Pop and pour and tasted over there hours, first on its own and then with food (strozzapretti in a carciofi sauce, and pan seared rib eye and dry aged NY Strip with porcinis, and sautéed spinach, in case you were wondering). Dark purple color. Wonderful nose of plum and cherries with a nice floral accent. Dark fruited on the intro with plum, cherry and some cocoa with the slightest hint of some herbal notes (mint/eucalyptus?) Shows its roots as a Napa cabernet. While rich and full-bodied, there is sufficient acidity to lift the wine and keep it interesting and mouth-watering. Delicious.
14.5%abv. Quality cork with vintage on end.
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Decanted for 90 minutes and continued to improve for 2 1/2 hours after that. General discussion was that it may have improved further with more air. I will try and hold my last one for at least 5 years.
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Pop and pour. Cassis, sweet blackberries, red cherries, tart cherries, brambly berry jam, black cherries, earth, touch of violets, light oregano, and maybe berry stems on the nose. Tart and sweet cherries, blackberries, cassis, some oak, plums, earth, and light herbs on the palate. Mouthwatering acidity, fine, slightly grippy tannins, long-ish finish. Delicious. Wow, this wine was really singing, pretty big and concentrated, but the acidity kept it lively and food friendly.
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PnP and then an hour in the glass (finished 2 hours). Dark red fruit, sour cherries, fresh slightly tart blackberries, a hint of chili dark chocolate, stone and a beautiful finish. Structure is solid 7 years in. Nicely done. Good QPR!
3 hours started to come off it’s peak.
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Ken: spicy nose with hints of chili, cloves and baking spices. Oakey and a bit too tart, could be a bit sweeter. Big and rice finish lasts forever. Soft tannins
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Dark red and black fruits with mild herbal notes and some leather. While this is a bigger wine, it displayed a nice balance, never feeling heavy or ponderous. Still quite young, it will be better in 3-4 years. Nevertheless, drinking well with a 3 hour decant.
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I agree with the recent notes. Big, bold, dark Napa cab, but with incredible balance and composure. If I had any complaint, is that the oak still needs to integrate a bit, as there was some vanilla sweetness that seemed strong at times. But, that is quibbling. Very well done, and this should last a while.
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Opened, poured half into a decanter, and re-corked the rest. tasted the second half on day two. Dark purple color. Nose of cassis, black cherry, chocolate and fresh cigar tobacco and cigar box. The nose speaks of Napa cabernet. Lovely nose and quite inviting. The wine is even better. Big ripe plums, cherries and chocolate notes, with a touch of wild mint and then some leather. All well knit together. Outstanding wine. This is in a good place now.
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Decanted for two hours and drank over the next three hours. After initial decant this was a young, red-fruited cab with intense fruit. At the 3 1/2 hour mark, it started to add some layers and depth. At five hours, it was still improving, adding complexity including a darkening of the fruit. 93 today and likely higher in the future.
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One of my favorite single vineyard Napa Cabs! Red fruit driven with such purity and focus in the fruit; cherry liqueur; rich and velvety sweet tannins; light cocoa mid palate and finish; the more air the better...a few ounces leftover on day 2 were even better than day 1.
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Rich syrupy offering where tannins don’t seem to be an indicator of youth; rather the evolution of heat, spice and lasting fruit on the finish are more suggestive. BlackBerry and dark chocolate marshmallow on midpalate. Luger’s filet on the final nose w a rather lengthy finish.
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Compared to the 15, this wine has a little more of a youthful fruit nose. I'd say that the fruit is more red at the opening, but as it sat in the decanter it gained a lot of black fruit depth. Not as hefty as the 15 even after sitting in the decanter for 4-5 hours. Pencil shavings. Some stiff tannin on the finish still abounds. More impressed by the 15, but this 14 is still rockin'. Going to have to acquire some next year.
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July 2018 Rivers-Marie Visit (At Mending Wall winery): Poured blind, in a flight of three which all turned out to be the William and Mary wines. Lots of concentration and density, with light chocolate and after some air, the tangy, herbal fruit comes through.
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needs time. after three days in the fridge it was even better - with cleaner, brighter fruit and a long, savory finish. this is a big wine though - not for the faint of heart. Ripe powerful raspberry and cassis, crushed berries, loads of plums. Structure is there but not obvious - if anything it feels more velvety and plush in style. This is the big soft armchair that you sink into after a long and luxurious meal. well done!
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Double decanted and recorked 12 hours prior to tasting
Inky black color, bitter chocolate and darkest cassis tones on the ponderous nose, on the palate a sweet cassis fruit, plums, magnificent depth on the mid-palate, cherries, at first there were hints of heat on the finish but these were well covered, great length, coffee note, a rolling giant with big waves of tannin and blue to black fruits, over the course of two hours a slight creaminess to the fruit evolved, more importantly- on the middle the wine began to demonstrate a vibrant core of crushed raspberry and white chalk plus a more regimented tannic structure to give some grounding to what is otherwise an intoxicating and impulsive experience, first release of this wine which is still flying below the radar, I think it will go big once the major critics have it in their sights, it will be fascinating to see this evolve, I have high hopes based on the traditional grounding of the wine's core that came out with time- but make no mistake that this is a "big boy" kind of wine, in terms of quality of overall presentation I think Screaming Eagle is a fair comparison, the lovely dark fruit profile is more in line with Bond- though far better balanced- and also quite reminiscent of Clos Vougeot, a wine of great immediate excitement but also with some more serious intellectual potential long term, time will tell. (****)+, 2024-2044
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Very impressive effort here. I expected good wine given the site, but this is excellent! Slow ox’d all afternoon, tried at various intervals. Red fruit on the nose, mainly raspberry and dark cherry liqueur, fresh turned earth. Herbal, like herbs de provence w/o lavender, and maybe tobacco. Mostly echoed on the palate, but add a savory gravel component, cassis, and a little kiss of oak signature mocha. Full midpalate. Medium acidity. Very smooth with steak, but still great on its own. I’m not getting much of a tannic bite after it’s been open for 8 hours, YMMV. Nice!
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Nice but I do not think this wine is ready to be drunk yet. Clearly has potential. A bit tannic and even after a hour or two could use more air. I will try not to pop another for at least two years unless other posters write that it has opened up and come together first.
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This wine stood up and was noticed. In a big lineup, it was well respected. Dark fruit, lots of structure and a BIG back end. Needs some time in the bottle to resolve, but really liked what I saw here.
Will only get better with cellar time.
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Opened and decanted, poured two small glasses while we prepped dinner. Very approachable upon opening. After decanting for an hour we started sipping on it. It had opened a little and was very nice. It is an old school wine without the overpowering fruit that is common today in new wineries.
Will will go far with this venture.
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Slow-oxed for 4 hours. A fantastic bottle. Fruits were mostly red, and tannins were present, but not intrusive. Long finish. Each glass got better with a little air. As soon as we got back from dinner, I ordered 3 more!!
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Opened, poured into a decanter, served about 1 hour later and enjoyed with some food (a grilled hangar steak (Bryan Flannery), some goat cheese and Bailey Hazen Blue cheese with toasted bread, in case you were wondering). While young, this is an outstanding wine. Deep, dark fruits with chocolate notes. A rich dark cherry element, a fresh basil herbal component along with licorice that adds additional layers of flavor. Rich and robust, there is sufficient acidity that keeps the wine lively and invites you back for another sip. Started opening up with additional time in the decanter but then - poof - it was gone. Delicious.
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1/6/2023 - t_moderne wrote: 94 Points
Pop and pour and tasted over there hours, first on its own and then with food (strozzapretti in a carciofi sauce, and pan seared rib eye and dry aged NY Strip with porcinis, and sautéed spinach, in case you were wondering).
Dark purple color. Wonderful nose of plum and cherries with a nice floral accent.
Dark fruited on the intro with plum, cherry and some cocoa with the slightest hint of some herbal notes (mint/eucalyptus?)
Shows its roots as a Napa cabernet.
While rich and full-bodied, there is sufficient acidity to lift the wine and keep it interesting and mouth-watering.
Delicious.
14.5%abv.
Quality cork with vintage on end.
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6/9/2022 - PSUSteve Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes and continued to improve for 2 1/2 hours after that. General discussion was that it may have improved further with more air. I will try and hold my last one for at least 5 years.
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1/29/2022 - rmh66 wrote: 93 Points
Pop and pour. Cassis, sweet blackberries, red cherries, tart cherries, brambly berry jam, black cherries, earth, touch of violets, light oregano, and maybe berry stems on the nose. Tart and sweet cherries, blackberries, cassis, some oak, plums, earth, and light herbs on the palate. Mouthwatering acidity, fine, slightly grippy tannins, long-ish finish. Delicious. Wow, this wine was really singing, pretty big and concentrated, but the acidity kept it lively and food friendly.
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3/25/2021 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP and then an hour in the glass (finished 2 hours). Dark red fruit, sour cherries, fresh slightly tart blackberries, a hint of chili dark chocolate, stone and a beautiful finish. Structure is solid 7 years in. Nicely done. Good QPR!
3 hours started to come off it’s peak.
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2/5/2021 - wendyinwlv wrote: 94 Points
Ken: spicy nose with hints of chili, cloves and baking spices. Oakey and a bit too tart, could be a bit sweeter. Big and rice finish lasts forever. Soft tannins
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10/11/2020 - CMN wrote:
Dark red and black fruits with mild herbal notes and some leather. While this is a bigger wine, it displayed a nice balance, never feeling heavy or ponderous. Still quite young, it will be better in 3-4 years. Nevertheless, drinking well with a 3 hour decant.
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6/7/2020 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 93 Points
No notes. Really enjoyable but need 1-2 hour decant.
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3/28/2020 - Cow Town Likes this wine: 93 Points
I agree with the recent notes. Big, bold, dark Napa cab, but with incredible balance and composure. If I had any complaint, is that the oak still needs to integrate a bit, as there was some vanilla sweetness that seemed strong at times. But, that is quibbling. Very well done, and this should last a while.
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3/20/2020 - t_moderne wrote: 94 Points
Opened, poured half into a decanter, and re-corked the rest.
tasted the second half on day two.
Dark purple color.
Nose of cassis, black cherry, chocolate and fresh cigar tobacco and cigar box. The nose speaks of Napa cabernet.
Lovely nose and quite inviting.
The wine is even better. Big ripe plums, cherries and chocolate notes, with a touch of wild mint and then some leather. All well knit together.
Outstanding wine.
This is in a good place now.
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12/23/2019 - PSUSteve Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for two hours and drank over the next three hours. After initial decant this was a young, red-fruited cab with intense fruit. At the 3 1/2 hour mark, it started to add some layers and depth. At five hours, it was still improving, adding complexity including a darkening of the fruit. 93 today and likely higher in the future.
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7/25/2019 - tcufletch Likes this wine: 94 Points
One of my favorite single vineyard Napa Cabs! Red fruit driven with such purity and focus in the fruit; cherry liqueur; rich and velvety sweet tannins; light cocoa mid palate and finish; the more air the better...a few ounces leftover on day 2 were even better than day 1.
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12/2/2018 - budman Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to my last note, just not as much red fruit.
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9/3/2018 - beej Likes this wine:
Rich syrupy offering where tannins don’t seem to be an indicator of youth; rather the evolution of heat, spice and lasting fruit on the finish are more suggestive.
BlackBerry and dark chocolate marshmallow on midpalate.
Luger’s filet on the final nose w a rather lengthy finish.
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8/17/2018 - mflesh wrote: 94 Points
Compared to the 15, this wine has a little more of a youthful fruit nose. I'd say that the fruit is more red at the opening, but as it sat in the decanter it gained a lot of black fruit depth. Not as hefty as the 15 even after sitting in the decanter for 4-5 hours. Pencil shavings. Some stiff tannin on the finish still abounds. More impressed by the 15, but this 14 is still rockin'. Going to have to acquire some next year.
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7/26/2018 - Frank Murray III wrote:
July 2018 Rivers-Marie Visit (At Mending Wall winery): Poured blind, in a flight of three which all turned out to be the William and Mary wines. Lots of concentration and density, with light chocolate and after some air, the tangy, herbal fruit comes through.
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4/24/2018 - Mlermontov wrote: 93 Points
needs time. after three days in the fridge it was even better - with cleaner, brighter fruit and a long, savory finish. this is a big wine though - not for the faint of heart. Ripe powerful raspberry and cassis, crushed berries, loads of plums. Structure is there but not obvious - if anything it feels more velvety and plush in style. This is the big soft armchair that you sink into after a long and luxurious meal. well done!
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4/20/2018 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
Double decanted and recorked 12 hours prior to tasting
Inky black color, bitter chocolate and darkest cassis tones on the ponderous nose, on the palate a sweet cassis fruit, plums, magnificent depth on the mid-palate, cherries, at first there were hints of heat on the finish but these were well covered, great length, coffee note, a rolling giant with big waves of tannin and blue to black fruits, over the course of two hours a slight creaminess to the fruit evolved, more importantly- on the middle the wine began to demonstrate a vibrant core of crushed raspberry and white chalk plus a more regimented tannic structure to give some grounding to what is otherwise an intoxicating and impulsive experience, first release of this wine which is still flying below the radar, I think it will go big once the major critics have it in their sights, it will be fascinating to see this evolve, I have high hopes based on the traditional grounding of the wine's core that came out with time- but make no mistake that this is a "big boy" kind of wine, in terms of quality of overall presentation I think Screaming Eagle is a fair comparison, the lovely dark fruit profile is more in line with Bond- though far better balanced- and also quite reminiscent of Clos Vougeot, a wine of great immediate excitement but also with some more serious intellectual potential long term, time will tell. (****)+, 2024-2044
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1/15/2018 - Eric.S Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very impressive effort here. I expected good wine given the site, but this is excellent! Slow ox’d all afternoon, tried at various intervals.
Red fruit on the nose, mainly raspberry and dark cherry liqueur, fresh turned earth. Herbal, like herbs de provence w/o lavender, and maybe tobacco. Mostly echoed on the palate, but add a savory gravel component, cassis, and a little kiss of oak signature mocha. Full midpalate. Medium acidity. Very smooth with steak, but still great on its own. I’m not getting much of a tannic bite after it’s been open for 8 hours, YMMV. Nice!
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7/16/2017 - Rktekt3 wrote:
Nice but I do not think this wine is ready to be drunk yet. Clearly has potential. A bit tannic and even after a hour or two could use more air. I will try not to pop another for at least two years unless other posters write that it has opened up and come together first.
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6/15/2017 - ageverett Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted at 750 in St. Helena.
This wine stood up and was noticed. In a big lineup, it was well respected. Dark fruit, lots of structure and a BIG back end. Needs some time in the bottle to resolve, but really liked what I saw here.
Will only get better with cellar time.
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5/18/2017 - scorrea Likes this wine: 91 Points
Too young. Still prominent acid, tannins and some oak.
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5/14/2017 - Mtpisgah Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened and decanted, poured two small glasses while we prepped dinner. Very approachable upon opening. After decanting for an hour we started sipping on it. It had opened a little and was very nice. It is an old school wine without the overpowering fruit that is common today in new wineries.
Will will go far with this venture.
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5/7/2017 - budman Likes this wine: 94 Points
Slow-oxed for 4 hours. A fantastic bottle. Fruits were mostly red, and tannins were present, but not intrusive. Long finish. Each glass got better with a little air. As soon as we got back from dinner, I ordered 3 more!!
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4/28/2017 - t_moderne wrote: 92 Points
Opened, poured into a decanter, served about 1 hour later and enjoyed with some food (a grilled hangar steak (Bryan Flannery), some goat cheese and Bailey Hazen Blue cheese with toasted bread, in case you were wondering).
While young, this is an outstanding wine. Deep, dark fruits with chocolate notes. A rich dark cherry element, a fresh basil herbal component along with licorice that adds additional layers of flavor. Rich and robust, there is sufficient acidity that keeps the wine lively and invites you back for another sip.
Started opening up with additional time in the decanter but then - poof - it was gone.
Delicious.
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4/15/2017 - RMundell Likes this wine: 95 Points
Quick decant and we drank this over a few hours. Really nice wine with tons of potential. Drinking good now but will improve with a few years.
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4/7/2017 - Brunello123 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Upon opening the wine is approachable and tasty. Smooth drinking hitting the right tones. Still very young with great aging potential.
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