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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.8 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 45 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by uncle fester on 5/28/2023 & rated 95 points: A friend brought a bottle to dinner last night. Superb upon opening and still delightful by the time we moved on to a 2011 Col Solare an hour later. (309 views) | | | Tasted by brettay on 12/13/2020 & rated 92 points: Surprisingly traditional in its style for a California Cabernet. Dusty cedar, black cherry and currant, anise, and herbs. The palate is still quite structured and walks the line between new and old world. A surprising amount of tannin is still present. This could have gone a lot longer and I can’t perceive any tertiary elements at this point. If you have a bottle that has been stored properly I’d say wait another 5-10 years. (1381 views) | | | Tasted by Dalex on 8/6/2019 & rated 92 points: I’ll assume the gemstone g is the same wine as reviewed under gemstone Cabernet Sauvignon.
Gorgeous wine. Opened at noon and immediately the bright and sweet fruit was present. This is probably at peak and just starting to develop secondary flavors. The fruit is what makes this wine, not the structure, so it’s not worth risking aging this further. Drank slightly better later in the day.
Note-cork is very crumbly. Open very carefully putting your corkscrew all the way through the cork (1666 views) | | | Tasted by Volunteers76 on 11/30/2013 & rated 94 points: Decanted for five hours. Drank with four other wines. My WOTN versus a 1998 Diamond Creek and a 2002 Silver Oak. Very well balanced with some good oak. Very little nose to speak of but the taste made up for it. Will get better with age. Will be drinking remarkably well in five to seven years. (5270 views) | | | Tasted by SoccerMark on 4/16/2013 & rated 95 points: Decanted for an hour, was absolutely KILLER. Had with prime rib. My only complaint or I'd have rated even higher is that it doesn't present much nose, pretty flat. One of the 2 best bottles I've had so far this year. Probably call 96/97 if it had a nose to it. Finish lasts for 60 seconds ..... this is one to just sit and enjoy. (5528 views) | | | Tasted by daniel.jay on 4/2/2012 & rated 92 points: Drank over two nights - a little tight on the palate on the first night, did not get sufficient air. Vacuumed and drank again on night two - everything in beautiful balance, great fruit, good structure. (6024 views) | | | Tasted by oregato on 2/10/2012 & rated 95 points: Ready to go and Drinking perfectly.
This was worth the wait. (5633 views) | | | Tasted by Yamadori on 12/9/2011 & rated 92 points: Left to breathe in the bottle for about 2 hours. Cassis and dark berries on the nose with a little scorched earth. Smooth and full bodied with ripe dark fruits on the palate. Notes of blueberry, plum and black cherries. Some secondaries of leather and roasted coffee grounds. The finish was about 30 seconds with moderate tannins. The wine continued to improve over the course of a few hours. Not quite as good as the last bottle i had but certainly still drinking very well and continues to be excellent. Plenty of life left in this. (5342 views) | | | Tasted by Bcw1989 on 6/19/2011 & rated 91 points: Deep dark cassis and molasses feel on the nose and mouth. Tannins have really leveled off offering more fruit up front. Popped and poured. Did get softer and more elegant throughout the evening. Have had better vintages, but 2003 is far better than a lot of other wines in that year. Enjoyed this wine very much. (3178 views) | | | Tasted by King Cab on 1/11/2011 & rated 95 points: What a beautiful wine. This is still dark and ominous. The nose starts out all creme de cassis and black cherries. A super elegant plushness is really in control here. Fully resolved and firing on every cylinder this has it just maxes itself out for your benefit. Black fruits of currant, black berries and black cherries, there is a phenomenal balance to this: it had perfect acidity for a meal of wild boar, couscous with a blackberry reduction sauce. Pure and focused with style and pizazz, this is just amazing tonight. After about an hout this went to the red fruit side with cherries ruling. Even the color changed for the redder. Interesting indeed. A long and pure finish really ends the show here. I have not had this one in about 5 years, and it has really became something special. (3659 views) | | | Tasted by Amark on 1/9/2011 & rated 93 points: really got better as it opened, was delicious and the jets won! (2859 views) | | | Tasted by mjf@ulkner on 8/9/2010 & rated 88 points: Opened 2 hours in advance. A nice, but not outstanding Cali Cab. Open for business with plenty of red current flavors, fairly mellow tannins on finish. I was struck by the complete lack of a midpalate which was disappointing but not together unexpected given the difficult vintage. Probably as good as this is going to get. (3159 views) | | | Tasted by Yamadori on 5/22/2010 & rated 93 points: Decanted 2 hours and followed over a further 3 hours. Very dark purple color with a wonderfully complex nose featuring blackberry, leather, tar and a little oak. Great initial attack of ripe, black fruit which transitions extremely well to the mid palate with no fall off. Medium to full bodied with elegance and structure. Lots of dark fruit on the palate with notes of leather, black tea and black pepper. Finish is 40+ seconds with smooth tannins. Outstanding wine which i think is just about worth the price given the competion at this price point. (3316 views) | | | Tasted by blondon on 5/14/2010: Decanted 90 minutes, enjoyed over two hours. A wonderful complex nose of graphite, black currants and herbs. Black fruits, espresso, cacao flavors presented in a smooth, elegant mouthfeel. Beautiful rich finish. This wine has really hit its stride and is drinking very nicely. (3356 views) | | | Tasted by phenricsson on 4/30/2010 & rated 94 points: Magnum, at the Reserve Dinner. Showed very well. Rich, focused, delicious. Lots of black currant, licorice and a dense palate. Long aftertaste. Our favorite vintage of Gemstone. (3453 views) | | | Tasted by GA on 10/22/2009 & rated 93 points: 10/03 Great concentration and complexity - a sleeper. 93 pts. (2860 views) | | | Tasted by kstoddard on 10/6/2009 & rated 90 points: Tasting with Jefferson Henry of Karl Lawrence Cellars (Backstreet Wine Salon): Dark ruby color. Blueberry nose. Boysenberry, earth, charred oak and currant. Chewy. Good balance. A refined elegance on the finish. 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 4% Peitite Verdor and 4% Cabernet Franc. 14.6% alcohol. (4577 views) | | | Tasted by jeff nowak on 10/6/2009 & rated 87 points: a weak vintage for this wine. lacks finesse, and possibly under ripe. (3798 views) | | | Tasted by PapaBoomBoom on 8/31/2009 & rated 98 points: Wow! Structered, chewy, licorice, dark red fruits, and wonderfully balanced. Just yummy! (3893 views) | | | Tasted by kstoddard on 12/23/2008 & rated 94 points: Dark purple color. Nose of black fruits and pencil lead. Tastes of blackberry, currant, graphite, earth and violets. Great purity of fruit. Full bodied with good balance. Rich mid palate with a very powerful and complex finish that lasts for a minute. A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. 14.6% alcohol. (4074 views) | | | Tasted by Phin on 12/6/2008: 5 hour decant. Black cherry. Excellent from start to finish with ripe fruit and medium+ body. Cellar temperature is important as it gets a little bright and hot when it warms up. 95. (4020 views) | | | Tasted by Phin on 8/24/2008 & rated 95 points: Outstanding. (4102 views) | | | Tasted by elnido on 12/31/2007 & rated 96 points: Wow just wow! Opened the 03 Gemstone on New Year's eve at a steakhouse and it was amazing. (4813 views) | | | Tasted by phenricsson on 11/26/2007 & rated 93 points: (93.3) 89:83 Fat and oily. A bit softer structure, lower acidity and grainier tannins. Ripe, roasted fruit. Starting out a bit muddy, but getting cleaner and clearer in the glass. Aftertaste is good with fruit, cocoa, tar and other dark flavors. (8-93p.) (4441 views) | | | Tasted by beezer6 on 11/10/2007 & rated 93 points: Taste from Frank (Dan Cushin).
Once again, an incredible wine from Gemstone.
I'm quite lucky to have tried these two different vintages ('02 and '03).
The color is deep ruby, almost black in the glass.
Beautiful aromas of rose petals, dark blackberry and leather laced with TONS OF OAK!!!
Such a young wine, yet it still displays such great characteristics.
The palate is pure and smooth. Completely balanced on every level.
Great juice. (4573 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Gemstone Producer websiteRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican 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)Yountville Appellation America |
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