Tom Garland

9.4

hour decant(little fine sediment).  A splendid still deep purplish garnet with bricking.  On the nose:  expressive perfumed notes of dark fruit, pencil shavings, smoked meat, mint, worn leather, some menthol.   Taste:  velvety, depth, finesse wine with stewed dark fruit, graphite, minerals, potting soil, and a slightly spiced cedar mocha long finish.   YUM!! — 16 days ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Deep purple in color with a purplish rim.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with sweet cherries, raspberries, black plums, light oak, chocolates, spices, coffee and peppercorn.

Spicy finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This Single Vineyard Petit Verdot is rich and fruit forward. Nicely balanced and spicy, with a nice mouthfeel.

Bold and good by itself or with food.

Petit Verdot grapes were aged for 18 months in all new Russian oak barrels.

15.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$50. — 10 months ago

Gregory Fulchiero

9.5

Outrageously fresh with pure red fruit notes, and delicate spice aromas. Magic. Best wine I’ve had in recent memory. Thx for sharing @Chris McClellan partner at DellaVino Imports. — 4 years ago

with Chad and Chris

Tom Garland

9.5

A 07 Verite vs 08 Levy & McClellan cage match tonight (PREVIOUS NOTES APPLY for L&M, but bump rating up to 9.4).

La Muse is the pomerol style of their 3 wines with 85% merlot, 10% cab franc, 5% malbec. 1.5 hour decant (some fine/cloudy sediment). A wondrous dark ruby red color. On the nose: Beautiful perfumed nose of dark raspberry, mocha, floral, slight funky earth, minty menthol, crushed rocks. Taste: a soft, smooth dry medium plus body wine with mouth coating plum, minerals, earth, currants and a long dry spicy tea finish. Everything in place and drinking well now with a number of years to go. Cheers! — 5 years ago

with Brenda

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.4

The 2016 ‘Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon by Saviah is another masterpiece by the talented Richard Funk of Saviah. Sourced from the McClellan Estate and Annie Marie Vineyards, the Cabernet shows heady aromatics of dark currants that meld with dark chocolate shavings, tar and black licorice that all march in unison. The palate is dense and decadent with layers of blackberry compote, black licorice candy, creosote and suggestions of Turkish coffee. The long finish lingers as this massive, yet elegant wine has some incredible aging potential. Be sure to give this at least an hour decant if enjoying in its youth. Drink 2020-2038- 94 — 6 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

8.9

Single Vineyard Washington Malbec. Aromas of toast, dried herbs, licorice and baking spices. Dark plum and fig flavors are persistent. 16 months in Hungarian oak. Pleasant length and balance. Big, bold, rich and ripe, but it did fade the longer it was open. — 8 years ago

with John and Mark

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

We all know that the 2013 Napa vintage was excellent and this is a fine example of that.

The nose shows; a dark currant core, blackberries, dark, cherries, black raspberries and blueberries, dark, red, blue perfumed florals, settlement, moist clay, softly and layered baking spices.

The palate shows; gently polished, velvety, dusty, round, soft tannins. Gorgeous & perfectly ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries & both plums. baking soda, cinnamon, clove, vanillin, soft, leather, cedar notes, tobacco w/ ash, dry soils, beautiful, blue, dark, red florals framed in violets, grand acidity, wire to wire perfectly well balanced w/even tension/structure, excellently knitted structure and a long two-minute finish and long sets on beautiful, soft earthiness.

If there is one thing I learned tasting 6 Harlan’s is Bob Levy is one of the very best, if not thee best at managing Cabernet/Bordeaux blend tannins.

Tasting with Winemaker- Bob Levy & Managing Director-Don Weaver. — 2 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Purple in color with a purplish rim.

Strong nose and medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing black plums, cooked cherries, spices, oak, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco, chocolates, coffee and peppercorn.

Nice finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a very young Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla Valley. Rich and extracted. Fruit forward and bold. In your face kind of wine, with a teeth staining color.

This Single Vineyard Cabernet needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 15 years.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

Aged in Neutral French oak barrels for 18 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$60. — 3 months ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.5

Needs 4 years or so but, as Barrington Levy sings “the vibes is right”. Wall of minerals & stone fruit. Took a full day’s decant to break through. GG quality. Nice work. — 4 years ago

with Alsu

David L

9.5

12’ CHECKERBOARD AURORA
Martha McClellan, winemaker. Decanted for an hour. Inky dark fruits(plum, blackberries) Combines power & elegance. It’s tannins are silky & round. 45/60 second finish. Edit- Magical on hour 2.  — 5 years ago

John Hagood

9.1

Had 2010 from Schneider’s $29.99 on 10/6/19. (Found first at Mon ami Gabi with les Levy ca. 2012. ) — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.2

I was able to have a good conversation with Justin (one of the wine guys) at Central Market as he poured me the rest of the Silver Oak, and he was gracious enough to open up the floor for recommendations on what their next higher-end wine should be to serve BTG at cost. In the meantime, however, he opened up this bad boy and man...what a treat. The winemakers for Nice are (from what I’ve heard and read) some pretty solid dudes and it was neat to see that they’re headquartered right here in Houston. Below is an excerpt taken directly from their site as a means of education to satisfy all of the wine nerds out there (myself included):

“Winemaker and Foodie superduo Ryan Levy and Ian Eastveld of Nice Winery are Certified Sommeliers, wine educators, and Le Cordon Bleu trained chefs. Their hand crafted, boutique wines are poured in top restaurants and have won gold medals in internationally recognized wine competitions. Ryan and Ian have built their epicurean pedigree while studying in Paris, France, directing culinary education for Viking, teaching cuisine to thousands of students at Central Market, and operating their restaurant and catering companies, Republic and Nuance. They make their wines from estate vineyards in Texas, Argentina, and California.” — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

The nose shows beautiful fruits of; black, raspberries, black cherries, dark, cherries, raspberries, poached, strawberries, and blueberries. Olive, dark melted chocolate to pudding, black licorice to anise, bold, baking, spices, cigar, leather, cedar limestone, moist herbs, and baking powder.

What gorgeous, palate fruits. Perfectly ripe, dark, cherries, blackberries black, raspberries, baked, strawberries, and both plums, sweet, soft tarriness, black licorice very, soft leather & tobacco, dark spice with palate heat, perfumed flowers that are dark, red and framed in violets, perfect rainfall acidity with an elegant, well, balanced, smartly polished, medium structure with a long finish that lands on clays spice and soils.

If there is one thing I learned tasting 6 Harlan’s is Bob Levy is one of the very best, if not thee best at managing Cabernet/Bordeaux blend tannins.

Tasting with Winemaker- Bob Levy & Managing Director-Don Weaver. — 2 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

While very good, this one needs another 8 plus yrs.

Soft subtle nose. Dark cassis, blackberries, both plums, powdery, soft earth tones, moist clay, dark, chocolate, dry herbs & brilliant floral’s.

Soft, round body. Blackberries, black raspberries, plums, very dark cherries, it’s elegant, smooth, very soft tannins, dark chocolate, soft but pointed spice, volcanics, dry stems, violets, lavender, dark
florals, brilliant acidity, elegant with soft tension, great length with a 90 second finish that lands on minerals and beautiful spice.

If there is one thing I learned tasting 6 Harlan’s is Bob Levy is one of the very best, if not thee best at managing Cabernet/Bordeaux blend tannins.

Tasting with Winemaker-Bob Levy & Managing Director-Don Weaver. — 2 months ago

Kevin Dale

9.3

Fruit forward. Martha McClellan is the wine maker. Grapes from Diamond Mountain. — 2 years ago

Laith A

9.3

This was excellent with robust dark berries, mint, oak .. — 4 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.5

What a perfume... Martha McClellan and Wesley Steffens worked in tandem to craft this inaugural release. The fruit is sourced from two estate vineyards farmed on top of Spring Mountain, as well as the Beckstoffer Melrose Vineyard in Rutherford, CA. The resulting wine shows very focused yet fresh and vibrant aromatics, polished tannins with great tension, smooth texture throughout the wine ending with a very pleasing and lengthy finish. This wine will drink very well upon release, as well will continue to reward with aging in the cellar for many years to come. — 5 years ago

Ryan McClellan

9.0

Whole cluster gives it some crunchiness. High acid and pretty damn structured. Thanks @Chris McClellan ! — 6 years ago

Michael Park

9.6

McClellan is a Goddess! You need to let Sloan breathe for an entire day to enjoy it at it’s best — 8 years ago

Aaron Engel

9.0

Lovely dinner to celebrate birthdays with Julia Levy and Joseph Reeves. Brought this one from my collection and proved an excellent complement to rich tomato and cream pasta dishes we enjoyed. Well balanced with delicate dry fruit finish. Tannins slight but wonder if further aging would have made fruit grander. — 9 years ago