April 30, 2022 - Sweet purple fruit. Spice and dust on the finish. Beautiful luxurious mouthfeel and finish. Age has added complexity. A lovely wine.
January 21, 2022 - Decanted, did a dance around it, nothing can help it. Wine is shot, not even cooking wine. Flabby, messy, sad.
July 24, 2021 - Low expectations given the CT “drink by date “ has passed; did not decant and used an Ah-so cork puller to open. Very surprised this is still hanging on; and quite honestly, drinking very well! Black fruits and structure structure “ in tact”. Given the outstanding vintage, I’m guessing this should be consumed over the next 1-2 years. Still 92 points.
January 2, 2021 - Nose- red fruit and menthol.
Pallet - cassis, blueberry, luscious mouth feel. Mid pallet a little flabby but finish takes over and redeems it. Finish that lingers 20+ seconds. 93 points. Well done!
December 25, 2020 - Nice nose. Smooth tannins. Lasting aftertaste. A bit metallic, but very nice. Might be slightly over prime but a wonderful wine still.
October 24, 2020 - drinking beautifully right now. Suggest it is at its peak drinking window.
The wine looks purple colored. The legs are slow. There is heavy sediment in the bottle. The body is full. The wine has leathery texture. The wine finishes long.
July 16, 2020 - Excellent. Smooth and integrated. Drink now. Don’t think this will be getting any better
May 15, 2020 - Just perfect. Tastes like it is at its peak now. Had it with an amazing Flanksteak and it paired really well. Great Nappa Cabernet!
April 25, 2020 - In my cellar since release. Decanted at 5pm and tasted over the next 5 hours with some left for tomorrow. This is a very pretty wine, elegant and more balanced than I expected. Labeled 14.5% ABV but not over ripe or showing any “heat”. It is a translucent medium to dark garnet. Nose is lightly perfumed with hints of vanilla and spice, some floral elements and mostly red fruit and berries. Tannin well integrated and acidity is bright enough to border on mouth watering. Palate is generous but restrained, mostly red current, plum and black raspberry along with some secondary cedar and mint. All together a lovely wine with a nice medium long finish. Rather unassuming but enjoyable. Certainly enjoyable for another few years with proper cellaring but probably near the end of peak plateau.
P.S. I had the rest on Sunday evening. It was even better. Much deeper and richer with chocolate on the nose and palate and more black fruit like blackberry. Raise rating 91-93 Remarkable!
April 23, 2020 - good, but may be in a "dumb" period. Waiting on my last bottle.