November 6, 2018 - From Methuselah (6L). Cork soft but no leaking and it came out in tact. and no seepage. Decanted 2 hours. Less than 1.5 tablespoons of sediment. Some modest bricking, but nice dark ruby color. A very dry wine with blackberries, nice food acidity, and cedar. Smooth with a 15 second finish. A lovely but simple wine that could have held its form in this format for another 5 to 7 years, but I doubt it would improve.
April 1, 2018 - Limited decant. Pours a dark ruby with brown and orange, some cloudiness. Nose is medium-strong cedar, cherry, orange peel, ethanol and mild leather. Palate has more alcohol. Wine is youthful and acidic, with gripping tannins.
If tasting blind, would guess a young, quality Rioja with a lovely nose and hot palate. This wine is 25 years old but other than some stuffy oak in background, you'd never guess it.
Wine really hits its stride 60-90 minutes in, and if I could do it over, I would have decanted 2 hours ahead. Alcohol subsides, and some warm toasted coconut flavors smooth the palate.
Beguiling wine. If you still have some, it will easily cellar another 2-5 years (or longer). Needs a decant, and ideally drink with a meal in case the alcohol is too much.
August 6, 2014 - The tale of two wines. Upon opening, it was very nice. Still plenty of freshness surrounding cassis, leather, dusty soil, and black cherry. After about 2 hours it became undrinkable due to brettanomyces. So, the first part of the wine was a 90, the latter an 80, and that's being generous.
April 16, 2013 - A positive surprise. More mature/tertiary notes on the nose than on the palate. Wonderful ripe and sweet blackcurrant but plenty of balancing acidity and fine mellow tannins. Smokey and jammy notes reveals age. The ripe fruit lingers a very long time - impressive throughout. Drinking perfectly now but if you have plenty there is no rush.
July 30, 2012 - My only real regret is that I have only one more to drink. Seriously great old cab. All the secondary and tertiery flavors were there. The green is gone. The fruit and tannins in balance. Not a faded beauty, a beautifully aged beauty.
April 29, 2011 - Solidly well made bottle of cab. No traces of green left. Nice bricking at the edge and the ever so lovely sweetness of Napa.
March 20, 2011 - Still going strong. Lovely mature notes and even fairly tannic still. Nose is of stewed plums (in the best possible way). Palate is fine powdered and persistent. A good dose of acidity too. It's never going to mistaken for a great wine, or even an easy one, but I really enjoyed it.
September 5, 2010 - Strikingly youthful in every respect, with a deep mahogany appearance; a spicy, quite fruitcakey nose; quite sweet tasting, complex and long; the second day, the sweetness was less obvious, giving way to more cedary notes. Very impressive.
March 19, 1997 - Tasting of 5 Bordeaux and 2 California wines (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Weedy, light fruit on the nose, chewy mouthfeel, austere tasting, very mouth coating, medium tannic finish.