St Innocent Winery

Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

9.3

Initially a bit closed, after two hours in the decanter this really opens up. Black cherry and sage come through on the nose and continue onto the palate with additional notes of cassis, bay leaf, and cloves. Has a persistent finish with herbs, spice, and black tea lingering on the palate. The herbal and spice flavors were really vibrant when paired with basil pesto pasta and mushrooms. Medium+ acidity, medium+ body, and medium tannins. This is the 2021 vintage. — 17 days ago

Tom, Neil and 5 others liked this

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@Joel Lara Nice write-up. This is consistently their most difficult Pinot offering to "figure out." Oodles of subtleties vs a few markers/demonstrative tendencies. NOT for the average Pinot Noir drinker.

Joel Lara

@Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego that’s interesting because as I was drinking it I was thinking about how different it was to a lot of pinots I’ve had. The savory elements are not as loud as they are in other good pinots, but I still found them an intriguing backdrop to the beautiful fruit. The tannin really helped add some complexity on the finish too. I also bought a 2019 Temperance Hill, so looking forward to seeing how that compares.

B.R. Cohn

Olive Hill Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

DelectableWino

9.1

Great wine. Elegant dark fruits. Rich. — 2 months ago

Hamilton Russell Vineyards

Hemel-En-Aarde Valley Pinot Noir

Ashley Revay

Lovely complex Pinot while celebrating bean’s birthday! — 3 months ago

Chappellet

Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Tom Garland

9.3

hour decant(decent sediment). A still dark garnet with bricking. On the nose: subtle notes of dark fruit, licorice, tobacco, forest floor, herbaceous, olive brine, mocha java. Taste: silky, layered, creamy wine with blackberry/dark plum, tobacco, baking spice, mocha java, earth, minerals, dried herbs and a long dry finish. YUM!! — 2 days ago

Tom, Rick and 9 others liked this

Kumeu River

Hunting Hill Chardonnay 2019

Bob McDonald

9.3

This is the 2019 Hunting Hill, same vintage as the recently tasted Kumeu River Coddington. The Coddington remains the more opulent of the Kumeu cuvées. A mouth watering salinity. In this one. As Bob Campbell MW said, this is a Burgundian style (lacking the stone fruit of the Coddington). Although several previous vintages of Mates Vineyard have proved, at least to my palate, that it is the premium Cuvée. — 2 months ago

Somm, Andrew and 18 others liked this

Doug Powers

@Bob McDonald, and this note looks like it posted without issue?? Maddening, hang in there!!

Kanonkop Estate

Simonsberg Stellenbosch Pinotage 2015

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2015 | dark colour, morello cherries, sweet smoked bell pepper, sweetness and elegance — 3 months ago

Dave, Doug and 8 others liked this

Jan de Weerd

That’s great. What is the age ability of Pinotage?

Peter van den Besselaar

@Jan de Weerd 8 to 15 years (and longer) for quality wines

Stony Hill

Napa Valley Chardonnay 2023

Ed Chin

9.0

Refreshing and good mouthfeel, it was lacking in depth, length and on the simple side. — a month ago

Scott@Mister, Hermes and 3 others liked this

Vine Hill Ranch

Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Paul J

9.7

WOTN! Bested the 2018 Schrader. — a month ago

Tom, Jan and 3 others liked this

Klein Constantia

Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Muscat à Petits Grains 2015

Hermes Cuello

9.1

Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2015 is a legendary South African natural sweet wine, crafted from Muscat de Frontignan. Rich and opulent, it offers layers of honey, apricot, orange peel, and exotic spice, balanced by vibrant acidity. Lusciously sweet yet fresh and elegant, with a long, refined finish. — 2 months ago

Daniel, Douglas and 6 others liked this

J. Rochioli

Little Hill Pinot Noir 2018

Marc Melser

9.2

We had a vertical tasting of 2018 and 2020 Little Hill Single Vineyard PN. Both have similar bouquets and palates. Black cherry and minerality. 2020 is a little more floral. 2018 has a more darker tone; and that is good. Both have nice mouthfeels with smoothed out tannins. 2018 is a little more velvety. Both very good. It seems these PN need more time in the bottle — 3 months ago

Cape Hill