4/11/2022 - bsumoba Likes this wine:

Spring 2022 Dream Napa Trip; 4/11/2022-4/12/2022: I preferred the 19’ today. The nose on the 18’ was not as expressive as I was expecting it to be and it could be that the wine was simply not decanted enough or starting to shut down a bit? On the palate, violets and blackberries with hints of chocolate and cedar.

3/6/2022 - wren460 Likes this wine:

By far one of the best wines I have ever had in my life. Extracted but elegant. Powerful but silky. The wine is delicious and fun to drink. No, this is not a Bordeaux, this is a very powerful and hedonistic wine that makes a statement. Unless you do not like Napa cabs I have no clue how anyone can dislike the wine.

2/6/2022 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote:

Opened in the bottle five plus hours. This was pretty much ready from the start though opened up more after an hour. In all honesty it was not impressive. Tons cassis and ultra ripe dark fruit. It’s structured but purely from the ripeness of the fruit as both acid and tannins (maybe some grip more at the finish) are minimal. To me it lacked freshness and lift. It’s good but just not living up to the vintage, vineyard and brand. Personal preference is to drink Realm very young.

12/20/2021 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine:

What an absolutely stellar wine. If you're drinking it now, let it breathe all day! I let it decant for 6 hours before packing it back into the bottle and bringing it out with us.

The '19 VV Dr. Crane is a powerful expression of Dr. Crane. Blackberry, chocolate, light florals, and impossible depth on such a young wine. It's almost hard to believe it's a single varietal. There ... is no finish :) It just goes on, and on. And after a while, the bottle is empty.

Tasted side by side with an '05 Dominus. And the Dominus, despite being a lovely wine, just didn't seem so opulent next to this Vice Versa. Sorry, Christian Moueix!

Only 14 barrels produced. Very happy I have a few more laying down. I just don't know that I'll wait to drink them, actually!

11/11/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Opened and decanted by HMC....probably the best I have ever tasted for a Sojourn cab! In a really good spot right now with sweet, dark fruit, rounded tannins and balanced acidity. Very nice, Jimbo!

8/27/2021 - j@$0n p€++y wrote:

I can't believe I buy this s**t! Smells of Amarone. Tastes like synthetic walnut extract. Big, oaky, over-extracted, highly manipulated bulls**t! C'mon, is this Caymus' evil f**ing twin?? YMMV.

8/15/2021 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine:

Double decanted this wine alongside a 16 Lokoya Mt Veeder for about 7 hours before drinking. Both could have used even more time and air.

Violets, creme de cassis, hints cedar, crushed stone, black cherries and spice box emanate from this beauty. Gorgeous dark hued purple in the glass. Strikingly fresh and taut on the palate, this displays the vintage beautifully with exceptional tension and purity. The fruit is present (way more so than the Lokoya had alongside), but it's restrained and complemented by earth and mineral driven elements. It's not locked up, but still tight, with many layers left to unfurl as time goes on. It's extremely focused and has tremendous length. You won't mistake this for a warmer vintage, or an extracted valley floor wine. Tons of sophistication. 98 today, but can easily work its way into those next two points.

7/27/2021 - csimm wrote:

Vice Versa weekend and dinner: This is just so intense and concentrated that one can’t help but be utterly mesmerized by its commanding presence. Blackberries and scorched earth are spun together in a commercial-grade blender on HIGH and stuffed with cacao and charcoal before it all spurts out the top and crescendos in a purple-black juice Bellagio fountain; a stunningly choreographed wine-aquatic experience. It is worthy of its class and place as the top Vice Versa wine in the lineup. I have a personal affinity for the LPV (full disclosure on that), but the M7 is a loooooooooooong ride of blackberry, black soil, purple licorice, Baker’s chocolate, and spice flavors pumping lushness and drive over the palate with a “Now whatcha got, punk?!” sassy attitude.

8/7/2021 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine:

Any of us that love Napa (addicted… perhaps a better word) has at one point been to a Del Dotto show. It’s basically Vegas for Wine- drop dead gorgeous property, amazing food and a backstage pass to wine orgy heaven (if you haven’t been and you love Napa wines in the umm less restrained style (Even if you don’t it’s an absolute must do for the showpersonship (look at me changing the word so as to not get this tasting note reported to the authorities) alone. I have since gravitated to other wineries/wines but I still have a soft spot for DD in my wine journey of sorts. For those of you that have been there, love it or hate it, you know what I mean.

The top tier wines can be truly special. The 2012 Beast specifically in recent years has been outstanding while other vintages have been… good? Unfortunately tonight, perhaps too young, perhaps not enough air, perhaps an off bottle but this wine simply under performed in nearly all facets. If I had another bottle I would hold or give it a long decant.

7/14/2021 - Yack Man Likes this wine:

The 2016 vintage for Napa was superior in my opinion, and the 2016 Becklyn is an absolutely delight of a wine for an entry level Napa Cabernet. Becklyn has consistently delivers great Cabs. This wine typifies what I come to expect from this label. It's a big bold Cab that is deep in flavors and nuance. There's dark fruit, good berry fruit extraction, dark cherry, currants, some plum, leather, some coca/mocha and the acidity present in previous bottles has dialed back to a better level. This wine is quite an experience for the money, well worth it. Next to the 2017 Becklyn, this vintage these are my favorites. 95+ Points.

4/30/2021 - csimm wrote:

3 days in Napa: Arkenstone, Memento Mori, Maxem, The French Laundry, Christopher Tynan, Kinsman, Harlan, Vice Versa, Accendo, Fairchild, Macdonald, and a truckload of others (Napa): So this didn’t suck at all. Holy Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, what is this concentrated showboater of a jammin’ juice to which you have put before me good sir?! You want a standout? Here it is. You want next-level above the rest of the Beckstoffer creations? The M7 is it. You want the answer to the question, “Why bother with the M7 when I can just get more of the others?” Well, try it and then see if you ask that question again. I know, I know. Don’t hype it up if you don’t mean it. But I do mean it my friends. Sometimes top “reserve” wine (or whatever you want to call them) aren’t that much more distinguishable than their SVD or supposedly “not as special” counterparts. (Realm Crane is sometimes/often better than Absurd in my opinion, for example). In this case, however, in this vintage, in this house, the 2019 M7 achieves in making itself a notable tick or two (or four) higher in qualitative performance.

A BASKET full of BLACKBERRIES and dark earth flavors wind up for a line drive pitch rocketing across the launchpad. And then…it pauses, waiting, almost sniping the mid-palate for that perfect moment, like a slow-motion Matrix scene, until… Boom! Allow me to land my concentrated and intense deliciousness right about dead-center on your palate for a few minutes. Commanding attention, and getting it, the 2019 M7 will perhaps become one of the best Vice Versa wines I’ve ever had. I’m still chewing on the finish. Extremely impressive, and a wine that will likely hit a perfect score once it sorts out some of its peripheral wildness after several years in bottle. It’ll be fresh and bangin’ as a youngster, but I suspect with 7+ years in bottle, this will truly be liquid magic. Loved it. 98-99+ points.

3/20/2021 - tomoem wrote:

This was just ok but the price is what the wine is all about. A fabulous example of a modern (mediocre) Napa Cab can be.

2/17/2021 - lundmc wrote:

Got this at $21 at local supermarket. Drinks well above that. Plush and not overly bombastic. With a short decant feels ready now. Great surprise.

1/27/2021 - GlenviewGSW Likes this wine:

Black purple in the glass. Nose of stewed black fruits and some alcohol with wood chips. This is a big wine even thought the ABV sits at a reasonable 14.75%. After a 2 hour aeration/decant wine is drinking great - with the typical mountain acidity that braces the wine and allows for longer aging than floor fruit. I find it to be in balance with excellent fruit and a solid finish. will improve with 2-3 more years in bottle.

11/26/2020 - Cailles wrote:

Tasted twice with consistent notes. This is a stunning wine. The hillside location works great in hot years like 2015 to counterbalance the ripeness and keep the wine fresh. In better, fresher years like 2016 the site excells even more. This has it all, the complexity, the superb delineation, the elegance, the balance and length. Will it reach the level of the Wines from this site produced in the 60s and 70s? Probably not but it has the structure to age gracefully for some decades. 97+ points.

TN: Intoxicating nose full of fresh ripe blackberries, cassis, well-integrated oak notes, hints of vanilla, spices, smoke and an intense minerality. Broadly layered, very precise, high intensity without being overbearing. High intensity and concentration on the palate with layers and layers of black fruits, fresh minerality, tobacco, smoke, fine oak influences, spices, forrest floor. Very complex and highly precise, ripe but still very pure and fresh. Fresh and creamy structure. A wall of very fine tannins, high and perfectly integrated acidity. Very long, fine fruit and tobacco driven finish. The alcohol, apparent in the Zalto Universal, is perfectly masked in the Zalto Bordeaux glass.

Decanting: PnP, good from the go, no extensive decanting needed.

11/23/2020 - KPB wrote:

Very deeply colored with a rich, almost thick texture, the 2016 Shafer HS is still very young, and somewhat muted right now. The nose centers on concentrated cassis aromas, with a subtle, sexy overlay of cocoa, lavender and mint. The wine is powerful and dense in style, but very balanced on the palate, showing substantial acidity that holds the sweetness of the fruit in check and soft, long tannins.

I would give this at least six years, maybe even ten. It should be sensational at maturity. Right now, it is hard to enjoy and needs an incredible amount of time to breath, like a day or even two. Don’t even consider popping and pouring!

9/19/2020 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine:

The best HSS I have had since the 2012. I've been mildly disappointed with some recent vintages, but this one is the real deal. Nose of blackberry liqueur, mint, sweet oak and violets. Full bodied with amazingly fine grained powerful and integrated tannins, this wine is built like a brick house. Shows great concentration from start to finish, while constantly evolving and changing. Very complex. Big black and blue fruit complemented by loads of earthy notions. Super fresh, balanced and opulent at the same time, this pulls off the power without the heaviness. Long finish.

8/28/2020 - csimm wrote:

I’ve followed and reviewed this wine quite a bit over the course of the last few years and it has certainly delivered a consistently lushly dark and hedonistically round profile. For those who know Bard, this should be no surprise.

First pop of the cork showed a notable amount of booze and a dark chocolate martini profile - so much so that I “tasted” the heat with the hairs of my nose before it ever got to my palate. Hot and thick at first entry, like tossing a Molotov Cocktail into a Hershey’s factory. DE-CANT NOW.

A couple hours at near refrigerator temperature literally and figuratively cooled off the F-16 vodka finish significantly. What remained was a pleasurable, modern, dark fruited mini-monster that still kept its bite on the finish, but whose roar was tamed to the point of allowing the core aspects of the wine to become distinctably audible.

It’s a chocolate-covered blackberry salad for sure, and it’ll please those looking to experience the gateway into the house of Realm. Seamlessness and elevated finesse are still challenges here. Lots of air or a little more cellaring time is recommended. I liked it, but it’s still a work in progress in its current state.