12/3/2022 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Watermelon Jolly Rancher nose.
Full body of cedar, tobacco and dark fruit.
Silky mouthfeel followed by a long, gritty finish.
Big fan!

10/19/2022 - napajournal Likes this wine:

I’m a Napa Cab guy who recently had a mind-blowing experience with a 1971 Dom Oenotheque. That one bottle triggered a bubbly adventure to scout and sample a variety of exciting champagne bottles. While still in the early stages of my champagne journey, this 1996 Krug Brut was a fun one to drink today. Golden honey color and butterscotch candy nose with graceful bubbles and impressive poise for its age. I can understand how this is over the hill for some; not for me. Gorgeous, lengthy and on the mark. Drank a little for lunch with Halibut and a little for dinner with a chicken sandwich. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Cheers!

12/18/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

This 20-year-old Madrona Ranch is special! Serious blue graphite with a seductive, leathery grip. Brad Grimes’ sophomore vintage. Definitely no slump.

Pop and pour, drank over four hours. Definitely didn’t get a past-its-prime vibe. This particular bottle and cork was pristine, and impeccable provenance. On back side of the curve but still near the top. Tasted like a 2010.

12/10/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

I can sniff this sucker all night long. The nose is enormous with a fun mix of mint chocolate chip and even a dollop of vanilla ice cream on graham crackers. Mesmerizing smells! The cool nose is an interesting contrast to the warm palate. Perfect body with a beautiful balance between silky smooth and grippy texture. Just enough of both. I only decanted 90 minutes so there is a bit of a campfire in my mouth—plenty of heat to burn—plus tart cherries, cocoa and graphite with a mouthwatering finish. Chef’s kiss!

12/10/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

OMG chalky red magic! An absolutely stunning pop-and-pour performance. Fresh, floral, balanced, BDX-style and shockingly generous with its flavors straight out of the bottle. Kudos to the Kinsmans!

10/17/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

2012 Realm Dr. Crane. Eloquent, expressive blue and blackberry with bitter chocolate, coffee, pipe tobacco, a little cedar and the ideal body. Killer wine after 4 hours of air.

10/17/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Holy blackberry, Batman! I’ve had the privilege of tasting every MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon since its first commercial release in 2010 and the 2013s, 16s and 18s are absolute showstoppers. This 2013 is voluptuous and feels like your favorite winter scarf. It warmly wraps the tongue with a comforting texture. The powerful yet graceful wine provides the signature tastes of the MacDonald family’s cherished To-Kalon Creek area with violets, graphite, river rocks and ripe black and blue fruit. Serious energy and complexity with decades of excellent tasting experiences ahead. We drank this wine after 8 hours of air and it earned wine-of-the-night praises against an all-star line-up.

10/17/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Intensely dark with seductive aromas of ripe red huckleberry, black cherry and a hint of milk chocolate with almonds. An impressive palate performance begins with a silky smooth tap dance followed by a rapidly escalating texture that envelopes the tongue. Notes of pepper and clay develop and evolve into a powerful fireworks finish. The dark, ripe wine masterfully represents Colgin’s IX Estate, its only eastern valley vineyard located in the volcanic region of Pritchard Hill (1100 to 1400 feet elevation) with well-drained reddish clays and weathered igneous rocks. An absolute delight to enjoy after 3-6 hours of air.

10/16/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Wow! Red rock! Incredibly balanced and still brings the heat after 20 years. Black and red fruit with superb balance, a little green olive and a fantastic finish. Showing some age, but our group guessed 2007-2009.

9/24/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

I’m a pepper, he’s a pepper, she’s a pepper. This epic wine instantly gave me Dr. Pepper flashbacks. Serious red and blue density with a spicy finish that I would have liked to last a tad longer. The expressive nose flourished after 3 hours of air and several sips. A stocky fire pit wine with notes of smoky embers and a slight S’mores thing going on. Heavy whole-milk weight class makes this an ideal meal replacement wine. Past bottles of this wine and vintage have been easy 98 to 100 pointers. This one was 97. But it was climbing and I am confident it could have gone higher with more air.

6/25/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Love at first sip and an amazing bouquet of flavors! I get smoke, pistachio and chocolate-covered cherries on the nose. Ruby color and light body. Ripe red berries with an instant splash of salinity on the mid palate that lingers with sharp tannins for tens of seconds. An absolute mouthful of dark chocolate and berries with a big pinch of sea salt. Four to five hours of air and 99 all day!

6/11/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Fun graham cracker, dark chocolate and marshmallow nose. S’mores! A little more almond crunch on later whiffs. Smell instantly reminds me of signature Bevan wines. Tangy and burnt orange with a bunch of red berry on palate. Great mouthfeel and tannin. Wow finish! Tingly on the tongue. Peppery! Lacks front palate but makes up for it with a sharp, powerful closure. Makes me think Oakville (drank blind). And so much heat. Tench cab and Sugar Loaf franc! Love, love the Alessio, Bryn and Armaan lines of the PerUs production!

6/11/2021 - napajournal wrote:

OMG S’mores nose! Super freaking red! Tastes of blood and over ripe fruit. The fruit is almost overwhelming up front and converts to a dry pucker at the end. Lighter body with a gliding effect and a slightly heated finish. Definitely has the rich fruit of Oakville. Would want to try after more than 5 hours of air to provide rating.

6/11/2021 - napajournal wrote:

Dark cherry and plum. Super slick. A tad medicinal. Glides down with a medium finish. Fruity and supple with a hint of iron. Tastes of southern Napa elevation! Drank with 5 hours of air. Liked, didn’t love. Probably deserves a little more age for greatness.

6/8/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

I love Russell Bevan and the energy and enthusiasm he brings to blending his wines. To me, his wines have a signature nose with a little almond, violet, spice, cedar, chocolate and orange peel. I get those at a more muted level on this 2018, which had 4 hours of full air. I typically like my wine temperatures around 55 to 60 degrees but I enjoy the Ontogeny at slightly warmer temps. It adds texture and dimension that I lose upfront at cellar temp. A gorgeous body with a little heat and most action coming on the back end. Thank you, Mr. Bevan, for delivering a wine with phenomenal quality-to-price ratio! 96-97 points all day long!

6/6/2021 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Such a dark wine with serious power. Tannins are nicely integrated with a deep, detailed finish. Mega wine and a super approachable vintage. A well-rounded force of nature that is the ideal meal-replacement wine. Tasted at 8 hours air and again at 18 hours. Holds strong. I have adored the 2007, 2010 and 2014 vintages with 2008 and 2013 not far behind. 98+ 💪🍷

2/2/2020 - napajournal Likes this wine:

This goes down as one of my 10 favorite bottles that I’ve opened since 2015. I love big, bold Napa cabs and have been fortunate to open three 16 Greers in the last six months and they are consistently epic with decants ranging from one to six hours. Tannic, ripe fruit, multidimensional, long-lasting masterpieces. I’ve tasted several Greer vintages and this is by far the best and amazingly consistent bottle to bottle. Kudos!

1/1/2019 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Brought four big cabs (2010 Abreu Cappella, 2012 Greer, 2016 Vineyardist and this) on a Disney cruise and this won the week with a fantastic finish and rich texture. I’ve been fortunate to drink three bottles of the inaugural 2010 commercial release and this one showed the best. A real treat.

12/23/2018 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Graphite, cedar, blackberry, cigar and red velvet with light/medium body. Quicker, silkier finish than my last bottle but a nice novocaine effect. All after an eight-hour decant. Love this wine and a magnificent vintage to boot.

12/22/2018 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Big nose and great texture after 3-5 hours of air. Cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, graphite, cedar and tobacco. Drank with friends during a seven-course meal and it performed beautifully all evening. #WOTW

11/11/2018 - napajournal wrote:

2013 The Mascot, the prepubescent fruit of Harlan Estate, BOND, and Promontory. Went for a double-digit decant on this puppy—drank the bulk of the bottle after 20+ hours of air and was rewarded with juicy fruit, subtle tobacco and big tannins. #WOTW

11/10/2018 - napajournal Likes this wine:

2012 Vine Hill Ranch possesses the warm minerality and ripe raspberry that is perfect for 29-degree days. First glass after four hours of air showed impressively. Cheers!

1/27/2018 - napajournal wrote:

99. 8 hour decant.

1/13/2018 - napajournal Likes this wine:

One of my most memorable bottles of 2017. After eight hours of air, this was a gorgeous, opulent treat. I drank about seven or eight different Schraders in 2017 and this bottle easily ranks among my top three, which includes 2013 Old Sparky.

10/19/2016 - napajournal Likes this wine:

Holy $@&?! One of the best wines I've tasted in 2016. Subtle but seductive nose--not as overwhelming as a classic Napa nose but mesmerizing nonetheless. Chocolate, caramel and dark fruit on the palate. Unbelievably great finish. Unprecedented novocaine effect. The 2010 vintage is officially in my greatest hits collection. 99+ pts easy

10/8/2016 - napajournal Likes this wine:

10 hours of air and probably could have used more. Amazingly complex and well structured with ripe dark fruit and long-lasting finish.