Marc Melser

9.1

An excellent Napa floor Cab with tastes of blueberry, blackberry, kirsch and vanilla. Full bodied, well balanced. New World for sure. Will be good for many more years — 11 days ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.2

Fresh & very St. Emilion in the nose. Rich yet savoury. Cassis & gravel.
On the palate this is more Californian - broader & richer yet still very elegant, impeccably balanced and so elegant. And drinking very nicely right now. — 2 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

A pale crimson with a tawny edge - almost transparent. A high quality Pinot Noir from Canterbury wizards Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhuizen. As I said last tasting note - pale but powerful. As good a new World Pinot Noir as you will find, and this is Bell Hill’s second wine. I can’t improve on the previous Delectable note from October 6 2023. These wines from Bell Hill aren’t cheap but are a lot cheaper than good Burgundy. — 4 months ago

Santo Ricceri

9.0

Red fruit and herbaceous nose. Nice light medium body with hint of green bell pepper. A nice intro to Cab Franc. — 5 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Opened around 8pm the evening prior, double decanted and left in room temperature until service on Friday evening. In total, this was opened 24hours before service. The 1995 pours a beautiful garnet with transparent core; medium viscosity with moderate stating of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with surprisingly boozy dark fruit. Brambles, cassis, bell pepper, licorice, spearmint and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long with great acidity. Overall, remarkably youthful. While it’s certainly ready to go, it will likely continue some positive evolution over the next couple of decades. Drink now with a long decant through 2045. — 4 days ago

Stuart Pollack

9.6

Intense, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon that needs steak. Extraordinary flavor and great elegance and smoothness in the finish. An excellent Napa Cabernet, and a paradigm of this big style of wine. — 3 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Made in a small town at foot of Sierra Cantabria in the DO. A single variety Tempranillo from 50 year old vines has a deep Ruby red color and aged for 18 months in French and American oak. Aromas of red fruit and spice. On the palate ripe black fruit, fine tannins, well balanced with a medium+ finish ending with fruit, spice and some oak notes. Nice! — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over period that lasted a few hours. The 2018 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. One the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of ripe, tart black and red fruits: blackberries, black currants, tobacco, some bell pepper, herbs and rich baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and rich but has some great zip thanks to the acid. Easily the most rounded of the three and, in true Rafanelli fashion, I don’t find the oak to be fully integrated at this point in its evolution. But it will. Better after 2028 through 2048+. — 2 months ago

Carter White

9.2

Dark fruit, bell pepper, light body, tangy, and earthy. — 2 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

8.9

1986 vintage. Ripped through six bottles (one corked) for a 1986 BDX dinner @ Mister A's-San Diego. All bottles appropriately aged fill and decent+ corks. Double decanted and tasted over the course of 5 hours. Mix of powdery and stubborn (non-chunky) sed amongst the 6 bottles. Light-medium body throughout. Somewhat muted experience overall. None of the bottles (with variation) shone/sung. Wine is firmly on the downside of the bell curve with best days behind it (based on the 5 + corked bottle examples). There was none of the usual P-L flavor markers but the body hung in there. Pains me to say this but drink up now unless you've got a larger format bottle. Maggie (+) would probably yield a higher score. 3.14.24. — 3 months ago