Jay Kline

9.2

From magnum; poured into a decanter just prior to service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2005 Fay pours a garnet color with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of cassis, blackberries, Poblano pepper, tobacco, leather, inorganic earth, and a pleasant mix of cool and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ with a nice mineral zip. What a lovely expression of Fay. In this larger format, everything is currently in balance. The acid was welcomed with the grilled ribeye and this felt more like a classic expression from the 70’s than the more modern fruit bombs. Impressed. Drink now through 2045. — a day ago

John W

9.6

I’ll stand by my June 24, 2021 rating. Consistently great. — 4 years ago

Barry Cohen

9.0

A beautiful red. Rich and flavouful. — 6 years ago

David D

9.1

Medium bodied, rich and juicy for a Valtellina. Savory & mineral, dried roses, cherries, prune, tobacco, some oak, anise. From Flatiron Wines. — 7 years ago

Shane Walker

9.0

Clear deep purple with clean pronounced aromas of plums, cherries, rose and spice. Dry with well balanced acidity, lovely smooth tannins and a medium bodied, medium finish. Complex flavours of black fruits make this an excellent, complex wine. — 8 years ago

with Michele

Bonnie Wilson

9.6

We had a different grape variety at Farmers Apprentice and it was incredible!!! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Welcome trade to Pebble Beach Food & Wine.

This was good but the SLV showed much better. Love the espresso notes. Good pair with the Gator Sausage.  — 4 months ago

Stu

9.3

Heaps better than the other one — 4 years ago

Jen Krondon

9.8

Super floral nose, slate and lemons all the way through. — 6 years ago

with Will

Cathy Corison

Owner/Winemaker Corison Winery

9.3

Maraschino cherries. Nicely tannic. Leather. Delicious. — 6 years ago

with Grace and William

Dana Howard

9.8

Light just like I like it — 7 years ago

Louis Martin

9.8

Very sophisticated wine, has the velvety smoothness of the FAY Cab as well as the spice accents of the SLV Cab. — 8 years ago

David Newland

9.5

Beautiful dark purple color with long legs. Subtle nose of dark fruits and cherry. Medium bodied tannins and hint of SLV minerals on near perfectly balanced palate. Finish is wonderful. Great bottle of wine. Cab and Petit Verdot blend. Not sure why Delectable is calling it Merlot. — 9 years ago

Andrew Belzer

9.4

Blackberry, graphite, cocoa powder, espresso, cassis — 4 months ago

Louis Martin

9.3

Floral bouquet, smooth, rich and velvety texture, hint of strawberry and tart plum, light yet rich enough to pair with a creamy pasta dish. — 2 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.4

2020/5/24 with grilled ribeye, eringi with fennel, tarragon and chives, whitebait aglio olio and radicchio salad. This had a wonderful balance of taut structure and fruit intensity, while still remaining light and translucent. That, with the red fruit and spice nose, gave it an almost Burgundian feel - it was also quite distinct from the other Fay bottles. — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. This was the opening salvo and a very good one at that. Perfumed, lush, velvety fruit with lovely structure. Hugely quaffable and already drinking very well with a short decant but I think this is pretty characteristic of the 2014 vintage. — 7 years ago

Jason DT

9.1

Bubbly champange. Nicr acidity — 8 years ago

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick

9.1

At Cure in Pittsburgh. — 8 years ago

Michelle Mondonedo

9.0

Refreshing. Went great with truffle ramen. — 9 years ago