Jason Keefer

9.1

In mag, classic Santa Rita style, a bit earthy, cherry, herbaceous. — 8 months ago

Turd Ferguson

9.4

Last one. End of an era. Completely opaque dark dark ruby. Tannic and oak monster upon opening. Settles down after an hour. Slammin’ good with grilled lamb and taters. Chonky. Blueberries. Rippin’ alcohol but it’s cool. Continues to get better at 2hrs. Saved half in a 375ml for tomorrow because this shit is 16% and I’m drunk as fuck. — 6 years ago

Sean Herriott

9.2

Doesn't hold anything back. A cab drinker's style. — 8 years ago

Amer S. Ahmed

8.9

Rediscovering California whites - particularly the restrained style of winemaking prompted by westerly vineyards situated on cool current influence. Drinks like a burgundy with dollops of golden apple, Anjou pear, ripe peach, fennel, electric acid leading to a mint-laden finish on a medium frame. Lovely with scallops and meaty oysters, easy to sip with Marcona almonds or alone — 8 years ago

michael pandolfo

8.9

Total disclosure – this is not my kind of wine. I can appreciate the fact that it’s very well constructed and the wine is showing well if you are a fan of super ripe, extracted wine. — 9 years ago

Marty McNees

9.0

Good value — 9 years ago

TheSkip

9.2

Wow! I would say a very pleasant surprise, but Westerly is the best WTSO discovery I have made. So when I saw this Bordeaux blend come up, I jumped on it. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 23% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Winemaker is Adam Henkel who used to be at Harlan.

Sometimes it's hard to live up to expectations, but this certainly did! Lovey lavender and warm oak notes in the glass. Very expressive. Strawberry, blackberry, cassis on the palate. I love the cab franc here! Well integrated tannins. Nice moderate finish. Winner!


— 10 years ago

Turd Ferguson

9.2

K&L NDA label. Newly bottled 2024, RRV fruit from two westerly sites. Best on day 3. Excellent for $23. Case buy. Wine market is fucked, I can’t keep up with the deals. — a year ago

Kristin the Wine Girl

9.0

Peaches, cream cheese cake and daisies delight the nose. This Rose is truly uplifting, bright and delicious. Lively and fresh, stone fruit salad. Drink it now! — 6 years ago

Kristin the Wine Girl

8.9

Coconut! This is a Hawaiian coconut dream of a rose. Nose and palate both express coconut flavors. A hint of banana and grapefruit aromatics mingle in with the predominant coconut. Definitely suggests oak influence in a subtle and pleasing way. High acidity. Summer wine. — 7 years ago

Sean Grullon

9.3

Phenomenal Cali Chardonnay; surprisingly Burgundian in style. Brioche, apple, and some lemon zest. Good balance between oak and elegant minerality and solid acidity. — 8 years ago

Daniel Wisner

8.9

Cracked this on Friday before our Christmas party. Then it was drinking like a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

Diving off into this bad boy this afternoon and it seems to have changed a bit. It's almost like the alcohol increased. It's coming in a little hot on the front end. Mellows out quickly though. It's got a super rich meaty sensation to it that finishes with a little vanilla dancing on the tongue. Good stuff. — 9 years ago

Kevin Løk

9.3

No one should buy this. Save it all for me. — 9 years ago

with Caroline

Marty McNees

9.0

Awesome value — 10 years ago

Vanessa

9.1

Sandhi, Sanford & Benedict, Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir, 2016, ABV 13.5%.

This Pinot Noir comes from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County in the Central Coast region of California. Despite California having generally a Mediterranean climate, due to its westerly location, Sta. Rita Hills AVA receives cooling maritime and fog influences from the Pacific Ocean, aiding in the preservation of acidity, lending balance, finesse, and elegance to the resulting wine.

This wine is medium ruby with a medium(+) intensity of youthful aromas. The aromas include primary notes of candied cherry, strawberry rhubarb, orange peel, violet, tulip, mint, wet stone, white pepper, secondary notes of nutmeg, and tertiary notes of earth and wet leaves.

On the palate this wine is dry, with medium(+) acidity, a medium body, medium alcohol, delicate tannin, and medium(+) intensity in flavors consistent with the nose. This wine has a medium(+) finish.

This is a beautiful wine with a strong fruit character and expression. It is well-balanced and offers concentrated aromatics and flavors and nice complexity. — 5 years ago

with Deked1

JoAnna Schultz

9.2

Dinner at the westerly with Paulina. Great combo! — 6 years ago

Kristin the Wine Girl

9.0

Nose is heavy with pyrazines. Spicy greens notes of bell peppers and jalapeño. The small dark berries follow in the delicious shadows. Delish with hot n spicy chili! — 8 years ago

Justin Vance

9.0

High fruit, cucumbery, crisp not too much butter — 8 years ago

Hayden S

9.5

Birthday dinner at Forge in Carmel — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

We were suppose to be in Napa this weekend. Sadly, no one should be in Napa/Sonoma except Firefighters and first responders. However in lieu of; the Sodhani party, appointments at Beau Vinge, Mark Herold & a steak at Cole’s Chop House, what the next best thing? #STEAKANDCLARETNIGHT at home in the backyard. This 86 was amazing with my ribeye. The kind of pleasure that causes great pause and rolls the eyes a bit. On the nose; menthol, eucalyptus, dry herbs, soft ripe blackberries, dark cherries, strawberries, baked plum, perfectly stated baking spices, stones, soft unstated spice, clay, rich dark earth, touch of black cherry cola and fresh & dark florals. The palate is heaven as it coats. The body medium full, layered and the tannins are nicely resolved but not completely...still a fair amount of life in this bottle. I’d say it’s still around it’s peak. The fruits are ripe and still fresh. Blackberries, baked plum, dark cherries, strawberries, dry cranberries, hues of blueberries, black cherry cola, sweet darker spice, vanilla, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, dark rich earth, dry stones, tobacco, suede leather, dry clay, menthol, eucalyptus, touch of dry herbs, fresh & dry dark flowers, beautiful, round acidity, perfect 12.5% alcohol and a long, even, elegantly balanced with beautiful structure, tension & length that’s lasts two minutes. It’s in a really excellent spot. 9.6 with the ribeye and 9.4 on it’s own. Photos of; an aerial shot of Chateau Canon, owners Alain and Gerard Wertheimer who made their first big money on Chanel, own Rauzan-Segla and are worth just under a paltry 10 billion, their barrel room and their Saint-Emilion vineyard. Producer notes and history...Chateau Canon is a premier cru with a history of fine vintages. This Saint-Emilion property has long been recognised as one of the best in the appellation. It is believed that Canon was named after Jacques Kanon, the naval officer who bought estate in 1760. He built the château here and surrounded it with plantings solely of vines...a rare agricultural practice at the time. However, he then sold the estate to a Bordeaux négociant just ten years later. In 1919 it was purchased by the Fournier family, who owned the property until 1996. When they sold it to the Wertheimer family, owners of Chanel and of Rauzan-Ségla in Margaux it unfortunately had some serious problems. The cellars were contaminated with TCA, the chemical compound which causes cork taint. Many of the vines were infected by viruses and in need of being replaced. As well, part of the vineyard above the quarried cellars had subsided. Fortunately the Wertheimers had the money to fix these issues and a manager, John Kolasa with the skills. The first decade of the 21st century saw Canon begin to regain its reputation once John Kolasa retired and Nicolas Audebert at Rauzan-Ségla took over. The substantial estate covers 22 hectares on Saint-Emilion’s famous limestone plateau close to the town. The vines have an average age of 25 years and are generally planted with a southerly or south-westerly exposure. 75% of the vines are Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. After the grapes are hand-picked, they are fermented in traditional cone-shaped vats, before spending 18 months ageing in oak barrels, 50% new and 50% used. — 9 years ago