ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE
2005 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Readers looking for a
Score: 94
Wine Advocate #174 December 2007
2006 Black Bart's Bride, Napa Valley
The 2006 Bride Proprietary White Wine is enticing. Abundant aromas of lychee nuts, rose petals, honeysuckle, and orange marmalade are offered in the complex aromatics. Fruity and juicy with low acidity and a fleshy, full-bodied mouthfeel, it is an enticing white to drink over the next year.
Score: 92
Wine Advocate #174 December 2007
WINE SPECTATOR
2005 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Distinct for its pure plum, berry and spicy, peppery attributes. Clean, tight and focused, gaining depth and complexity. Ends with spice, leather, sage and lavender. Drink now through 2012. 1,219 cases made.
Score: 91
Issue: Nov 2, 2007
2005 Black Bart Marsanne, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Fragrant floral, honey, peach and pear aromas are rich and creamy. Well-focused, intense and concentrated without being heavy. One of California's best Marsannes. Drink now through 2011. 620 cases made –JL
Score: 90
Issue: Nov 2, 2007
2005 Black Bart's Bride, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
A bold, rich, unctuous style, with layers of fig, mango and tropical fruit notes. Lots of spice, with a texture that coats the palate. Marsanne, Viognier and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2009. 437 cases made. –JL
Score: 91
Issue: Feb 28, 2007
2004 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Ripe and lively, with intense red plum and black cherry fruit that is supple and polished at this youthful age. The finish reveals layers of fruit and spice, with a firm tannic backbone. Drink now through 2011. 900 cases made. –JL
Score: 92
Issue: March 31, 2007
2003 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Delicious grapey wild berry, blackberry and boysenberry flavors are pure and focused, supple and elegant, with nuances of pepper, nutmeg and mocha, ending with a long, rich burst of ripe fruit and espresso bean. Drink now through 2009. 613 cases made. –JL
Score: 92
Issue: Dec 15, 2005
2002 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
A tasty mix of firm, ripe, dense wild berry, blackberry and loganberry, with touches of pepper and spice, this immense wine is supported by chewy, gritty tannins as well, along with a touch of dark chocolate, making it a candidate at this point for short-term cellaring. Best from 2006 through 2012. 498 cases made. –JL
Score: 92
Issue: Feb 28, 2005
2002 Veraison Synchrony, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Supple and harmonious, with spicy red currant, black cherry and plum flavors that are firm and exhibiting a touch of cedar and tobacco on the finish. Well-balanced, with a rich, complex aftertaste and a hint of chocolate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec. Best from 2006 through 2011. 678 cases made. –JL
Score: 89
Issue: Nov 15, 2005
WINE ENTHUSIAST
2004 Veraison Merlot, Krupp Vineyard, Atlas Peak
There aren’t many Merlots coming off Atlas Peak, but there should be, to judge by this rich, dense, complex wine. It’s enormously packed in black cherry, red currant, blueberry, milk chocolate and spicy licorice flavors that go on and on into the finish. Fortunately, the structure is great, providing a firm architecture of tannins and acids. - S.H.
Score: 91
Issue: Dec 15, 2007
2004 Veraison Cabernet Sauvignon, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Lots of richness in this smooth, complex Cab. It shows real quality in the depth of blackberry and spice fruit and the balance of ripe, sweet tannins and acidity. Elegant; probably at its best now and for a year or two. - S.H.
Score: 89
Issue: Dec 15, 2007
CONNOISSEURS' GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA WINE
2006 Black Bart Marsanne, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
There is nothing the least bit subtle about this full-blown look at Marsanne, and from its concentrated honey and melon aromas to its deep and mouthfilling, peach and apricot flavors, richness is its first concern. It is admittedly a touch heavy and its ripeness comes at the cost of some finishing heat, but its fruit is there at the end. Try it with richly spiced Moroccan chicken and keep it away from delicate dishes.
Score: 89
Volume 32, Issue 9, July 2008
2005 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Incisively fruity and fit with complexing components of peppery spice, loamy soil, sweet smoke and a hint of dried flowers in its ample flavors as well as its intense and very well-focused nose, this solidly constructed wine is underlain by balanced tannins and is never riper nor tougher than good Syrah should be. It is, however, not meant for drinking anytime soon, and it needs to evolve and unwind for at least five years but may still be at less than its best for a decade.
Score: 94
Volume 32, Issue 9, July 2008
2005 Black Bart Syrah, Napa Valley
Here is an intense and very powerful take on Syrah whose emphatic ripeness is hard to ignore, but it is surprisingly certain in deep, very well-focused blackberry fruit and leaves no doubts as to its varietal source. Very full-bodied, solidly structured and built with an extra measure of tannin, it is not a wine for the faint-hearted or impatience, and it will continue to improve for as many as six to ten years.
Score: 90
Volume 32, Issue 9, July 2008
STEPHEN TANZER'S INTERNATIONAL WINE CELLAR
www.internationalwinecellar.com
2005 The Advocate, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Good full medium ruby. Bitter cherry, spices and chocolatey oak on the nose. Sappy and concentrated, with captivating flavors of cherry, raspberry, chocolate and leather complicated by licorice and graphite. Harmonious acidity gives this wine a surprising freshness. Finishes with firm tannins and excellent smoky, spicy persistence. A rare blend for California, and very well done.
Score: 91 points
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 08
2005 The Doctor, Krupp Vineyards, Napa Valley
Good ruby-red. Black raspberry, smoked meat, mocha and brown spices on the nose. Fleshy and sweet but with an enticing juicy quality to the slightly reduced flavors of bitter cherry, dark berries and smoked meat. Finishes round and long, with lingering sweetness. A very successful blend.
Score: 89 points
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 08
2005 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Good deep ruby. Slightly reduced aromas of black fruits, game, graphite, mocha, chocolate and gunpowder. Fat and sweet but juicy, with ripe, integrated acidity framing the blackberry and gunpowder flavors. A lush syrah with a saline nuance. With aeration, this showed an exotic, porty, dried-fruit character that reminded me of a red from Collioure.
Score: 91 points
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 08
2005 Black Bart’s Bride, Stagecoach Vineyards, Napa Valley
(A blend of viognier, chardonnay and marsanne) Pale yellow. Peach and flowers on the nose. Layered, round and glyceral-rich in the mouth, with a succulent character to its flavors of peach nectar, lichee and spices.This wine’s lovely fruit would complement fusion cuisine that features chilis.
Score: 90 points
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jan/Feb 07
2004 Black Bart’s Bride, Stagecoach Vineyards, Napa Valley
(A blend of viognier, chardonnay and marsanne) Pale peach skin color. Captivating aromas of peach nectar, honeysuckle, mint and dusty gingery spices. Lush, thick and dry, with a rich flavor of peach nectar. This voluptuous white blend has the textural richness of a Sine Qua Non white. Not especially complex but broad, suave and mouthfilling.
Score: 91 points
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jan/Feb 06
2004 Black Bart Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Ruby-red.Aromas of black raspberry, violet, licorice, mocha and dark chocolate. Concentrated but not heavy, with blackberry, meat and saline flavors lifted by a violet quality. Rather suave, lively syrah, finishing with firm-edged, building tannins.
Score: 90 points
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jan/Feb 07
2004 Veraison Cabernet Sauvignon, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Full ruby-red. Musky coffee, dark chocolate, plum and smoked vegetables on the nose. Suave, sweet and fine-grained, with harmonious acidity framing the flavors of dark berries and smoke. Not especially complex but dense and firmly built. Finishes with building tannins and very good length, the light smoky, vegetal elements repeating on the back
Score: 89 points
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/June 08
2004 The Doctor, Krupp Vineyard, Napa Valley
Good deep ruby-red. Black- and redcurrant and sexy nutty oak on the nose. Supple, sweet and juicy, with good extract and density to the flavors of redcurrant, candied plum, pepper, minerals and flowers.Nicely structured wine with sound acidity and firm-edged tannins. The heavy bottle suggests that there’s an overoaked wine with huge alcohol inside, but this is a moderate 14.2% and there’s nothing cloying about it.
Score: 89 points
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jan/Feb 07
2003 Veraison Cabernet Sauvignon, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley
Good deep medium ruby.Cool aromas of blackberry, gingerbread, fruitcake, bitter chocolate and leather. Supple and sweet but tangy in the mouth, with lively notes of spicy herbs and berry skin, along with a slightly funky leathery element.This slightly clenched wine possesses good sweetness, though, and finishes with broad, dusty tannins.
Score: 89 points
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jan/Feb 07