Another of the new crop of Cabs, and a very good wine. Meets Napa standards of rich, ripe blackberry and currant fruit and perfectly soft tannins, and is well oaked. Misses by a shade or two the owners’ expectations of greatness, but it’s at the top of the heap in this price range.
— S.H.
(11/15/2003)
A superfine Zin, lush, fruity and balanced, and with extra richness and finesse. Really shows off its ripe blackberries, cherries and mocha, in a dry package with smooth tannins.
— S.H.
(6/1/2005)
Dark and richly structured, this is a classy style of Zin that features velvety tannins supporting a layered array of black cherry, plum, licorice, toast, vanilla and spice flavors. It’s smooth and ripe to the very end, quite elegant and long.
— W.E.
(11/1/2003)
Soft and rich, with finely ground tannins framing ripe flavors of blackberries, black currants and dark chocolate, with smoky oak influences. Feels fine and pedigreed, in the modern Napa style.
— S.H.
(12/15/2009)
Very ripe, almost a dessert wine, except it’s dry. The acids and tannins are soft and melted, and the flavors are as forward as modern viticulture achieves. Milk chocolate, cassis, black cherry pie, macaroon, and pecan pie; it’s just delicious. What do you drink such a wine with? Almost anything that wants a big red.
— S.H.
(6/1/2007)
I loved the 2001. This one seems a little obvious, and not quite as complex. It’s all about fruit, straightforward blackberries, cherries, coffee, chocolate and smooth, fine tannins, although it has the same nice dryness and balance.
— S.H.
(5/1/2006)
Clean, creamy and crisp, this Chard offers flavors of pineapples, pears and peaches, in a coating of buttery, smoky oak. Nice with grilled salmon on a buttery polenta.
— S.H.
(11/1/2009)
Fairly tannic, but there’s a smooth, milk-chocolate texture that flatters the palate. The blackberry fruit is a bit thin in the middle through the finish, but the wine has lots of elegance.
— S.H.
(6/1/2005)