10/28/2023 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

tasted with Santa Barbara Wine Appreciation chairs, compared to Phinney's OLG 2022 Chardonnay. PM was lovely, crisp and clean. Not oaked and predominate green apple overtones. Initial burnt match VA quickly blew off

10/28/2023 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

30% new oak, 30% neutral, 40% stainless steel. 13.5% alcohol. crisp apples. tasted against MICHELOT PULIGNY MONTRACHET 2020

3/1/2023 - 1800kidney wrote:

pinot noir from Languedoc?!? Modest little wine really present well, nice freut, round moth feel, not jamm or too hot (14$ alcolho)

7/31/2016 - 1800kidney Does not like this wine:

airplane wine

1800 kidney

7/26/2015 - 1800kidney wrote:

Lovely, very enjoyable..complex with long finish. Long life ahead, enjoy!

7/23/2015 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

Last tried from my cellar in 2005;"austere and closed up, try in 10 years". This was worth waiting for..evolved very nicely. Dark deep fruits with lovely aromatics; funk and brett not a problem with decanting. Amazing complexity, a lot happening in the mid palate and in the finish. Tannins and acidity will carry this forward but certainly enjoyable now

5/8/2015 - 1800kidney wrote:

Solid value, not over extracted, not pretentious..

3/5/2015 - 1800kidney wrote:

2015 Napa Family Celebration (Chez nous, Napa Yacht Club): Aperitif..good choice for early arrivals; clean and a bit yeasty.

3/5/2015 - 1800kidney wrote:

2015 Napa Family Celebration (Chez nous, Napa Yacht Club): I had high expectations but it was disappointing. Classic sauterne vintage and presence: medium golden honey color, honey and dried apricots and vanilla. It just wasn't appealing, and somewhat disjointed. Definitely not corked but this bottle just didn't present itself well

3/5/2015 - 1800kidney wrote:

2015 Napa Family Celebration (Chez nous, Napa Yacht Club): This is a terrific wine, consistent from year to year, which is essential for a NV product. It has a touch of residual sugar and we enjoyed it at the end of the meal with a special Carrot Cake from Cade and Company. I was not at all sure that it would work but was a much better pairing than the sauterne that was also served

3/5/2015 - 1800kidney wrote:

2015 Napa Family Celebration (Chez nous, Napa Yacht Club): lovely bottle, presented itself perfectly. Really good structure with excellent "gravely" base and strong backbone. There was definite nuttiness, apples and pear overtones that matched to salad entree perfectly

3/5/2015 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

2015 Napa Family Celebration (Chez nous, Napa Yacht Club): Wonderful wine to share and enjoy! It was given to me by someone very special 5 years ago and has been carefully stored since then. The wine jumped out of the bottle and glass; cork was the first hint we were in for something special. It was very fruit-forward with lots of dark berry flavors up front, and had wonderful mid-palate presence. A very elegant wine with great integration and balance. Over then meal it evolved a bit with a bit of cedar and anise coming through later on.

12/26/2014 - 1800kidney wrote:

Wonderful wine; but the last bottle ...wouldn't keep any longer

3/30/2014 - 1800kidney wrote:

bit tired, not as interesting as 2 years ago...suggest you finish this off

3/8/2014 - 1800kidney wrote:

terrific, great fruit extraction, carries the alcohol well

1/3/2014 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

I continue to be very impressed with this cab from Stagecoach; no merlot but is has wonderful balance and fruit forward, very approachable.

1/5/2014 - 1800kidney wrote:

a beast, tight and needs another 4 years in the bottle. Huge extraction and complexity, in the lumbering phase but this will emerge as a classic 2007 Napa Cab

11/2/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

solid, amazing QPR!

10/23/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

decanted, presented well but not a fruit forward as previous bottle

10/18/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

complex, long finish...needs more bottle time to integrate

10/8/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

solid, good value

9/18/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

deep, tannins very much softened, bit of tar on the finish....doubt this will get any better

8/12/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

promising but closed up and lots of tannins. Plenty of fruit but a bit of funk/licorice..used a Venti but this needs much more bottle time

Number 5 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2005!!!

Italian businessman Antonio Moretti owns 158 acres, located in four separate parcels, in Chianti's Colli Aretini region southeast of Florence. Moretti hired enologist Carlo Ferrini to help craft the flagship red, Oreno, a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

8/12/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

78% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 2% Malbec; 2% Petit Verdot

Aged 16 months in French oak; 15.1% Alc./Vol

enjoyed at tasting event..compared to the 2010 that we had the night before. This is a very complex, deeply extracted brooding cinq cepage with mostly cab up front. Evolving, lots of fruit and big backbone, good for the long run, will enjoy seeing how this evolves. The 2010 has more merlot and is not as stern as the 2009

8/10/2013 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

deep luscious color and presence, carries the 15.1% alcohol well. 65% Napa Cab, 30% merlot and a bit of Malbec and petit verdot. Closed up at first, decanted and came alive in the glass. Great balance and long finish; floral aromas, violets blackberries came up. Can't wait to try it again in 5 years

5/30/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

should be jumping out of the glass, but just not singing. Not corked, but just not as great as I had hoped. No reason not to drink the rest, doubt it will improve with further bottle age

4/13/2013 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

Very complex and more approachable than before, opened up and varietal characteristics emerging..definite floral overtones attributable to the viognier in this Cote Rote style blend

3/12/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

solid performer, but hard to believe this has 12 years of aging on board..real mouthful, "chewy"...needs another 5 years to really fully develop. Nevertheless, lots of berries, and peppercorn, good balance and finish

3/8/2013 - 1800kidney wrote:

Good balance, "meaty" with some lovely floral overtones..long finish, and has 5+ years ahead

1/6/2013 - 1800kidney Likes this wine:

Zowie!
Varietal Composition: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot

Purchased this a month ago and cellared it with no intention of cracking one open, but...
Had a taste a week ago at Stagecoach (with Nikki), and it seemed disjointed and flabby. Wasn't blown away. Returned to Stagecoach on 1/6 with friends but M5 was not poured; didn't stop our friends who purchased 6 bottles. To show them what they had coming, we took a bottle to dinner last night, popped and poured and were simply amazed. Incredible presence, deep deep purple, great finesse and mouthfeel, long long finish. Surprisingly approachable, despite 95% cab and only 1% merlot. Up to now, I have been more impressed with 2007 Napa cabs than 2008, but the M5 could change my mind! This bottle gets an excellent score with room for upside potential as it properly ages; however, initial experience last week suggests that there is bottle variation or that a long decant or aeration is not doing the 2008 M5 any favors, suspect that all of this will evolve over the next several years..definitely a keeper

Winemaker Notes: "M5 is the name of the vineyard block from which all of the Cabernet Sauvignon in this wine is sourced"

12/29/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

great structure and presence, heavy sediment to decanted. 50% Cabernet sauvignon, 35% cabernet franc and 15% merlot
fruit vibrant, lovely nose with hints of mint, long finish

12/22/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

solid, great presence, long finish with a bit of "oliness", will do fine matched with grilled vegetables with olive oil. Great QPR at $10 per bottle, what's not to like?

11/26/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

Shared with family..vibrant fully extracted, impressive. Great value from WTSO

11/26/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

decanted and poured thru Venti...ok

11/26/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

good balance, deep red berries, nice finish..solid

11/26/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

muted fruit, not much interest here..drink up

11/9/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

so I waited 7 years and it didn't really improve, just didn't jump out of the glass..suggest driniking up at this point

11/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

classic

10/28/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

bit of a disappointment..Classic pauillac, cedar and black fruits and a bit of anise but closed up. Decanted, proper glasses but it just didn't come alive

10/25/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

fruit forward Cali Pinot...powerful, not for the Burghound

10/7/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

Much better than last one, bottle variation, stored under same conditions. Classic Napa cab, but only 13% alcohol...how pleasant. Dark berry, cassis and currant, even a bit raisiny. Full bodied with balance and elegance. long finish...good window, enjoy!

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

NIce to update this, last bottle was corked, but this one was in good shape. plommy blackberries, opening up, good balance

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

slow coming up out of the glass, tasted as a vertical with the 2007, 2008 and 2009..tough crowd, the 2006 needs a chance to develop but upside may be limited

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

200o was a tough year, previous tastings were disappointing, weak backbone, not much presence, but this has turned a corner. Predominately merlot, seems to be putting on some weight 53% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

Took to Pickberry Tasting Event at Ravenswood. Less flash than at last tasting, entering into a very solid well grounded phase, coming along nicely, lengthen the window

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

Slow going here, not much evolution, hanging in there despite 81% merlot, give this some time

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

58% merlot, 42% cabernet sauvignon. Blueberries, blackberries, very complex with strong backbone. A bit of stemminess, but Chris is certain that there is not any cabernet franc in this blend, must come from the cabernet sauvignon. Balanced, excellent structure, suspect that this will be an exceptionally long lived Pickberry, give this some time

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

59% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% cofermentation blend of merlot, pertit verdot and malbec. Great deep plummy fruits, balanced and not ever extracted, not at all stewed. Very impressive, long finish

10/6/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

74% Merlot/26% Cab sauvignon. Great presence up front, plenty of backgone, this will develop very nicely, long lived

10/4/2012 - 1800kidney wrote:

solid chianti, bit woody