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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.7 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 40 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Janstan on 1/21/2023 & rated 90 points: Tannins have diminished and the dark fruits stand out. Went well with rib roast. (410 views) | | | Tasted by fdub on 7/30/2021 & rated 89 points: Showing the herbal notes from the year. Drinking well but not reaching the levels of the hillside sites in 2011. (730 views) | | | Tasted by wythes on 1/13/2021 & rated 90 points: I love CellarTracker but I find the recommended "drink by" dates typically are wrong. I opened this bottle thinking it was well past it's prime - CT says 2019 was the final year for this wine. Turns out this wine has a LONG way to go before I'd consider it on a downward slide. So, that being said...
I found this wine a bit dark and sweet. It's a pretty good wine but not what I have come to expect from Ghost Block. I will continue buying their wine but this one didn't bring anything profound. Maybe after a day of air it will improve.
Day 2: Much better! I recommend giving this wine lots of air before taking a sip. This is a really good Cali Cabernet. (773 views) | | | Tasted by mxpbuy on 11/23/2020 & rated 90 points: Modest bricking. Upon first opening, green veggies and Oak resin elements were completely overpowering the wine. After 90 minutes the wine changed appreciably. Vanilla Oak with creamy blackberries and started to dominate with some green veggies in the background, which I find perfectly fine. Still some Oak resin on the finish that just won't go away took was a remaining flaw - but not so much to warrant a lower score. Drink up as this won't get any better. (853 views) | | | Tasted by Janstan on 9/27/2020 & rated 90 points: Dark fruit went well with chargrilled tbone (849 views) | | | Tasted by Race crew on 2/10/2020 & rated 92 points: I think just a bit past it’s prime. I probably should NOT have decanted. Great mouth feel, round and velvety but the structure was not there. (844 views) | | | Tasted by jb@jbisme.com on 11/29/2019 & rated 90 points: My reliable old friend. Perhaps slightly past peak but still wonderful tones of smoke, leather and tea leaves. (683 views) | | | Tasted by jb@jbisme.com on 5/26/2019 & rated 91 points: Continues to be my favorite cab. Wonderfully smooth but yet tannins are firm. Notes of tea leaves, vanilla and some smoke or light cigar ash. Definitely a fair amount of oak on this. Would drink every weekend if I could! (716 views) | | | Tasted by eszencia on 8/18/2018: Recommend a quick decant as this started out a little stewed and calmed down later in the evening. Green pepper stayed throughout and the fruit made a big comeback. (986 views) | | | Tasted by Asmiller on 4/23/2017 & rated 91 points: LOTS of fruit with this wine. Tannins are soft. Good pick for the money, but drink the 2011 now. (1938 views) | | | Tasted by oldwines on 3/14/2017 & rated 90 points: Coravin pour...Dark opaque garnet, not at all purple. Nose has lots of oak/vanilla, black fruit, smoke and strong vegetal/green pepper underlay. Great dense, rich mouth feel. The labeled 14.5% ABV seems under control but the green under-ripe element is obvious on the palate and a bit overpowering. Now, I am not against a little under-ripe in a tough year like 2011 in Napa, it may be fine with more age. At this point though the black fruit is overshadowed by both the green pepper and the oak. A solid effort in a tough year. My last taste of this was not as "green" as this so it also may be a funky stage that will evolve a bit more favorably (1869 views) | | | Tasted by d_n_kpierson on 2/25/2017 & rated 50 points: Past its prime. Tastes muddled almost like a port. (1654 views) | | | Tasted by partialmalfunction on 12/25/2016 & rated 92 points: 1.5hr decant. Opened up to a jammy bouquet. Deep inky color. Typical great oakville flavor. Similar to plump jack. Great wine! (1674 views) | | | Tasted by jb@jbisme.com on 7/30/2016 & rated 92 points: Drank with Punkin at Mastros (1692 views) | | | Tasted by jb@jbisme.com on 12/31/2015 & rated 92 points: Drank at a steakhouse. Perfect with red meat. Big but yet fruity. Super purple. Really opened up after about 45 minutes. (1471 views) | | | Tasted by Coachron13 on 5/11/2015 & rated 88 points: Two hour decant, then drank over four hours. Better with food than on its own. Typical 2011 vintage profile, a little muted. Expected more for the price. (2049 views) | | | Tasted by Genghis88 on 3/9/2015 & rated 89 points: Dark garnet, full bodied
Vanilla, ripe blackberries, stewed cherries, some leafy-green hints
Well balanced, lots of dark fruit, vanilla, tastes like the nose
Rather short finish, faint lingering dark cherry, some tannins, high alcohol
A little underwhelmed with this bottle. I guess i was expecting too much.
Thank you Wagner's for bringing it (2189 views) | | | Tasted by dmccann3 on 8/10/2014 & rated 92 points: Excellent wine. I purchased 2 bottles and had to try one immediately. I do think this will get much better with age. It took about 20 minutes to open but was amazing after that. (2472 views) | | | Tasted by DDS wine lover on 8/10/2014 & rated 92 points: Execllent cab for the price. Good value. Medium body with lighter undertones of blackberry and cherry. Low tannins. Balanced. (3416 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Ghost Block Producer websiteCabernet 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 SauvignonEstateIn the United States, "Wines with “estate bottled” designations must: a) also designate an appellation of origin or an AVA, and both the vineyards and the winery must be located there; b) the grapes must come from vineyards owned or controlled by the winery; and c) the wine must have been produced, from crush to bottle, in a continuous process without leaving the winery’s premises."
- WINE LABEL FAQS: A QUICK SUMMARY OF LABEL DESIGNATION RULES" by David E. StollUSAAmerican 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)Oakville |
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