Tasting Notes 42 found

Decanted for an hour and a half. Mellow and balanced. Past its peak but still an enjoyable bottle. (120 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Appearance cloudy but intense, garnet color, some sediment visible.
Nose was clean, medium intensity with aromas of resin, vanilla and asparagus
Medium acidity and tannin
Medium to full body
Long finish with cinnamon and black pepper
Flavor remarkably good for a wine that should have been consumed at least three or four years ago. (2954 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

This bottle definitely held up better than some of the other bottles I opened earlier this year, which was pleasant surprise. Still past its prime, however. Full bodied Napa Bordeaux style blend, dominated by Cabernet, softened with Merlot. Medium body, medium finish. Some sediment. Wish I hadn't misplaced this behind other bottles, as I know this would have been perfect about five years ago. (2893 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Drink up... this one was still pretty good but definitely on the outer edge of the drinking window. Strong notes of cassis somewhat overcome by alcohol to create almost a medicinal flavor. At least I remember what this wine was like at its peak. (3305 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Incredibly dark, deep red color. Classic Cabernet nose, with slight hints of pepper. Quite dry, with tannins that are still a bit immature and awkward. Black berries and black plums are the predominant fruit, backed by pepper and spice. A big Napa cab with characteristic Stags Leap qualities. (3125 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

I was nervous about this one, as it was one of several that had hidden away in the depths of my cellar, but fear no more. Dark cherry and blackberry notes, this is a jammy, big Napa red. The lingering finish shows the age but overall, this has held up quite well. (3254 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

We just got back from a trip to Napa, and we tasted heavily in the Stags Leap District. Personally, I think the best cabs come out of Stags Leap. This particular "claret" has come back around quite nicely. Great clarity, with a deep purple color characteristic of a wine four years younger. The nose is big, filled with plums and black cherries. Huge in the mouth, with firm tannins that are going to carry this wine another seven years forward at least. The plums and cherries carry through in the mouth, along with a hearty dose of black licorice and a hint of dark chocolate. Lingers on the finish, making me wish I was back on the Silverado Trail. Very nice grape juice. (1738 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

very good (2541 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Nice cab for the price. Good fruit. (2818 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

This wine has aged well, and the former window ending 2011 just isn't right. Should drink in a window of goodness till at least 2015; has lots of fruit left and openly immature tannins - years from flabby.

Has an emphasis on a cabernet franc quality - rich, peppered and still smooth. Good complexity, excellent balance as always with CLV. (2766 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

pretty good (2775 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Drinking very nicely right now. Dry, with solid structure backed by firm, nicely integrated tannins. Plenty of fruit still kicking around in here. My gut says this is going to explode in another few months. Yummy! (2758 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Over oaked but decent red cherry fruit behind it. Finishes a bit tannic and sour. Missing mid palate. Not overly sophisticated. (2745 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Coming along. Pretty big and dry at this stage, but a good bit of fruit coming through. I think this will be at its peak in the next 6 - 18 months. Begs for a good fatty rare ribeye steak. (2705 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Ken and Kelly over for dinner III (Our House, Avondale, PA): I agree with Milwaukeewino. This was really good and better than I remember. Very nice and a great QPR at $29 - wish I had bought a bunch more. (3165 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Robust fruit, Stag's Leap character, just a bit sweet but in a good way, oak is eveident but subtle, very smooth. Plenty of Oomph and Wow for the $. (3421 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Dark crimson with a nose of dark chocolate and blueberries. The body is full with a palate filled with sweet mocha and hints of fig, mushroom, and spice with a pleasant earthiness. It's a wonderful balance between the Cabernet, Merlot and othe varietals. The Merlot provides the fragrance that jumps from the glass as the Cabernet provides depth, structure and character that takes this wonderful drinking experience all the way to the very end. This is an excellent wine. Drink from 2009 to 2019. (945 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Man is this bigger and richer than I remembered. I've had a case for awhile but don't drink it very often.
Silky red color. Pretty intense.
Big nose. Plenty of oak and spice. Again, more than I remember.
Dark berry fruit. Glossy.
Fat mid-palate (in a good way). Spicy. Decent acidity.
Long finish. Dark.
This is good but it is not really Claret. It is fat and rich and full. More like traditional Napa Cab.
Fun. (3641 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

87 pts. Tastes nice, but nice like a 2nd or 3rd label from a good maker.... Doesn't have the depth or interest to merit anything over 87 or 88 points IMO. Nice flavor profile though. (3476 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Did not live up to expectations. (3623 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

This bottle was no better then the others. (3867 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

I had this wine a few days ago and panned it. Thinking perhaps I had overreacted and been too harsh so decided to try another bottle. Unfortunately this one was identical to the first. Think thick blackberry jam and tar. I would surmise that this wine was heavily manipulated with reverse osmosis and other tricks of the trade. This wine was manufactured to the 90 point level but did not make it for me. I hate to surmise all the tricks that must have been used to manufacture this. (3953 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

This wine was a huge disappointment. WS had given it great reviews and thought it might be a good drinking/value wine. Tasted thick with a bitter aftertaste. Tastes of sticky jam and tar predominated. I decanted to give it a fair chance but it failed miserably. This is a a second rate wine at best. Drank it over a couple of hours and it never got better. Drank with marinated sirloin steak, salad and caprese salad. Nothing could make it ok. Think of drinking congealed blackberry jam with a bitter after taste. This is the last bottle of Cliff Lede I will buy. Unfortunately have have more of this and 2005 to do something with. (3975 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Strong oak in this wine imparts a heavy vanilla flavor to this, and together with the tannins, there's an overall creaminess to this. Ripe cassis fruit comes through, and this was the definite QPR winner of the night at Sparks. My first bottle of Cliff Lede, not blown away but I'll reserve further judgment until I can have their higher end bottlings. This was good but I wouldn't rush to buy it, just a bit too much oak for me. (4063 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Delicious. This is a pretty easy-drinking, lush style, with currant, black cherry and plum on the nose and in the mouth. A little vanilla/chocolate note from the oak, but it's not overdone at all. A little more firmness from the tannins, and this would be truly remarkable. Good value in CA cab. (4289 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

In my tasting note from December I said I was going to wait at least six months to try this one again. I'm glad I popped the cork before I read that! The color on this is great - deep, rich, ruby/garnet, really very dark, not showing any age around the edges yet. The nose isn't huge, but it is very distinctive with the cabernet sauvignon coming out strong up front. In the mouth this wine is incredibly big right now. I think it is still a bit on the chunky side, but there's a lot of dark chocolate and licorice coming through in a big way, and then black cherries and plums sneaking in on the back end. This wine is VERY DRY, but the tannins are (not soft) quite velvety. My gut sense is that I opened this bottle at a time when it is wide open, but I fully expect it to close in the near future for a bit. It has a lot of life left in it, and I think it is going to get much more complex as time goes by. (4333 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

nose: real nice dark nose with lots of dark fruit, cassis, and a bit of oak. real well integrated nose

taste: very good smooth mouth with cassis, dark berry, sour cranberry, and some toasted oak

overall: this is a real nice wine. really good bordeaux blend and it gives off a nice lasting chewy finish (4508 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Popped and poured immediately. Comes on too strong in the beginning. Should have decanted. Overall a hit at the party. (4495 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

opened at the end of the night, seemed pretty good at the time. (4475 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Blackberries, black cherry, cocoa and violets on the nose. I think the Petit Verdot saves this wine. Some cedar and spice meld with the berries nicely on the palate. Some nice bitterness on a finish that, I wish, could have been longer. (4718 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

This wine has very obviously entered a clunky, chunky, way too hot period. There is still a ton of fruit and backbone here, but it is all really awkward right now. I'm going to wait at least six months (I think) before I give this wine another try. I know it has a future, the question is just when will it peak? But then again, isn't that the whole trick here? (4667 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Did not decant, but certainly should have. Very high alcohol. Opened up a little bit over the course of an hour or so, but really needed much more time. Might be better in a couple of years, but for now it is borderline undrinkable right out of the bottle. (4332 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Harsh out of the bottle w/ little fruit. (4354 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

I just plain and simple like this stuff. I consistently give it between 89 & 92 points, and the variation may have more to do with the steak that I have on the particular night than the wine. Tonight I had this wine with a very nice dry aged choice rib eye steak, rare of course (anyone over cooking steak should drink kosher wines only!). This wine is very velvety in texture. Hints of chocolate, coffee, perhaps a bit of tobacco sneaking through. It is DRY. But the tannin is not over-powering. Evolves nicely, with a long lasting finish, with black plums and cherries sneaking in on the end to balance things out. I've stocked up on this, but I find it to be drinking so nicely right now I'm not sure there is much reason to wait. (4003 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

I just like this wine a lot! (3878 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Great tasting. Smooth and went well with Pork Chops (3387 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Heavily oaked with lots of heat. Couldnt resist trying this after having their incredible Cab last week. A nice full bodied bordeaux style wine...huge actually. Notes of licorice and deep colored berries in the nose. This could probably use some time to come into its own, but a killer wine nonetheless. (3080 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

First of all, after you open this, don't drink it for at least 48 hours. Rough and hot on days 1 and 2 so I blew it off. Day three it was like one of those layered drinks like a B52 except the layers were 75% blackberry with the other layers made up of currant, blueberry and a little cherry. Then there was a little vanilla bean garnish (and plum) that penetrated all the layers, revealing a little bit of the oak but it was below the threshold of the amount of oak I usually disdain. Aroma was warm dark fruits and a little oaky plum. Texture was (at least on day three) rich, relatively smooth and extracted. Acidity moderate. finish long. This is probably a good drinker in a few years or today with agressive decanting. Probably not a super long keeper(?) (3111 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Even though we only had it a couple days ago, we don't really recall much about it, which probably says as much as we need to. Call it 2.5 out of 4 (2894 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

maybe this wine will settle down and be great in a few years but right now it has overpowering alcohol. Decanting and working the wine helps with this but what is left is not all that interesting compared to others we have tried. (3135 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Popped and poured. Initially aromas of plum, currant, and dust. The dust scent blew away in about 10 minutes. Chocolate dominates the palate with beautiful black fruits, vanilla and asian spice layered against the chocolate. The finish shows no signs of heat and lasts about 25 seconds. An extremely enjoyable bottle of wine and showing much better than last bottle sampled. I can't wait for the 2004 Stag's Leap District Cab. (3064 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $

Popped and poured - Deep garnet color leads to nose of currant and plum. The medium body contains more currant, plum but adds some vanilla, dill, and black cherry. The finish is smooth but somewhat clipped. I think this will improve with an additional 6 months of bottle age. The blend this year is approximately 90% Cab Sav. (3007 views)

$ FIND THIS WINE on WINE-SEARCHER.COM $