December 25, 2023 - From a 3L on Christmas Eve. Cork was a bit brittle so was nervous but wine was not affected. Drinking at its peak it feels. This stuff continues to deliver right after it’s opened. A sweeter front palate of dark chocolate and rich ripened dark berries. Tannins are integrated but add support and structure to some lingering spice.
September 5, 2023 - Pop n poured. Dark fruit, cassis some chocolate drinking very well resolved tannins
April 16, 2023 - Really nice but definitely time to drink. Showed best in the 1st hour then started to fade. Great nose. Smooth and silky mouth. Layered and lingering. Yum with steak.
August 30, 2022 - First of 2 ($71@) from an auction lot about a month ago. On the nose and palate, moderate notes of blue-black fruit, loamy soil, anise, leather, exotic spice, dark florals, bittersweet chocolate and espresso. Opaquely purple, medium+ bodied, super thick legs. Medium, silky tannins, light and totally integrated acidity, no heat. VG+ complexity, good+ persistence and intensity. My first Hartwell Estate, after multiple pre-Benoit ‘05 ERs and a ‘13 ER, this cuvée was delicious, well-balanced and integrated, impressively integrated, falling just short of the excellence of the ERs with a bit less length and expressiveness. This was singing off the pour, and while I recorked it out of concern it might slip away, it held well over 3 nights. While the ‘13 ER, along with a ‘14 Fait Main LPV are my only prior Benoits so I can’t express any kind of definitive opinion on his winemaking style, he does sometimes seem to be lumped in with a more modern style, and while this wine has a not unpleasant nor over the top sweetness to it (leavened by notes of earthiness and spiciness lending a nice savoriness), there’s none of the heat, vanilla and alcohol which I’ve found characterize the bottlings of some of the other winemakers so grouped. I don’t know what this wine was like in its youth, but in its middle age, some of its accessibility comes from the structural elements taking a decided back seat, and while this wine had enough chops to hang with homemade pizza one night and pesto gnocchi another, it’s not a wine I’d want to match with a deeply marbled steak at this point. Likewise, this seems to be at peak, or even slightly post peak, drinking window, and while I think that good drinking remains, I think it unlikely to get better, and will likely slurp my other bottle in the next year or so. Still, per my loooong comments on csimm’s note on the ‘16 BV GdL, this is a rock solid entrant in the Napa $100- CS sweepstakes and keeps my fondness for this label, which I believe is no longer extant, intact. And while I liked the ERs I’ve had, ironically at slightly lower price points, a couple of hairs more, would buy again. 93+
December 25, 2021 - Drinking in a perfect window right now. Delicate yet full mouthfeel and well rounded
November 7, 2021 - My 8/2020 Notes: Brimming with dark fruit, this wine was ultra-smooth with some tobacco mid-palate. Soft tannins. Updated notes: Dark, rich ruby in color. Flavors of a rich Bolognese sauce. A touch sweet and fruity when compared to a fine Bordeaux. Big and smooth. Still some oak/cedar but in a rich way. A touch of spice on the finish.
August 13, 2021 - Another fine performance by this Hartwell NV. Good right from opening but does deepen and balance itself out more with air. Very pleasurable with coffee and chocolate noted in a smooth package. Body is starting to thin a bit and the finish is starting to lose some energy but delicious. Drink up.
October 19, 2020 - Required about an hour to open and for alcohol to integrate. Nose of leather, chocolate, cinnamon, and dried figs. On the palate, dark cherry, cassis, spices of Christmas cake. Fine, resolve tannins. A bit alcohol still on the finish. Delicious, but I think this is at its peak or a year past. Will remain enjoyable for some time, but not sure I see too much upside.
February 29, 2020 - Wow, delicious. Lush black fruit, beautiful nose. Characteristically stags leap. Will look for more.
February 18, 2020 - Just barely edged out by a 2012 Young Inglewood and 2016 B Cellars Star Vineyard. Rich red and purple fruit with building notes of chocolate, tobacco and spice. Nice body and great life in the fruit without being sweet. Not as complex or intense as the YI but more charming. Great QPR. Needs an hour decant to build complexity.