Cattle Company
Joseph Phelps Vineyards
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Founded 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased former cattle ranch near St. Helena in Napa, the winery now controls and farms nearly 375 acres of vines on 8 estate vineyards. Blend of 87% Cab Sauv, 5% Merlot, & rest Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cab Franc. Aromas of dried berry fruits and cedar spice. Sat in oak for 18 months 45% new, the palate shows blackberry and cherry flavors, cacao and oaky herb tones. Firm tannins, long finish ending smooth with fruit, tobacco and mineral notes. Still has room to age. — 4 years ago
Montes
Purple Angel Colchagua Valley Carménère Petit Verdot 2015
Nose has very dark chocolate, roasted coffee bean, blackberry-blueberry mash, rose petals, slight mint, crushed black cherry and wet slate.
Palate has warmed plum, chocolate cake, vanilla tobacco, light cedar and light oak. Surprisingly the tannins are quite mellow, easily approachable in a very, very youthful state.
A very heavy bottle, you could easily knock someone into tomorrow with a well timed swing.
We paired with delightfully thick bone-in ribeye's on the grill, actually a great pair with a nice sear/char from a wicked hot grill (+600°F). Delicious, local grass fed cattle.
Suckling, 99 points...Really? No one should be this drinking this before 2025, at least. I guess I have at least a baseline on what he thinks is the greatest Purple Angel to date. I agree, it is very good, but needs a lot of time, we have several, older vintages in the cellar just waiting for the right time.
I will certainly need to brush my teeth at least 2x after enjoying this wine. I'll have a 24hr check-in tomorrow, we're not finishing this on day one.
24hr Update: Mint has dropped out on the nose, palate is a wonderful blackberry-cedar jam, delicious, still not 99 points. — 7 years ago
Château Montus
Madiran Tannat Blend 2007
Sturdy and tannic. Not dark nor brooding. Still enough fruit to keep things balanced. I actually kinda missed the usual barn, poop and cattle smell. — a year ago
Bosma Estate Winery
Cattle Baron Diamond Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
Bosma Estate Winery Diamondback Ridge Vineyard Cattle Baron Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Rattlesnake Hills, Washington State
Deep purple in color with a short purplish rim.
Fruity nose with black currants, black plums, blackberries, light cedar, peppercorn, tobacco leaf, light earth, black tea, chocolates, dark coffee and herbs.
Full-bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry and fruit forward on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cedar, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco, peppercorn, espresso, light earth, herbs and spices.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a delicious Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Rattlesnake Hills in Washington State. Fruit forward and complex, with a nice mouthfeel. Rich and elegant.
Good right out of the bottle, and much better after 2 hours in the decanter.
Will continue to age nicely in the next 5 years.
Spicy, nicely balanced and interesting. Good by itself as a sipping wine.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
14.3% alcohol by volume.
92 points.
$46. — a year ago
Cakebread Cellars
Benchland Select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Nose has wet cedar, dried black cherry, blackberry compote, black currant must, dry earth and (light) cigar box.
Palate has spiced cherry, spicy oak/cedar, blackberry jam, chocolate powder and notable but fine tannins.
My prior notes stated a wait until 2021+ before our next bottle...TBH I never looked at my notes before selecting this bottle tonight, so 🤷🏻♂️. Now that we're at 2021, there's noted improvement and I calmly suggest future bottle (there's only one left) should be between 2026-2031, as this is holding just fine.
In following to my prior comment on this bottle; We have a love/hate relationship with Wine Spectator whom tasted this at 80 pts in 2005. I fully disagree (FU), but do agree there have been 'better' vintages on this vineyard site. (We also have the better vintages 😁 in waiting.)
Decanted 4H, notes at ~5H.
Paired to 'vintage' ribeye's and local grilled corn. Our favorite beef 'dealer' aka farmer, Kinderhook Farm (Valatie, NY) has an interesting program of holding some of their cattle for more than a year, our cuts tonight are from a 5 YO steer. A brief 6m grill and wonderfully medium-rare cuts at ~135°F after resting. Great depth of flavor, less of the grass fed notes we get with the regular (youthful) cuts, just delicious. — 5 years ago
K Vintners
The Cattle King Upland Vineyard Syrah 2014
Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7
2nd day flat compared to albanTopper's Mountain Vineyard
Nebbiolo 2011
Pale to mid Ruby. Aromas of rose petals, menthol and liquorice. Low on fruit influences at this age - very savoury. An excellent rendition of a new world Nebbiolo - from Tingha on the New England tableland in northern NSW - most of the neighbours would be sheep and cattle graziers. This winery makes brilliant Gewurztraminer - one of the best in the country IMO. A very boutique winery with a small production. Sadly Toppers suffered from a devastating bushfire earlier this year which will take some recovery time. — 7 years ago
Tehachapi Wine & Cattle Co.
Souza Family Vineyard Primitivo
Light with notes of rose and Rainier cherry, as it warms tart grapefruit comes out — 8 years ago
Pierre Brisset
Aux Thorey Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2022
This was one of those rare nights where I had zero obligations…so I decided it might be fun to grab one of the relative newcomers to my cellar and head down to Mertz, sit at the bar, and share with the staff. Upon arrival, I was met immediately by the incomparable Matt Brown who asked if I would like to sit next to Dan Morgan. “Morgan Ranch Dan Morgan? Uhhh…yuh!” I duly handed my bottle to Matt and he kindly introduced me to Dan. After exchanging some pleasantries, I sat down and suggested we open the Brisset and see what it’s about. Dan was game so we proceeded to enjoy the evening, covering a range of topics from travel to the state of our education system and much more. It should go without saying that we each enjoyed a couple of steaks from his ranch too. I mean, obviously.
Initially, we popped and poured a single glass. It was beautiful, particularly on the nose, but seemed a touch reticent on the palate so we elected to splash decant. We enjoyed this bottle over the course of several hours where it really started to thrill after getting a nice bit of air. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a deep but transparent core; medium viscosity, with very light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous, even unctuous, notes of ripe red (and some black) fruits: strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, Bing cherry, red flowers, licorice, warm spices, and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Wow…such a youthful beauty…and it’s already giving me some sugar. The quality is obvious, almost startling. Drink now with patience but better after 2032 and through 2052+. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass
P.S. I should provide the Morgan Ranch backstory. Located in Burwell, Nebraska, the Morgan Family were one of the very first producers of Japanese Wagyu cattle outside of Japan; Dan brought the first herd from Japan back in 1993. They are, to my knowledge, the only Wagyu producer that exports back into Japan. — a year ago
@Jay Kline FANTASTIC note, thanks for this, and I'll be seeking out this Wagyu!
Myriad Cellars
100% Whole Cluster Sangiacomo Vineyard Petaluma Gap Syrah 2019
First Mike Smith Syrah I’ve had, great cold climate style
Jeb 96 is spot on this time
Certified organic with 60 planted acres and 11 clone and rootstock combinations, the Fedrick Vineyard is deeply woven throughout Sonoma & Petaluma history. Originally part of the Rancho Petaluma Land Grant issued to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in 1834, the land passed thru several owners from dairy farms to cattle ranches before being leased by the Sangiacomo family in 2000 to become a vineyard. Located in the southern end of the Petaluma Gap appellation, it is set on rolling hills and is known for its high-end Syrah and Pinot Noir grapes that are sought after for their depth and balance. Myriad selected a small rise on the southern edge where growing and drainage conditions harmonize, to make one of our more crowd pleasing bolder Syrahs. — 5 years ago
David Arthur
Le Boucher Napa Valley Red Blend 2016
This blend is named in honor of the butcher shop that David’s father started in San Francisco. His butcher shop(s) launched them into a 1956 Pritchard Hill land spending spree with the thought of starting a cattle ranch. When they were done buying parcels, they had amassed 984 acres in Pritchard Hill. The third most expensive fruit today at $28,000 a ton. If you sold all of that land today, it would be worth over a billion dollars. I bet they didn’t pay anything close to that in 1956.
This was opened the day before we’d had it. While I enjoyed it, it had leaned out a bit more than I would want it. It was round with softer tannins but may have given a false sense of its ability to cellar.
The fruits are nice, ripe, lush & juicy; blackberries, raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, mid baking spices-nutmeg, cinnamon, light clove, vanillin, light spice, barrel shavings, crushed rocks, savory, grilled meats, dark, red, & purple florals with very nice acidity and a wire to wire finish that was leaner but, clean. The finish was well balanced, elegant, on the leaner side, nicely polished and persisted minutes. — 6 years ago
Magic Rock Brewing
Dark Arts Hazelnut Surreal Stout
Raid the cattle ranch and call me Bernard — 7 years ago
Seavey Vineyard
Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
The nose reveals; dark currants, blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries. Black tea, expresso roast, anise, crushed dry rocks, big vanilla, clove, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, woody notes with dark fresh & withering flower bouquet.
The body is big and lush. The tannins are big, meaty and tarry. Very dark currants. Blackberries, heavy black plum, black raspberries, dark cherries and some blueberries & strawberries as they open up. Black tea, expresso roast, steeped fruit tea, anise, crushed dry rocks, dry clay, big graphite, big vanilla, dark spice, clove, light dry herbs, a little nutmeg, dry underbrush, sweet tarry notes, leather, cedar with violets dark fresh & withering flower bouquet. The acidity is round, fresh and beautiful. The big, long, well balanced finish is excellent and look forward to having this in 15-20 years. This one will be a stunner!
Photos of, the barn where they make wine and hosts tastings, our private tasting area inside William’s old office. William desk and their outside terrace area.
Producer history & notes...Seavey Vineyard is located along Conn Valley Road in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, about 15 minutes from the valley floor.
This historical property was originally a cattle ranch. However, records indicate grapes were planted on some of the hillsides as early as the 1870’s. The stone dairy barn, still in existence, was built in 1881.
William & Mary Seavey purchased this property in 1979. The estate was originally founded by the Franco-Swiss Farming Company in 1881 which, closed down when Phylloxera destroyed their grape vines and the Volstead Act (Prohibition) went into effect. At the time of their purchase, they were a horse and cattle ranch. They quickly planted the slopes with grapes and initially sold their fruit to Raymond Vineyards. They have never purchased grapes, all their wine is made from estate grapes. Their vineyards are separated into 20 plus individual blocks.
Today, the property is about 200 total acres of which, 40 acres are planted to vine. Their hillside vineyards produce low yields of rich concentrated fruit. A small block of Chardonnay grows in a cooler lower part of their property. Besides grapes, they also raise cattle which are used to graze the hillsides. They feed the vineyard with the cattle cuttings. In 2003, they were one of the first Napa wineries to install solar.
Mary passed away in 2008 and William died in 2016. There daughter Dorie returned to the family business and now oversees the winery operations. Her brother Arthur also handles national and some small international sales, primarily to restaurants. However, most of their wine is sold direct to consumers.
Seavey’s first commercial vintage was released in 1990 a year after they renovated the stone dairy barn into a working winery. Today this stone building is the centerpiece of the property and is where tastings are hosted.
Since 2011, Jim Duane has been their day to day Winemaker. He’s worked at Robert Mondavi and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It should also be noted that Philippe Melka Winemaker/Consultant has been with Seavey since 1995...one of Philippe’s two initial wine making jobs in the Napa Valley were with Seavey and Lail Vineyards.
Seavy makes about 3,200 cases annually depending on what mother nature brings. They make around two hundred cases of Chardonnay, slightly more Merlot and the rest is of the production is comprised of their Caravina and Estate Cabernets.
— 8 years ago
"Odedi"
Bosma Estate Winery Cattle Baron Reserve 2022, Rattlesnake Hills, Washington State
Purple in color with a short purple rim.
Strong nose of black currants, cooked cherries, plums, coffee, light oak, spices, chocolates and peppercorn.
Full-bodied and spicy with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, cherries, oak, spices, dark chocolates, earth, garrigue, light vegetables, tobacco leaf and light licorice.
Nice finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.
This is a very tasty red blend from Rattlesnake Hills in Washington State. Rich and bold. Spicy and entertaining.
Nicely balanced and complex. The Syrah is very dominant at the moment. Elegant and fruit forward.
Needs a couple of hours to open up properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.
Good by itself as a sipping wine, or with food.
A blend of 40% Malbec, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot and 8% Syrah. Aged in (33% new) French oak barrels for 18 months. A small production of only 600 bottles.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$72. — 10 months ago