3/30/2024 - Winiac wrote:

Ripe, sweet, concentrated fruit, acid minus. Excessively over oaked. Was very spicy, almost bitter the fist night, but much better the second night. Sweet and hedonistic the second night.

3/9/2024 - Bryanb2002 wrote:

Rolling over, drink now. Unworth the price.

2/27/2024 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine:

Similar to prior notes after a 2 hour double decant; outstanding & at the start of peak drinking that should last several years

1/30/2024 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

Excellent Napa Cabernet FRANC with big fruit, Mediterranean herbs & spices with a lot of tar in the background. Black pepper and mild tannin on the lengthy finish. Great value for around $75.

12/25/2023 - herbtcat Does not like this wine:

Sadly, I just waited too long. The fruit is diminished to level of a faint murmur. Although there were no apparent flaws from poor storage, there just wasn't any "there" there.

12/20/2023 - Ricky99 Likes this wine:

with all that big fruit, its gotten a little flabby in my view.. still a cali cab bomb, just a bit our of round

12/17/2023 - Winokdub wrote:

Beautiful wine that is drinking strong right now. Nice depth and complexity. Great finish. Not going to get any better but could hold here for another year or two. Enjoy!!

2/12/2017 - Mossrose wrote:

Just short of pitch black, with purple bubbles when poured into the glass and a lighter ring around the rim. Rich nose of black currant and black cherry, accented by lavender. The sip of this classic Bordeaux blend features a nice tug of war between firm and lightly astringent tannin on one side against forward fruit, softened texture, and lightly caressing mouth feel on the other side. The swallow adds a good punch of bight acidity. The 2002 vintage was famous for being generous, fruit forward, and fine tasting young, but this 15 year old wine tastes more like a well structured 5 year old that is a hypothetical blend of Bordeaux with Napa, ageworthy enough to become seamlessly integrated when stored for another 5 years.

12/4/2023 - Bcw1989 wrote:

WOTN. Really showing well! Lots of red ripe fruits and tannins are pushed to the side. Wine is drinking just superbly! Paired well with the beef and really brought out the flavors of the meat. Even after dinner, the wine kept showing strong. Loved this vintage!

11/23/2023 - HDW55 Likes this wine:

This wine seems to be a bit temperamental. Sometimes great and sometimes not so great. We had three bottles of the 2013 and not a dud among them this go-round. Decanted 2 hours. Very strong nose. Tart Red Berries and hint of Chocolate. Up front Jammy on the palate. Full mouth feel. Wet Leather as well. Long Finish. Lots going on. A big wine.

4/5/2023 - Baron Slick wrote:

Attractive bouquet of black cherries, cedar, earth, mint, and eucalyptus. Dry yet succulent, very tactile, with lovely weight, purity, bottle age complexity, and flavorsome persistence on the tasty finish.

11/3/2023 - walkerjfw wrote:

Dinner at home with with Val, Melissa, Rowens and Roslyn. Was looking for something to pair with my "famous" brisket. Last bottle a few years ago, no notes. Decanted for about 45 minutes prior to drinking.

Medium garnet color, light core minor thinning. Nose showing dark fruits and graphite. Palate of blackberry, blue fruit, faint floral/violet. Blue fruit persists through mid palate. Medium weight, long finish.

Really nice showing on this evening. The 2011 vintage was called as a subpar for Napa...this representative of my experience that they have outperformed expectations. They won't go as long as the 2013s, as an example, but they are drinking well at this point.

10/28/2023 - JJYoyo Likes this wine:

Part of a walk around tasting at Alpine Country Club. When compared with the Alluvial, this was a shade darker, a shade richer, a little bigger. In a ripe vintage like 2018, I preferred the Alluvial by a whisker. In a cooler year I might like this more.
Both wines are very nicely made, not excessive although quite big.
Score: 93. Relative to expectations: ++

10/27/2023 - JJYoyo Likes this wine:

Part of a walk around tasting at Alpine Country Club. Hard to tell whether we liked the 18 Alluvial or the 2018 Heritage more. I think we ended up giving the alluvial the edge : a little more restrained, a little less extraction. Others might reverse the preference.
Score 93. Relative to expectations: ++

10/22/2023 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:

Nose of ripe dark fruit, blackberry, cassis, vanilla and cherry.
Rich and ripe on the palate but nicely balanced. Full body, med acid, med tannin.
This is holding up great. I can see it picking up more complexity in the next 5+ years before slowly fading.

10/6/2023 - Kozakofthewest Likes this wine:

Quite lovely pretty sure it would be excellent for another 15 years, strong fruit good ballance give it 2+ hour or air and enjoy the ride.

7/14/2023 - sean7711 Likes this wine:

Ridiculously smooth after a few hours decant. Great wine. A steal at the secondary market price!

7/7/2023 - Plush05 Likes this wine:

The fruit notes are predominant in a good way. Acid balances it out without being excessively dominant. Don’t think that is one to hold for another decade. It’s in a good place now for a good while. Exceeded my expectations.

7/3/2023 - Gen NY Likes this wine:

Tasted alongside 2012 Pillar Rock, Stags Leap. This Gemstone took a long time to open. At 4 hours, the Pinnacle Rock was wide open and putting on a show while the Gemstone was still shy and closed down. On the second night, it started to open and the fruit really came forward. There is rich concentrated blackberry and currant complemented with oak, earth, mint and some tar/creosote. This needs time to come together and it will be 2 or 3 points higher when it does.

6/18/2023 - Davimorrmd Likes this wine:

4h decant.well balanced and still with some years to go in the bottle. Like this year alluvial slightly better during the same month of drinking.

5/28/2023 - uncle fester Likes this wine:

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.

5/15/2023 - Dine&Vine wrote:

Agreed, tasting younger than 9 years. Fruit still in the foreground but developing nicely. Give 30 minutes to open up before pouring. Big California cab, but not overly sweet.

5/4/2023 - napasoutherner Likes this wine:

Solid rounded by sly developed Napa red wine. Mild tannins and dark blue fruit. Decanted but could have waited an hour. Celebrated a friend moving back to Napa. Long romantic finish

3/28/2023 - VinTypo wrote:

Delicious Napa Cab

2/15/2023 - MDDW wrote:

Nose of dark berries, on the palate dark chocolate and a lingering earthy nuance that was sublime.

12/8/2022 - HDW55 Likes this wine:

Still Holding up nicely. Nice violet purple color with no real evidence of aged color. Violets and Leather nose as well as on the palate. Medium finish. Tannins light but still present. Drinking nice right now.

11/28/2022 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine:

Double decanted for 2 hrs; delicious, drink or hold

11/27/2022 - B&PBaker Likes this wine:

Smooth, pleasant, nice long finish. Yum

11/27/2022 - Winiac wrote:

Sweet fruit with balanced wine. Medium length and pleasant finish.

11/22/2022 - B&PBaker Likes this wine:

Still kicking. Nice smooth all the way through. Beautiful long finish

11/23/2022 - SoccerMark wrote:

Still incredible 8 years later. 2 more still in the cellar

10/15/2022 - chatters wrote:

21st Canberra International Riesling Challenge (Albert Hall, Canberra): Slight wild ferment funkiness, sulphur, gamey, meaty, muted green citrus beneath this. Medium plus acidity, slight residual sugar, it's a little muted on the palate, wetly dilute. Meh.

11/3/2022 - Kozakofthewest Likes this wine:

Give it 2 hours and it shines , 2.5 hours the fruit emerges the ballance is excellent pleasure to drink .

10/15/2022 - wren460 Likes this wine:

Amazing wine. Did not decant and just opened it and drank it to indulge myself. Great wine and definitely on the Caymus kind of style. This is definitely sweet and delicious, dont bother with tertiary or earthy elements, this is a VIP party wine. Don´t consider it buying it if you like boring austere Bordeaux.

10/9/2022 - gesusser Likes this wine:

2 hour decant..smooth as glass..excellent with grilled lamb chops

9/23/2022 - Juliansi Likes this wine:

Loved this, lively and complex at the same time with a great balance of power and finesse. Wine of the night by quite a margin 🏆 and it was the 1st bottle shared after the aperitif Roses!

Masterful Bordeaux blend of 71% Cab Sauv, 20% Merlot, 4% PV and 4% CF.

Yountville is located on what is known as the Silverado trail, 100km North of San Francisco in the Napa Valley. In fact its not so far from the legendary Thomas Keller eatery The French Laundry.

I loved this wine...
Big and bold, strong acids initially, and I did love the floral cassis nose. Black fruits dominate the palate, tannins strong but it all seemed to come together!

Bottle 2 of 10, generously shared by brother @Joe Yee Wong at M's party. This was served in a 1.5L Magnum format.

Mikas birthday dinner at Yik Kee, KL - 23 Sep 2022

9/2/2022 - markcic Likes this wine:

Opened two hours prior to dinner and then slowly consumed over the next three hours. The wine was hitting on all cylinders. Dark fruit on the nose. The palate was dark berries, plums, a hint of cherry, currant, tree bark and wood. The finish was long. A really good bottle of wine.

8/17/2022 - Jonathan T Likes this wine:

What a surprise! One of the best < $100 Napa Cabernets I’ve had in a while. It’s been some time since I’ve had a a Gemstone and I didn’t know what to expect. Definitely some TRB handiwork here as a modern-styled cab, fragrant nose, lighter on oak and heavier on rich dark fruit. Great mouthfeel and still considerable tannic grip. Give this one a little more time.

7/30/2022 - RickyT12 wrote:

Unfortunately not as enjoyable as the past bottles. Alcohol is very powerful and the flat cola flavor is a bit of putting. Raspberry, but the bitterness is bothersome. The alcohol is out of control. Almost taste like a liquor. Very disappointed. Not sure if the wine has fallen apart or if the bottle was just not good, but this bottle tonight was not showing well.
Surprisingly it got better through the decant, but it was still not good. Sad...

7/22/2022 - brianofthevine Likes this wine:

Damn, this is fantastic after 21 years and right up my alley for aged Napa Cabs. 87% CS, 7% Merlot, 6% CF. Blackberry, black cherry, and dark plums up front. Wonderful creamy texture to this wine right now with notes of creme de cassis, flowers, spice box, cedar, and subtle tobacco. Supple, smooth tannins with a long lingering finish. Such an incredible wine now if you have any but will easily go several more years...glad I have more. This vintage continues to impress.

7/7/2022 - PMJak11 Likes this wine:

Very dark colored wine. Fruit forward with ample sweetness. Huge depth and a mammoth wine. Definitely drinking young.

5/30/2022 - Plush05 wrote:

Groove is in the heart. Dee-lightful.

5/30/2022 - buckeye76 Likes this wine:

Still deep color. Lots of black fruits in the nose and flavor, black cherries, blackberries, black currants, black raspberries, with chocolate, espresso, and hints of spice and minerality. An elegant wine yet deep and concentrated, well balanced, medium to full bodied, and a long finish.

5/30/2022 - Odedis.Wine.reviews Likes this wine:

This is a gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon from Yountville in Napa Valley.

Full-bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.

Showing black fruits with cedar, vanilla, leather, spices, light earth, chocolates, tobacco, spices, cola, peppercorn, coffee, mocha and light pencil lead.

Dry and fruity on the palate with nice balance and great complexity.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

What a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Rich, extracted and elegant.

This 9 year old is drinking very nicely now, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

I gave it a couple of hours to open up properly.

I've had the 2009 not too long ago, and it is very consistent. This 2013 vintage is showing up very well.

Good by itself or with food, and a great sipping wine. Delightful and delicious.

A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petit Verdot.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

96 points.

$150.

5/10/2022 - buckeye76 Likes this wine:

Deep color, blackberries, black cherries, and licorice in the nose. Black fruits in the flavor. Rich, concentrated and well balanced with a long finish.

5/14/2022 - DollarMenunaire wrote:

Shockingly little phenolic extract from the grapes. It’s like someone took dilute jug wine and aged it in French oak. Light color too. There’s nothing unsound like light TCA taint and the acidity is about right but there’s nothing here. But you could play a prank and use this to convince someone they had covid and couldn’t smell.

5/9/2022 - 2 Utes Likes this wine:

This bottle was a magnum. We had this in celebration for my daughters’ graduations. Excellent wine. Jammy front end. Great nose. Slight alcohol finish. Not hot. With a mag 5+ years left of life I believe.

4/22/2022 - sean7711 Likes this wine:

Napa in Philly - Benefiting CureDuchenne (Fitler Club): New label for me. TRB wine based in Yountville with all wine coming from the family estate. I preferred the Heritage to the Alluvial by a hair. Both are 100% cab pulled from different parts of their vineyard. TRB wine for sure - dark purple fruit, accessible early on. Was impressed.

4/11/2022 - brianofthevine Likes this wine:

76% CS/12% Merlot/9% CF/3% PV. Great Bordeaux blend here and the 6th vintage of this winery...absolutely singing right now. Black cherry, black raspberry, and blackberry fruit. Notes of dark chocolate, spice, crushed rock, and cedar. Very silky smooth with subtle tannins and long finish. Great spot right now at the 20 years mark but this will keep getting better over the next few years.

4/7/2022 - franinnyc Likes this wine:

Ok. To overly extracted for me.