Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1987

9.7

From a really fine, structured Napa vintage, this shows dark fruits and mineral notes aromatically, still has loads of Dunn Howell Mountain structure and tannin, long, lingering finish, but the finish suggests that it needs 10-20 more years of aging, simply an incredible, old school (13% ABV) Napa mountain Cabernet with amazing length and freshness, a true WOW wine (if you’re moderately unoffended by the enormous structure still remaining)!!! — 7 hours ago

with Jim

Tom, John and 6 others liked this

Tom Casagrande

Whoa!!!🤯

ESF

Holy Grail

Jan A

We had the '95 this weekend: also very youtfull and fresh. Loved it

Far Niente Winery

Napa Valley Chardonnay 2019

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

1 of CA's oldest wineries, Far Niente, founded 1885 by John Benson. Winery flourished until Prohibition, when it was abandoned & fell into complete disrepair. Stately stone shell of a winery purchased in 1979 by Gil Nickel. A big wine! Tropical and stone fruit aromas with complex spice and oak notes. On the palate apple, peach and citrus flavors, creamy, with buttery toasty oak, fig/honey tones. Long finish ending with vibrant acidity & mineral character. Consistent. — 3 days ago

Paul, Tom and 5 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Brad Jensen

9.4

Cork fell apart but the wine lives! Bought after Tiva’s baby shower, drank with Mr. Eckstein and Dad, the wine is a DEEP dark red, pale brick color to the edges, which needed about an hour or 2 to open up. The nose slowly emerged with ripe red fruits, crunchy ripe plums and cherries, with hints of soil and a little balsamic so far. Full bodied but not HUGE in alcohol, with a loooong palate with great pepper notes, ripe dark fruits, rasberry coulee, dark chocolate and long finish, softened fruits but still good acidity, with tannins just starting to emerge towards the finish and hints of briar and green peppercorn, with slight menthol freshness. This is at its prime right now! — 22 days ago

Shafer Vineyards

Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Jan A

9.5

Really looked forward to this one, but a little bit too rich to warrant higher score. Missing the acidity/tension a bit.
Edit: and it was served too warm.. — 2 days ago

Stef, Roman and 14 others liked this

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2002

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

The last of the 2002 in mags brought from the property. Delicious. I would have thought these would have been saved for their member parties. So, a nice surprise.

From The Cellar event at Pebble Beach Food & Wine. — 22 days ago

Jay, Neil and 17 others liked this

Ron R

Looks like fun! Hope you had a great time.

Somm David T

@Ron R it’s a good event even worth the effort to travel from the other coast. Cheers! 🍷

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2019

Tom Garland

9.4

From MAG

2 hour decant. A striking purplish dark garnet color. On the nose: beautiful notes of dark fruit, pencil shavings, herbaceous, vanilla, cloves. Taste: creamy, polished, structured wine with blackberry, dark chocolate, minerals, bell pepper, leather, and a decent herbal/potting soil finish. Drinks surprisingly well with the decant at this age, and of course a few more years it will improve. YUM! — 7 days ago

with Brenda

Brenda, Tom and 17 others liked this

Paul T HB

Only about 10-15 years too soon

Spottswoode

Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2005 vintage. From magnum. Tasted after 3 hours open. Light-medium body. Drought earth. Coffee grounds. Espresso crema. Dark plum skins. Drinking excellent but like a Napa cab a decade older. And from a magnum!?!? Was expecting a bit more of a delicate fruit presence. Oh well. It was a full moon. 04.11.25. — 23 days ago

Ted, Austin and 8 others liked this

Cakebread Cellars

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1988

Jay Kline

9.0

Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine appears a garnet color with a near opaque core with significant rim variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and significant signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated and ripe dark and red fruits: currants, plums, brambles, old leather, cigar box, and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin (integrated) and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium.

Initial conclusions: this could be Cabernet Sauvignon (or based blend), Tempranillo, Grenache-based blend from the United States, Spain, France or Italy. I felt like this leaned more towards the fruit than the non-fruit character and/or structure. Additionally, the color and desiccated nature of the fruit leads me to believe this bottle has significant age. So, my final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon (or based blend), from the United States, California, Napa Valley with 30+ years of age. We’ll call it 1985. Awfully close! Drink now. — 6 days ago

Tom, Douglas and 8 others liked this

Jay Kline

@Somm David T I think I know what you mean by more about the head…certainly once you’ve had enough of them. Did you see the ABV? This was from a different time in Napa.

Somm David T

I do not see it but imagine it’s 12-13%. I would prefer that percentage had never changed. That style aged is beautiful. When I drink wines this old, I think about the cycle of its evolution, time period, history of the region, winemaking practices and the people who made them. I generally read the “about of” the wine & its maker when I drink them. A habit I developed from studying with 6 or 7 different Master Somm’s 5 days a week over 3-4 months.

Jay Kline

@Somm David T that’s the whole reason I got into wine: sharing the story of the farmer and their relationship with the land and Mother Nature.