William Harrison Vineyards & Winery
Rutherford Red Blend
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, USA
My 1st time trying this wine. Thank Mark @Mark Flesher for sharing this one with me. Great Bordeaux blend, dark fruit. I love the earthy graphite on the nose. I truly wish the finish was a tad longer since I enjoy it so much!
thank you bud!
My 1st time trying this wine. Thank Mark @Mark Flesher for sharing this one with me. Great Bordeaux blend, dark fruit. I love the earthy graphite on the nose. I truly wish the finish was a tad longer since I enjoy it so much!
thank you bud!
Another great Classic Wine Happy Hour in the books! Always a treat to have a designated day each month where guys can pull out some unique bottles!
Another 2011 vintage that is killer. Thanks @Mark Flesher for this. Heavy percentage of petit Verdot and Malbec in this, but the rough year brought the intensity of those varietals down and it's in a nice spot. Inky, blackberries and more blackberries, dusty/earthy quality alongside supple texture. Finished with a candied note.
Another great Classic Wine Happy Hour in the books! Always a treat to have a designated day each month where guys can pull out some unique bottles!
Another 2011 vintage that is killer. Thanks @Mark Flesher for this. Heavy percentage of petit Verdot and Malbec in this, but the rough year brought the intensity of those varietals down and it's in a nice spot. Inky, blackberries and more blackberries, dusty/earthy quality alongside supple texture. Finished with a candied note.
Drinking well. Dark fruit, tannins softening. Long dusty finish
Drinking well. Dark fruit, tannins softening. Long dusty finish
Aug 12th, 2016One of the first Napa wines I ever purchased (I'm a late bloomer). Bottle #171 of 3840 of the 2005 William Harrison Rutherford Red is deep garnet in color. The mouthfeel is dense. This wine still has great fruit - black cherry front and mid-palate and tart red cherry on the finish - but intertwined with tertiary flavors, most noticeably mint and leather. Good tannin structure remains, although much softer than when I tasted this in 2009. I'm drinking this to celebrate the fourth anniversary of my website.
One of the first Napa wines I ever purchased (I'm a late bloomer). Bottle #171 of 3840 of the 2005 William Harrison Rutherford Red is deep garnet in color. The mouthfeel is dense. This wine still has great fruit - black cherry front and mid-palate and tart red cherry on the finish - but intertwined with tertiary flavors, most noticeably mint and leather. Good tannin structure remains, although much softer than when I tasted this in 2009. I'm drinking this to celebrate the fourth anniversary of my website.
Jun 17th, 2015Tasted alongside a 2008 Quintessa, this producer's immediate neighbor. In a nutshell, this wine came out swinging from the very first minute. Definitely a boxer ready for the fight. Dark and brooding, inky. Volcanic blackberry and tar nose. Had a roasted St. Helena character. Blackberry, black licorice, hint of ripe fig and pipe tobacco on the front and mid palate. Rutherford dust on the finish. Almost goes more to the red clay volcanic Howell Mountain profile at 11 years of age likely thanks to its unique soil composition at the estate. The style here between this one and the Quintessa were remarkably different yet the dust is still there on both. The Quintessa seemed much more youthful and even a little bit lighter, which definitely could be astringency, with age-ability probably a bit better yet this Harrison is going nowhere for the next 10 years itself. In my opinion, no clear victor between the two. Well done Wm. Harrison!
Tasted alongside a 2008 Quintessa, this producer's immediate neighbor. In a nutshell, this wine came out swinging from the very first minute. Definitely a boxer ready for the fight. Dark and brooding, inky. Volcanic blackberry and tar nose. Had a roasted St. Helena character. Blackberry, black licorice, hint of ripe fig and pipe tobacco on the front and mid palate. Rutherford dust on the finish. Almost goes more to the red clay volcanic Howell Mountain profile at 11 years of age likely thanks to its unique soil composition at the estate. The style here between this one and the Quintessa were remarkably different yet the dust is still there on both. The Quintessa seemed much more youthful and even a little bit lighter, which definitely could be astringency, with age-ability probably a bit better yet this Harrison is going nowhere for the next 10 years itself. In my opinion, no clear victor between the two. Well done Wm. Harrison!
Sep 21st, 2019Catching up....Out of 3 heavy hitters, 1 clear winner, but this was 2 or 3. This wine wins the award for most rounded wine. Nose is black and purple fruit. Decanted for about six hours. Entry is medium++ bodied. Some fig and plum, but backbone of black and purple fruit. Finishes with classic Rutherford dust. Second place finish out of 2, third place finish out of the other 2. Other two wines were Spoto secret acre Cab 13 and Spoto PR 14, all of which were decanted for at least 5-6 hours as well. The efforts of Mr Harrison are ridiculously commendable for producing a wine that can hang with wines out of its price point!
Catching up....Out of 3 heavy hitters, 1 clear winner, but this was 2 or 3. This wine wins the award for most rounded wine. Nose is black and purple fruit. Decanted for about six hours. Entry is medium++ bodied. Some fig and plum, but backbone of black and purple fruit. Finishes with classic Rutherford dust. Second place finish out of 2, third place finish out of the other 2. Other two wines were Spoto secret acre Cab 13 and Spoto PR 14, all of which were decanted for at least 5-6 hours as well. The efforts of Mr Harrison are ridiculously commendable for producing a wine that can hang with wines out of its price point!
Apr 26th, 2019Probably a 97 a maturity. Solid 94 today. WOW this wine is young. Nose is reminiscent of a young Malbec. Of course, the Rutherford red blend is always heavy on the Malbec (historically 10 to 15 %) , although the percentage breakdown is not listed on this vintage. Has almost a meaty sort of a nose. Entry is youthful fruit that seems to have ripened just yesterday. Still very astringent black cherry and a little bit of baking spice to the middle. Finishes with a softer texture than expected, but also with some pretty stiff Young Oak tannin. This one definitely did better with dinner to cut through the tannin which made the finish a little more present and that hint of Rutherford dust stick out! But, with this one needs more than anything is about 5 years in the bottle to figure itself out. Looking forward to big things!
Probably a 97 a maturity. Solid 94 today. WOW this wine is young. Nose is reminiscent of a young Malbec. Of course, the Rutherford red blend is always heavy on the Malbec (historically 10 to 15 %) , although the percentage breakdown is not listed on this vintage. Has almost a meaty sort of a nose. Entry is youthful fruit that seems to have ripened just yesterday. Still very astringent black cherry and a little bit of baking spice to the middle. Finishes with a softer texture than expected, but also with some pretty stiff Young Oak tannin. This one definitely did better with dinner to cut through the tannin which made the finish a little more present and that hint of Rutherford dust stick out! But, with this one needs more than anything is about 5 years in the bottle to figure itself out. Looking forward to big things!
Jan 26th, 2019First mag I purchased from this winery, and this is 1 of 11 bottles purchased.....this is the last of two not counting the mag. Starting to ascend to its height but I still think it has 3-4 years before it is at the top. This wine is a blend that is a little on the "unusual" side but nothing bad about that! Peculiar blend, but oh man does this work. The nose is fig, plum, blackberry. The entry is dark, thick. Tar, blackberry, fig. Middle of plum, brambly, red clay. Massive black and purple fruit finish. Cherry cola finish. A little sweeter toasted tannin. Massive structure.
First mag I purchased from this winery, and this is 1 of 11 bottles purchased.....this is the last of two not counting the mag. Starting to ascend to its height but I still think it has 3-4 years before it is at the top. This wine is a blend that is a little on the "unusual" side but nothing bad about that! Peculiar blend, but oh man does this work. The nose is fig, plum, blackberry. The entry is dark, thick. Tar, blackberry, fig. Middle of plum, brambly, red clay. Massive black and purple fruit finish. Cherry cola finish. A little sweeter toasted tannin. Massive structure.
Aug 17th, 2018This wine is in a perfect spot right now. After about an hour and a half of air, it was singing. Nose with hawthorne and a little red fruited. Entry was more dirty dusty blackberry. Middle shows the meaty, earthy, red clay side with a really dense and somewhat dark finish. Rutherford dust VERY present here. I just love how these wines age.
This wine is in a perfect spot right now. After about an hour and a half of air, it was singing. Nose with hawthorne and a little red fruited. Entry was more dirty dusty blackberry. Middle shows the meaty, earthy, red clay side with a really dense and somewhat dark finish. Rutherford dust VERY present here. I just love how these wines age.
May 18th, 2018