Reviews

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

The immediacy of flavor here is compelling, with the 2022 vintage marking a Scarecrow that will be offering up the goods sooner than later. It may not be the most profound when compared to more…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

Pleasant and tasty, with Pott's restraint and less bodacious style making for a bit of a drying profile in this vintage. I appreciate the balance here, with dusty red and purple plum flavors offering…

Bella Oaks Vineyard Proprietary Red

Blind.

Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Bella Oaks

Plum, cherry, leather, dust, and some sherry notes. Classical in form all the way around. Past its prime in terms of freshness and tannic structure, presenting with a softness that is pleasant but…

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

A lovely profile, with ripe berry fruit and layered soil elements, the inaugural 2003 Scarecrow is holding strong with solid freshness and focus. This bottle shows no signs of being past its prime;…

Bella Oaks Vineyard Proprietary Red

This sample was a Chewy McChewster, with black currant, dark soil-driven black fruit, licorice, and super dark spices all bundled into a chocolate chunk holiday package. I wanted to pour this thing…

Sloan

Black fruit and cedar, with some mulchy elements that give it both earthy and modern vibes. Finishes a touch light, especially compared to other producers in 2019. Stylistically it's a little hard to…

Bella Oaks Vineyard Proprietary Red

This latest iteration of Bella Oaks starts out as a round and fruity magoo, but it turns a little more serious as it swirls in the glass. Enter a nicely placed grip midway through the execution, with…

Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard

In great shape. A lot of fruit, with a nice balance of tension. Finishes softer, with smooth blackberry and red/black cherry. Chewy. Starts to tighten up with air. Overall.Gobs of fruit. A hint of…

Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Red cherry and purple fruit spritz; reduced. Great fruit. Blackberry, blueberry, and purple-red skinned cherry. A streak of neon red cherry flashes around the core. Raw and exciting.

Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Sweet fruit on the nose equates to sweet-sour on the palate (in a good way). When compared to the 2020 and 2021, this 2022 carries brighter red cherry flavors that pop on the palate with intense…

Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Dark, serious, tense, tannic (but still perfectly balanced), and maybe even a bit 'The Professional,' with its brooding and beady-eyed black cherry flavors piercing the palate throughout the attack,…

Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

With notably softer contours than the 2021, this 2020 is kinda red-purple fruity on the front end and kinda darker on the tail. It's a medium bodied animal, with a cherry note that carries through…

Morisoli Vineyard Clementine Rosé

This is both exquisitely balanced and super fun, with notable pick-me-up and a sense of real depth. Medium in body but carrying a remarkable concentration that still stays vibrant and fresh, this…

Scarecrow Monsieur Étain

It's no Scarecrow, but the M. Etain isn't necessarily trying to be. Next to its big brother, it's honestly barely worth talking about. But if you can peel yourself away from the notion that it will…

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

I've had this wine a couple of times now. In a blind a few months back, it showed a little older than the other modern Napa Cabs, at least in the sense that the profile displayed some leather and…

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

This dude is an unresolved fruity spider monkey boinging back and forth from round and bulbous to angular and abrupt, with a simple and shorter finish that seemed even slightly watery. Like a 2010…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Great right now. I mean, it's the friendly GIII, so how could it not be?! Concentration and balance are especially notable in 2021, with a refinement that really showcases a sophisticated side of…

Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Bella Oaks

This must have been a perfectly stored bottle, because it was completely singing with beautifully balanced fruit, flowing with macerated black cherry, plum, and orange rind flavors. Not tired by a…

Bella Oaks Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Le Génie

The fruit-friendly Genie is a good warm up to the over-the-moon performance of the 2021 Bella Oaks. The Genie is young and gliding on the lighter side of achieving substantial depth at this juvenile…

Bella Oaks Vineyard Proprietary Red

This is as solid as it ever has been compared to the last sample I was lucky enough to try the year prior. At first, it was a gushing glow of fruit awesomeness all at once, but with some air to…

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon GIII Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

Vanilla slathered banana chips and dried coconut shavings. All oak and no joke. There is also a spearmint tinge on the finish that, along with the lumber, washes over what would be the expression of…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

2018 and 2019 side by side. Okay and tannic, but less so than the stern and bitter 2018, this 2019 has broader shoulders but has little fruit expansion to offer. Check back in ten years in hopes the…

Greer Cabernet Sauvignon Greer Vineyard

2018 and 2019 side by side. The 2018 is all wood chips and bitter tannins. "Leave these alone," is the best advice I can give here. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit concerned about the direction…

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

Smooth and slightly round on first entry, with the contours of the 2012 vintage showing a suave plane of velvety and flowing red and black fruit flavors. With blackberry, black cherry, saturated…