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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More...
Red

2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary

 Napa Valley more
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9/20/2017 - Ecbatana Does not like this wine: 69 points

This wine is apocalyptic. Imagine the product of the husband and wife team of Willy Wonka and Bjork, this is it. Utter swill with zero redeeming qualities. Thoroughly enjoy Caymus Zinfandel, but this is a toxic collision of fermented grape Hi-C, corn syrup, charcoal briquettes and aviation kerosene, just a syrupy mess and an affront to all senses. Is this what Caymus means by their 'signature style'? Good grief. Purposely keeping a bottle hidden for the future just for amusement and to see if it miraculously becomes drinkable by humans. Clearly generating polarizing reviews here on CT. 69 pts is flattering.

23 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (9)
Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

 Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend more
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1/2/2017 - BigTex22 wrote: NR

When I arrived home from the airport last night, much to my horror, I saw an empty bottle of this sitting on my desk. My wife had a girlfriend over while I was out of town, and they decided to open a cab while watching the kids play outside. She left the empty bottle on my desk because she knows I like to track inventory in Cellar Tracker. She commented that it was "too young" but "pretty good" and her friend "really liked it". There may have been some chips and salsa they paired this with - not sure. I later explained to my wife the cost of this bottle and read her the many glorious critic reviews that all stated to wait ten years or more before opening. Needless to say, I will be locking my wine cabinet going forward. Excellent wine, but suggest holding...under lock and key.

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Red

1995 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

 Oakville more
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7/13/2013 - The Gilded Sage wrote: NR

Purchased in some quantity (and, I am told, at considerable expense) by great-uncle Alfred, presumably either under the influence of late-stage senility, or as a final white elephant with which to burden his family. He was, it turns out, a vulgarian to the last.

I have tasted this wine now on a number of occasions, when morbid curiosity overtakes better judgement, and have found it in each instance to be an utterly common and tawdry affair, with a nose like tinned prunes (one can only imagine), and a texture on the palate like some horrid and ineffectual remedy that a witch-doctor might force upon a consumptive. In short, this is a wine for the brutish and the senile, purchased by a man who was both. It is only to be hoped that death came for him before he managed to degrade himself and his name by serving this to the guests at his table.

That, at least, would be a mercy.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

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2/5/2024 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 98 points

Tasted blind after a 4h decant. An incredibly dense, structured and layered wine with a a pleasantly sweet fruit profile of red and dark cherry as well as blueberries. Various chocolate-like layers of Mon-Chérie and Aftereight. Floral notes of violets, roasted coffee beans, graphite and iron. A perfectly round palate, concentrated with high tannin, high acidity - but all in perfect harmony. A present and expansive palate with a structure built for longevity. In any line-up this is a contender for wine of the night. Still very early days and I would definitely suggest several hours of decanting.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

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3/6/2024 - Cailles wrote: 99 points

Wow, wow, wow! This wine stands as a true work of art, astonishingly surpassing high expectations I had after tasting it 7 years ago (following its release) when it showed great promise (rated 97pts). I would have never thought that this still very young wine is that amazing today, especially as Monte Bello has a reputation of needing decades to blossom. The complexity is out of this world and up there with the very best wines I’ve ever had, with each aroma delivered in ultra-high definition, so sharp and precise. The profoundness of this wine is paired with a perfect structure, full of finesse, tension and freshness. One can only imagine how good it will be in 10, 20, 30 years. For sure one to load up.

TN: Very intense, yet balanced bouquet with layers and layers of aromas wafting out of the glass. Same on the palate with one wave after the other of aromas hitting all senses. Intense spruce tips, pine tree, several layers of herbs, a rainbow of fruit from fresh and ripe blue fruit to delicate, fresh red berries, coffee, just hints of chocolate, earthy minerality. Wow, every sip reveals something new. Extremely profound.The wine is anchored by a firm structure of fine tannins poised for further integration, alongside high acidity that adds to its dynamism. Despite its richness, the wine maintains a surprisingly light texture, culminating in a long, evolving finish. Approaching perfection, this wine promises to achieve a perfect rating as it develops even greater complexity with age.

Decanting: Decanted for 4+ hours. It needed the time (or could have even used more air).

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Red

2018 Realm Cellars The Bard

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
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10/27/2020 - msuwine wrote: 95 points

The Bard is back! I’ve opened every vintage of this wine at the two-year mark since the 2013, and the 2018 is the best - at this point of time - since the 2013 (which was one of the greatest wines, at its moment, that I had ever tasted). To run the litany: the 2014 was less concentrated and more grainy at this point, but almost as good; the 2015 was green and astringent, not nearly as full; the 2016 was juicy and undefined, not nearly as structured; and the 2017 was, well, a defensible effort, but nothing to write home about. The 2018, in contrast, is.

Dark purple in color and medium in body, the wine offers incredible, raw aromas of blackberry, cherry liqueur, mocha, and blueberry pie. The flavors are plush but with a welcome structure and tension, with notes of black cherry, boysenberry, cocoa powder, leather, bay leaf, and black licorice, with a fire hose of a finish of tannin, acidity, and fruit (all good, just young). Blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Petite Sirah. 14.6% alcohol. Decant about two hours. Still going strong on second day, with more of a mocha flavor and mouthfeel.

Maybe this is just an early drinking wine, but it seems to offer something more: there is a density and structure that bode well for the future, with incredible fruit that is ripe and fresh and delicious. And $110? This is a steal - great winemaker, real track record, solid vintage. I don’t want to raise anyone’s expectations, but mine were exceeded (and then some). 94-95 for now. This is a fantastic wine: drink it, and enjoy.

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Red

2020 Ridge Monte Bello

 Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend more
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3/25/2023 - ledocq Likes this wine: NR

If you are interested enough in California cabernets to drink Monte Bello, you probably know the 2020 growing season took place under a lot of smoke. Ridge's promo materials don't mention this much, and so, for science, I opened a .375 to see what's going on under the hood. Headline: I think we're okay.

After I popped the cork, my whole kitchen was flooded with the familiar rich, deep aroma of a young high end Bordeaux blend. The initial taste was (of course) ridiculously too young, astringent and potent, but actually relatively approachable, grading on a curve. It tasted on a par with the other MBs I've had, in other words, extremely well made.

The wine was open from 3 pm to 11 pm and the taste lengthened and deepened, the tannins generally speaking pretty smooth, except for one moment about 3 hours in where I thought I sensed some bitterness. The issue of course is when you're wondering "is there smoke here?" you're going to freak yourself out occasionally. So I asked my wife to give it a shot (she wasn't dialed in about the issue, so no preconceptions), and she said it was great -- just way too young.

So there we have it, for now. No idea how this develops, but the data point now is that things look pretty good. Like all Monte Bellos this needs to be buried for a decade or more, but the materials are excellent.

NIGHT TWO: We saved a half glass. It's smoothed out and the taste has lengthened considerably. Still no issues. Unless something happens in its development (and I know zero about smoke taint), I think this is going to be an excellent wine years from now. If you're still concerned, and you have one to spare, go ahead and crack it and report back. Otherwise, just bury these for a while. There is zero aesthetic reason to drink this right now.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

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7/16/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 points

It's a good deal. I have friends with the younger vintages and I open the older years for them. Yes, this is frightfully young, yet, with its wealth of perfectly ripe, fresh, refined, bright, energetic fruits, it is disarmingly easy to drink now. Full-bodied, concentrated, rich and also light on its feet, the nose, with its blackberry, currant, tobacco leaf, vanilla, smoke and espresso bean it just great. But it is the length, purity and elegance paired with all that power on the palate that knocks you out. Another decade in the cellar will only add more complexity. This is a top vintage of Monte Bello that fans of this wine should not miss. The wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.

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Red

2019 Bevan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

 St. Helena more
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9/9/2021 - csimm wrote: 97 points

BLIND REDS - Bordeaux varietals (mostly Napa and BDX) - Over/Under $100: Holy shirtless Vladimir Putin on a Clydesdale! What sort of wicked concoction from the entrails of Hades hath been presented before me here? If Chris Hemsworth was a Starbucks barista in charge of vehemently hucking quadruple espressos down your slackjaw facehole, he might as well be flinging mags of the 2019 Bevan Crane at your noggin as well. Titanic black berry flavors broadsword fight with fresh black coffee grounds, cardamon, and char notes in an epic clash of evil versus evil. At once black and dense, and then insanely dynamic and fresh, this 2019 is the 2018 Crane on steroids (if you ever thought that was possible). It’s loud and proud in its current state, which should settle down with time, but its “settling down” means it will eventually just be a megatsunami instead of the current worldwide calamity of Poseidon.

Helpful hint: Make sure to bust out a crater-sized coffee filter to figuratively strain out some of the black murderous viscousness that pumps through the zombie arteries of this Tyrannosaurus tonic. Hold for a decade, unless you like the feeling of black tar peeling off the front of your face.

PS: I liked this wine quite a bit, but if you have even the slightest sensitivity to needing immediate nuance or have a propensity to get uppity about finesse in wine, don’t even bother with this. It’s great because its super rad, not because it’s cosmopolitan. In fact, if you actually use words like “cosmopolitan” or say “Namaste” to your yoga friends, or if you’ve ever taken a yoga class at all in your entire life, best venture elsewhere.

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Red

2016 Bedrock Wine Co. The Bedrock Heritage

 Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more
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7/28/2018 - Motz wrote: 94 points

Decidedly unique! The wine features a south Italy variety character...although not particularly a south Italy profile, on account of its restraint, firmness, and non-obtrusive alcohol. Layered bouquet, featuring amalgams of juicy black berries, dried fruits, herbs, teas, salinity, coal, bramble, iodine, blackstrap molasses, and black earth. The wine tastes as it smells, carried and lifted by a compact frame, complex tannins, and intriguing balance. The interwoven dark berry, coal, saline minerality, and blackstrap molasses elements stand out on the palate. As with the same vintage Old Vine Zinfandel, the wine's tremendous appeal results from its purity, or put differently, the absence of alterations, any sense of manufacture, disjointed alcohol, jamminess, and sweetness. Made for food and quite versatile. Likely to evolve for a decade or longer, and last through 2035. Ridiculously interesting! 93-94.

P.S. My 9,000th note. Kind of cool. Here's to 10,000!

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Red

2013 Dirty and Rowdy Mourvèdre 'ESPECIAL' Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard

 Santa Barbara County more
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6/10/2014 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: NR

This wine is:
1) A Super Happy Bouncy Fun Ball.
2) The kind of wine people drink on a picnic on their honeymoon in Provence and then try to get here and wonder why it never tastes the same, except it's not from Provence and it tastes exactly how you remembered it.
3) A friendly puppy dog that runs up to you and starts licking your face.
4) A wine that some people say California can't make and shouldn't make. It is juicy and refreshing but there is no primary fruitiness or sweetness to the flavors. It tastes like wine, not grapes. It tastes like mourvedre. The first glass is packed with those earthy, mourvedre, anti-fruit scents. Then it gets brighter, more juicy and floral. It is lightweight enough to guzzle but the experience is not like drinking Loire cab franc or anything. It's hearty, and pulls off its freshness without being sharp or green. It has just a slight tick of effervescence, which would probably dissipate with a shake or a long decant but in this case it was mild enough to add a little lift without adding any static to the flavors.
5) Very reminiscent of Kermit Lynch's description of Chauvet Beaujolais in Adventures on the Wine Route. This is making me want to open a bistro so I can pour this by the glass or pitcher, the same way a great Chablis makes me want to buy a boat and become a man of the sea.
6) Probably capable of matching perfectly with any food in the known universe.

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Red

2019 Bedrock Wine Co. Old Vine Zinfandel

 California more
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10/16/2020 - Rieslingfan wrote: NR

Just barely off the truck, but I couldn’t resist the siren call. I poured a couple of ounces to check it out, then let the bottle sit for two hours. When dinner was ready I went back to it, and was blown away. This bottling is always delicious (open a 2017 if you have it), but this was turned up a couple of notches. During the release podcast, Morgan and Chris indicated that it had an extra gear, with more Bedrock Vineyard juice in the mix. It showed up in the depth and richness, which far exceeded prior editions of this wine. Supple, yet still structured; fruity yet still savory, it hits a heck of a sweet spot for $20. QPR champ indeed.

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Red

2018 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

 St. Helena more
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10/27/2020 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 98 points

Well, this wine left no doubt who's king of the hill at Myriad. As good as the regular Crane is, this is on another level of texture, concentration and depth of flavor. I had it next to the 18 Empyrean and my only advice is - don't do that. The Empyrean was good, but totally overshadowed.

We had this PnP, and it took about 30 min to really come into its own. The reason we didn't decant is every 18 wine from Mike I've had so far starts to shut down after about 2 hours of air.

Starts with a gorgeous nose of violets, creme de cassis, fragrant earth and crushed rock. Wonderfully full bodied and deeply concentrated, this edition is chock full of decadence & minerality while layered to perfection. The tannins are super integrated and fine grained, and the purity is amazing. What I love about the 18 is the structure and spine of the wine keeps it from going over the edge on extraction, and should provide a longer life than many recent vintages. The finish is very long and fresh. Will be extremely interesting to see if this or 16 turns out the be the better wine. I am leaning toward this one. 99+

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Red

2013 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

 Napa Valley more
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6/20/2016 - RobbieC wrote: NR

There are plenty of tasting notes here so I'll just add this: over the six years from 2006 to 2011 the folks at Caymus averaged a production volume of 54,600 cases; in 2012 and 2013 Caymus jumped to 121,000 cases! Double the volume! For me - and a few friends - the 2011 was the last good bottle of Caymus Cab. On the surface, it would appear that Caymus has moved from quality to quantity. Steak houses across America will rejoice as the Caymus name will surely fetch $120 a bottle on the wine list. The 2013 is a average Cab and, in my opinion, overpriced for what it offers. Sadly, I will be buying a lot less Caymus in the future.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

 Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend more
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10/26/2023 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 98 points

As per Ridge winemaker recommendations I opened it for 30 min and then double decanted it for a short 3-5 min (while I rinse the bottle to get rid off the sediments) and placed back into the bottle to start consuming 30 min later for a 2+H dinner with Mark and Carol at Chops Grill Naples.

The nose on this wine is simply sensational, is a winegasm right at the start. Then on the palate is a blend of black truffle, currant, espresso and valley floor (despite the fruit comes from the hilltops). The complexity of this wine at this young stage is SCARY. This is one of the best wine I have had in my entire life. Right now is in the top 5 for sure and hopefully will keep claiming within the years.

The finish on this wine is endless, 20 hours later I still have the lingering sensation in my mouth…

IMHO this is one of those cases that patience will be rewarded greatly…!!!

98+ Drink or preferably HOLD.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

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10/22/2017 - Collector1855 wrote: 97 points

Tasted during a WA event "a matter of taste" walk about, so no tasting notes, only occasional impressions. This was the wine of the tasting. Wonderful CavSav with dark fruit, great Eucalyptus notes. No surprise, Ridge Monte Bello delivers again. I have tasted all California Cult wines over the years (from Harlan to ScrEagle) and this is my favorite wine from the USA. I also think climate change will play into its hands. Napa is getting hotter and hotter, so are other regions. Being high up in the Santa Cruze Mountains is and will be a plus. Also, Paul Daper never went for the thick blockbuster style with his Bordeaux blends. Today it becomes clear that he has one of the very best US CabSav in his cellar. Try his 1994 or 1997 and you will know how well it ages. Ripe, dense, yet fresh, perfumey with balanced tannins. Young, drink after 2023.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

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11/29/2018 - Todd French wrote: NR

Yes, babykilling...I know...but 'the boss' (my wife) insisted on drinking a Monte Bello if I was to keep buying them vintage after vintage, and this was the first vintage I bought into, and a good 'early drinking' example, so this was it.

Decanted for two hours, no sneak previews whatsoever, and upon first pour the nose was explosive in its perfume, really expressive and unique. There are obvious Cab Sauv/Bordeaux blend characteristics like kirsch, sandalwood, bright red fruits, but there's a really unique quality to it, perhaps fennel? It's one of those aromas that is so complex you need a PhD to outline each specific scent - black, red, and blue fruits, cedar, oak, smokiness (but not too much), heavily tanned saddle leather, and a MASSIVE dose of what I would call nearly-baked sugar cookies - doughy but not raw, parts from both but if you pulled one out you'd get a lot of vanilla but also that toasty cookie goodness. I know this is meant to enjoy in 20 or more years but holy hell is it wonderful right now.

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Red

2018 Realm Cellars The Bard

 Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend more
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10/21/2020 - pdr_urrutia wrote: 95 points

Gorgeous. Upon opening, oaky vanilla sweetness was a little overwhelming, but a 3 hour decant revealed blueberry jam and ripe blackberries along with dried tobacco, leather, and earthy spices. Palate is dense and vibrant, juicy black cherries with cocoa powder, tobacco, and light menthol notes along with a cedary finish. Lovely silky texture. When I want a big Napa wine, this is it. It’s dense and powerful, but balanced. It shines after a decant and I think it might need 2+ years to come together, even though it’s excellent now.

I would consider this an improvement over the 2017. It’s already more coherent and better textured.

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Red

2013 Ridge Monte Bello

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9/12/2017 - Cailles wrote: 97 points

Fantastic wine! Popped and poured. A perfect mix between Napa and Bordeaux. Had it in a tasting with roughly twenty other wines. And it won by a wide margin. Had to open a bottle a few days later. Very intersting dark fruit, herbal, chalky aromas in the nose. Hyper interesting and intriguing. Full bodied, dense, thick with very smooth (considering how young the wine is) and slighty sweet tannins but a lot of freshness to keep it light. Red, blue, black fruit, minerality, some menthol aromas, other herbal aromas... this just has it all. With time in the glas (and decanter, 2h) it evolved and closed down a bit (tannins more prominent). So either don't decant it or do it for 6, 8 or probably better 10 hours. How good will this one be in 10 years?

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Red

2018 Realm Cellars The Bard

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2/11/2022 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 94 points

This wine and I have quite a history. I will never forget the 2012 being just absolutely amazing followed up by perhaps the best wine for the price I can ever remember, the 2013 @ $95. Of course, back then these wines were relatively small production ~400 cases with a lot of Dr Crane and To Kalon in the mix. Nowadays, it's something like 7000 cases and the vineyards are too numerous to name. I'm not sure even in 12/13 this was a 99-100pt wine, but without a doubt it's not now. That being said, it's still a very compelling wine for the price in Napa terms.

This is very representative of the vintage. Tight and fresh, age worthy while needing quite a bit of air to come around. Nose of creme de cassis, dark chocolate, forest floor, violets and spice box. Super fine grained yet powerful tannins keep this very tight knit on the palate. Taut, with good acidity, excellent freshness and lots of mineral driven notes, it hides a lot of the fruit while delivering earth and spice in spades. The entire time, I was hoping the tannin would release some of the packed in flavor, but for the most part it stayed hidden. I think in 3-5 years, things will have loosened up. Nice long finish.

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Red

2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary

 Napa Valley more
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3/20/2015 - pdxwinefan wrote: 89 points

Following the banter on this wine is really fun. From "It's awful--tastes like Kool-Aid." to "Best Cab I've ever had--99 points!" This wine lives on the extremes.

So, my view. Decanted for an hour and consumed over another 90 minutes. Dark, dark purple. Powerful plummy aroma. On the first sip, the first thing you notice is the sugars--this wine is in fact awfully sweet. But it's also pretty smooth and accessible, with a nice balance and a long finish.

Served with a spicy, slightly sweet Thai beef dish. Without the food, the wine's sweetness is a bit overwhelming. But the pairing worked great, toning the wine's sweetness levels down while the sweetness balanced out the spiciness of the food. It's not an awesome wine, I don't see it improving over time, and it's probably too expensive for what it is. But still, it's enjoyable.

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Red

2013 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

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3/2/2016 - Motz wrote: 93 points

Well...this was interesting...and the 95 point controversy even more so.

Pulling the cork, pouring off a couple of ounces, and lingering over the bouquet, imparted four distinct impressions:

- There is a lot of fruit here. (Surprise, surprise, and Napa CS that features fruit!)
- There is NOT a lot of oak here. (Delightful but unsurprising, as excessive oak masks quality.)
- There is not a lot of alcohol here. (Now this is getting interesting, high fruit, low lumber, moderate alcohol. From Napa? For real?)
- This does not smell like a true Bordeaux blend. (I was unsurprised to find the wine sports one percent Petite Sirah, which is particularly pronounced.)

During the first 30 to 45 minutes the wine was mostly about fruit, lots of it, black and blue berries in particular, with notes of coniferous tree grove, moss, peat, tar, peppers, green peppercorn, and herbs. The acid and structure were solid, the mouthfeel rounded, and the balance noteworthy...

...and then the wine revealed its tannic teeth and mineral depth in a very big way! It's not that the fruit was no longer present but the tannic grip and focused minerality sliced through the middle of it. Not drying, powdery to dusty tannins either, but the juicy, gritty to 80 grain sandpaper variety. (Similar to a recent tasting experience with a 2010 La Dame de Montrose.) In my experience most Napa wines do not add substance, weight, and depth from front to back. (Instead, Napa wines with 'big' finishes tend to feature a range of oak imparted baking spices, sometimes bitter oak elements, light acid, light tannins, and singeing heat.) Well, the present wine does strengthen from front to back, and the structure at the back conveys a tremendous sense of terroir, although the dollop of Petite Sirah makes this drink more like an intriguing red blend.

On the second day, the tannins and minerals, which impart an impression the vines grow over a mine, a coal mine in particular, had come to play in a big way. Both still swam in an ocean of fruit, but had no trouble making their presence known. The wine is uniquely balanced, and heat is not a significant factor.

A different wine for Napa, and a quality wine. I do not think this will be an extended ager though. It may hold a few years past 2020, and at the price point it may be worth holding onto a bottle or two to see if it does, but for the most part it should be enjoyed over the next three to five years. I plan on picking up another bottle or two, from different regions to check into the bottle variation speculation. Overall, the wine features too much substance and balance to ignore, and to score less than 92 to 93 points.

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Red

2018 Sine Qua Non Syrah Ziehharmonika

 Central Coast more
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2/21/2021 - csimm wrote: 99 points

Way too Nickelodeon to be opening this early but far too difficult for my cracker-barrel psyche to continuously resist, these bottles were ever-leering at me with every pass I'd make by the cellar window. And of course one day, this day, I somehow find myself with a corkscrew in my hand and some dark spiritual force coercing me to plunge its twisted bayonet through the top of the Ziehharmonika's frail little fontanel.

Cork off and left open in the bottle for three hours. Decanted for two additional hours and kept/served at a consistently cool cellar temperature (52 degrees), which in sum ended up being pretty perfect service overall by the time the last sip was taken at the end of the evening. A beautiful perfume of violets and blackberry syrup; some underbrush on the nose as well. On the palate, black and blue fruits, creosote, campfire, anise, cured meats, shrub, and a fantastic floral lift (thanks to the 2.7% Viognier and 1.3% Muscat). Though there is a more linear stretch initially on the front of the attack, the expansion of flavor follows quickly, with a sense of patience and a deliberate, almost quantifiable cadence that smoothly encompasses the mouth and provides a glass-like sheen that coats the entire palate, like a dehydrated blueberry that liquifies and dissipates, leaving just the flavor of its essence behind. Finishes with a constant but whispering wave of fruit followed by garrigue and faint rainbow peppercorn notes.

You want texture? You got texture. Why throw yet another inflated SQN score in the mix so soon in evaluating this infant creature? Where's your sense of objectivity man?! Answer: TEXTURE. The perfectly juicy and tenderly ripe profile does everything to elevate this smooth operator into next-level consumption. Quality all the way through. Less overtly theatrical and Fire Marshall Bill than some of SQN's other young bucks, the Ziehharmonika carries a layer of sophistication that doesn't even pretend to stick its little toe into any loud Hollywood bar scene Courtney Love 90's cocaine-cocktail drama (even though Ventura is closer to Hollywood than Paso...or Rhone for that matter). Anyway, you get the point. Basically it's like this: Some wines talk at you. This wine just makes you feel fortunate to be in its company listening to what it has to say.

98-100 points for now, though I am fairly confident that this will veer more toward the three-digit numeric after 5+ years of cellaring. This Ziehharmonika reminded me of a young version of the 2008 SQN B 20, though it seems the mighty "Z" ultimately possesses an added layer of lurking complexity that stands to come to full fruition (literally and figuratively) as it nears its more optimum drinking window.

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Red

2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary

 Napa Valley more
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9/30/2017 - WineGuyDelMar Does not like this wine: 75 points

I am literally speechless. I have been drinking Caymus and Napa Cabs since the 1974 Vintage. I met Chuck Sr at the winery many years ago. Caymus was one of the bright stars of the late 70's and 80's. How far they have fallen.

I'd honestly love to have a conversation with Chuck Jr to see what he was trying to do and what exactly went completely wrong. This wine is a hot mess. It honestly tastes like a sweet $15-$18 Syrah or Petite Syrah and I'm not sure if I would have identified it as Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine is black/purple and is so sweet I literally had one glass and I was done. I can't even drink this. My remaining 3 bottles are going to some wine shop that I will trade for something else. We drank a 2013 Kobalt last night which was amazing that I gave 94 points to. This wine is not even in the same Universe. I would have never imaged a winery of this status could even release a wine like this. It's an utter embarrassment and if Parker gave this 96 he has sold out completely because this is garbage.

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Red

2019 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

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7/29/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 93 points

Ordered this wine off the list at Edson Hill in Stowe, VT and was blown away by the quality. Nothing chocolaty or overdone here; this is just great, fresh, intense Cabernet Sauvignon (mostly) with fabulous dark red and black fruits accompanied by zingy acidity and a lifted floral note. Quite structured at this point but the complexity on the finish is already showing itself with wonderful notes of red spices, mint and graphite. At last, a West Coast cab for under $100 that satisfies me.

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