Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Presented from Magum.

As I have said, Dana farms some of the best fruit.

Nice rich, lush; blackberries, black raspberries, both plum, dark cherries, dark chocolate, nicely even and layered baking spices, round acidity and elegantly polished finish.

Needs another 5 years of cellaring but drank nicely. — 2 months ago

Ed Chin

9.3

This was my least favorite of these DANA’s today. Still pleasant but a bit of time would help round things off and integrate better. — 2 months ago

Henry Fuseler

9.0

11/2025. The 2021 vintage is nice. Good fruit and nice on the palate. — 7 months ago

Eric K

9.8

Campbell vineyard 2018. Great bouquet with legs that don’t quit. Excellent taste went great with steak — 9 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Rich and supple but not as rich as this Cuvée often is. Earthy red fruits with herbs. As Bob Campbell said, good vinosity. Always one of the top Pinots from the North Island. See previous Delectable notes on this Cuvée and vintage. — 9 months ago

Michael Walker

9.7

Not a great chard but reasonably flavorful and importantly, low octane at 13.0….a good weeknight quaffer — 3 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

This is a nice and easy drinking Pinot Noir from Oregon. Showing fresh red fruits with wood, light earth, cocoa, spices, vegetables and peppercorn.

Medium bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate and good right out of the bottle.

Very nice with a slight chill.

Would be nice to revisit it in 3 years.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$36. — 5 years ago

Sean Vitale

9.1

Back to back Anthill night... The bird is taking a while to cook — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

I have said before, they farm some of the best Napa Bordeaux blended fruits. There are likely different opinions on what happens in the winemakers process after harvest. But on pure fruit, yeah they do. This 23 is no exception.

The fruits are ripe, lush, ruby; blackberries, black raspberry w/ awesome purple & blue fruits. It is round, elegant, very balanced. Softly layered baking spices with candied red, dark flowers with violets, rainfall acidity with a finish that lasts two-minutes and lands on moist clay & fruit.

Tasted at Roy Estates. The view from Roy Estate is one of the very best, if not the best view of Napa rolling vineyards. — 2 months ago

Eric Zimmerman

9.3

Capital grille with dad and jen the week mom went to assisted living — 3 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I bought this at K&L recently for $79 to judge their 3rd wine vs the younger Dana & Onda I have. This is made from de-selected fruit from their 3 primary single vineyards.


If you love lush/plush, ripe. bold Napa Cabernets, you will love the 2014 Vaso today. It’s still early but drinking nicely tonight. It took a 3 hr decant. Prior, it was missing a bit of a mid-palate. Not now!

The nose is beautiful. Dark currants-cassis, sandalwood, dry twig, dryish tobacco, mid intensity baking spices, dark chocolate, sweet tarriness, black licorice, dark to mid berry cola, steeped black tea, caramel/mocha, dry crushed rocks, candied to withering flowers framed in soft violets & lavender.

The palate is rich, lush, bold & striking. Dark currants-cassis, wild, ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, black cherries, both plums-black dominate to pudding, a buffet of mixed purple fruits, some baked strawberries w/ haunting raspberries. Bold, dark spices, caramel, mocha, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick & a touch of vanilla, anise to black licorice, a mix of fresh & herbs, light cedar to sandalwood, dry tobacco with some ash, graphite, dry river stone, limestone marl, dry crush rocks, dry top soil, dark, withering to candied; dark, red flowers with violets, grand acidity, layered finish that is well balanced-structured, still well tensioned, elegant & smartly polished finish that goes on and on. Delicious, especially the longer it sat in the decanter. 3 hours total.

I bought 13 & 15 Vaso for the same price before finishing my comments.

This has 15-20 yrs of good drinking ahead.

@SimplyRedVirtualLiveHamburg — 7 months ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.7

Prob our fave Anthill wine yet. Phenomenal! — 10 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

See previous notes here on Delectable. Mid to pale ruby in colour. Pale yet powerful. Great aromatics of pansies, rose petals and violets also stalkiness. As Barb said the aromas of a beautiful garden. After a while an Animale, feral note not unlike some Burgundies we’ve had. Medium bodied palate - dried red fruits with a sweet yet savoury twist. A very polished new World Pinot by any measure. Tasters often identify with Central Otago and Martinborough for quality NZ Pinot Noir. Don’t forget about Canterbury in the South Island not far from the city of Christchurch. Luckily I have 2 left. Bob Campbell MW says drink through to 2025. — 3 years ago

Ed Lehrman

9.3

Rockin wine, aromatic red fruits, mod-life. Wish I had more. — 6 years ago

Ed Chin

9.6

My favorite and even at this young age it is a wow! The iron fist velvet glove thing that makes you sit back and wish all Napa cab were made like this. The fruit is still primary and no real tertiary notes but wow the balance and elegant mouthfeel. Complexity, finish, balance it’s all there. The real issue is the cost is prohibitively stupid. Out of my price range but fortunate to try these. Give it 5 yrs and this would be near perfect to my palate. — 2 months ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.4

‘22 is underrated! — 3 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Welcoming the Holiday Season ⛄️❄️🎅🎁 Cheers!🥂

I posted their 2014 a few weeks ago. As I mentioned then, I bought the 13 & 15 before completing my 14 notes. While this has a yr on the 14, this is not as big as 14. Even with another yr in bottle, I expected this to have bigger teeth and it doesn’t entirely. 3 hrs in the decanter before beginning my notes. The 13 & 14 to me were not completely different. The 13’s I’ve had generally have bigger-brawnier tannins, but not significantly and not the case here with this 2013 tonight. I bought the 13 & 15 to do this comparison. The fruits on the 14 were more lush & ruby. Mildly surprising. This has more spice/earthiness and doesn’t lack a mid palate like the 14 did early on and eventually filled in.

The advantage of writing realtime notes is you can understand the changes with food. In this case a Ribcap. This was a far more lush with steak.

Now with a nearly 5 hour decant, the wine has added more lush Fruits.

Ruby & somewhat lush & juicy; dark currants, dry blackberries, black raspberries, black cherries, poached strawberries, notes of pomegranate, raspberries & hues of blueberries. Deep, dark, spice w/ palate heat, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick and vanilla, dark chocolate, caramel hues, cocoa powder, dry tobacco w/ ash, graphite, leather, cedar, steeped black tea, dark, rich, slightly, sweet forest floor w/ dry leaves, dry top soil, dry brush, limestone & volcanic minerals, pepper, dry river stone & crushed rocks, dark, red, blue flowers, red roses with nice acidity and a well knitted-balanced, nicely toned- structured, elegant finish that lands on moist volcanic clays.

Definitely put on some weight, complexity & elegance the longer it was in the decanter.

If I’d tasted 13 & 14 blind and was asked to pick, which vintage was which. I would have said the 14 was the 13.

Props to their terroirs-vineyards, vineyard manager-team, they farm exceptional fruit for all three of the Dana labels. — 7 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Nose of ripe red fruits plus black plum. Obvious whole bunch influence. Fruit influence has diminished a little since previous tasting but there was some fruit sweetness when tasting at the end of the.palate and the bottle. Kiwi expert Bob Campbell MW was very impressed and said “the best Ata Rangi I’ve tasted “ when he tasted it in June 2016. — 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At the Downs Club Magnum dinner on Wednesday night. This was the mystery wine. Probably New Zealand’s most iconic wine according to Bob Campbell MW. A lovely nose of cassis, dark fruits and spice. M plus intensity of aroma. Elegant rather than a blockbuster - great balance with controlled power. Tempted to buy some and cellar it for 10 years plus. 98 points from Bob Campbell MW. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

8.9

Pale lemon in color with a green hue.

On the nose citrus, vegetables, herbs, green apples, earth, minerals, and grapefruit juice.

Medium bodied with medium acidity. Crisp and refreshing with long legs.

Dry on the palate with limes, grapefruits, citrus, green apples, lemons, bitter herbs, earth and vegetables.

Tangy finish with limes and almonds.

This young Pinot Gris from Oregon is easy drinking and tangy, with a soft mouthfeel. Surprisingly good out of a can.

Earthier on the nose than on the palate. As it opens up, grapefruit notes show up on the nose, and nicer with some airtime, so be patient.

I had an older vintage of this wine, and it definitely is better with some age. I wonder how it would age in a can, though. For now, it is lemony and refreshing. A nice sipper by the pool.

Good by itself or with food. Will pair nicely with fresh seafood like oysters.

Aged in neutral French Oak barrels and stainless steel for 11 months.

13.3% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$8. — 5 years ago