Community Tasting Note

msuwine wrote:

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 - This rich and integrated wine is drinking at its peak right now (and what a glorious, delicious peak it is!). Cherry red, almost inky black, in color; full in body; nose of plum, mocha, and gravel road. Lucious tastes of black cherry, blueberry pie, milk chocolate, and cedar, with a lingering, silky finish whose dusty tannins have fully integrated. Blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and the remaining 1% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. 14.9% alcohol. Drink in next year or so, since this dances at the edge of over-ripeness. Give this an hour of air, since it tastes a bit messy at first - but opens into something far more impressive with air.

Sometimes a modern CA wine falls apart with age; sometimes it holds serve - older, but the same; and sometimes it becomes more than the sum of its parts. This is the last kind of wine. I agree with csimm1161 that this isn't a dense, concentrated wine - but I also think this has plenty of ripeness, complexity, and plushness; it is a wine that has unfolded over time. No one would confuse this as a wine from anywhere other than Napa, but it's also hard to deny that it has aged beautifully.

Bottom line, this wine has polish and class that are remarkable. I think this has more integration and polish than the 2010 or 2012, while still providing fresh, almost joyous fruit. The key characteristic that makes me love this wine is this: it integrates ripe fruit and subtle structure (treble and base, if you will) in order to make a harmonious and delicious wine. 96-97.

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