Reviews

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier

A Bordeaux lookalike from Knights Valley that offers up some old school flavors of red and black currant, black and red cherry, tobacco, underbrush, and some leather. Finishes with an herbaceous…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

The most inviting and "palate-compelling" right now, the 2014 Macdonald showed wonderfully expressive dark, black fruit, with some violets and asphalt adding to the profile. Surprisingly silky,…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

100 points ALL DAY LONG. You want a To Kalon that can stand the test of time, this dude right here is the one to put your money on. The most gorgeous monster ever, wrapped up in a tight, super grippy…

Melka Cabernet Sauvignon Métisse Montbleau

Rich chocolatey black raspberry, licorice, and black cherry liqueur rush up front-and-center with the initial kick of fat fruit on the attack. A highly perfumed candy shop of flavor, like a Viognier…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

If the VHR wasn't enough to slap me silly with the possession of a thousand fun-filled flavors, the Crane offered little help in the exorcism from the continuing onslaught of savor-the-flavor palate…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch

A gorgeous array of fruit flavors pop out of this wine like Jenna Jameson in a twenty-layered whipped cream birthday cake. Purple, blue, black, red.all just gushing out all over the palate. And just…

Vangone Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Block B

From B Block. A higher register animal than the 2015 and 2016 dark earthy beasts, this 2017 hits the palate with red and purple plum skin and red and black raspberry notes. Offers a youthfully…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus

From the site that has been known as "Not the Materium, but the other wine that Maybach makes," the Amoenus makes an appearance on the Arkenstone label in 2018. The first sip tells you this thing is…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon Coliseum Block

A big wine with fantastic grip. Black and red raspberry dominate. The acid rushes in and swiftly grips the front end. A zippy mid-palate, finishing with a much-needed downshift that allows for some…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Reserve

As Cristal2000 mentioned, this wine was a definite surprise of the tasting. The 2012 Saint Helena Reserve punches WAY above its division; I personally thought this had all the complexity and flavor…

Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

An initial horizontal attack lends its way to a broader flavor expansion with a good hit of air, jumping into gear and kicking out read and black cherry notes on the front end. Much more red-fruited…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

The nose hits you pretty quickly with ripe blackberry and poblano chili, letting you know almost immediately that this is definitely hailing from the cooler, wetter 2011 vintage. First sips confirm…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon NVD

Saturated black raspberry, leather, blackberry, muddled strawberry, charcoal, and red and black cherry. Considering this is the more "base" model Cabernet from Arkenstone, it performs quite well and…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

This is certainly up there with the top 2017s to come out of Napa by far. Immediately it shows itself as a "complete" wine, with all the necessary moving parts hitting the right chords at the right…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Continuing to operate in a nice drinking window it seems, as this was the best showing of this wine to date. Balanced out and not too heavy on the fruit (Quivet-speaking at least). A notable black…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

Obviously a barrel sample that has only had just a wee bit of time to even start thinking about what it wants to be when it goes up, the 2019 MG juice clearly has high aspirations from becoming an…

Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo

Red and black cherry liqueur and purple plum skin beautifully explode in a cascade of pure and fresh fruit flavors. Primary and vigilant, but focused and lively, the core delivers a mouthful of…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Vine Hill Ranch

An initial horizontal attack of primary black cherry and cassis flavors made for a youthfully primary delivery on the front end. With air, blackberry and black raspberry liqueur, blackberry seed,…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

Rich, chewy, perfumed, and about as exciting as they come, the 2016 Macdonald is a shake your money maker kind of experience, grabbing a hold the palate and unloading gobs of dark, black fruit;…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2015 was similar to the 2013 in many ways, except that the 2015 took a bit longer to shed some of its frame and allow the fruit to come forward. It was highly mineral-driven and the least…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Verdad Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Given all of the xenophobic ribbing and hate emails I've been receiving about my recent espionage and shadow surveillance into Bordeaux and other Eurocentric wine regions, I finally succumbed to…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Dark, earthy red and black berry fruit, soft mulch and cedar, forest floor, and rained-on campfire embers. A pretty sweet kiss of red raspberry fruit on the back end provides lift to otherwise more…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Black cherry liqueur, smooth cedar, wet mulch, and some black rock. Classy, finessed, and super sophisticated, the execution here is medium and agreeable, with no hard edges to be found. A faint…

Arrow & Branch Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label

Red current, black cherry, and some spice box lead the classy execution of this medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. Subtle cedar and plum skin notes carry themselves throughout the attack as well. A…

Tusk Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

Plum-dominant, with accompanying flavors of black cherry and black/purple berry fruit; wild, macerated raspberry makes a brief appearance, but is pushed over by the earthy plum note that elbows its…