Tasting Notes 60 found

Nice, perfectly aged wine in my cellar since release. Fully integrated oak, fragrant nose with leather a hint of menthol and plenty of red and black fruit. Soft and unctuous, great with wood fire grilled steaks. Fairly long and complex but not quite a fair comparison to the 2001 Cerretalto Brunello poured at the same time. (683 views)

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On initial PnP, big bodied, dark fruits, but somewhat sour, drying mid-palate and finish. Red berry nose, with leather, tobacco, and some green elements. Let's see what happens after 2 hours slo ox in bottle.

After two hours, classic mature high end Cal cab. Terrific. (623 views)

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This bottle has been stored in my cellar since I purchased it upon release. Contrary to other CellarTracker comments on the wine, this pristine bottle showed no evidence of decline. (1974 views)

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Drink up, fruit is on the way out (5355 views)

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Is probably in its last couple of good years. Some pleasant dried fruit flavors, along with a cola-like note that I find common among aged Napa Cabs, and hints of tobacco and smoke. Drink asap if you have any left. (5372 views)

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Second one that was bad, one left (5355 views)

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Mid part of the cork was dried out and brittle, falling apart on opening. Decanted for about two hours. At first there was not much of anything. No aromas, rather uninspired taste. Not bad, just nothing noteworthy. This really needed time. After forgetting about it for most of the night we came back to it. Made a huge difference. Developed into a thick, syrupy cab. Luscious red licorice, velvety mouthfeel. Cedar. Long, deep finish. Worth the wait. (6579 views)

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Good deep color, good flavor, fresh on the palate. Just what we wanted for a quiet Sat night. (6452 views)

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Do not aerate, or you'll miss some of the fireworks (but be sure to decant, there's loads of sediment, then return to bottle). Still medium ruby at the core, but bricked all the way to the rim; this is ready. The first aromas took me back to the tasting room where I fell in love with Stacy Clark's wines - powerful cassis, beetroot, plum sauce and even some sweet hoisin and pipe tobacco. Serious weight upon entry, but also substantial acids to wash it away and keep it clean. Tannins are sweet, firm, and slightly chalky; this has structure, some breadth. In top form right now, having just entered its preferred window, though clearly it will hold for another decade and beyond. Mostly secondary - light tertiary at this stage. EtOH (14,3%) fully integrated, long finish. recommended

Audoze 1 hour, decant for sediment and return to bottle; served non-blind 6 hours later. (4699 views)

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This was a stellar wine. Minor amount of sediment. Color a bit brown, otherwise score would be even better. (3930 views)

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Crowd favorite, of the 15 wines we had this was by far the favorite (5199 views)

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Good solid bottle of Pine Ridge. Was a little past its prime. (3968 views)

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What can you say. One of Napa's best. Tasted well when opened up... (4252 views)

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She's a beauty. Nice garnet color and most of the tannins have faded away beautifully, leaving behind dark, ripe stone fruits, especially Bing cherries and ripe juicy plums. Some menthol, eucalyptus and cedar pencil shavings. A little gamey and leathery on the finish. Drinking well right now. (3815 views)

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Still lots of tannins.
(3873 views)

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Dark and heavy with a complex overripe peach nose. Very strong and full on the palate, with deep and rich fruit, but not particularly pleasant to drink. Seems more like an old porto than a cabernet. I bought this bottle in 2005 at the winery and have held it in a storage unit at 55 degrees for the entire time, except for a week two years ago. It shows no sign of oxidation, and held up well but with little change after opening-- unusual for a big red wine like this. I would classify this as an after dinner sipping wine rather than something to drink with food. I can't imagine it getting better with more age. (2968 views)

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2001 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Meadowood, St. Helena, California): Dark ruby color; odd, caramel, brett, berry nose; brett, tart berry, ripe black fruit, caramel palate; medium-plus finish (4082 views)

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Aerated 1 hour. Full ruby, slight sign of age, rim still clear. Ever so slightly reductive. Aromas of cherry, red currant, cigar wrapper, oak. Flavors follow to the full-bodied palate; very lively acids. Mostly secondary aromas and flavors at this stage, tannins still full of grip. Sadly, it's not performing as well as it has in the past. I will keep my last bottle for 3-4 more years and hope for the best. Drink thru 2019, 14,3% abv, score: B/B+ (2853 views)

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A little acidity at 1st but better as bottle was left to breathe. I have one more bottle so I'll have to learn to decant before drinking (2959 views)

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a very nice fruit driven napa cab. i was surprised by how much fruit remained. nicely balanced, if anything it lacked some depth and finish, but still very enjoyable (2928 views)

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Decanted for about 90 minutes and it wasn't enough. The last glass was the best with loads of chocolate, cherry and raisin. Got better as it sat (about 3 hours total). Last bottle, the previous bottle was better than this,. I'd say drink up. (2849 views)

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3L bottle: tight upon opening, but opened beautifully over the next couple of hours decanted, dark-dark red garnet, black cherry, cedar, & vanilla. Could have aged at least another 5 years! (3305 views)

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Excellent bottle. Was pretty closed upon opening but really opened up over the 60-90 minutes we drank it. A lot of chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, raisin with a long finish. Really nice bottle. (3331 views)

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What a beautifully balanced, soft cabernet. Well integrated soft tannins, black cherry, casis, cedar and a touch of vanilla. Medium finish. Served with rack of lamb and the match was wonderful. Will drink this all night long. (3182 views)

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This was a delicious cab with silky tannins. Pleasant earthy nose with dried fruits and some vegetable qualities. Decanted for only about an hour and drank the wine over the evening. It was elegant and inviting the whole night. (3570 views)

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Nice but a little off in the middle of the taste. Medium body and nice fruit. (3910 views)

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This has significantly imroved since last consumed. Aromas came through right from opening, with flavors developing and opening up after 1-2 hours in the glass/decanter. Drinking exceptional well right now. It may improve some with additional time, but not by much. Drink up!

Garnet colored. Aromas of blackberry, cassis, coffee, vanilla, lead pencil, and violet with flavors focused more on blackberry and kirsch. Full body with refined, smooth texture and long finish. (4159 views)

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Decanted for sediment (very fine) and aerated for 3 hours. Medium dark ruby core. I've been drinking this wine from this vintage for about 4 years now, and boy has this thing settled down. Much more femininely styled than in the past, this shows plenty of pretty secondary characteristics and lots of harmony. Everything appears to be integrated at this point: the tannins are fine, not overly drying, the acids are still perky, and the fruit is soft and nicely matured. I'd have to say this is at peak right now, and will likely remain so for the next few years. I'm going to revise my drink thru date from 2018 to 2016 under the assumption that it's not bottle variation. Showing a lot of finesse right now. The '02 SLD remains one of my favorites from this producer. 14,3% abv. (4120 views)

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wow, this was fantastic, exceeded my expectations. In a great place, no sign of age, drinking very well. Smooth, balanced. No hurry, but can't imagine it getting better. (4221 views)

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Beat the 2002 in blind tasting - but not as good on day two. (4453 views)

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Delicious with grilled filet mignon. Sweet silky tannins, well-balanced, dark fruits and some cassis. A pleasurable California Cab. (4494 views)

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Decanted 3 hrs, served the next night. Effusive nose of currants, red floral, some anise and herbs. The fruit is still fairly tight, but the nicely balanced full body is elegant and polished. Silky tannins and a juicy core of acidity round out the avg+ finish. Give this some more cellar time (like 3-4 years) or serve 2-3 days after opening. Approx $60, 14,1% abv, drink thru 2018. (4696 views)

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nose of dried cherries, tobacco, vanilla, toasted almonds eucalyptus and violets. Cherries and cherry cough syrup on the palate with soft tannin. (1943 views)

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Melts on the tongue, like chocolate. (4821 views)

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Nice mix of red fruits, a touch of herb, and a subtle coffee note. This is more elegant than many of the big, sweet Napa wines in vogue, yet still boasts a med-full body and long finish. The acidity made this a nice food wine. If I had more, I'd drink them over the next 4-5 years. (4878 views)

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Color: Dark red to a darker core

Nose: Blackberry and bell pepper,with some currant and spice

Palate: Dried currants and red cherry, chewy tannins (4885 views)

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Color: Garnet in color, light ruby on the edges...colors are thinner than expected
Nose: Creme d'cassis, oodles of currants and some raspberry
Palare: Medium to full bodied, age has taken this down a notch. Loaded with currants, raspberry, and some spicy oak. The tannins are a tad grainy but not too noticeable, acidity still bright and refreshing. (5224 views)

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Smooth tanis, an overall great wine. Had with braised short ribs. Matched great with a cheddar cheese appetizer (5334 views)

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This was a rather disappointing wine. All of its elements are separated and not together with the fruit which still quite unfriendly to the palate. Hopefully it is going thru a dumb period and will improve with time.

I had this wine again on 10-7-09. It still lacks intensity with focused fruit flavors. It is still not my favorite Cab but it was improved over last tasting. (4167 views)

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Nose a bit weak, moderate flavor with minimal tannins. Drink within the next 6 months or so, this will not get much better. This bottle was on the decline,. (4951 views)

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Ready to drink now. It was smooth with almost no tannins and tasted of dark fruit. (4949 views)

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Outstanding, drank from 1.5L, subtle tannins, nice fruit and complexity. Opened two hours before serving, drank the same throught the bottle. (4838 views)

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This is what California Cabernet is all about. This wine has beautiful, dark, almost purple hue to it. It is smoooooth, with light, almost imperceptible tannins. It has dark fruit taste on the palate. Very enjoyable to drink especially paired with a New York steak of similar dish. (4924 views)

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Opened a couple of 2001 cabs to see how they are coming along. This wine took a while to open but once it did was good. Chocolate, blueberry and a slight hint of smoke. really dominated by chocolate. Still a bit tannic, seems like it has plenty of life. Smooth mouthfeel with a short fnish. (2025 views)

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Medium body, held up well over the evening. Nose a bit weak. Fruit balanced with tannins. Spice notes. Not a big wine, not a wimpy one either - middle of the road. (4989 views)

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Great California cabernet. Very refined tannis, great dark fruit on the nose. Very elegant, refined wine. (4868 views)

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Wine dinner at Think (Think Cafe): Pitch black opaque lifted medium nose of clean black fruit. Nice round black fruit with medium body and good acidity. Coffee on the finish. (5120 views)

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Nice but not great. Glad I got it at CostCo instead of at the Winery. (5403 views)

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Medium body, slightly too tannic, too spicy. (5044 views)

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A Very Nice Wine (4961 views)

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Dark red cherry and dark berry flavors. Very nicelu balanced with firm tanins. Nice long finish (5120 views)

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Great! Second bottle consumed in past year. Decanted about an hour. Rated as Outstanding 93 (4647 views)

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Fantastic Cabernet with good balance at this stage showing concentrated currant and blackberry flavors with undertones of smoke, spices, and herbs. (4579 views)

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Opened and decanted. My palate is still not back to normal as I'm still feeling the effects of a cold, but what I could tell was that this had a smokey, mushroomy component that dominated the wine. Of the three that we had last night (02 Caymus Cab, 02 Whitehall Lane Reserve) this was the least interesting. (4510 views)

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[PJWGT] moderate wine. well balanced,fruit, silky tannins, nice effort. 90 (4664 views)

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Opened not decanted. Dark purple red. A nut and smoke flavor with a spicy finish. A pleasant average drinker. (4564 views)

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Not as full bodied as I remember the 99 SLD being early on. Well made wine but I just hoped for a little bit more. Oak, red and black fruit, coffee and a bit of chocolate, very smooth, low acid. Medium bodied. I like the wine but for $60+ I expect a little more. (4615 views)

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Had this on Thanksgiving. I was excited to try but only moderatley pleased with this wine. Perhaps more time in the cellar with deepen the flavor. (6032 views)

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Farmington Wine Class - 2001 California Cab Tasting. Dark cherry red, with a light brown tinge at the rim. Bright, expansive nose, with nice expressive aromas of cassis, plums, graphite, and coffee. Quite ripe and balanced on the palate with flavors of chocolate, coffee, and dark fruits. Nice mouthfeel and body, and a respectable finish. It struck me that this wine was very well made, and the winemaker didn't attempt to do more than the raw materials could support. It was not at all over-extracted or manipulated. Not a long-term ager, but drinking very nicely now. Unfortunately, this wine is overpriced by half. At $30, it would be a real nice buy. (4594 views)

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Quick visit to Napa and Sonoma; 7/9/2004-7/10/2004 (Sonoma and Napa): Tasting at winery. Charming nose of black fruit and spice. Flavors of black cherry, cocoa, licorice. Bigger spice emerges on finish. Best 2005-2010. (2152 views)

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