Joan Ziegler

9.2

Beautiful fruit forward crisp Brut Rose. Strawberry small bubbles! Great to celebrate my brand new Ferrari 2025 knee to replace my original equipment! 😉 So far an incredibly great recovery! — 10 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

I forgot to shoot the Moonracer bottle and borrowed some of these images from their site.

This is one of my favorite wines from Realm. Very kind of Leslie to open for us. The 2021 was outstanding and have it at 97-98. Showed very well at well pop and pour.

The nose on the 2021 Moonracer was quite feminine which has great appeal to me. Dark perfume florals, ripe, lush currants but more cassis with beautiful, soft baking spices.

The palate was fresh and shows round, ruby, lush fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, dark cherries. It is feminine & elegant in its style. Powdered, limestone, rocks & sandstone, soft, dark spice with gentle heat as it sets, sweet forest floor, black licorice, mixed berry cola, some soft, fresh tobacco, expensive, plush leather, softly stated baking spices-nutmeg, clove cinnamon & vanillin, melted dark chocolate, a mix of fresh, red, blue florals framed in violets & some lavender, perfect acidity, elegant, round, extremely well balanced, layered, structured long finish that is two-minutes.

One thing of note, there will be no 2022 The Absurd. The Absurd fruit will go into The Bard and a couple of their others wines. Reason, the six days of brutal heat during the potential harvest window.

Stunning pano view of Pritchard Hill from their estate. If we had been there the day before, fog and clouds would have made this photo impossible. Brand plate on their stainless steel tanks, believe a shot of their Moonracer vineyard and sitting area in their tasting room. — 2 years ago

Ted Holland

9.2

Brand New 2017 Boheme English Hill Chardonnay! Beautiful, delicious, well balanced wine. Enjoy!! — 6 years ago

Severn G

9.2

Wine 7/12 (White Field Blend)

Nose has straw bales, honey candy, salt toffee, dried lemon peel, minor cider vinegar and quite wilted daffodils.

Palate has salted lemon slice, grapefruit pith, honey, tart yellow apple, sea salt and oh the astonishing acidity with a long finish. Amazing, alive!

Been waiting to get my hands on anything from the Brand bros. for quite some time, would love the rosé, but this German take on Gemischter Satz is also right in my lane! Funk welcomed.

Once again it is notable that I have made one full trip around the Sun earlier this week. We had our small, social bubble team to the house for celebrating my getting older and somewhat less flexible in advancing age...Whatever will be done when I creast 50? Well, at least it's several years until needing manage that concern.

We enjoyed well-salted Ribeyes (Kinderhook Farm - Valatie, NY, prepared 48h in advance), turning to a beautiful medium-rare after a mere 12m of grill time and smashed, small red potatoes with capers (yeah try it, don't judge me yet). None of the bottles were particularly planned as 'steak wines'; we didn't care as it really was a wine nerd-fest of grapes/regions, from Burgenland, Austria to Brittany, France. Wine and food were on individual plateaux today. This was the vom Boden Spring Experience case, expertly curated by Stephen Bitterolf, and well received by our tasting crew. — 6 years ago

Brent Bailey

9.1

Beautiful bourbon, nice amount of oak, brown sugar, vanilla and easy to drink. — 7 years ago

Orlaith Costello

9.9

Beautifully smooth, spice and pepper on the nose, full of cherries and berries! — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.

The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.

The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.

Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.

Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.

The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.

Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.

After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!

Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.

The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.

After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.

A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.

A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.

You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.

2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.


The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.

Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I always have two wines to pair with an entree. Like variety. This has a beautiful herbal quality in it that pairs nicely as a follow up wine to my pork chop.

Here is the recipe. Try it sometime.

4-6 thick cut bone-in pork chops

- 1 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Tamari soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of Lee Kim Kee brand chili sauce
-1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger (I triple this)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic (again.
I double this)
- 3/4 cup of cilantro (no stems)
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil — a year ago

Peter van den Besselaar

8.9

Vintage 2015 | Right bank Bordeaux, brand of a large Belgium retailer. The back label does not give information about grapes, but says it should be drunk in 2 to 3 years. I kept it 8 years 🫣 and now it has a brown tuilé colour, beautiful tertiary tones in smell like autumn leaves, tobacco, leather. Supple taste of course. I like aged wines and I like this Blaye. More now than when I drank it in 2017 😏. Be contrary sometimes pays ☺️. Paired with ravioli filled with goatscheese and citruszeste, served with sage butter and grated Parmesan. — 3 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

Cubillo is a beautiful anomaly in a sea of $25 wines.

It’s the youngest of the lot, but the signature stamp is there, so obviously LDH Tempranillo.

Velvet milk chocolate, ripe black cherries, brand new leather boots. Rich and loaded with cocoa and coffee and raisiny red berries.

It looks like motor oil. Heck it has almost a decade in bottle. Plenty of acid to smooth out over time.

We should be stock piling this - quality and price don’t intersect so well very often. — 5 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.0

Firstly, merry Christmas to all!

Noticing that label variations exist for the Singleton 12, I became curious for why this is the case. Turns out Singleton is a brand (bottler?) that represents multiple distilleries. This is from Glen Ord at the edge of Black Isle peninsula in the Scottish Highlands.

To be frank, I've never been one to bat an eye when approached with Singleton - always seems to be the choice pour at bars in every corner of the world. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by this offering - orange, honey, and caramel on the nose. The palate is wood and spice driven with a subtle minerally and gingery finish. I liked it. Smooth and easy to drink. — 7 years ago

Gor

9.3

Very aromatic Riesling from Alsace. Melon, white flowers, orange peel, even hint of ginger on those nose. Beautiful deep yellow, almost gold color. Mouth watering acidity with a persistent finish — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Beautiful, perfume, florals interwoven with the fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, haunting blue fruits, leather, strawberries, cherries and dry cranberries. Understated vanilla, mild clove, light cinnamon, dark rich soils, light graphite, dry crush rocks, fresh tobacco and fresh, dark florals with violets and just a hint of lavender.

What a round, ruby, body with ghostly tannins. It’s all beauty. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, haunting blue fruits, leather, strawberries, cherries and dry cranberries. Understated vanilla, medium clove, light cinnamon, some of the most beautiful dark spice I’ve had in a wine, dark rich soils, light graphite, dry crush rocks, dry top soil, fresh tobacco and fresh, dark florals with violets and just a hint of lavender. The acidity is perfect...like a rain shower. The finish is really amazingly balanced, elegant, floral and persistent for minutes. The 2016 Proprietary Blend will stun in 10 years plus in bottle.

Photos of; the winery and tasting room shot on a sunnier day than this visit. The cellar walk to the doors of their barrel room, private tasting room with library wines and their Estate vines on a beautiful Napa sunny day. — 7 years ago

John B

9.1

This little-known, small-production white wine from BRAND Napa Valley is a blend of four Italian varietals: Ribolla Gialla, Fiano, Coda di Volpe and Arneis. A nice juxtaposition to the common Napa Sauvignon Blanc, this has peach and other stone fruit aromas and flavors, a slightly savory finish and beautiful minerality. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I’ve had a number of Paul Bara N/V’s & a few vintage cuvées, all have been ok to good. This 2016 Special Club stands out as one of the very best I’ve had from this producer.

It is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Its dosage is 6 g, which makes it just into the lowest level of Brut, which is another reason why I probably enjoy it. Extra Brut has definitely become my wheelhouse. This right now is more 93 to 94. With 5-8 yrs of cellar time, it should improve another point or two.

Paul Bara is one of 28 or 29 special club members currently.

The nose shows; bright, lemon, cream, notes of honey, caramel, lime, zest, pineapple juice, honeydew, and tropical melons, beautiful, chalky powder, yeasty notes, spring, flowers, yellow, lilies and Jasmine.

The mouth entry shows beautiful, mousse and crisp acidity. Meyer lemon, frothed whole milk, cream, notes of honeysuckle & caramel, lime zest, green apple, pineapple juice, honeydew, tangerine, white stone fruits, yellow & red Rainier cherries and tropical melons, touch of fresh herbs beautiful, chalky powder, gritty, grey, volcanic minerals, white spice, limestone, yeasty notes, spring, flowers, yellow, lilies and Jasmine. The finish is; well structured & balanced, elegant, last nearly 2 minutes and falls gently on chalk, volcanic minerals and nice spring florals.

Definitely delicious!

Pairing - green, vinaigrette salad w/ honey crisp apple, pomegranate, heirloom tomatoes, walnuts & more.

Photos of; the Champagne House of Paul Bara, Paul Bara brand Ambassador, library cellar and Bouzy vineyard. — a year ago

Pooneet K

9.4

Really in an exceptional place. Last time we had this was a couple years ago - tonight with a bit of air this really sings. Beautiful amber in the glass. Certainly quite unrestrained and full - 14%, deep mouthfeel, viscous, etc. Honey and deep white floral fruit and the perfect balance of residual sugar and acid on the finish. Wonderful pairing with my annual post-Thanksgiving turkey pho. — 5 years ago

Brent Clayton

9.1

Beautiful ripe fruit. White flowers, mineral, bees wax. Great stuff. — 6 years ago

Laura Purdy

9.7

I’ve lost track of what day we’re on... this is beautiful. Chocolate and caramel with a smooth finish. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Wow! This comes right out of the gate fantastically. This is magical this early for 2010. 2010 is a great vintage but, built for elder years and children.

The nose reveals, slightly steeped, ripe & ruby fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, strawberries, blueberries, cooked pomegranates and cherries. Slight liqueur notes, toffee, caramel, mocha, melted chocolate, steeped fruit tea, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, dry, crushed rocks, limestone, dark spices, soft leather, light fresh tobacco, dry stones, graphite, expresso roast, dark, rich soils, with candied, fragrant, bright, dark, red, blue florals set in violets.

The body is round, elegant and ruby beautiful. The tannins are; dark, tarry, spicy, rounded and chewy. The structure, tension, length and balance live up to every bit of hype the 2010 was given. Slightly steeped, ripe & ruby fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, strawberries, blueberries, cooked pomegranates and cherries. Slight liqueur notes, toffee, caramel, mocha, melted chocolate, steeped fruit tea, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, dry, crushed rocks, limestone, deep dark spices with incredible palate heat, soft leather, light fresh tobacco, dry stones, graphite, expresso roast, dark, rich soils, with candied, fragrant, bright, dark, red, blue florals set in violets. The acidity is perfect. The seriously elegant finish is; ripe, slightly candied, brightly floral, polished and persists endlessly. Beautiful wine now and for the next 35 years.

Photos of; arial view of Chateau Haut-Bailly-fortunate to have spent two nights there, dinning room that I was fortunate to have dinner in, artful perspective of the Chateau and their brand glass doors that lead into their barrel room. — 7 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.8

2008 Next of Kyn (Sine Qua Non) "Cumulus Vineyard No. 2" Central Coast Syrah. Pictured next to the inaugural vintage box, and documenting my disturbing inability to remove the cork in one piece, let’s begin with a quote from Manfred regarding the genesis of the brand: “The name is in reference to the fact that it is the next closest relative to SINE QUA NON, yet it is separate and different, and with its own personality, character and style. Implied is also a dose of hopefulness, of wishful thinking, that one of our five kids will someday take it over as his or her own.” (Unless my reverse adoption petition is granted, fingers crossed). The wines all emanate from Cumulus Vineyard, the Krankls’ first true estate vineyard. Most of the Syrah is planted on own-rooted, head-trained vines. The first three vintages were essentially Syrah-based, with some Grenache and Roussanne, all done with fully destemmed fruit. The wine spends around 30 months in French oak, with around 50% new oak. This particular vintage, which might very well be my favorite, is absolutely firing on all cylinders right now on its 10th Anniversary. So good in fact, that I will be looking to pick up a few more asap. 4 hour decant. Midnight black in the stem. Darker even than the 17th Nail from a week ago. Gorgeous bouquet of freshly baked, smokey blueberry pie cooling on the windowsill next to a vase of violets and lavender. Pleasing palate of sweet black cherry compote, licorice and Asian spices with just a hint of bacon fat. Lengthy, spicy finish. Beautiful structure. Lush and concentrated. I may need to add this to my guilty pleasures list as I don’t believe this was a critical standout. At least not by Manfred Krankl standards. Maybe the experts need to revisit?


— 8 years ago