Fine Wine > 92-95 Pts > California

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley wraps around the palate with mocha, chocolate, violets and new leather. Despite its explosive personality, the straight Napa Valley bottling is pretty approachable for the vintage..."

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is all minerals, graphite and pure Howell Mountain. Layers of dark red fruit come to life in this articulate, pedigreed Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2009 needs another few years in the bottle, but it is already quite striking, especially with some time in the..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana’s inky purple color is followed by a rich, sumptuous bouquet of espresso roast, melted chocolate, black currants, charcoal, and subtle background oak. Full-bodied and dense with silky tannins as well as a slightly more velvety texture and opulence than..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2010 Pinot Noir Lindsay Estate is once again impeccable. Silky, suave tannins buffer layers of expressive dark red fruit. Today the 2010 Lindsay comes across as a bit inward, but there is no denying the wine’s elegant, polished personality."

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to have clamped down a bit since I tasted it last year. An unusually up-front, juicy wine from Forman, the 2009 is laced with expressive dark red fruit, flowers, mint, cinnamon, licorice and menthol. There is a softness and suppleness to the 2009 that is..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"This is an enormously ripe, sumptuous Cabernet Sauvignon. It has all the hallmarks of the modern cult style, from focused blackberry, cassis and spicy chocolate flavors and profoundly ripe, sweet tannins to the balancing acidity and oak elaboration that adds that extra touch of richness ..."

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"...gradually opens up to reveal huge fruit backed up by equally imposing, masculine tannin. If opened today, the wine will require quite a bit of air. Ideally, it is best left alone for several years. At this stage, the aromas and flavors are very much primary. It is the wine's textural elegance..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2009 El Alma de Jonata is a serious, structured wine endowed with considerable depth. Dark red fruit, licorice, grilled herbs and mint are some of the notes that blossom in the glass from this intense wine. Layers of fruit are woven together in this generous, expressive red. Some of the depth..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"While it is eclipsed by the brilliance of the 2005, the 2006 Monte Bello (68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc) is a very strong effort. Its dense purple color is followed by copious aromas of creme de cassis, licorice, spice box, and a touch of oak...

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Precocious, seductive red and black fruits intermixed with some subtle smoke and wood spice are followed by a velvety-textured, opulent, voluptuous wine that is surprisingly well-formed already...."