Mike Saviage

9.6

Light gold, heavy in the glass. High pitched nose. Notes of green apples, sweet kiwi fruit, citrus, lime blossoms. Although the nose is expressive, this is closed and tight in the mouth (despite being open for 6 hours we're told). At first I had this rated as being a bit behind the 96 Clos and Blanchot next to it, but over the evening this powered up and in the end was equal to its siblings. Has many years of enjoyment in front of it. — 3 years ago

Brent Young

9.4

Fantastic Aromatics

Traditional Spanish Riojas have the most alluring noses. The cherry fruit smells so sweet and fresh on this. It’s accompanied by American oak which gives it a touch dill and vanilla with brown sugar and cedar.

It’s rich and round and sweet and has no rough edges. The tannins are soft and nice.

If a wine can deliver that same potion on the palate as the nose, well that would be hard to beat. The palate is a tick behind the nose at this point. Maybe a touch closed?
This has a long life ahead… — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.8

Raspberry spice cake, florals. Violets galore, wow, wow, wow. So so deep. More shy than the 19 Noirots. Superb earth and spice, huge huge florals. Sickness. Just so sick. What a massive mineral component behind all the fruit and flowers. Top note of some sort of very specific flower I cannot place. These is top notch precision. Nose is getting a pastille violets thing. Long finish and really long but closed. The potential is limitless. But Noirots Is a smidge better. — 5 years ago

Mike Wallus

8.9

Very nice.Brambly and earthy and smooth — 6 years ago

Deborah M

9.0

I just like this one. Sometimes wonderful is just simple. Grab what you can because they have apparently closed their doors. Wonderful PnP. Medium light red color. Floral bouquet on the nose. Cola and raspberries. Wonderful acidity brings everything into balance. Paired well with my grilled whole lemon chicken. — 6 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

Ron R

9.4

I remember the day I purchased this. I was in Portland and rushed to the winery only to find it was closed. With the best king’s English, I begged them to open their doors and throw me a bone! I got these (which was what I went there for). In my experience, Oregon wines are rarely over-extracted, this is a prime example, respecting the varietal. Cola, tree bark and sandalwood on the nose and palate. Nice notes of orange peel and pomegranate on the mid palate. Finishes with a vivid streak of bright acidity. This ain’t going anywhere for a very long time. Tastes like I recall it many years ago. If I recall correctly wine spectator soiled their pants over this bottling/vintage, too. — 3 years ago

with Anne-marie

Matthew Cohen

9.4

Sorta closed.

Nose is really gorgeous but muted. Really elegant cherry flowers. But they are like hidden behind a veil.

Palate is cherry fruit. Some licorice. Maybe a kiss of cocoa? Great silky texture.

Gorgeous material here. Needs a long decant or a few years at this point. But a great wine.

Day 2 still perfect balance. Nose is intense potpourri. Really deep and beautiful. Palate is still so juicy. Dense. Delicious.

Bought from fass selections — 5 years ago

Fredrik Finn

9.3

First encounter with the 2016 Trediberri Barolo. After an hour in the decanter it is very closed and tight. After an additional 30 minutes of had work of spinning the glass the wine finally unleashed its inner complexity. As it opens up it displays an intense fruit profile with slightly tart red berries; cranberries, rose hip and blood orange with a softer edged strawberry fruit and lavender coming from behind. Beyond the fruit there is plenty of complexity coming from a pronounced portion of incense, tar and spicy characters.
A penetrating acidity and pronounced, ye approachable, tannins with a gripping texture dictates the palate. A very good fatigue on the mid palate, strong but with light steps and plenty of vibrant energy. An expansive complexity holds your attention through a solid finish. 92 +
If opening today I would give it 3-4 hours in the decanter, and don’t rush it in the glass. I am confident that it will age beautifully, and I will keep my additional 6 pack on the back for a couple of years before a revisit. — 6 years ago

Paul K

9.4

@Ryan Mullins and @Jeff Loo are spot on. This needs 10 years. I double aerated back into bottle for 12 hour corked decant and after two hours open in glass this is still closed. You can still taste the potential though. There is a density and purity of fruit behind it that I’m excited to open up one day. Was still a great experience. 94 for now. Will hold remaining bottles for at least 5 years. Please yell at me if u see another post of this wine before then. — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.1

Houston’s very own Del Frisco’s Grille is sadly shutting down. So, as it was with their fine steakhouse concept ‘Sullivan’s’ when it closed down, they’re doing a 50% off promotion for ALL alcohol. Needless to say...we have a few dinners lined up with our Supper Club and other friends before they shutter their doors for good on 9/16.

This is about as good as New World entry-level Chardonnay gets. — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Mike R

9.3

This is go to Brunello and first wine in almost two weeks - been a crazy two weeks and glad it is behind me / also recuperating from my first round of golf in a long time

So just closed my eyes sort of to pick tonight and this baby is helping me with my back pain and get me ready for tomorrow’s golf

This is not as good as I remember but still delicious — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

8.9

What do you do when in Queenstown on a four day religious holiday weekend and nearly all the cellar doors are closed today? You drive 50 minutes out of town to the Clyde Food & Wine festival. The Two Paddocks is lean bodied with lighter red fruits and understated minerality. — 9 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.6

Stand it up for a week Major sediment Winery notes, composition
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
aging
21 months in 75% new French oak
cooperage
Treuil, Sylvain, Remond, Orion, Alain Fouquet


500 Chevaux is an automobile racing term; French for “500 horsepower.” Nellcôte founder and vintner Tyler Olbres is an avid car-racing fan, and has himself driven in the Monaco Rallye for Classic Cars. This wine is a high-horsepower Cabernet, meant to be sleek, powerful, and fully able to go the distance.
LAST BOTTLE Notes,

Nellcote was an uber-pricey luxury Cab that recently closed its doors, and, after extensive tasting through all the brilliant, incredibly fine-tuned Cabernets early last year, that none other than Phillip Titus (yep, THAT Phillip Titus, the legend behind CHAPPELLET and others!) made,


— 4 years ago

Boris

9.5

Tasted blind. Rigorous, text book Riesling. Closed bouquet that required some time to open up. Every little thing was hiding behind petroleum cloud - field flowers, chalk, soap and pineapple. There are almost no traces of fruits. Very long and interesting aftertaste with flavours of petroleum, apple seeds and flowers. Wonderful wine with huge potential (at least in my inexperienced opinion). It got the highest marks during tasting session. — 5 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.2

I guess it’s closed wineries day with my posting, as Hilliard Bruce unfortunately had to close its doors a couple of years ago due to John Hilliard’s health. This a simple but elegant pinot with classic SB fruit on the nose, nice balance on the palate, and a graceful finish. Not convinced this will improve any more (it’s actually probably on its downslope), so I’d recommend enjoying this one now). — 5 years ago

with Vanessa

Shay A

9.4

WNH event number 7...virtual tasting with @Connor McMahon from Fulldraw Vineyards.

Loved the story behind this new Paso producer. If you’re looking for Paso Rhône wines, check out Fulldraw. Pedigree, quality, story...all there. Many thanks to Connor for joining us tonight!

46% syrah, 28% Grenache and 26% Mourvèdre. After I opened, I put it straight in the decanter. Shortly after, I gave it a try and it was very aromatic...crunchy, sweet, dark fruits. Mourvèdre shows beautifully. More depth than being totally floral, but more elegant than being totally fruit driven. Blue and black candied fruits accompanied by dark chocolate, bacon fat and charcoal. I followed it over 4+hrs and it had a bit of a rollercoaster evolution...very energetic at pop and pour, slightly closed down in between, and hit apex around hour 3. The tannins softened substantially with notes of licorice, dried blackberries, chargrilled blueberries and a finish highlighted by peppered strip. For me, this wine epitomizes Paso GSM blends. Inaugural vintage. Nicely done! — 6 years ago

with Mike, Bill and 7 others

Ryan Vento

9.4

Houston’s very own Del Frisco’s Grille is sadly shutting down. So, as it was with their fine steakhouse concept ‘Sullivan’s’ when it closed down, they’re doing a 50% off promotion for ALL alcohol. Needless to say...we have a few dinners lined up with our Supper Club and other friends before they shutter their doors for good on 9/16.

This was very delicious. Even as a pop & pour it presented nicely. Just a reiteration that mountain fruit is my favorite. — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Hanibal

9.1

Wine was closed a little out of the bottle but after 30min it opened up nicely with a big cherry smell with wet forest floor. On the palate then tannins have melted leaving behind a smooth taste of sweet cherries, mushroom and wet forest taste. Not likely to improve beyond where it is now as acidity is already medium low and starting to lose power in the mouth. Overall a very nice experience. — 8 years ago

Manny Abascal

9.4

Sharp acidity, minerality, a little closed. Intense. That describes both the Wine and the teenager (my daughter) behind the bottle. — 8 years ago