Melville

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Melville 2007 Carrie's Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)

Editors' Choice
Online Exclusive

Price $52

Combines a delicate, floral lightness with a potent intricacy to produce a wine of vast intellectual interest. Dry and somewhat tannic, and crisp in tangy acidity, this small-production Pinot features tiers of tart red cherries, rosehip tea, cola, mint, lavender, anise and pepper, edged with the honeyed sweetness of smoky, glazed oak. A tremendous achievement, and… — S.H. (11/1/2009)

points

Melville 2008 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)

Editors' Choice
Online Exclusive

Price $26

Massive, opulent, oozing in pineapple créme brulée, honey, buttered toast and cinnamon spice flavors. Totally decadent, and fortunately set off with brisk, citrusy acidity. Calling all lobsters, and don’t forget the drawn butter. Sheer hedonism in a glass, at a fantastic price. — S.H. (8/1/2010)

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Melville 2006 Estate Carrie's Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)

Price $52

This is the grandest of Melville’s current trio of ’06s. It’s also the most ageworthy. Fifty percent stem inclusion in the fermentation has given the wine a tannic, gritty earthiness and spiciness that throw a cloak over the underlying wine. But what a fantastic wine that is, loaded with oodles of cherries, currants and violets. Hard to exaggerate the complexity… — S.H. (12/1/2008)

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Melville 2009 Carrie's Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)

Online Exclusive

Price $46

Extraordinarily rich and ripe, if a little high in alcohol. Shows great extract, with masses of squashed, gooey cherries, raspberries and oodles of spices. Feels opulent and dramatic, with smoky oak adding to the complex, almost feral layers. So much going on in the glass. Just gorgeous now, and should hold and develop over the next 4–5 years. — S.H. (2/1/2011)

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Melville 2005 Clone 76 - Inox Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)

Price $30

Pretty much as flashy as California Chard gets. Huge in exotic tropical fruit and spice, all tarted up with crème brûlée and baked meringue, it finishes with a sweetly decadent touch of pineapple-vanilla truffle. — S.H. (4/1/2007)

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Melville 2009 Clone 76 - Inox Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills)

Online Exclusive

Price $36

Brilliantly clean and pure. Just so expressive and refined, with a crystalline mouthfeel. Rich, alive, vibrant and crisp, with spicy Asian pear and citrus flavors. The finish is dry and long. Just 872 cases were produced. — S.H. (2/1/2011)

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Melville 2006 Estate Terraces Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)

Price $52

In a grand tasting of new Pinot Noirs from the appellation, this bottle stood out, even among its renowned peers. Spectacularly complex, it offers a wealth of cherries, currants, orange zest, plum, fig, tea, clove and cinnamon flavors that, for all their power, never lose a sense of elegance and purity. Practically a food group of its own, this is a great… — S.H. (12/1/2008)

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Melville 2007 Terraces Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)

Online Exclusive

Price $52

Very fine, dry and complex, a wine of considerable power. Shows intricately layered flavors of wild forest blackberries, cherries, sassafras, anise, grilled mushroom, charred meat bone and Asian spices, wrapped into significant, but ultra-refined, tannins. High-toned and classic. Now through 2013. — S.H. (11/1/2009)

Most Reviewed Designations

Carrie's Clone 76 - Inox Donna's Estate Estate - Verna's Estate Carrie's Estate Terraces Terraces Verna’s Estate Verna's

Most Reviewed Varietals

Chardonnay Pinot Noir Syrah Viognier

2010 Bogle Old Vine

What a delicious Zin this is. Sourced from the warm climates of Lodi and…

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