Looking to buy a few extra bottles. Any thoughts on the Phoenix vs Wolfe Grad, both in the 2017 vintage? Thinking Phoenix at this point. Anyone tried either? Thanks and happy holidays!
If the reviews are legit, it may be a reasonable bet it is Dana since most reviews appear to be Korean and Dana is owned by Mr. Hi Sung Lee!
I bit on it!
Wolfe is likely hidden ridge, which oddly also has a wine with the brand name on the site too.
What confuses me is that Immortal Estate used to have the name Hidden Ridge and the label looks exactly the same as what WA is selling as Hidden Ridge. Is Hidden Ridge the same as Immortal Estate’s Slope bottling?
Opened a few of the WA wines with family; posting the tasting notes here as well.
Yesterday Oakville 2018
Excellent. Decanted for 12 hours.
Nose is beautiful dark red fruits (black cherry, raspberry, well integrated oak vanilla scents). Palate is medium low acid, smooth red fruits and full bodied. Finish has some wonderful oak flavors but not overpowering. More towards baking spice and vanilla.
I’ve had this previously when it was only decanted for 3 hours and the tannins were certainly present. I did not feel significant tannins here, which I attribute to the extended decant. Shared with family who all loved it. Happy to have a bunch more.
2014 Moundsman Cabernet Sauvignon
Not my style of wine. I’m more of a new-world and fruit forward style and this is certainly not it.
Nose is mostly cedar, oak, maybe cigar box, a hint of dark fruit. Medium full body, some dark red fruit on the palate. Fine grained tannins, smooth finish, but had a weird aftertaste I did not like at all. Maybe it was smoky? This was more sink than drink.
2017 Radio Silence
Smooth smooth smooth.
Very smooth nose—dark fruits and oak. Palate is exceptionally smooth. Medium low acid, good structure, more dark blue and black fruits. Maybe some vanilla as well. Finish is smooth smooth smooth. No rough edges or elbows sticking out anywhere here.
All around a smooth and crowd pleasing wine. Shared with family who previously haven’t enjoyed “serious” wines and they all loved it. Happy to have more.
Opened “the ringer” and “concept album” tonight as well.
The Ringer
Decanted for 10 or so hours.
Earthy nose, a little bit of blackberry bramble, but overall was still pretty tight.
Palate is medium full body, good acid, blue and dark blue fruits. Finish is earthy and a lingering hint of cocoa.
Not my favorite wine, I like a little more fruit. Nonetheless, a good wine that was enjoyed by all.
Concept Album Cabernet Sauvignon
Decanted for an hour, probably could’ve used more.
Profound depth of fruit on the nose, some gravel/graphite, and perhaps a bit of alcohol too. Palate is medium full body, acidity in balance, with fine tannins. Fruit is prominent on the palate. Finish has oaky flavors, chocolate and cinnamon and baking spice. This is a mountain Cabernet and the intensity of the fruit certainly lives up to the reputation.
In summary
In my opinion, Yesterday Oakville is the best of private labels I’ve had from WA. All of these wines were opened with family and Yesterday was the clear winner. Radio Silence 2017 and The Ringer were split for second place. Haven’t tried Yesterday Howell Mountain yet, though hopefully will find an excuse to open that soon.
Interestingly, I remember being very impressed with Concept Album when I first tried it a few months back. In comparison, I’m happy with it but it’s clearly a class apart.
It will be interesting to compare Concept Album (which I loved) and Wolfe Grade, since both suggest the same vineyards from Hidden Ridge / Immortal.
Popped and poured 2018 Radio Silence and 2018 Yesterday in succession last week.
Both were very tasty and easily worth the money.
As tasty as Yesterday was, Radio Silence was, for me, clearly better and certainly more approachable.
Had Radio Silence again on Christmas Eve. Everyone greatly enjoyed it and no expensive Bordeaux was injured in the making of the evening.
It’s a terrific deal.
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Any thoughts on this new one? The oak / fruit / body estimates are all maxxed out, not sure if that is intriguing or worrisome. $24-30 a bottle.
2018 Giving Kitchen Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml
Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 United States Napa Valley
Maayan Koschitzky is the man behind La Pelle, has worked at Screaming Eagle, and now directs winemaking at Atelier Melka. But we’ve never seen him more excited about a Cab than he is about this one.
The wine exudes first-class Napa Cab quality, from the ripe blue and blackberry aromas touched with mocha, vanilla, and pie spice, to the full body that finishes with super-fine tannins carrying toasted oak, cinnamon, and chocolate. It’s exactly what we expect from a winemaker whose limited releases fly into collectors’ cellars at $200+ per bottle.
Wine Access Tasting Notes
Deep, opaque purple in color. Swirling the glass raises unctuous aromas of ripe and preserved blueberries, blackberries, and black cherry, supported by mocha, balsam, Madagascar vanilla, and pie spice. Full-bodied, with a rounded mouthfeel provided by super fine tannins. The jammy black fruit attack is followed by toasted oak, cinnamon, and chocolate hints that linger through the finish. Boldly fruity and opulent, this is a great value for Napa Cabernet. Drink now - 2025.
wrong thread Randy 
Are you going to hold onto the Radio Silences for more time in the bottle? Or drink your remaining bottles as needed in 2021?
I just want to show some more love for Wine Access and their amazing customer service – it’s simply outstanding. It’s so refreshing to see a retailer take customer service so seriously when you have retailers on the other end of the spectrum like wine.com who have such awful service that it’s not worth buying from them even with their discounted prices.
I second that. Also, I like the fact that I can reach them on the phone vs. wine.com. Night and day different between the two.
I know the folks at Giving Kitchen - an amazing non-profit that benefits from each bottle sold. Chris Hall is one of the founders, a chef/restaurateur, and knows his wine, though I definitely get the impression that he favors big and bold. He’s the one that worked with Maayan on this. I would bet that Napa cab fans (of the Screaming Eagle sort, and not the Corison sort) will be very happy with this as a value drinker.
Has anyone tried the Bodega Rancho Red yet?
I appreciate the info about Wine Access and placed my first order. FYI, a few of the Private Labels are back in stock, like The Cosmologist, Echoes in the Canyon, Wolfe Grade and Radio Silence. Those were out of stock/sold out last week, but I was just able to order over the weekend. 
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I picked up my first WA private label, went for the Echoes in the Canyon based on likely source material (Vine Cliff 16 Rows, albeit not a shiner) + Andreas’ tasting group scoring it as one of the top 3-4 WA private label wines (and the master of wine naming it one of his top 2). Can get it to $24 by the case with the 20% off, basically in line with the higher priced DN wines. Also grabbed some Paolo Conterno Barolo, can get as low as ~$27 by the case, seems like a very good price for a well-reviewed, age-worthy Barolo from a solid vintage
WA is selling 2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot. Got some for using the 20% off.
Adding my props for WA’s innovative offerings and customer service. I have been pleased with everything I have tried. And an unrequested credit showed up in the face of a minor problem with a shipment. Very impressive indeed. Sending friends and family business to them…
My intention will be a mix of both. Reality probably will be more of the latter.