Below are recent reviews of Jarvis wines. Find reviews and ratings specific to a particular vintage and wine on that wines page by visiting the Wine Tasting Notes page.

New! Merlot 2009 -  96 Points, Beverage Testing Institute - "Chocolate and vanilla toffees, plum pie, and peppery spice aromas with a silky, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a long, tangy, craisin and raspberry finish with elegant tannins. Exceptionally tasty and nicely balanced for sipping or the table."

New! Tempranillo 2010 - 90 Points, Wine Enthusiast - "Shows the impeccable viticulture and winemaking talent that mark all of Jarvis' red wines. The tannins and acidity are considerable, giving the cherry flavor such a nice bite. A lovely wine to drink now with steak or Italian-inspired beef dishes."

Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 - 96 Points, Wine Enthusiast - "You don't have to age this wine -- Jarvis did it for you, holding it back more than five years before release, which is a very expensive proposition for a winery. It's a splendid Cabernet, with the tannins soft and velvety. The blackberry and black currant fruit flavors are as fresh and vibrant as the day the wine was bottled, an early indication of its ageability. This wonderful wine is so good, you can drink it now, but it will continue to evolve in the bottle for many years."

Science Project 2008 - 94 Points, Beverage Testing Institute - "Deep violet color. Aromas of roasted caramelized nuts, malted chocolate, and berry pie crust have a faint dried meat edge and follow through on a supple, soft entry to a dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body with delicate roasted pepper and herb notes. Finishes in a long, cocoa-dusted berry and sandalwood accented fade with highly polished, elegant tannins, A complex, smooth, and satisfying red that will excel with prime rib."

Lake William 2007 - 93 Points, Wine Enthusiast -"Napa Reds don't get richer than this. Made from roughly equal parts of Merlot and the two Cabernets, Sauvignon and Franc, with a squirt of Petit Verdot, it's so sweet in blackberries and cherries and caramelized new oak, it's almost like a dessert wine. But it's totally dry. Dazzling and showy, the flashiness is given real substance by depth and finish."

Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - 94 Points, Wine Enthusiast - " The estate vineyard is in the Vaca Mountains, east of the city of Napa. You can taste the cool climate int he brisk acidity that frames this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's very ripe in blackberries, with rich layers of toast from new French oak..."

 Merlot 2008 - 93 Points, Wine Enthusiast - "Credit this Merlot for sheer enjoyability. It defines Merlot as the soft, drink-me-now Bordeaux red wine, full-bodied yet instantly likeable. Made from 100% Merlot. It's extraordinarily rich in cherry fruit, while 100% new French oak with a deft touch of buttered toast. The tannins are gentle, sweet and complex. This flashy, fleshy wine is great now, and will hold and evolve in the bottle for at least six years." 93 Points, GOLD MEDAL, Beverage Testing Institute -Deep garnet violet color. Rich aromas of plum sauce, white chocolate fudge and pepper with a supple, dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body and savory touch of grilled pepper, caramelized yams, and forest floor on the long finish. Nicely polished Merlot that will shine at the table.”

 Estate Chardonnay 2009 - 93 Points, Wine Enthusiast - " If this Chard had any more oak, the forests of France would be denuded. But the buttered toast and caramel work well, adding even greater richness to the huge pineapple, lemon custard and gingersnap cookie flavor. Drink this extravagant Chardonnay over the next six years."

 Finch Hollow Chardonnay 2009 - 92 Points, Wine Spectator - "A rich, layered style, with tiers of fig, honeysuckle, toasty oak and spicy, cedary notes. Full-bodied, extracted and concentrated, finishing with a powerful burst of flavors. Drink now through 2016."

Finch Hollow Chardonnay Unfiltered 2009 - 91 Points, Wine Enthusiast :"A very ripe tropical-fruit nose is complemented beautifully by an intense smoky-toasty element. Pineapple, mango and caramel flavors stand out on the full palate: The smoky note resurfaces later, riding out the persistent finish. This is a sleek, stylish, but very solidly built Chardonnay. It pushes all the right sensory buttons, with big body and great lines, like a ’56 Buick" 91 Points, GOLD MEDAL, Excelletn - Beverage Testing Institute - "Minutely hazy golden yellow color. Honey baked pineapple and white toffee aromas with a supple, dry-yet-fruity medium-full body and a juicy, tangy apple tart and toasted nut driven finish. A stately oak aged chardonnay with excellent balance and concentration."

 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005 - 94 Points Wine Enthusiast "The estate vineyard is in the Vaca Mountains, east of the city of Napa. You can taste the cool climate in the brisk acidity that frames this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s very ripe in blackberries, with rich layers of toast from new French oak. For all the sweet fruit, the finish is dry..." Steve Heimoff 

 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - 91 Points, Wine Enthusiast "It's all about sweet, delicious flavor in this 100% Cabernet. Dazzles the mouth with the essence of blackberries, cassis, cherry tart with the smoky crust, chocolate and exotic sandalwood, wrapped into the richest, finest tannins you can imagine. Compulsively drinkable, if a little too forward with its charms." and 92 Points, GOLD MEDAL, Exceptional - Beverage Testing Institute.

 Petit Verdot 2007 - 91 Points Wine Enthusiast "Loads of plum, dark chocolate, blackberry and exotic spices in this big, dry wine. Oak, too, in the form of exquisite vanilla and caramel. It's absolutely delicious..." and 91 Points, GOLD MEDAL, Exceptional, Cellar Selection from Beverage Testing Institute "Deep violet. Rich dark berry, pudding and chocolate aromas and flavors with a lightly smoky green pepper and cedar accents. Rich and flavorful with an excellent food friendly tanginess and balanced tannins. Very nice expression of fruit and oak."

Tempranillo 2009 Steve Heimoff, West Coast Editor, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, at steveheimoff.com, "Easily the greatest California Tempranillo i have ever reviewed".

Chardonnay Reserve 2008  92 Points from Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate "...More intriguing is the brilliant 2008 Chardonnay Reserve. It boasts abundant aromas of liquid minerals, honeyed tropical fruits, clarified butter, poached pears and white peaches. This full-bodied, delicious, seriously-endowed Chardonnay should be consumed over the next 3-4 years."

Chardonnay Finch Hollow 2008 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate "The 2008 Chardonnay Finch Hollow Vineyard comes from a relatively high elevation (1,000 foot high vineyard overlooking the Napa Valley). Attractive buttered brioche, caramelized orange and citrus notes follow the wine's light gold color. Medium to full-bodied, chunky and flavorful, this pleasant Chardonnay can be drunk over the next several years."

Merlot Reserve 2007 First release of a Reserve Merlot! GOLD MEDAL "Exceptional" 95 points from the Beverage Testing Institute and a GOLD MEDAL  from San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Killer California Chards Words by Bob Ecker, a.k.a. The Wine Dog
Jarvis 2007 Napa Valley Finch Hollow Chardonnay - Perhaps the king of modern California Chardonnays; this a massively delicate wine. Fabulously smooth with a fantastic nose, terrific fruit flavors, and creamy complexity, this Chardonnay grown and produced in Napa's eastern mountains represents the best of breed. What a wine!

WineSpectator.com November 9, 2009
California Cabernet Sauvignon
These 13 California Cabernets include wines from the exciting 2007 vintage in Napa Valley, along with some exceptional values
Below notes are from James Laube:
Posted: November 9, 2009

It’s not just your imagination: More wines—even sturdy Napa Valley Cabernets that were once held back for bottle age—are being released earlier and earlier. So the 2007 vintage dates you see in this report are not typos. The 2007s are moving to the market even as we’ve just tasted the lion’s share of the 2006s.
2007 is a great vintage for Cabernet, which means it will be easy to find exciting wines, starting with this sampling. Bialla, grown on Atlas Peak, has been fine-tuning its Cabernet, with the 2007 a worthy successor to the outstanding 2006.
Cade and Erna Schein made outstanding wines in 2007, while Lindstrom, Selene, Cornerstone and Adobe Road have outstanding 2006s. Selene, Adobe Road and Jarvis’ “Will Jarvis’ Science Project” are at least partly anchored by Cabernet Franc, and considering how important this grape is in so many wines (it is also the most expensive grape in Napa), it’s no wonder it’s making gains, often with a dash of Merlot.
You won’t find many $20 Napa Cabernets as good as the Roots Run Deep and its Educated Guess. It stood up with the much higher-priced competition. Truchard is a reliable Cabernet name, too, unique in that it’s from Carneros, so the body and weight are a little more elegant and less weighty than those from up-valley. And once again Bogle ends up with a tremendous wine, a chewy, concentrated 2007 Cabernet for $11. That’s not a typo either.

JARVIS Cabernet Franc Napa Valley Will Jarvis' Science Project 2007 Score: 92 | $105
Sleek and elegant, offering a core of ripe, fleshy plum and black cherry fruit, with shades of tobacco and mineral that turn supple and refined. Full-bodied, gaining depth and amplitude on the finish. Drink now through 2016. 391 cases made. —J.L.

Beverage Testing Institute 2007 World Wine Championships
94 points - Highest Rated Chardonnay - Chardonnay Finch Hollow 2005
89 points - Among the Top Ten Highest Rated Chardonnays - Chardonnay Reserve 2005
90 points - Among the Top Four Highest Rated Merlots - Merlot 2004 (July 2007 Release)

Dallas Morning News April 2007
Gold Medal Chardonnay Finch Hollow 2004
Gold Medal Lake William 2002
Silver Medal Chardonnay Reserve 2004
Silver Medal Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Finger Lakes Wine Competition April 2007
Gold Medal Chardonnay Finch Hollow 2004
Gold Medal Lake William 2002
Silver Medal Chardonnay Reserve 2004
Silver Medal Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

The Colorado Wine News April - June 2007 Volume 17, No. 1
The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, $85, spent 20 months in new French oak and opens with cedar, rhubarb, bell pepper, currant, and plum. All repeat as juicy, lively flavors laced with very fine tannin and nice tannin rather than finish it just sits on and clings to the palate and has good, persistent presence. Well put together. Very tasty. The 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Napa Valley, $160, was aged for 26 months in new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. It has a big, rich, ripe, inviting bouquet of sweet earth, blackberry jam, cedar, and Damson plum. Forward, rich, restrained flavors of the same plum bell pepper, and very fine, smooth, dry tannin. Everything carries through the long, broad finish. Well balanced, structured, and integrated. Very Good.

Wine Review Online March 27, 2007
Jarvis Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2001
I had lost touch with the Jarvis wines for several vintages before recently tasting this bottling and the straight 2002 Cabernet, and both made me regret the lapse. This shows exceptional aromatic complexity and very impressive dimension on the palate, with lots of toasty, smoky, spicy notes working very nicely with a core of fruit recalling blackberries and black currants. Although this hardly lacks for fruit intensity, there's a certain (welcome) restraint to the character of the fruit that makes this tougher to peg as a Napa Cab than most wines from the region. 92 Michael Franz

Wine Review Online March 20, 2007
Jarvis Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
A delicious rendering of Cabernet from a great vintage, this shows plenty of depth and length. However, it is frankly not all that tough to achieve deep, persistent flavors from Cabernet in Napa in a good growing season. What is most impressive about this wine is that it shows real intricacy and delicacy. The fruit notes show tinges of blackberries, black cherries, and red currants, with lovely little accents of tobacco leaf, woodsmoke and spices. The tannins are equal to the job of structuring the fruit, but don't do so at the cost of any hardness or dryness in the finish, which is fresh and pure thanks to plenty of bright acidity. Simply put: A thoroughbred. 92 Michael Franz

Wine Review Online August 29, 2006
Jarvis Lake William 2001
A Bordeaux-styled red blend, this wine stands out from the crowded (and pricey) Napa Valley field on two counts. First, it displays excellent balance, without excessive (and expensive) oak getting in the way of its vinous character. Ready to drink now, it has the stuffing to age gracefully for a decade. Second, it offers a distinct, and delicious, flavor profile, due in large measure to Cabernet Franc comprising nearly a third of the blend. That variety's weedy character contributes both complexity and elegance, making the wine taste simultaneously rich and refined. 91 Paul Lukacs