Showing items 1
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Blackbird Vineyards 2007 Illustration Red (Napa Valley)
- $90
A spectacular wine that gets better and better with every sip. It’s dramatic from the get-go, with rich, fine tannins framing extraordinarily good flavors of blackberries, black currants, anise, dark chocolate and cedar. Superb structure, great length and finish, with perfect acidity. A joy to drink. Now–2016.
— S.H.
(2/1/2010)
Blackbird Vineyards 2007 Paramour Red (Napa Valley)
- $90
Some wines are meant for immediate consumption. Others require age. This wonderful wine satisfies on both sides. It’s softly rich and polished in tannins, with accessible blackberry, cassis and oak flavors. Yet it has the structure and depth to go for years. Now–2016, at least.
— S.H.
(2/1/2010)
Blackbird Vineyards 2009 Arise Red (Oak Knoll)
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
- $50
A glorious wine. Based on Merlot, with nearly equal parts of the two Cabernets, it’s softly smooth and delicious right now. Totally bone dry, yet rich and sweet in cherries, berries, chocolate and cedar, it satisfies on every level. Expensive, yes, but a relative bargain for a great Napa wine.
— S.H.
(12/31/2011)
Blackbird Vineyards 2007 Contrarian Red (Napa Valley)
- $90
Give this young wine some time in the cellar to let the tannins drop out. Right now, it’s a bit hard and astringent, although it’s so rich in fruit that a good decanting will let you enjoy it. Shows a molten core of blackberries, crème de cassis, cocoa and cedar, with a mineral undertow. Dramatic wine.
— S.H.
(2/1/2010)
Blackbird Vineyards 2008 Illustration Red (Oak Knoll)
- $90
Lush, smooth and complex, this Merlot-based blend seems capable of a little development in the cellar. It’s pretty tannic, although the cherry fruit is sweet and bright. Try holding for a year or two, but if you pop the cork now, give the wine a few hours of decanting.
— S.H.
(12/31/2011)
Blackbird Vineyards 2009 Contrarian Red (Napa Valley)
- $125
Just beautiful to drink now, despite grippy tannins that give the ripe fruit an astringent mouthfeel. Based on Cabernet Franc, the wine’s flavors are simply delicious, offering waves of cherries, blueberries, plums and currants. Plenty of new oak adds toasty vanilla. Those tannins suggest pairing this wine with rich foods, such as lamb, but you don’t want to…
— S.H.
(6/1/2012)
Blackbird Vineyards 2007 Arise Red (Napa Valley)
- $50
This Bordeaux blend has a terrific structure, with a molten core of ripe, sweetly complex blackberries and black currants, but it’s also a very tannic wine. The tannins are of the hard kind, tough and astringent, with a drying finish. The wine needs a year or two to mellow.
— S.H.
(2/1/2010)
Blackbird Vineyards 2009 Paramour Red (Napa Valley)
- $125
Hard tannins currently lock this wine down. Although it’s astringent, it’s very polished and complex. Made from Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, in that order, it’s marked by black cherry, red currant and cedar flavors, and finishes totally dry. The vineyard is in the cool Oak Knoll District, which helps explain the acidity and tightness. Difficult to…
— S.H.
(6/1/2012)
Showing items 1
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2010 Stonegate
Good price for a Napa Chardonnay this rich and balanced. It’s enormously…
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