4/15/2024 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This is a tough one - it seems to have huge potential, but right now it’s super tight and tannic and didn’t soften with several hours of air. Dunnuck talks about perfume but I wasn’t getting much of that. Will give the rest of the bottles several more years at least

4/14/2024 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

still not showing any real signs of age - rich dark fruit finish and smooth tannins. This is very good for the vintage. 3-4 more hours decant would have made this 2-3 points higher given how it performed over the night

4/6/2024 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This was delicious - when experts talk about sweet tannins I think this is what they are exactly referring to. That tannin entry is so sweet and the black fruits, liqueur like, are near perfect. The 2016’s are great in general but this is amazing. Give it 3-5 hours of air just because it is still young.

2/15/2024 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This was our last bottle - absolutely fantastic with the only possible drawback being the heat. This had NO age characteristics at all - seems like much younger than 10 years old. Very classically Beckstoffer in its sweet tannin and deeply rich black fruit chocolate stew mix. Classically B Cellars in being totally delicious.

11/6/2023 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

I have left Bevan’s 2016’s alone for awhile. This was decanted for an hour or so but still needed air and was much better at 2-3 hours. Perfectly smooth tannins but also very rich black fruit flavors and long finish. Loved this and happy to have more for later

10/16/2022 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

We absolutely loved this wine. The Beckstoffer stuff is consistently good but this outclasses most that I can remember. It needs some decant time, but the flavors are dark and intense and layered. Lots of baking spice and some chocolate and mocha notes. Also dark chocolate covered cherries. So good. And will just get better

8/19/2022 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This was very good. Not tasting any age here at all. Rich and smooth with still strong tannins and lots of dark fruits and cocoa. No hurry

6/9/2021 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This beat out some pretty stellar competition at Robert’s birthday dinner. This is incredibly rich for a 2018 and has that baking spice and almost devil’s food cake finish without excess sweetness. Highly recommended!

5/23/2020 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This was decanted 3 hrs - still seems a bit closed up. Has tons of potential and is very rich. Definitely got better as the evening went on but still never really opened up. These 2013’s have so much promise but are still infants.

2/4/2020 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

really enjoyed this wine - richly structured, classic upvalley cabernet tastes and a sweetly tannic finish

1/16/2020 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Tasted at the winery - inky purple, rich but fully approachable right after opening. Rich and full bodied, dark blue fruits, not hot, baking spices and mint. Amazing.

11/3/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This is still youthful but drinking great. It’s pretty fantastic, with a super concentrated body and notes of hot cocoa, black fruits, cassis and a super long finish. Glad we have some more.

9/30/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Tasted at Acme in St Helena - obviously young but super intense and dark. With a little time it started to show all kinds of fruit and some barrel sweetness. This has fantastic potential.

8/13/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Tasted at the Estate - this was clearly better than the base cab (which is also good). Black fruits, concentrated cassis flavors with some dust and baking spices as well.

7/8/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Tasted with Michael at the AB tasting room near Meadowood. This stuff is pretty fantastic - tastes as good as the team that made it. Super smooth and very concentrated with upfront black fruits and dark chocolate. Small production and expensive but it seems to measure up.

7/8/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

tasted pre-bottling at the winery - like last year it is big, rich and full of ripe black fruits and cassis. This should be amazing with some age.

7/2/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Tasted with Isaac at the fabulous estate. This is serious TRB work from great land in Calistoga. Full body, deep purple, pure cassis, with sweet but not drying tannin. Reminds me of some Schrader wines from the mid-2000’s.

3/11/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Tasted at Taste of Oakville - this was one of the stars of the day. Red fruits and lots of chocolate derivation without the often overly sweet character of chocolatey wines. Some deep baking spice and a LONG finish. This should get a lot better with a little bottle age.

2/17/2019 - sjdcellar wrote:

I have loved many of the Casa Piena wines. This one is enjoyable but not anywhere near the Estate bottling. It has that “Caymus like” sweet vanilla aftertaste that is a crowd pleaser but not really for me.

2/17/2019 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Very dark - perfumed with cinnamon, black fruits, medium alcohol. Not showing its age much at all right now. Will be great for awhile so don’t feel hurried to open. Very good.

10/31/2018 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Not surprised this got a huge WA score - tons of dark fruits and a firm but sweet tannic foundation. They were pouring this at the front desk a while back and that’s probably over now. Very good wine!

5/15/2018 - sjdcellar wrote:

I found this less complex than I was hoping - still good but not a lot of overt personality. Smooth almost to the point of being boring.

4/17/2018 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This is just really great QPR. Benoitte does it again. Rich and delicious even now it should improve for a few years. Lots of strawberry compote and milky chocolate at the back end.

1/21/2018 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

This was good - 2 hr decant - good but not outstanding. Very smooth and seems to need more time, maybe open the next one in a year or two. It has some heat and is rich but without much in the way of specific personality.

1/8/2018 - sjdcellar Does not like this wine:

there is just too much sweetness and vanilla - this is not fun to drink. i know it's a crowd pleaser and hopefully some of the sweetness will burn off with age but right now i would pass

1/6/2018 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

was surprised this was so good so young - totally approachable now but will be a lot better. very concentrated with a lot of cassis and dark berries and some smoke. delicious

7/18/2017 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

New label for us. Really enjoyed this wine. Needs time to evolve but has lots of upfront black fruits (ripe), is very dark and has strong but sweet tannins. Should get better and better for a decade I'm guessing

1/15/2017 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

9 years old now and the parts are coming together amazingly well. After opening the nose brings almost a malted character with incredible purity and no hard edges. I could see this being perfect in a year or two but there is really no alcohol heat now at all. Amazing.

1/9/2017 - sjdcellar wrote:

Amazing purity - needs time (this was the first of these we've opened). It's got some edges now which figures as it's 100% Cabernet but you can tell it will be fabulous in the future. Lots of cassis, oak and midnight black fruits.

1/9/2017 - sjdcellar wrote:

drinking beautifully now, especially for a 2014. Celia Welch wines are almost always excellent and this is no exception. It's very typical of the growing area with lots of dark fruits, some dust, mocha but not at all hot. Will surely get better but great now as well.

11/30/2016 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Beautiful, even at this young age. Dark black fruits and some touches of Eucalyptus and mint. With a very long finish. Excellent.

6/3/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

we really enjoyed this wine - loads of ripe black fruits and some dusty tannins but no hard edges at all.

6/3/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

this was delicious and seems to be in perfect drinking shape. I know it's a mountain wine from the Sacrashe Vineyard but it also seemed to have some Rutherford dust notes that were surprising. Totally smooth, no heat, really great right now. Also seems to have many years of life left.

5/7/2016 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Dark and creamy with mouthfuls of blueberry and inky black fruits. This has a lot of bottle time left but is very enjoyable now. Totally seamless.

4/8/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

this was delicious - wonderful with food as it has very good acidity - seems young still (no surprise) but opened up with a couple of hours of air and definitely has great promise. Lots of mocha and BBQ smoke on the nose. Well done!

3/14/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

tasted 3/12/16 at Outpost on Howell Mountain with winemaker/owner John Giannini - concentrated and dense - while clearly young it is complicated and promising with lots of black fruits and plenty of mountain character.

2/25/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

this was really impressive, especially for its age. very dark, with a strong smell of wild flowers and lavender and deep dark fruits. can't wait to see how it ages.

2/25/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

i was not blown away by this. it may just need more time to integrate. It seemed a bit boring and without depth, though it was a good wine overall.

2/25/2016 - sjdcellar wrote:

flowery, rich and Pritchard Hill concentrated. Very delicious now but will clearly get better as the heat subsides a little

12/26/2015 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

Pretty good for a 2011. Popped & poured and this showed well with smooth tannins and some chocolate covered caramel on the finish.

12/22/2015 - sjdcellar Likes this wine:

dark fruits, a little bit of oak but not overdone. really delicious stuff!

12/22/2015 - sjdcellar Does not like this wine:

really disappointed in this, even for a 2011. bottle seemed fine, bought recently and well stored. had a green smell and taste with none of the richness usually found in wines like Insignia. Very perfumed but that didn't lead to great taste.

10/9/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

very impressive and this was preferred this evening over pride reserve and continuum. it's like many of Woodbridge's wines i've tasted where they are eminently drinkable now but always seem to age gracefully. light but rich, fruit forward but not sugary or syrupy. totally delicious.

9/7/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

this was good but not great - it's smooth for sure but without a defining personality or specific flavor profile as far as I could find. At this price point I'm expecting something more flamboyant and concentrated.

7/23/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

loved the thick and rich body of this which also showed a ton of camphor quality. Seamless and delicious this was one of my wines of the year thus far!

6/15/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

one of my favorite wines I've tasted this year - absolutely smooth and rich without any edges - creamy with classic cab notes but no real sign of the 15.5% alcohol. beautiful!

6/15/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

absolutely beautiful wine - has that menthol/eucalyptus touch but not overpowering. also with intense dark fruits. already drinking perfectly after one hour decant

5/18/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

this was sensational - the perfume was striking and the mix of black fruits, dark cherries and rich cassis was just crazy delicious. it's in perfect drinking form right now.

4/21/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

delicious and special - decanted for 2 hours - cherries and mocha and tamed oak. great wine.

4/21/2015 - sjdcellar wrote:

beautiful wine with richness and viscosity to spare - could still use a few more years to come all the way around but is wonderful now