Tasting Notes 60 found

Obtained about a year ago, so not sure as to it's handling all these years....

Late decision to go out to dinner and little time to decant, maybe 30 minutes. Re-bottled and enjoyed tableside over the next 2 hours with Osso Buco ravioli.

Dark garnet/ruby in the glass belies its 26 years of age. Nose of graphite, some tobacco/cigar box hints, a hint of caramel and dark plum fruit. Palate much the same with lots of dark plum and a hint of oak. Really seemed to blossom after about 45-60 min of air. Very well balanced, with plenty of acidity to go another 10+ years. Enjoying the last glass now, about 5-6 hours after dinner and a perfumed element shows up on the nose. Very, very nice........ (1069 views)

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Deep red with slight bricking, sweet cedar, iron, savory herbs, crushed dark berry. Blueberries. Slight funk. Bigger oak flavors, tannic, with rich dark fruits. Earthy with persistent acid and fruity mid palate. Opened and decanted for about 6 hours. Gains a ton of freshness with time. (1119 views)

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[Double-decanted for 1 hour at 5pm.] Smoky red fruit nose with a hint of black pepper. Bright red fruit up front. Still some tannin in the mid-palate. Long, juicy finish of sour cherry.
9pm: Still has bright acidity and some tannin. Goes perfectly with pot roast. (1265 views)

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These nostalgic, OG producers knew what they were doing crafting sub-14% abv wines. Elegant, velvety structure with flavors of dried currant, herb, lavender, vanilla, olive, and truffle. Long, rolling finish. Just don’t make ‘em like they used too. (1466 views)

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Pleasant, a bit harsh at first but improved after being decanted for an hour. (1443 views)

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Dark with almost no brown rim. Amazingly youthful. Dark cherries, plums. Touch of vanilla. Earthy with dusty tannins even after upright for 1 1/2 months and decanting. Bottle A 5477 (1502 views)

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Tasted along side the '95 Sonoma, and while there were many of the same qualities, we all slightly preferred the '95 Sonoma, but we also suspected it could have been the result of a little more age mellowing the tannins. Give these '97 reserves at least a couple more years and/or a couple hour decant. (1454 views)

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I served this in my wine course. Nose of cassis and a bit of sweet tobacco. Rich mouth, with excellent structure coming from both fine grained tannins and an ample dose of acidity.

P.S. Noticed tertiary notes of leather and tar when I came back to this after a young 2015 Cade Howell Mountain (1718 views)

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Sadly, probably waited a year or two too long to drink this. Still very good, but had lost some fruit and lift. Soft crumbly cork may have contributed. If you own this, I’d open it soon. (1721 views)

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Blackberry with a touch of currant, soft texture, beguiling and dark. Perhaps lacking a bit of edge and energy but impressive. (3937 views)

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Black ink, pencil shavings, tar, sweet cassis. A fine wine. (5518 views)

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Even though this is starting its decline, there is still a lot to like about the fresh, crisp red fruits, earth and tobacco character and soft textures. (5765 views)

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Dark garnet, fairly opaque. Tobacco, cassis, leather, herbs, drying flowers on the nose, perhaps slight VA. On the palate, dark cherry, mint, toast, rosemary, sage. Medium acidity and medium mouth feel. Long finish with slightly drying tannin.

This bottle just oozed class. All aspects are well integrated. Prototypical Sonoma Cab from a really great vintage, and amazing with dinner from HOPR. I hope my young Sonoma cabs perform this well at age 18. Little to no sediment. 13.8% (4921 views)

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This is a wine for the long haul! I've had this a couple other times within the past 10 years, and it seems like it's barely budged in terms of moving toward maturity. I suggest a 2-3 hour decant, this is about how long it took for the wine to come out of its shell (initial nose was big, but it vanished shortly thereafter). After 2 hours, the nose opened up to reveal rather youthful oaky notes melded with leather, cinnamon, spice, brown sugar, cranberry and licorice. It is big in the mouth and still quite tannic! Red candied fruit flavors were dominant, which was followed by a long, explosive finish. This did not taste like a 17 year old wine! I'd say hold for another 5-10 years, but based on this experience, it could have over 20 more years to go - 92+ (5619 views)

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Decanted, but didn't aerate long. Very reticent on the nose. When first decanting I got some mild spice, berries and iodine, but this went away quickly. On the palate the wine has a very nice texture, with the tannins well integrated. It has a very silky feel. There was some tangy grapiness, like what I might associate with a CndP, with a subtle finish. Overall I was actually a little disappointed, having had this wine several times before. It's quite subtle and fine, but the complexity and length didn't seem to be there anymore. (4050 views)

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From Magnum. It needed 30 minutes in the decanter. Great overripe black and some blue fruits, hints of spice, tar and hard leather with modest sweet Oak. Long finish (3370 views)

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Nicely aged napa cab, yet a bit more youthful on the finish than I expected. Needs a little bit of time to open up, but very nice fruit concentration. After an hour in the glass this was really great! (4077 views)

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Platinum Tasting - '94 & '97 California Cabs (Tasted Blind) (Andre's House): Nose is dense, but still a little green (B++). Very rich palate (B++/A-). Needs time.
My #4, Group's #2 (39 pts). Tasted blind. (4226 views)

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Tannins have mellowed. Perfect time to drink this wine. Cherry flavors prominent with some charred wood flavor to it. (3487 views)

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Very fine cab...smooth...opened up after an hour of decanting (4179 views)

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Very fine cab (3393 views)

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Very smooth after 30+ minutes of decanting (2863 views)

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Charming style of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon with earth, spice, wood, blackberry and forest scents. Medium/full bodied and filled with fresh, cassis, spice and black cherries in the finish. (3850 views)

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Opaque red violet color; reticent, tart currant, savory, light smoke, tart black fruit, oregano nose; tart black fruit, oregano, dried plum iodine palate with a sense of salt; medium-plus finish 91+ points (2141 views)

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Sampled 8/20/11. Pop and pour. This wine was very dark in color and full of fruit on the nose. When first opened a solid 95 point fruit bomb of blackberries, black cherry and some blueberreies with herbs, smokey Oak and a little cedar. Unfortutely, within the hour the fruit started to fall off. After 90 minutes the fruit was faded and muted and the wine was a 91 point wine at best. There was absolutely no sediment, but the wine is clearly fading fast. Drink up. If you've got a dinner with 4 to 8 people to share the bottle, open and drink right away and enjoy it for what is it worth. (4550 views)

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While better-integrated than in the past this still feels like two wines: Somewhat cakey fruit bomb quickly followed by a wave of tannins. Will continue to hold. Certainly tasty but not profound. (4285 views)

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decanted for about 1 hour prior to consumption. This wine was in tough company, but showed well. A big cab that is aging very gracefully. This wine can live man more years and improve. A hint of fruit forwardness, but not obtrusive. Tannin's still evident and will continue to integrate over time. I say if you have any, I would hold for a few more years at least. (4671 views)

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Terrific integration of the bright red fruit and tobacco/cedar elements. Still a good amount of tannins holding it all together. Good, solid, top-notch cab, if a bit on the lighter side. (4584 views)

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Wonderful wine dark fruit, lots of body. Great with steak. (4618 views)

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Spectacular. One of the greatest Californian Cabernets I have ever tasted. Could have aged for 20-30 years. (2004) (5185 views)

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This was great. More red fruit than dark fruit, resolved in the mouth, yet with really impressive underlying power as well as class, and a definite sweetness to the red fruit. The tannin is smooth and integrated, the wine cohesive and well balanced. Very enjoyable. David and Lindsey's rehearsal dinner at Rothmann's. (5115 views)

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soft, tannins largely resolved...nice boquet, good mouthfeel, medium finish....I was hoping for a bit more complexity (5369 views)

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Restrained and elegant with cassis, tobacco leaf, freshly plowed earth, and cedar. Drink now. (5441 views)

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Light garnet. Tobacco and cedar on the nose. Red fruit and in balance. Nice and quite a contrast to the others in the flight. (92) (5482 views)

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This is a winner that's drinking well right now. Dark red color that betrays no signs of age. Beautiful bouquet, full of life, with black currant, cedar, tobacco, and earthy notes. In the mouth, really lively, almost racy. It just emphasizes bright fruit and isn't heavy or plodding at all. Perhaps not overly complex, but a really delicious wine to drink. It has life yet caresses the palate nicely. Underrated wine. A- (5444 views)

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excellant again with lamb at MAsa's, very bordeaux in style, which is my style (5806 views)

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Excellent balance and finesse. Reday to drink now but could hold for a few more years. No difference between a magnum and a 750, but that could change down the road. A great cabernet! (5936 views)

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Consistent with prior experience. Great balance and refinement. (6040 views)

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Unbelieveable wine. Great depth and finish - still very young. (6211 views)

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This is just a very good bottle of wine. (6307 views)

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No joy from this bottle. Hot and very disjointed. Did not improve after tasting multiple times over a few hours. (7391 views)

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Fantastic bottle. Smooth mouthfeel. Endless finish. (6450 views)

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Underrated wine. Don't know why this flies under the radar. (6655 views)

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Seamless, smooth bottle. Nose of deep, dark fruit. Tannins were present, but subdued.
No signs of aging. An absolutely delightful wine!! (6771 views)

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At Prime 112 w Selma & Ernie Specarelli.Double decanted in am. Has evolved wonderfully, equal to prior experience, Unfortunately last bottle. Will wait a year or 2 before trying the 01's. (7061 views)

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nice nose and color, good fruit, cherries and some mineral, good finish, very nice with tenderloin dinner for a birthday (7061 views)

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Scores ranged from 89-91. A bit disappointing. Opens strong with creamy, distinctly cassis and cherry flavors on the nose. But then somewhat muted and soupy on the palate; this is a big, lush wine. Good on the close with some spice and mineral notes. Two people thought it simply needed more time. (6772 views)

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Beautiful wine. Opened on open that bottle night. (6710 views)

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someone left this open bottle, untouched, on the table at our wine tasting dinner ! How could we leave it ? We enjoyed it the following night for Valentine's day dinner. A lovely present. A big bold wine. Complex nose of fruit and spice with underlying mineral. Smooth tannins. Perfect food wine. I suspect it will be even better in a year. (6257 views)

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Corked unfortunately... (5774 views)

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This is just damn fine, start to finish. Maybe one of the most unheralded bottlings out there. First half of the case is gone. (5360 views)

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Wonderful purity, cherry notes with long finish. A wine neophyte had a glass with us and summed it up well " I have never had a wine like this"! (5500 views)

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Decanted for 1-2 hrs yesterday am. Kept till Xmas night. Previously consumed 2 years ago. Had wondeful fruit and (Oakville dust?) then. Wine is unfined and unfiltered, but amazing has thrown off no sediment. Is evolving into classical Bordeaux style cab with noticeable lead pencil and cedar(cigar box) notes.(accidentally Broke a bottle last Xmas). One left will wait 3 to 5 years. (5360 views)

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Still very young, heavy tanin (4751 views)

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Deliciously fruitty with soft, sweet tannins. Could probably wait another couple of years. (4936 views)

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decanted in a globe style decanter for 90 minutes. consumed from reidel vinum bordeaux stems over the course of 2 hrs.

this was my second time with this wine and imo it still needs more time. while this bottle didn't perform as well as the last i think that was due to the lack of decant time. notice i still scored it 94+ points.

is this a cali cab? is this from sonoma? sure could of fooled me. had the aromas of a bordeaux imo.

the color was dark red with a very slight bit of bricking at the rim. on the nose it wasn't revealing very much even after rigorous swirling. slight notes of cigar box, spice box, tobacco and a bit of cedar. seemed to have notes of blackberries, plums and unsweetened cocoa. on the palate this wine was very smooth. you could tell there was a wealth of fruit still there and imo it needs time to emerge and join forces with the sweet tannin. there was more tobacco, asian spice and maybe some more chocolate. this definetly was performing like a pauillac. it was strong all the way through with a very beautiful finish. this is a very complex wine and reminds me of a ridge montebello. in a few more years this is going to be even more beautiful.

out of all the wines we had that night this was th hardest for me to come up with a note. (5214 views)

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Accidently brokwe bottle. Alas will be missed! (4609 views)

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Note from memory on Cole's Birth Day. Medium/deep ruby color. Nose of cherries, plums and tobacco. On the palate, a laser beam of complex flavors: more cherries, plums, tobacco, dark chocolate, cloves, and subtle hints of cinnamon. Extremely well-balanced and totally focused -- oak is completely integrated and subtle. Finish lasts 30+ seconds. Incredibly teeth staining -- the equal of any shiraz I can recall. This is one for the fans of elegant cabs rather than big, forward juicy styles, and demonstrates that they can be every bit as satisfying to the senses. (5150 views)

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Had this wine last night with an old friend who was visiting. Decanted for two hours prior to pouring the first glass. I have had this wine several times before and it has been both excellent and on other occassions somewhat disappointing. Last night it was somewhere in between, good but not as great as I remember when it was great.

A nice purple color, with a nose of cassis and oak, and floral. Soft in the mouth with a medium length finish (20 seconds)

As I recall this '97 originally showed a huge amount of fruit. Like some other 97s it may be going through a closed period right now. (4965 views)

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Delicious "Oakville dust". (4320 views)

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