2014 Addax Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Community Tasting Note
csimm wrote:
Saturday, August 26, 2017 - Brasswood - Vintner's Vanguard (Saint Helena): Almost like a hybrid of the 2014 Bevan McGah and Ontogeny I just had prior to tasting this wine, but injected with 100 cc of horse juice, the Addax was deeply extracted and concentrated with black, blue, and purple core fruit, ripe blackberry and blueberry, blue and black pen ink, black asphalt, tar, and some sweet spice.
This tasted like a bachelorette party bus collided with a black stretch limousine full of Secret Service agents. It had the celebratory blast of ripe fruit and sweet extraction (though not cloying at all – just riding that razor’s edge) and a strange sophistication that crept up and kept the restless natives in check. The black minerality/asphalt and spice notes corralled the deep fruit just in the nick of time. It had a hedonistic style about it indeed, but it wasn’t a full-on glass of stripper poles and debauchery. If you want to know what 2014 fruit is all about, tear off your breakaway pants and pour yourself a glass of Addax. 94+ points.
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6 comments have been posted
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (3,829 views)
Comment posted by Shay.Aldriedge:
8/29/2017 8:08:00 AM - Well put! Love this wine and the Addax team
Comment posted by csimm:
8/29/2017 9:14:00 AM - I very much liked this wine, especially for a 2014 vintage Napa Cabernet. It has Russell's opulent signature all over it.
The 2015 Addax is even more fantastic. I had that version a few months ago and was captivated by it. The 2015 is a wine I'd definitely seek out again.
Comment posted by ageverett:
8/29/2017 9:37:00 AM - Quite the note, and quite the tasting. What exactly is the "horse juice"? Just more power/concentration?
Comment posted by csimm:
8/29/2017 9:57:00 AM - Exactly. The "horse juice" was essentially an "on steroids" reference. The Addax has some added power and concentration over the Bevan McGah and Ontogeny that really drove the flavors forward on the attack. It's a big wine, and especially fruit-driven in the 2014 vintage. It is everything I'd imagine Russell Bevan would want in his wine. Hedonistic, sexy, opulent, even a touch slutty. But it stayed in check at the end of the day.
The 2015 is a really elevated version; more refinement, and a complexity and core quality fruit that is most notable.
Comment posted by ageverett:
8/29/2017 1:37:00 PM - Nice. I will look to pick up a 2015 and check it out.
Comment posted by csimm:
8/29/2017 2:51:00 PM - Ya the 2015 is worth the stretch if you can track it down. I personally wouldn't invest in the 2014 at this point given the 2015s stellar performance by comparison.