Hourglass, Blueline Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley

Hourglass · California › Napa Valley › United States of America

Red · Cabernet Franc

Critics

93 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

92.5

Avg Score

Highest

Wonderful example of what can be done with Cabernet franc. All the classic features of this grape in a very nicely balanced profile. Great flavor and nose, yet all knit together in a beautiful weaving. This was cellar-stored the entire time. It is not going to get better; time to drink.

2014 vintage

this was good, very good. gave this 30 - 60 minutes in the decanter. wonderfully aromatic, black and blue fruits, leather, hint of mocha rich, dense, balanced, fruit foward but more medium in weight and just the right amount of finesse

2014 vintage

Was solid right out of the bottle, notes are after 3 hrs slow ox. Wind shows some Garnet on the edge of the glass, but the OK still gives off gobs of rich, dark fruit. There's some heat across the palate but this is a really nice balance between bright fruit that seems younger and more youthful than the vintage, and fine- grained tannins that add polish to its lengthy, fruit-driven finish. This ranks among the best Napa cab francs …

2015 vintage

Absolutely delightful. Deep, perfumed aromatics on the nose. On the palate, focused and sharp (in a good way). Relatively long finish. A pleasant bottle after knocking back a disappointingly pedestrian Outpost cab last night.

2014 vintage

Quiet aromatically, faint soft vanilla scents, followed by an attack of burnt black fruit, coffee grounds, cigar ash, pencil lead. Drying tannins. Tastes savory and powerful at first, then finishes with ripe red cherry pie.

2011 vintage

Decanted half the bottle and allowed it to breathe for 2 hours. MFlesh called this pretty well. Dark mountain fruit and flowers hit the nose, with the dark fruit predominant on the palate; gobs of sweet blackberries, along w black pepper, spice and young wood. Still tons of tannin on this, and plenty of time to grow and evolve; truly enjoyable cab Franc. I can see adding 1-2 pts to this in 2-4 years, though it’s pushing my price envelope …

2015 vintage

A really good CF in a REALLY good place right now. This wine is blackberries, spices, spicy and earthy notes and is extremely complex and balanced with black pepper and spicy toasted oak tannic finish. This is a full bodied cab franc with good sweet youthful black fruits that has excellent balance now but is going to hold quite well and likely appreciate and will definitely evolve quite nicely over the next 10-15 years or so. Massive CF worthy of …

2015 vintage

Two hours after decanting the wine has a very tight, oaky nose, with pepper, spice and vanilla in the background. When this hits the palate there’s more fruit evident, and the structure I’d expect based on the nose just isn’t there. Possibly in a dumb phase, this was a bit better an hour ago as it seemed more full bodied and complete, and is almost certainly overpriced. Another hour later, I’m drinking the bottom third of the bottle which wasn’t …

2015 vintage

Delicious!

2015 vintage

Will buy more of this. Solid Cab Franc — not up to the AO Sunshine Valley but a solid offering. Dark color. Floral with good tannins. Black currant and espresso, too. Silky with medium finish.

2014 vintage

Outstanding.

2011 vintage

Quite good with plenty of life left. If scoring 92-94.

2011 vintage

Not as good as the bottle we had at Christmas, but still a quality, flavor filled Napa wine. The vintage obviously played a role here, but not to the extent the professionals think. If scoring, 91-93.

2011 vintage

Really smooth and enjoyable one of my favorites of the night

2011 vintage

syrupy

2011 vintage

Nice wine but still a bit primary. Probably should have waited a bit. Strong floral nose with a nice jammy mouthfeel. Long finish with some heat. Enjoyable but not the best qpr. I like this producer but unsure of the change in winemaker. Losing Bob Foley is a big deal!

2011 vintage