April 13, 2024 - Wow. Everything I expected. Purchased from the winery on release and this was the first taste.
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like red currant, plum and light toast.
February 14, 2024 - Decanted 1 hour.
December 31, 2023 - Unsure if I should rate this 96 or 86. It really comes down to my preference in red wine and this is not exactly it. Mind you, there's no denying this is a high quality wine. This is the color of ink. Massive nose of ripe dark fruit, coffee, and alcohol. A huge but balanced body with dark fruit flavors, berry schnapps, oaky vanilla. Gripping finish.
October 16, 2023 - Nimble and delicious! Drink it, it is going to loose its verve.
October 3, 2023 - from magnum - double-decanted and stoppered for about 1½ hours, then served after an additional 2 hours of aeration. Showing beautifully with tons of mint, smoke, ripe fruits. Fragrant and woodsy on the nose. Tannins were still here but had already softened to become pretty sexy.
July 23, 2023 - from magnum - double-decanted and stoppered for an hour, served more than 2 hours after decanting. Such a typical Cali cab, with lots of vanilla, coconut butter, together with plenty of sweet cassis and black cherries. The extended aeration plus the aging have managed to soften up the palate considerably, and the wine was now silky smooth.
July 1, 2023 - Popped and poured. Nice nose of black fruit, smoke and herbs. The palate is huge, concentrated and very ripe with layers and layers of flavor, and long finish. Impressive wine although a trad too much oak.
April 17, 2023 - Tasted over two nights, the first night 1-5 hrs after popping. Fairly consistent notes both times. Sweet bay leaf, black currant and blackberry, pencil shavings, dark chocolate and dried dill (first night only). A lovely bottle. Went well with pan-seared NY strip Wagyu.
February 19, 2023 - Still deep color. Black cherries, blackberries, currants, licorice, tobacco, mocha with earthiness and minerality in the nose. Deep black fruit in the flavor, blackberries, black currants, blueberries, dark chocolate and spice in the flavor. A rich, concentrated wine showing great acidity and complexity. Very well balanced, full bodied, and a long lingering finish.
January 1, 2023 - Pretty much on par for a good vintage SHS: rich, luscious black fruit married to high-quality, spicy oak. The fruit and texture are so exquisite you forgive the lack of complexity. Surprisingly easy to drink for such a rich wine and, in the final judgment, simply delicious.