Winery - Barnett
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
There’s so much nice stuff going on in this wine. It’s bone dry, richly tannic, and superbly structured, with a long, sophisticated finish. Flavorwise, we’re talking blackberries, cherries, currants, mocha, and a grounding vein of something earthy and herbal, like olive tapenade.
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Barnett Merlot - 2005
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
New oak accounts for about one-third of this wine, but the wood really stands out. The underlying wine is rather dry, lean and citrusy. It’s eleganty structured, not an opulent palate seducer but a companionable wine for food.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Decant this Chard for a while before serving, and don’t pour it too cold. It’s a tightly wound wine that needs to aerate, in order to liberate the complexities. It’s marked by crisp acids and flinty minerals, with undergirdings of peaches, pears and exotic tropical fruits, and is bone dry, in the best way. Undoubtedly will develop for a number of years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Nearly 100% pure Cabernet, with a dash of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, this is marked by the hard tannins that characterize most Spring Mountain Cabs. That gives it a toughly astringent mouthfeel, and leads to the question of cellaring. The currant and cola flavors, while good, are a little lean, and may not ride out the aging process, but it’s a delicious, upscale wine that’s rewarding now and for a good six years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Rattlesnake Hill is on the estate, more than 2,000 feet up in the Mayacamas above St. Helena. Typically tannic, in the way of Spring Mountain Cabs, the ’05 is a dramatically structured wine that dazzles with power. Made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon, it shows classic varietal flavors of black currants, cherries, licorice and spices, while mostly new French oak adds the perfect facade of smoky wood. Fabulous now with decanting and over rich fare such as steak, the wine should age gracefully for at least a decade.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Classic Russian River Pinot from a warm year. The wine is dry and crispy-soft, if that’s not a contradiction, and the cherry and cola fruit is nearly raisined, but stops just short. The texture is all silk and satin. This wine is best consumed early. Drink now.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a very fine Cabernet, a bit too young for complete enjoyment now due to tough mountain tannins, but there’s a fleshy opulence to the fruit. Totally dry, the wine feels rich and balanced, and is Bordeaux-like in its feminine elegance, suggesting a fine St.-Julien. Hold until 2008.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a very nice, stylish Chardonnay that’s good in varietal character, yet balanced and elegant enough not to blow away any food it accompanies. Dry and crisp in acids, it shows citrus, peach and apple flavors that finish clean and zesty.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A round, fairly full style, with earth and vanilla notes gracing the sour cherry nose. Cherry and earth follow through on the palate, with a full mouthfeel. Finishes fruity and spicy with moderate tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Tough and gritty in tannins, with a lock-down palate astringency that hides what this Cab has to offer. Give it until after 2010, at least, to throw some sediment and allow the blackberries, cherries and violets to emerge.
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