Winery - Hall St. Helena
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
You might mistake this for one of those Marlboroughs, so rich is it in gooseberry, green hay and lemon-and-lime flavors. The acidity isn’t at New Zealand levels, but it’s fine for this dry, likeable and super-versatile wine.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Outstanding for its purity, and the incredibly fine tannins, not to mention the compelling flavors. Black and red cherries, currants, cola, mushrooms, cedar, anise, and spice flavors mingle into a long, rich finish. So balanced and elegant. Made from 95% Sacrashe Vineyard fruit, in the Rutherford AVA.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Hall, which has gotten huge scores over the years, now has this Mount Veeder bottling, but the warning is that they’re playing with fire. It’s so massive in fruit, it risks being ridiculed as a bombastic pop wine. There’s no denying the power of the blackberries, currants, chocolate and oak, but there’s a case to be made for elegance and restraint. Easily earns its high score, but the hope is that the winemaker will be mindful with future releases.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Expensive, yes, but this is a very great Cabernet, and the Sacrashe Vineyard repeatedly proves itself as one of the best in Rutherford, if not Napa Valley itself. The 100% Cabernet, which is a limited production barrel selection of only 420 cases, is so delicious in blackberry jam, chocolate, olive and cedar flavors, it’s hard to not drain the bottle now. But it also shows fabulously rich tannins that suggest aging. May not be one for the long haul, but certainly great over the next six years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A juicy wine, rich, ripe and sweet in jammy fruit and caramelized oak flavors. Black raspberries, blackberries and mocha, spiced with cinnamon and pepper, flood the mouth, wrapped into beautifully sculpted, sweet tannins. A lovely wine to drink now. The wine is mainly Syrah, with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Hall Red Blend - 2007
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Firmly tannic and dry, this Cabernet, which was blended with a little Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, is one for the cellar. The tannins are tough and astringent, but when they melt away over the next decade or so, they’ll leave behind sweet currants, cedar and violets.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Merlot has not been this winery’s strong point, but this new wine from a vineyard just north of Napa city is their best yet. Resembling Carneros Merlot, it’s dry and rich in acids, with cherry, plum, coffee and spice flavors that are wrapped in firm tannins. Probably at its best now.
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Hall Merlot - 2003
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A masterpiece it may be, but right now, in its precocious youth, it’s all jammy fruit and smoky oak. But what jam! What oak! Tastes rich and compellingly good, like being swept away on a tidal wave of blackberry essence and cocoa. Very good, very rich, very fine, but you want to stash it away for a few years to let the parts meld.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A gorgeous Cab in every way. Seduces for its fantastic wealth of black currants, dark chocolate, plum, cedar and spice flavors that are so deep and long. Yet the richness is balanced with beautifully ripe, refined tannins and just-in-time acidity. Distinguished and classic. The grapes are from St. Helena, Diamond Mountain and Hall’s Sacrashe Vineyard. Now through 2012.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A wonderfully rich, complex and ageworthy Cabernet. It displays the impeccable winemaking from this winery, with deep, long flavors of blackberries, currants and chocolate, and while it’s drinkable now, those sturdy Diamond Mountain tannins should carry the wine forward for 6–8 years.
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