Community Tasting Notes 74

• rosey Likes this wine:

  June 24, 2023 - Dinner Bob and andria

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• djs Likes this wine: 93 points

  September 26, 2021 - Lots of sediment. Silky mouthfeel. Distinct herbal note on the palate that I did not find off-putting. Drink up.

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• sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 96 points

  February 27, 2021 - One off from the large private party purchase last fall (hard to price individual bottles, but likely around $90). On the nose and palate, dark, ripe berries, black currants and lesser notes of black cherries and cassis, earthy minerality, dark florals, smoke, anise, leather and graphite, with a pleasing and hard to describe bite on the long-ish back end. Deep, dark purple with faint notes of black and brown, medium++ body and legs. Zingy acidity, powerful tannins which stayed separate but were remarkably complementary, no heat. This was pretty much singing out of the bottle, and with both air and over 3 nights, has stayed quite similar, in this case, a good thing. Powerful yet impressively lithe, with great secondary notes juxtaposing the sweet and savory, and structure which is formidable yet in no way unfriendly, this wine hits a bullseye in a way that Foley's '01 Claret for Pride didn't quite, with fruit that had either receded a bit, while the other elements remained powerful, or was still hiding somewhat behind them (of course, despite the same name, that wine was 60% merlot and this is a 100% CS, but don't get me started on the meaninglessness of the word claret, a close winner over the almost equally silly Super Tuscan [which at least is made in Tuscany, as opposed a Claret, which could be made anywhere, although with the advantage over the ST that it can only contain Bordeaux varietals]). An interesting compare-and contrast with the earlier in the week HSS, with that wine screaming "High end special occasion" and this one whispering "You could drink this once a week (if you only bumped your wine budget up a bit)". This wine falls just below the HSS (considerably further below in price), in the third, but still excellent, tier of CS/Bordeaux blends with wines of the past couple+ years like the '13 Bevan ee Tench, the '10 Beringer PR, the '11 Tor Cimarossa, and the '13 Nickel & Nickel CC. Not flashy or flamboyant, this quietly excelled both on its own and with leftover rack of lamb and pizza, with balance, elegance and subtlety, for fans of baseball, perhaps Andy Pettite or Mike Mussina to the HSS's Roger Clemens: a lot less velocity, but all arm angles, changing speeds and hitting corners. Pretty much dead in the middle of the modern Napa-Bordeaux inflected Napa continuum. Great drinking window, which could improve for those who'd prefer just a touch more integration--I prefer more distinct elements, as long as they're balanced--but should do no worse than stay here for 5+++ years. This is my first Bob Foley wine under his own label, but when I'm back in more of a wine-buying (I hope) than wine drinking mode, I hope it won't be the last. More than solid qpr at retail, outstanding at what I paid. 96

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• DougLee wrote: 93 points

  December 5, 2020 - Tried this again after 13 years. Opaque purple color. Lots of cassis on the nose, joined by currant, blackberry, hyacinth, earthy tones. Opulent but reigned-in red plum and currant elements on the palate cut with graphite, iodine, and deep-drilling blackberry fruit. Bright acidity and serious but smoothed tannin. Some heat at the end but not enough to detract. Longer finish of red plum, leather, and earthy tobacco. Compelling California cab combining overt ripeness with a good amount of balance and integration.

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• Wine 285 wrote: 94 points

  November 22, 2020 - So happy I opened a few of my 02's last night. Still drinking well and after 2 hrs just got better!

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Pro Reviews 3

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2002
• Type Red
• Producer Robert Foley
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation Claret
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Napa Valley
• Appellation Napa Valley
• UPC Code 1000000000160

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 3 (0%)
• In Cellars 660 (46%)
• Consumed 777 (54%)

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