Ron from VA

9.2

At 10yrs old, this was soooo in the zone. Complex yet not out of balance. Rich fruit and food assertive tannins…quality build!!! Loudoun for the Win — 7 months ago

Neal Gracey

9.2

Oh yes! First taste on the palette is amazing! What a marvelous mix of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cab Sav. Mid palette is smooth and comfy to the taste. Toasting cherry licorice and some light berry. Great Toscana flavors. Back to the nose… sweet lilac and flowery fruit. I would pair this wine with salads, and Salmon or a Pork loin. Like the cool tannins on the finish. Superb sipper! Almost close to the best Virginia wines. Very mature soil taste. — 3 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2019 Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch is fabulous. Complex and multi-dimensional, the 2019 is dynamic and super-expressive. Rose petal, lavender, spice, sage and mint play off a core of dark red/purplish berry fruit. This is a terrific Pinot from the northern part of the West Sonoma Coast. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, June 2022)
— 4 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.1

Shimmering ruby. Smoke-tinged cherry and dark berry scents, along with cracked pepper and mocha accents. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering lively dark fruit and spicecake flavors that deepen and pick up a spicy nuance on the back half. Rounded tannins build slowly on the long, sappy finish, which leaves behind a hint of bitter cherry. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, July 2021)
— 5 years ago

Rhonely Boy

9.1

9.0-9.1

1 hour decant, Great with a simple steak.
Could lay down for a year (real cork), allowing he woody notes of the tannin to mellow and integrate. Good fruit, black plum and dark berry. Jumped into my basket for under $20.

Funny - - Chile - Carmenere, Argentina - Malbec, Uruguay - Tannat (supposedly US-Virginia too) ... 🤔 — 5 years ago

Simon Roberts

9.0

Can’t remember but it was a high quality and refined Pet Nat... berry fruit, low acidity, dry fruity finish
🥴 need to get another bottle and drink this first and not fourth. — 6 years ago

Rick Castaneda

8.9

Great berry fruit and acidity. Subtle nuttiness. — 7 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

8.9

Murky ruby color. Aromas of dark berry fruit, fresh herbs and sweet peppers. Black bramble berry and cherry fruit on the palate with additional notes of tobacco, currants, cranberries, black pepper and baking spices. Hint of vanilla on the medium-plus finish. Quite dry with noticeable tannins. Pretty well rounded and nicely balanced. Pleasant surprise. Thanks for including in your Cabernet Franc Tasting, Ron B! — a year ago

Ron from VA

9.0

71 PV, 15 Cf, 14 Merlot….classic Jefferson…no complaints considering the Just ok/challenged vintage. Loads of blue fruit the first day, and day 2 is The emergence of maraschino cherries. Acid is sufficient and tannins friendly. Essentially, a big BERRY Monticello hug ;) — 4 years ago

Jennifer Vargas

9.5

Sweet, tart, and smooth. Strong raspberry flavor with just enough sweetness and pucker. Well balanced for a fruit dessert wine. — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.0

An unexpectedly delicious Bordeaux blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 9% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. Oak grazed, dark-berry nose with hints of earth and a herbs. The oak's definitely more prominent on the palate, offering vanillin creaminess which seemingly melts into the concentrated yet juicy fruit profile. Medium to full bodied with chalky tannins and lively acidity. Finishes long with an interesting marmalade-like note. Not a wine I'd typically like, but I really appreciate how there's not an ounce of jamminess in the wine, nor the heavy pyrazines I associate with the Cabernet's of Margaret River.

NB: I was really pleased with the condition of that wines last night. With this session, that's 4 out of 6 bottles from the new wine shop/bar in town with little-to-no heat stroke issues - that's a huge win in my books! Kudos, RL. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Founded by McDonald "Don" Blackburn, born in Virginia, studied and worked in Burgundy before returning to America. Production of this wine aimed primarily for the restaurant business, i recently found a bottle on a wine list for half price, wow what a steal. Aromas of sweet berry fruit with spiced notes. The palate shows developed ripe red fruit, oak, spice and mineral notes. Soft tannins, elegantly balanced, vivid acidity, lingering finish ending with mineral notes. Wow! — 6 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Mid to dense Ruby. Herbaceous aromas with graphite and black currant. A sweet fluid palate showing black currant of medium plus intensity and partly resolved Tannins. Oak has been absorbed. In a great spot at the moment - excellent balance. Drink remaining 4 bottles in next few years but it is essentially at its peak. A really good wine but from an Aussie point of view tasting more South East than West Australia. Had another bottle 25 weeks later on the 6th October 2020 with consistent notes. The main feature was that it was less herbaceous than it usually is for Margaret River. Showing more ripe berry fruit and cassis in this warmer year. More McLaren Vale in style. Still very good. — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

An Italian grape grown in VA! Bright Ruby color with aromas of red berry fruits, earthy mushrooms and floral notes. On the palate flavors of sour cherry and strawberry with pepper, mushrooms and perfumed woody spice notes. Fine grippy tannins, medium+ finish ending with fruit, cedar spice and earthy mushroom character. — 3 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Deep Ruby color with dark berry fruit aromas, spice and oaky notes, some Malbec added. On the palate flavors of ripe blackberry with cherry, oak, pepper, some hints of smoky herbs and vanilla spice. Ok mouthfeel, good balance, fine dusty tannins, medium finish ending with herbs, oak and fruit. Nice value, drink now! — 4 years ago

Austin Blackwell

9.0

Smooth tannins and nice dark cherry and berry fruit. One of the better 7200s I’ve had. — 4 years ago

with Angelina

ESF

9.2

Delicious! Bdx blend w/Chambourcin really adds some personality, very dark opaque ruby w/wild savage nose, forest, herbaceous, medicinal juxtaposed w/dank ripe black/red berry fruit, accented w/vanilla & spice. So Virginia - (could mistake this for Norton) very generous and right in yo face! Smooth rich viscous supple, gobs of fruit w/beautiful harmony & balance on palate. Not for everyone, very extroverted, but for $14 this is insane QPR. — 4 years ago

Fredrik Finn

9.3

Located in Sierra de Gredos, west of Madrid, Bernabeleva is a driving force of the ”new” Spanish wine movement that is getting well-earned attention from the wine world. The Garnachas of Gredos pose with a unique expression, marked with plenty of freshness and ”minerality” due to the high altitude and the granite soils.
The Vina Bonita, Bernabelevas top wine, comes from 2.8 ha single vineyard with 80 year old vines. Fermented in Wood with long maceration, matured on French barriques for ”as long as necessary”. Only 900 bottled produced of the 2016 vintage.

The wine is an act of elegance, a true showstopper concentrated red berry fruit with red florals and a balsamic-herby almost orange like lift, followed by a pronounced earthy and stony minerality.
A fresh acidity and slight lip gripping tannins with a very fine, almost powdery texture, a tactile sensation and strong fatigues drives the mineral, red fruited palate which breach across the palate in a long and expansive finish.
— 6 years ago

Douglas Braun

8.9

Currants , eucalyptus , berry fruit nice balance — 7 years ago

Anne Carman

9.4

Dark fruit, currents, pepper and spice on the nose. Smooth balance of bright berry and dark cherry up front with notes of vanilla and violet around the edges. Beautiful 2008. — 7 years ago