Black fruit. Inky. Spice. Gentle tannins. Though k vintners. — 2 years ago
A milestone birthday requires some fun wines! 1st bottle to polish off is a 2008 Marcassin chard with Hog Island oysters, butter poached lobster, and shrimp.
Double decant for fine cloudy sediment. An irresistible medium gold color.. On the nose: nectarines, pineapple, vanilla toast, lemon, and crushed rocks. Taste: so gooood after 12 years. A slightly creamy wine with carmalized pear, wet stones, lemon peel, and a mineral peach long finish with good acidity. — 4 years ago
Waitrose. Decent at the price point. Bold enough flavours without being too over powering. — a month ago
I compare the Heitz Napa to the Joseph Phelps Napa in many ways. I believe the Phelps is slightly less vintage dependent than Heitz. But, this 07 like the vintage in Napa, sensational.
This 2007 is peaking. Perfectly ripe & juicy; brambly blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum, dark cherries/kirsch, blueberries come on late and poached strawberries on the edges. The tannins are still dark and tarry. Rich, sweet, dark soils, mid & dark berry cola, anise, steeped black tea, dry tobacco, used leather, cedar/sandalwood, clove, nutmeg, some cinnamon & vanillin, moist, grey volcanic clay, dry crushed rocks, limestone, mid spice, hints of grilled meat, some fresh/dry herds, a tad of eucalyptus, stewy/tumble weed, fresh & withering dark, red, blue florals framed in violets, excellent round acidity, the scope of the finishes encompasses; balance for days, nice structure & tensioned, elegant, polished and lasts two minutes.
Photos all taken around their tasting room on Hwy 29 when their tasting was still the last free tasting in Napa. Still not over the family selling to a corporation that has no wine experience. — 9 months ago
Rock star of a wine! Floral, peppery, bacon on the nose, BlackBerry, smoked meat, olive on the palate. Complex wine with a long mineral finish. Love the 13.5 Alc. Could easily mistake for Hermitage or Core Rotie — 4 years ago
Incredible river rocks, wet forest bark and purple berries. — 3 months ago
I tasted this at cork pull and it looked & tasted a bit brickish. Waited to decant but it still needed a hour in the decanter. 97 a great Napa vintage. Well stored bottle bought from auction.
The fruits are lush, velvety & ruby; blackberries, black plum, plum pudding, black raspberries, dark cherries, strawberries & blueberry hues. Dark chocolate, mocha, salted caramel, malt balls on the long decant, black licorice, there is a touch of v/a-bandaid but it’s not spoiling and dissipates some in time, dusty to slightly moist top soil, olive tapenade, herbaceous notes, soft, dark spice, half used, dry tobacco w/ ash, sandalwood, moist, grey volcanic clay, limestone, dry crushed rocks, notes of black pepper, candied, liquid, fresh & mostly withering, dark, red, purple flowers, very round acidity and a very well balanced, tensioned, nicely structured and a smartly polished, round finish that lasts two-minutes.
Second wine to pair with/ Allen Brothers Cover Ribs. — 7 months ago
Stat bright pale straw. Lighter but inviting nose of Asian pear, toasted vanilla spice, and rocks. Palate is medium full yielding chalky pear, flinty citrus rind, and a hint of chalky vanilla. Medium long finish, especially as the wine warms up. The flagship wine of Domaine Dagueneau lives up to all the hype. “A red in white clothing,” as my drinking partner puts it. Allegedly, Didier preferred this wine with a rare steak. I totally get that, having had this with a lightly marbled New York strip (and shrimp). It’s Cabernet Sauvignon’s mother after all. So much complexity and general “stuff” in this wine! If you’re one of those who won’t spend a lot on white wines, you’re missing out. This is up there with Savienneres and White Burgundy among white wine royalty. Fork over the cash. You won’t regret it. Drink now through 2026. — 3 years ago
Matt Perlman
Second to last vintage of this wine that Steve Edmunds produced. It was special before he decided to hang things up and even more so now. Cali GSM with true old world sensibility — 17 days ago