Ira Schwartz

10

Wine stimulates our sense of smell and taste but in this case it also created a tidal wave of emotion. Through a tremendous act of generosity a dear friend shared this special bottle when he heard me lament I was not able to secure a bottle of wine to celebrate my mother’s 100 birthday. My friend stood the bottle up for several days. We decided it made sense to PnP. As you can see the cork was intact and the color of the wine defied its age. The excitement to take that first sniff was overwhelming for me. Old but alive scents wowed me. Lots of tobacco, leaves, leather and dried fruit. In the mouth those same scents were transferred to my palate thanks to a tsunami of acid. At about the one hour mark the wine quickly entered a death spiral. I cannot imagine another bottle of wine that will ever conjure up that amount of emotion and happiness. When I described my experience to my mom, a very broad smile came over her face. A blessing to share this experience with my mom and a privilege to taste a wine like this. — 2 years ago

with Richard

TA

9.0

A great dinner party red - not too easy to drink that you drink without really registering anything except “red wine” but not one you have to dry to decide whether you like or not. — 6 years ago

Joe Ho

9.8

This is just ridiculous. Act 7. Tastes of deep figs/plums up front as if grandma just baked a pie in your mouth. Finished smooth with a tiny bit of spice and more jams that make you want to cry. More of this please. — 7 years ago

Amy Yan

9.0

Tough act to follow after the amazing Vosne Romanee that we had. If standalone, would have been better. — 7 years ago

Alejandro Lopez

10

Amazing nose upon opening, landscapes of dates intermixed with sundried tomatoes on a high-tone portlike circus extravaganza.
Massive amounts of sediment. Monumental second ever vintage effort from this dry example.
Sagrantino is thought to have Greek origins, and its name is believed to come from the word “sagra,” or feast, since red wines were always drunk at seasonal celebrations.
The estate is 100% organic. All fruit is harvested by hand and wines are made without filtration. — 8 years ago

with Esther

Dmitri

9.3

The funk had increased and so did the honey and the wild flowers and salt. All playing a tighter composition with the symphony pulling each act together. #astor — 8 years ago

Howard Greenfield

9.4

Bard is always good- tough act behind 08 Scarecrow but held its own — 8 years ago

Kurt Schuster

9.6

One of our absolute favorites. Light and living and just effervescent with lemon curd and clean starfruit and just enough acid to keep the structure together. Incredibly delicate and a well done balancing act to get these flavors to exist with just enough yeast to reflect the lees. Absolutely delightful.  — 2 years ago

with Denise

MaJ CappS

8.9

Smells like a spiced pastry

Lively! Red stars dance across the tongue for only a meaty mingling moment, before the tannins start smacking every part of the mouth, up, down, left, right, Jab, Jab, Ka-pow! Those knock out tannins longer on and on.. and on..
Wish I had bought 2 bottles, this needs at least 5 years to relax those teen tannins.
I mean, don’t close your mouth for too long on these tannins, as they act like a vacuum and super glue. You’ll never get your jaws apart.. — 5 years ago

Ryan Guy

9.0

The Mrs. really likes this one, especially when she learned the cost. (Note: Her favorite White is Bordeaux Blanc, and there are plenty of similarities here). Classic aromas of hay, lemon juice, crushed rock and cat pee. More mouth feel and layers than expected - perhaps from lees aging - bright acid and underripe circus with pithy notes. Lemon and lime. Fresh. Feels like spring time. — 6 years ago

Jamie Drucker

9.5

Had with Debbie and Scott and Paul and Donna. — 7 years ago

Erskine Gallant

9.2

Remarkably mellow for only thirteen years old. Edges pushing mahogany with a dense ruby center. Asian spice, sandalwood, leather, damson plum. After decanting act two begins. Cassis comes to the fore and it gains power. Much more full bodied than at first pour. Where at first we thought it had peaked now it’s added several more years. Two sips left and see there’s still a youthfulness to its fruit. Just needed a breath of air. Holy cow! Sexy wine. Luscious. Mouth-filling. Shoulda bought the magnum. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

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

Eric Urbani

9.1

See prior notes! Happy 4th everyone — 4 years ago

J Levenson

9.1

The quality for price is outstanding. In 1936 “Caillou’s owner had no desire to join the governing ranks of anything, let alone a wine appellation. This brazen act excluded the estate from the AOC and essentially carved out a chunk of Châteauneuf-du-Pape‘s border. Today it continues to be an ‘unclassified’ section in what is otherwise some of the most prized vineyard land in the area“-Ian Cauble, master sommelier — 5 years ago

Barry Shailes

10

Full bodies. Excellent with cheeses. Smooth. — 6 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.2

When first opened it was generic and lame but with an hour it is really turning into something special. Beautiful nose (albeit showing a lot of vanilla and oak) but with Bolgheri class. Saline, red cherry and cola followed by mild dill. It is a beautifully crafted wine that needs time to show itself. I would love to see this in 10 years. Modern and seriously well built. Class act — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.4

@Dominik SonaYou're the best! Walks off into the cellar, comes out carrying a massive bottle in a sleeve that could barely cover the label. I just love how ridiculous magnum riesling bottles look! I mean, we could see that it's a Koehler-Ruprecht for sure and the table shot straight to a warm vintage on the first sip (warm finish). Didn't take long for Franzi to identify the vintage and the rest of the pieces fell together subsequently (the body = spatlese, forget identifying the "R"). Guess making wines at the winery itself helps 😂

What to say about this wine? It's pretty intense, but the acidity and minerals kept it in check. Finely strung with pitch-perfect tension. This is the kind of wine that needs very little to push it over the edge into the hedonistic territory. Begs for time (like other 09's), as it's true elegance only revealed itself with air (bring on the crushed rocks and chamomile!). The nose is deep, with exotic fruit aromas, flint, toasted almond, florals, and that classic KR funk. Immense palate with lots of lychee and grapefruit, plus superb minerality with air. Creamy and long finish. Yes, the wine finishes a little warm and could be touch more focus, but it's a real class act for 09'! Power without weight, if you ask me. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

A classic Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir showing a lot of whole bunch fermentation with stalky stemmy notes. A class act. — 8 years ago

Jeff Campbell

9.2

This is tasty and true to a malbec. Bitter sweet with a hint of cherry and sourness.

This is definitely a wine paired well with red meat. It has the flavor comopentents to enhance a juicy steak or ribs. Slightly on the sour side of malbecs. This wine is tasty even by itself. — 8 years ago