Sipping Fine Wine

9.5

First of all Kudos to Ant Hill love the wax seal over cork! Deep Ruby with aromas of dark Berry fruits with notes of herbs, citrus, floral and earthy spice. On the palate flavors of blackberry and cherry, tea, vanilla and herb tones, well balanced with acidity. Firm fine tannins on a long finish ending with fruit and floral herb character. Very nice! Will age well! — 3 months ago

Paul J

9.4

1hr+ decant. This start out amazing but faded over time. Lovely dark red color with purple rims. Nose contained refined dark cherries and subtle baking spices. A nice sweetness was well balanced with the very present tannins but this fell out of balanced over time. The depth and finish were both great but also faded. Very nice wine that had so much more potential. — 8 months ago

with Brooke

Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Bright ruby red color. Bountiful aromas of red berries and dried violets. Pallet is full of strawberry and raspberry fruit with hints of black tea, baking spices, earth and pepper spice. Just a bit of a “gamey” quality as well. Nice hint of oak on the clean finish. Fine tannins and bright acidity. Creamy texture. Rich and nicely rounded. Absolutely a “California-Style” Pinot Noir. Nice choice, Mark Smith. — 2 years ago

Ted

9.0

Found another ridge that I haven’t tried. Earth and black fruit. Dark chocolate as well. — 6 months ago

with Jeni

Tom Casagrande

9.0

From young vines (22 years old) in an otherwise very old vineyard site. It’s very good but, of course, lacks the depth of an old vine blend. Very pure and juicy dark berry fruit on the nose, almost like a sugar-glazed berry cobbler. Gorgeous balance in the mouth. Ripe fruit, no jamminess, spritely acids, and some very very soft tannin underneath. Not complex or especially deep, but well made. Great cookout wine! — 8 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

One of the few CA Chardonnay I enjoy. You can spend more on one, but for under $40, this works really well.

Arnot-Robert’s rides the fence of CA Chardonnay & White Burgundy nicely. Has a bit of Ca Chardonnay backbone with the creamy body of White Burgundy.

Nose does not show much at first. Green apple, pear, lemon, lime. White peach, caramel notes, cardamom, paraffin, cream, yellow & spring flowers.

The body is creamy with nice viscosity. Green apple, pear, lemon, lime. White peach, caramel notes, cardamom, paraffin, cream, very light honey notes, sea spray, light chalkiness, yellow & spring flowers. Excellent round acidity, beautiful, soft structure, well balanced and a pleasant finish.

A couple more years in bottle add a point or two & more complexity. .

A little history from their website. Watson Ranch Vineyard is perched on a steep hillside overlooking the San Pablo Bay at the southernmost end of the Napa Valley. The ranch was named after early Napa attorney, Augustus Watson, who owned the property in the early 1900s. The adjacent property is an abandoned limestone quarry which historically employed over 300 people, mining material to make portland cement used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. — 10 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Bruce Phillips and his wife were pouring their 2021. Talked w/ him at length. Very nice couple.

The 2021 showed well young with room for improving with 10-25 years in bottle and beyond. It showed some evolution, wasn’t all primary. Elegant, very well balanced with excellent structure and finish. Drink 2033-45 properly stored.

The general Napa consensus on 2022 vintage will be a story of did you pick before or after the 6 days of extreme heat during the harvest window. One producer told me his would add 5% of 2023 to some of his 2022’s, which is allowed. He mentioned that he was going to add 15%. But, I think he just misspoke? Get ready for an amazing 2023 vintage from Napa. It was a cooler, not hot-hot, which was a near perfect growing season for long slow even ripening. Some say a vintage of a lifetime and others would only say exceptional.

The Saturday-Sunday Pavilion tasting at Pebble Beach Food & Wine is an excellent four hours to taste a lot wine, taste curated dishes from chefs from all over the country and meet the people behind the bottle. These short ribs were one of the top two or three things I tasted at the Pavilion Saturday. — 8 months ago

Brandon T

9.3

Loads of red fruit but still tight even after a 3 hour decant. Still paired well with a burger!Would give it a few more years. — 9 months ago

Charles York

9.0

Raisin. Cinnamon. Dried strawberries. Maybe a hint of 5 spice. Well made and ready to drink. Don’t wait too long. — 3 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.2

Wry youthful. Lots of tannin - and a bit of Cali Cab sweetness on the palate. Ripe red berries and a hint of Vanilla ( American oak) on the nose. Drinking well. #hayfork — 4 years ago

with David