Reviews

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Bergfeld

Previous notes apply, but this was a little muted this time around. The fruit was there, but not displaying itself with its typical accessibility and friendly flavor profile. Good but reserved. Hold…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Concentrated and explosive. What a captivating attack; the kind that makes you interrupt the conversation and blatantly inquire, "Wait, WTF is this I'm drinking?!" Layers upon layers of gorgeous and…

Depiction Cabernet Sauvignon

PnP with dark, ripe black core fruit, with a rich, chocolatey plum-driven attack; some barely discernible spice emerged as well. There was a bit of an over-ripe plummy effect on the back end that…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon American Oak Alain Fouquet St Helena Mountain Block 2

Straightforward representation of the varietal. Good balance, with medium-bodied black and dark red core fruit. Not a whole lot else going on here, but a friendly delivery of flavor. An average grip,…

D.R. Stephens Noble Block Moose Valley Vineyard

No formal notes. This paired well with pumpkin cheese cake, apple cinnamon cake, and pumpkin pie! Nothing too exciting about the wine in particular given its intended purpose, but it delivered as…

Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon

Similar notes as 8/24/2017. Classical restraint with a little bit of cult viscosity and ripeness. Not sure where exactly this wine is headed. It teeter-tottered back and forth between a 91-92-ish…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseurs' Series Centre French Oak Sylvain St. Helena Mountain Block 2

A beautiful showing, with deep, dark black fruit, tar, black charred vanillin oak, dark chocolate, and a syrupy black raspberry note on the back end. Utterly compelling and unctuous, without ever…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Exact same notes as five months ago. This was the #2 (#3-ish) wine of the night. Scarlett Reserve was #1, with the Quivet LPV and Myriad Crane battling for the #2 slot. This is the best Quivet LPV…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

The absolute best showing of the "standard" Myriad Crane that I've probably ever had with this wine across the last eight vintages...but it took a number of hours in the decanter before it really…

Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Bergfeld

Similar to my previous note from December 2016, except that this wine is showing a maturity (after about 2 hours of air) that is especially compelling. Reminded me of a 2012 Cliff Lede Beautiful…

Vineyard 29 Sauvignon Blanc Estate

A perplexing wine for sure. The oak influence in this wine confused the flavor profile for me to the point that I really couldn't understand what I was drinking. A significantly bitter,…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

This was a barrel sample generously gifted to us for our Las Piedras taste-off at Cook Restaurant in St. Helena, which also included a '13 Carter LPV, '13 Hobbs LPV, '13 Quivet LPV, and a '12 Vice…

Sodhani Cabernet Sauvignon

Similar to the 2014s except that this 2013 was wound a little tighter and showed more of a linear profile. Plum, black and red currant, camphor, leather, and cedar. Tight, bitter, and pretty…

Sodhani Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

This Reserve was a little less funky than the standard 2014, but it still carried a strange aftertaste that I couldn't quite put my finger on. The attack started out seemingly solid, but then a…

Sodhani Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Notes of ripe plum, camphor, mulch, and wet leather. Unfortunately all of the wines in the Sodhani lineup had a wood turpentine note to them. Not sure what was going on there. No rating.

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

Just when I thought nothing would be able to compete with Vice Versa's 2016 LPV served just before this wine, along came the good Doctor who just had to try to push the reigning champ off to the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Absolutely unreal! This stands to become one of the best LPVs I've ever had; this juice blew the socks off of just about any LPV I've experienced. Of course, as a barrel sample, and as a wine that…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Served side-by-side with the "standard" 2014 VV LPV. This BBS ratchets up the concentration and drive ever slightly when compared to its secondary counterpart. Carrying much of the same black and red…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Served side-by-side with the 2014 VV LPV BBS. This "standard" LPV provided a seamless delivery of black and red fruit notes along with the signature LPV minerality indicative of the rocky site. Silky…

Moone-Tsai Vineyards Black List IX

This had a very prominent funky railroad tie nose. On the palate, a little bit of the same, with a decent core of dark red/black fruit with some earth and spice. A fairly significant clamp on the…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

This wine was gifted to us by Patrice and Samantha Breton of Vice Versa for our LPV taste-off dinner. Amazingly generous!

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

This followed a very similar path as the 2013 Carter LPV served alongside it. A little fruity (not as much red fruit as the Carter) and cattywampus on PnP, but with an hour or two in the decanter…

Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Thanks to Cristal2000 for bringing this wine to the party. For me, the Hobbs had an inverse progression than the Carter. The Carter started out fruity and a bit over-lush and then made it's way into…

Fait-Main Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras

As much as I thought the Sleeping Lady was an enjoyable wine (served alongside the LPV), this LPV was notably more complex and driven. PnP displayed immediate gratification, with ripe blue and black…

Revana Cabernet Sauvignon Block 6

Crazy intense, concentrated, and delivering so much blue/black fruit that the term 'hedonism' doesn't even come close to aptly describing this wine. It certainly has some sexy stripper pole aspects…