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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.5 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 66 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by edjBoca on 12/13/2023 & rated 90 points: Light to medium....easy drinking (394 views) | | | Tasted by oldwines on 7/31/2022 & rated 93 points: Brought by a friend to dinner at a restaurant with both our families. Decanted at 3:30 and tasted from 7-8pm mostly. Medium to dark garnet color. Nose has black licorice, blackberry and black cherry notes. Palate echoes the nose with the addition some plum, leathery notes and a little crushed rose petals. Slightly tart and moderately long on the finish. Elegant and reserved. Not sure if this got too much air or not enough. Will check on the remainder tomorrow. (1314 views) | | | Tasted by JackCMac on 3/3/2022 & rated 92 points: Wine is drying up. Good nose, great color , but now has a short dry finish. Drink up. Has become a pizza wine. For the alcohol content the wine is not hot and very easy to drink but I would not wait too long! But is it just be going through an awkward stage like some bordeaux I have had. I will save a bottle or two to hopefully be surprised. Makes me want to open the 1998 and see what is happening. (1107 views) | | | Tasted by Milos on 10/15/2021 & rated 92 points: see my notes of 2021 01 29; very enjoyable (1275 views) | | | Tasted by Rhodes on 6/3/2021: Amazing. Drsnk calvins 57 bday (1343 views) | | | Tasted by Milos on 1/29/2021 & rated 92 points: As Napa Valley California Cabernet as it gets. Dark red fruit with subtle soft tannins, impeccable balance and decent finish. So pure. Drinks perfectly now and likely to stay at this level for few years. (1394 views) | | | Tasted by brianofthevine on 6/13/2020 & rated 92 points: Wow, not what I was expecting at all. Usually, these wines are more Bordeaux in style but this vintage had more savory herbs, bell pepper and olive notes with some eucalyptus. Interesting. (1451 views) | | | Tasted by Vinnut on 12/8/2019 & rated 93 points: Deep, dark reddish-purple garnet in color with ever-so-slight clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of cedar & tobacco, leather, earthy/dusty, some herbal notes of mint, coffee/cocoa, minerals, some spices & a hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of dark cherries, blackberries & plums with cocoa, herbs, minerals, spices & a hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing. At 15 years of age, it still has some potential for further development if cellared properly. (1347 views) | | | Tasted by PDavisMarble on 11/30/2019 & rated 94 points: A couple of more years has meaningfully benefited the wine. Still deep crimson. Decanted for 45 minutes -- needed the time to open and continued to evolve for the following 3 hours. Licorice, camphor, plums and raspberry nose. Loads of fruit in this big wine. Currants, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, some licorice and ripe peach underneath. A long finish with a touch of alcoholic heat at the end. A bit astringent during the first couple of hours, but that resolved more pleasantly after a time. This huge wine has needed time. Like many of these big CA cabs, they are well too much of a fruit bomb to be drunk in the middle years. Without the time, the wines are unbalanced and unpleasant. This one is no different. If you've been patient, you'll be happy. (1153 views) | | | Tasted by RichardP on 9/20/2019 & rated 91 points: This bottle was somewhat less aged than a previous one; there is some bottle variation here. (1202 views) | | | Tasted by RichardP on 9/14/2019 & rated 90 points: Strawberry and camphor on the nose. On the palate, cherry and currant with notes of earth and old leather, with no detectable tannins and moderate acidity on the medium finish. This appears to be reaching the end of its peak, and if this is a representative bottle it's time to drink these. This was an average to good value at about $80. (1147 views) | | | Tasted by alamoave on 7/9/2019 & rated 92 points: Great balance with firm tannins. Plenty of fruit for the long run. At least 5 good years left. (981 views) | | | Tasted by PDavisMarble on 9/4/2017 & rated 93 points: Deep garnet, fruity nose - cherries and raspberries, with earth and leather underneath. Decanted for 45 minutes. Continued to open throughout the next 2 hours. Fresh and lifted from bright acids and a lovely structure. Fruit was forward but neither heavy nor cloying. Earth tones followed the red fruits. This is hitting its stride and can age for several more years. (2475 views) | | | Tasted by alamoave on 5/25/2017 & rated 92 points: Vinturi or decant for an hour or both. Excellent bottle. 10 years ahead of it, easily. (2456 views) | | | Tasted by Trader79 on 1/15/2017 & rated 92 points: Day 1 I would have given this an 85 but day 2, where I had ~70% left of this bottle was a totally different experience. Day 1 it was more astringent and had a green/herb streak that overshadowed any fruit. Day 2 (corked and stored in the fridge and then removed from fridge and left to get to room temp) sees all those day 1 characteristics gone and what was left was lightly sweet tannins and nice mature red fruit. What a difference a day makes! (2747 views) | | | Tasted by oldwines on 12/3/2016 & rated 94 points: Decanted at 5:30pm and drunk over 6 hours and the next day. Medium to dark nearly opaque garnet with a little purple hue and no bricking. Higher ABV than typical for Forman I think at 14.6%. On the nose I get graphite, mocha, blackberry, dried violets and some spice. Very complex and layered on the palate with fairly smooth fine grained, mostly integrated tannins. Flavors include peppery spices, graphite, flowers, tarry chocolate mocha and ripe blackberries. Delicious! If there is a slight disappointment it is in the finish which is fairly short and didn't add any depth. Overall a wonderful bottle of wine that went great with grilled Prime steaks. (2932 views) | | | Tasted by ajfret01 on 5/13/2016: Mature and drinking very nice. (3213 views) | | | Tasted by Sonoffalstaff on 5/12/2016 & rated 93 points: Oh hello. We had this with friends who brought a Haut Brion 88. And we all agreed this was the more enjoyable wine. It is gaining more and more complexity with age. Can it keep improving. Definitely drink now but leave a bottle until 2025 just to see what happens (1965 views) | | | Tasted by alamoave on 3/25/2016 & rated 90 points: The fruit is still quite primary. Try again in 3 years. (1922 views) | | | Tasted by SoCal on 2/15/2016: Just a lovely napa cab. Fruity but not over ripe and flabby. Well made and balanced. (1859 views) | | | Tasted by Sonoffalstaff on 1/17/2016 & rated 91 points: Just continues to surprise how good this is given vintage. Shows Californian Cab can age well. No signs this is losing its edge but equally I don't see it getting better (1621 views) | | | Tasted by Sonoffalstaff on 6/4/2015 & rated 92 points: Third bottle and this is showing really well now. Rich and complex without being jammy. Definately a full case wine on the HJ scale. Enjoy! (1800 views) | | | Tasted by nortonnose on 2/27/2015 & rated 91 points: Dry, dusty, understated in a very charming way. Restrained, elegant Napa cab. Ric Forman is a genuine artist! 91-92 pts (2008 views) | | | Tasted by gesusser on 4/24/2014 & rated 93 points: Outstanding with great peppercorn crusted filet and aged ribeye, in it's Prime Drinking window, very nice finish (2767 views) | | | Tasted by gesusser on 4/11/2014 & rated 93 points: Outstanding after 1+ hour decant! soft tannins yet had that cab bite, dark cherries, nice colour, nice legs, has plenty of life left (2491 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Forman Producer website
Robert Parker: "Ric Forman is arguably Napa Valley’s first superstar winemaker. Although sometimes overlooked today, there is little question Forman has had a profound influence on a number of younger winemakers who still speak of him with great reverence. In 2012 Forman celebrated his 46th harvest. Today, Forman counts on the assistance of his son Toby, in running this small, family-owned jewel of an estate. As for the wines, they are superb, but, best of all, remain realistically priced for the consumer who wants to drink top-flight Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon without having to take out a second mortgage. Forman’s Cabernet is one of the classic masterpieces of Napa Valley, even if recent vintages come across as a bit riper than the norm. Still, it is impossible to go wrong with any of these wines."Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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