dominate on the palate coming across tart and fresh in the most becoming way. Dark chocolate, earth, tobacco, vanilla and baking spices are there too. The finish is super long and incredibly satisfying. This wine has such a dark and sexy streak to it. It’s like, the Portishead of wines. It’s drinking very well right now and should continue to do so for at least another ten years. One of my favorite vintages of Caravina to date. — 4 years ago

"Odedi"
#AgedWineTuesday
Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.
Strong nose and full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry on the palate and elegant with nice complexity.
Showing black currants, black plums, cooked cherries, cedar, tobacco leaf, coffee, cola, dark chocolates, herbs, peppercorn, mediterranean spices and light earth.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.
This is a gorgeous Syrah from Sonoma County. Rich and fruit forward. Smooth and powerful, yet elegant.
This 13 year old Single Vineyard Syrah is drinking very much like a Napa Merlot, which is so interesting.
Beautiful right out of the bottle, and so much better after 30 minutes of airtime. The high alcohol is nicely integrated by now, so watch out.
Robert Parker 100 points.
Peaking now, and will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.
A great sipping wine that paired nicely with food too.
A blend of 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier.
93 points
$160. — 13 days ago