Beautiful and elegant bouquet with white and yellow fruits. On the palate very clean, open and ripe with good fruits, soft minerals and good acidity. No more notes.
Mature bouquet with ripe yellow fruits, honey, some apricots and a touch of botrytis. On the palate a rich and concentrated wine with ripe yellow fruits, a tiny bit reductive, mild acidity and a long finish with good bitterness. Overall a special and very good wine.
Bouquet with ripe yellow fruits like apricots, caramel and some minerals. On the palate ripe yellow fruits, full bodied with beautiful acidity. Well structured and beautiful wine. At the end of its peak now.
Smoke, butterscotch and yellow fruits in the bouquet. On the palate full bodied, yellow fruits, good vanilla from the oak, good acidity and some bitterness in the finish. Beautiful and rich wine.
Beautiful, rich and complex bouquet with ripe yellow fruits and flowers. On the palate full bodied and rich with yellow fruits, good acidity and pleasant, mild bitterness. A really beautiful wine and for me personally the best white wine of the tasting. Still a lot of future ahead.
The color is still healthy red. Beautifully mature bouquet with soft sweet spices and some smoke. On the palate a full bodied and soft wine with a lot of sweet spices, fine acidity and powdery tannin. Fully mature now and it will stay on this level for some years.
Beautiful and deep bouquet with sweet spices and smoke. On the palate a full bodied wine with ripe red berries and blackberries, chocolate, sweet spices and a touch of pleasant bell pepper. Delicious fresh acidity and soft tannin. A concentrated and harmonious, beautiful wine. No hurry.
Beautiful bouquet with red and dark berries, flowers and sweet spices. On the palate full bodied with soft red berry fruits, flowers, beautiful fresh acidity in good balance with some pleasant sweetness. Perfectly soft tannin which still shows youthful. Great wine! No hurry at all.
Beautiful bouquet with chocolate and sweet spices. On the palate red and dark berries, chocolate and sweet spices again, good acidity and soft tannin. Harmonious and soft. There was some discussion in the group. Most thought it was great with scores even up to 98, others were a little less enthusiastic with 92 and 94 as the two lowest scores. Completely ready now.
An unusual description of the bouquet came up in the group: brown band-aid. And it was undeniably there. Sweet spices as well. On the palate red fruits, sweet spices, fresh acidity and soft tannin. With a score of 92 I was the one with the highest score. (Group of 10 persons.) Hope some of the other TN writers are correct and the wine needs more time. I am not sure…
Beautiful and perfumed bouquet with red and dark forest fruits and a firm amount of sweet spices. On the palate herbs and spices, red berries and with some more air also some bell pepper shows. Some minerals as well. Good acidity, soft tannin and overall a harmonious wine with a good length. It was best in the beginning. Probably at its peak now.
The bottle was recently bought, so the history is unknown. In the bouquet tea and lovage. On the palate chocolate, sweet spices, cinnamon and a bit rustic. Ok acidity and mild tannin. Overall this bottle was a bit too old and I didn’t score the wine.
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
In the bouquet red berries, herbs and spices, vanilla and other sweet spices. On the palate soft and ripe red berry fruits, some red bell pepper, a firm amount of good acidity. The tannin is soft, but also a bit sticky and drying. I wonder if the wine is closing down. Hope so. 92 for tonight.
In the bouquet red berries, perfume, flowers and autumn impressions. On the palate a lot of juicy cherries, a firm amount of sweetness, but also a lot of acidity. The wine is different from the other wines in this (blind) Napa 1997 tasting. Because of the abundant acidity even Sangiovese is mentioned. Opinions apparently differed; I scored the wine 92, but the (10 person group) average was 94.3
In the bouquet red berry fruits, herbs, sweet spices and a touch of barnyard. On the palate soft red fruits, a beautiful balance between acidity and sweetness and soft tannin. A beautifully drinking and very enjoyable wine. I scored the wine 93 because imho compared to the other wines in the (blind) tasting, this wine seemed a little less complex. But with 93 I was in the lower regions. 3 out of 10 tasters scored this wine 98.
In the bouquet soft red fruits and a lot of sweet spices. On the palate red fruits and sweet spices as well, some chocolate, but also some pleasant bell pepper. Mild acidity, but beautifully fresh. The tannin is ripe and still youthful. Beautiful wine with still a good future for at least 4+ years.
Beautiful bouquet with red and dark forest fruits, sweet spices and beautiful oak. Ripe and rich. On the palate beautiful fruits, soft sweet spices, a lot of sweetness, but also great acidity. Good and still youthful tannin. Very harmonious. A truly great new world, but also classical wine. Mature, but no hurry at all. This will still be a feast 5+ years from now.
Beautiful bouquet with smoke and sweet spices. On the palate dark forest fruits, unripe green bell pepper, ok acidity, but also a lot of still powerful tannin and a firm amount of bitterness. The tasting note doesn’t sound too good, but I nevertheless scored the wine 92, although I wonder if this will ever be truly great. In the 10 persons group this blind tasted wine scored from 88 to 97 so it probably is a matter of taste…..
Beautiful bouquet, very soft and ripe with a lot of cinnamon and other sweet spices. On the palate a lot of juicy red and dark forest fruits, a firm amount of sweetness, but also good acidity to balance it. Beautiful and round tannin which is becoming slightly drying. Don’t misunderstand; this is a beautiful and harmonious wine. Blind tasted the group of 10 almost agreed. Leaving out the lowest and highest score everybody scored the wine 94 or 95. To be honest my blind score was 94 - 95.
Beautiful and luxurious bouquet with a pleasant touch of barnyard, smoke, cigar box and also some ok green impressions. On the palate juicy dark forest fruits, some licorice, herbs, hazelnut, beautiful acidity and still powerful tannin. Best wine so far in this blind Napa 1997 tasting. Really beautiful wine with still a great future. We scored the wine between 96 and 99. Is that because of our European palate? To be honest I don’t know. But I do know this is a great wine with still plenty of future. Until 2020 at least.
History of the bottle unknown. In the bouquet lovage. Also lovage on the palate. Some chocolate, old age acidity. There is a firm amount of sweetness. This must be an off or mistreated bottle. No score.
Beautiful bouquet with sweet ripe dark forest fruits and a pleasant touch of barnyard. On the palate a beautiful, full bodied and concentrated wine with good acidity, some pleasant sweetness, some pepper and soft, round, but still powerful tannin. A real beauty! Fully mature now, but no hurry at all. I scored the wine 97 and the average group score in this blind tasting was 97.5.
Beautiful and luxurious bouquet with herbs and sweet spices. On the palate only luxury with sweet and ripe fruits, sweet spices, soft acidity and tannin. Very harmonious wine and completely ready now. This is a true feast! In its utmost optimum stage. It will probably stay here for a while, but I don’t see any reason to wait. If you own a really cold stored bottle it might need a few more years, but the bottle we had tonight was at its top!
Bouquet with good red fruits. On the palate juicy red fruits, good acidity and pleasant sweetness. Pleasant and luxurious oak in a great finish. This was the last bottle in a 25 wines blind tasting with a great dinner and I did not make enough notes to give it the description it deserves. I scored this sexy wine 97 – 98 points though. Because there is a touch of heat in the finish I put 97 in CT as my “official” score.
NV Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) Champagne 90 Points
France, Champagne
In the bouquet some yeast, minerals and reductive impressions. Same on the palate. Full bodied, mild and very ok, but not really exclusive.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2006 André Robert Champagne Grand Cru Le Mesnil 92 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Beautiful and elegant bouquet with white and yellow fruits. On the palate very clean, open and ripe with good fruits, soft minerals and good acidity. No more notes.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Barnett Vineyards Chardonnay 70% Napa Valley 30% Carneros Napa Valley 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Mature bouquet with ripe yellow fruits, honey, some apricots and a touch of botrytis. On the palate a rich and concentrated wine with ripe yellow fruits, a tiny bit reductive, mild acidity and a long finish with good bitterness. Overall a special and very good wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Saintsbury Chardonnay Reserve 93 Points
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Bouquet with ripe yellow fruits like apricots, caramel and some minerals. On the palate ripe yellow fruits, full bodied with beautiful acidity. Well structured and beautiful wine. At the end of its peak now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Smoke, butterscotch and yellow fruits in the bouquet. On the palate full bodied, yellow fruits, good vanilla from the oak, good acidity and some bitterness in the finish. Beautiful and rich wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2003 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Beautiful, rich and complex bouquet with ripe yellow fruits and flowers. On the palate full bodied and rich with yellow fruits, good acidity and pleasant, mild bitterness. A really beautiful wine and for me personally the best white wine of the tasting. Still a lot of future ahead.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
The color is still healthy red. Beautifully mature bouquet with soft sweet spices and some smoke. On the palate a full bodied and soft wine with a lot of sweet spices, fine acidity and powdery tannin. Fully mature now and it will stay on this level for some years.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
Beautiful and deep bouquet with sweet spices and smoke. On the palate a full bodied wine with ripe red berries and blackberries, chocolate, sweet spices and a touch of pleasant bell pepper. Delicious fresh acidity and soft tannin. A concentrated and harmonious, beautiful wine. No hurry.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Beautiful bouquet with red and dark berries, flowers and sweet spices. On the palate full bodied with soft red berry fruits, flowers, beautiful fresh acidity in good balance with some pleasant sweetness. Perfectly soft tannin which still shows youthful. Great wine! No hurry at all.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Opus One 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Beautiful bouquet with chocolate and sweet spices. On the palate red and dark berries, chocolate and sweet spices again, good acidity and soft tannin. Harmonious and soft. There was some discussion in the group. Most thought it was great with scores even up to 98, others were a little less enthusiastic with 92 and 94 as the two lowest scores. Completely ready now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
An unusual description of the bouquet came up in the group: brown band-aid. And it was undeniably there. Sweet spices as well. On the palate red fruits, sweet spices, fresh acidity and soft tannin. With a score of 92 I was the one with the highest score. (Group of 10 persons.) Hope some of the other TN writers are correct and the wine needs more time. I am not sure…
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2000 Errazuriz Viñedo Chadwick 91 Points
Chile, Maipo Valley
Beautiful and perfumed bouquet with red and dark forest fruits and a firm amount of sweet spices. On the palate herbs and spices, red berries and with some more air also some bell pepper shows. Some minerals as well. Good acidity, soft tannin and overall a harmonious wine with a good length. It was best in the beginning. Probably at its peak now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
The bottle was recently bought, so the history is unknown. In the bouquet tea and lovage. On the palate chocolate, sweet spices, cinnamon and a bit rustic. Ok acidity and mild tannin. Overall this bottle was a bit too old and I didn’t score the wine.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
In the bouquet red berries, herbs and spices, vanilla and other sweet spices. On the palate soft and ripe red berry fruits, some red bell pepper, a firm amount of good acidity. The tannin is soft, but also a bit sticky and drying. I wonder if the wine is closing down. Hope so. 92 for tonight.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
In the bouquet red berries, perfume, flowers and autumn impressions. On the palate a lot of juicy cherries, a firm amount of sweetness, but also a lot of acidity. The wine is different from the other wines in this (blind) Napa 1997 tasting. Because of the abundant acidity even Sangiovese is mentioned. Opinions apparently differed; I scored the wine 92, but the (10 person group) average was 94.3
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points
USA, Washington
In the bouquet red berry fruits, herbs, sweet spices and a touch of barnyard. On the palate soft red fruits, a beautiful balance between acidity and sweetness and soft tannin. A beautifully drinking and very enjoyable wine. I scored the wine 93 because imho compared to the other wines in the (blind) tasting, this wine seemed a little less complex. But with 93 I was in the lower regions. 3 out of 10 tasters scored this wine 98.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 94 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
In the bouquet soft red fruits and a lot of sweet spices. On the palate red fruits and sweet spices as well, some chocolate, but also some pleasant bell pepper. Mild acidity, but beautifully fresh. The tannin is ripe and still youthful. Beautiful wine with still a good future for at least 4+ years.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Ridge Monte Bello 95 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Beautiful bouquet with red and dark forest fruits, sweet spices and beautiful oak. Ripe and rich. On the palate beautiful fruits, soft sweet spices, a lot of sweetness, but also great acidity. Good and still youthful tannin. Very harmonious. A truly great new world, but also classical wine. Mature, but no hurry at all. This will still be a feast 5+ years from now.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Beautiful bouquet with smoke and sweet spices. On the palate dark forest fruits, unripe green bell pepper, ok acidity, but also a lot of still powerful tannin and a firm amount of bitterness. The tasting note doesn’t sound too good, but I nevertheless scored the wine 92, although I wonder if this will ever be truly great. In the 10 persons group this blind tasted wine scored from 88 to 97 so it probably is a matter of taste…..
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Beautiful bouquet, very soft and ripe with a lot of cinnamon and other sweet spices. On the palate a lot of juicy red and dark forest fruits, a firm amount of sweetness, but also good acidity to balance it. Beautiful and round tannin which is becoming slightly drying. Don’t misunderstand; this is a beautiful and harmonious wine. Blind tasted the group of 10 almost agreed. Leaving out the lowest and highest score everybody scored the wine 94 or 95. To be honest my blind score was 94 - 95.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Dominus Estate 97 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Beautiful and luxurious bouquet with a pleasant touch of barnyard, smoke, cigar box and also some ok green impressions. On the palate juicy dark forest fruits, some licorice, herbs, hazelnut, beautiful acidity and still powerful tannin. Best wine so far in this blind Napa 1997 tasting. Really beautiful wine with still a great future. We scored the wine between 96 and 99. Is that because of our European palate? To be honest I don’t know. But I do know this is a great wine with still plenty of future. Until 2020 at least.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Dalla Valle Maya
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
History of the bottle unknown. In the bouquet lovage. Also lovage on the palate. Some chocolate, old age acidity. There is a firm amount of sweetness. This must be an off or mistreated bottle. No score.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 97 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Beautiful bouquet with sweet ripe dark forest fruits and a pleasant touch of barnyard. On the palate a beautiful, full bodied and concentrated wine with good acidity, some pleasant sweetness, some pepper and soft, round, but still powerful tannin. A real beauty! Fully mature now, but no hurry at all. I scored the wine 97 and the average group score in this blind tasting was 97.5.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 98 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Beautiful and luxurious bouquet with herbs and sweet spices. On the palate only luxury with sweet and ripe fruits, sweet spices, soft acidity and tannin. Very harmonious wine and completely ready now. This is a true feast! In its utmost optimum stage. It will probably stay here for a while, but I don’t see any reason to wait. If you own a really cold stored bottle it might need a few more years, but the bottle we had tonight was at its top!
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
1997 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 97 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Bouquet with good red fruits. On the palate juicy red fruits, good acidity and pleasant sweetness. Pleasant and luxurious oak in a great finish. This was the last bottle in a 25 wines blind tasting with a great dinner and I did not make enough notes to give it the description it deserves. I scored this sexy wine 97 – 98 points though. Because there is a touch of heat in the finish I put 97 in CT as my “official” score.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue