A really nice bottle with good dark fruit, nice tension and good complexity. Nice glassy, silky body but the finish was a little edgy due to the tannins. A touch of herbal funk as well. Really nice wine that was beaten out by a 2012 Tor BTK. Drank in honor of Chateau Boswell -- such a tragedy. Had many a great Realm tasting with Juan in their cave.
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Drank over 2 days. Night one vs '14 Carter LPV and the Carter was the clear winner. I went into this with expectations of it being as good if not better than the Carter. Tight, bell pepper, mineral, muted fruit, firm tannins. It was a pop and pour which I will not do with my last remaining bottle. Unfortunately this is either on a quick decent from its prime or in a bad phase (89pts). Day 2: the harsh edge and funk had dissipated and the wine was very delicate and smooth. The most feminine wine I have had in years.
What an exquisite wine. Just tremendous. The nose is pure To Kalon -- rich with licorice and dark fruit. Really hard to describe the smell that you get from this great vineyard, but it is all captured here. Incredibly powerful, layered and concentrated on the pallet. A multidimensional wine that unfolds with grace and power after each sip. It is round and plush with a stiff backbone that shows serious winemaking chops. The finish seems everlasting, with some serious tannins that require a long decant or even more aging. This wine has many, many years left and its best days are ahead. First time with this discontinued wine and now I'm sad they stopped making it. Great buy for me at auction. Pick some up if you get a chance. 97+
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a wow wine on all levels - uneffingbelieveable - don't really have the words in my tasting vocabulary to do this justice. Dark purple, blue/black fruit, phenomenal nose - someone else said 'elegant and huge', and that nails it.
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Just a beautiful wine. A shame it no longer exists if you can find any, buy it A huge aromatic wine with notes on ink, eucalyptus, dark dark fruit. No cherry. All blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry. The taste is both elegant and huge. Taste as it smells plus some pepper. Still needs an hour decant. A fabulous wine.
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Wow. This really developed nicely since I tasted my last bottle. Intoxicating floral nose, intense, clean fruit on the palate balanced by secondary flavors of cedar and tobacco. Long finish. This is turning into a real beauty with several years to go in it's drinking window.
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Great balance in this wine; seamless; beautiful fruit in control and fine tannins in the background. Wood is there but in check. Many more good days ahead for this wine.
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Nose is intense blackberry jam and ripe sweet plum. Midpalate is ultra thick and mouthcoating without being even slightly syrupy. Finish is this full throttle with an attack of cassis and blackberry, cocoa powder then this subtle lift of lemon zest. Hands down, this is what Cabernet is all about. I cannot wait to open another one.
Second bottle, tasted 12/22/12. Very consistent with my prior tasting notes back in May. The exception is now I get this salt attack on the tongue followed by all the fruit and cocoa notes. This remains on of the best Cabs I've ever tasted. Exceptional.
-- Consumed at at cellar temp: 60°-65° F. Friends don't let friends drink red wine at room temp!
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Dark purple, nose of cigar, mint faint fruit. Palate brings the same with fairly heavy wood, tobacco, some mint. Fairly tannic. The underlying fruit is nice and makes a late appearance segueing into a nice long finish. Not what I was expecting and may improve over several years. For now somewhat of a letdown.
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San Antonio Wine Geeks; 4/13/2012-4/14/2012 (Tre Trattoria): Big rich blackcurrant and vanilla nose. Palate with finely polished tannins, concentrated dark fruit with a bit of cassis to highlight. Quite concentrated, but tight, as it seemed to keep a lot in reserve. Showing oak spice and coffee on a moderate finish. Primary and young, needs to time to come around. Solid, with high quality tannins and good depth, but didn’t distinguish itself. 91-93
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Brought to dinner out and had it decanted for 30 minutes before tasting; unbelievably smooth and balanced; the fruit is more subdued than I would have expected for such a young wine; this could be shutting down a bit, but can't be sure. This wine has immense potential and should be long lived.
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From barrel sample, this wine is absolutely fabulous. Tremendous balance, complexity, classically dry. This is fabulous stuff. This puts most cult wines to shame. I'd probably give this 96+. The fellow pouring was amusing and had a nice pink shirt:)
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12/7/2023 - jsander Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was excellent. Popped and poured, showed a beautiful silky fruit on the nose. And the finish went on forever. Drinking beautifully.
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10/16/2020 - iamandyc Likes this wine: 93 Points
A really nice bottle with good dark fruit, nice tension and good complexity. Nice glassy, silky body but the finish was a little edgy due to the tannins. A touch of herbal funk as well. Really nice wine that was beaten out by a 2012 Tor BTK. Drank in honor of Chateau Boswell -- such a tragedy. Had many a great Realm tasting with Juan in their cave.
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11/23/2018 - jaxpaj wrote: 92 Points
The wine has transitioned and the bright and rich fruit has been replaced by mineral, dark fruit, and a touch of rutherford dust.
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12/19/2017 - jaxpaj wrote: 92 Points
Drank over 2 days. Night one vs '14 Carter LPV and the Carter was the clear winner. I went into this with expectations of it being as good if not better than the Carter. Tight, bell pepper, mineral, muted fruit, firm tannins. It was a pop and pour which I will not do with my last remaining bottle. Unfortunately this is either on a quick decent from its prime or in a bad phase (89pts). Day 2: the harsh edge and funk had dissipated and the wine was very delicate and smooth. The most feminine wine I have had in years.
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6/30/2016 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points
What an exquisite wine. Just tremendous. The nose is pure To Kalon -- rich with licorice and dark fruit. Really hard to describe the smell that you get from this great vineyard, but it is all captured here. Incredibly powerful, layered and concentrated on the pallet. A multidimensional wine that unfolds with grace and power after each sip. It is round and plush with a stiff backbone that shows serious winemaking chops. The finish seems everlasting, with some serious tannins that require a long decant or even more aging. This wine has many, many years left and its best days are ahead. First time with this discontinued wine and now I'm sad they stopped making it. Great buy for me at auction. Pick some up if you get a chance. 97+
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12/5/2015 - AngryPrez Likes this wine: 96 Points
a wow wine on all levels - uneffingbelieveable - don't really have the words in my tasting vocabulary to do this justice. Dark purple, blue/black fruit, phenomenal nose - someone else said 'elegant and huge', and that nails it.
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11/27/2015 - Bill Johnson Likes this wine: 97 Points
Just a beautiful wine. A shame it no longer exists if you can find any, buy it A huge aromatic wine with notes on ink, eucalyptus, dark dark fruit. No cherry. All blackberry, blueberry and boysenberry. The taste is both elegant and huge. Taste as it smells plus some pepper. Still needs an hour decant. A fabulous wine.
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9/19/2015 - winopops3 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow. This really developed nicely since I tasted my last bottle. Intoxicating floral nose, intense, clean fruit on the palate balanced by secondary flavors of cedar and tobacco. Long finish. This is turning into a real beauty with several years to go in it's drinking window.
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7/7/2013 - mactheknife wrote: 94 Points
Great balance in this wine; seamless; beautiful fruit in control and fine tannins in the background. Wood is there but in check. Many more good days ahead for this wine.
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5/11/2012 - Gestalted wrote: 98 Points
Nose is intense blackberry jam and ripe sweet plum. Midpalate is ultra thick and mouthcoating without being even slightly syrupy. Finish is this full throttle with an attack of cassis and blackberry, cocoa powder then this subtle lift of lemon zest. Hands down, this is what Cabernet is all about. I cannot wait to open another one.
Second bottle, tasted 12/22/12. Very consistent with my prior tasting notes back in May. The exception is now I get this salt attack on the tongue followed by all the fruit and cocoa notes. This remains on of the best Cabs I've ever tasted. Exceptional.
--
Consumed at at cellar temp: 60°-65° F. Friends don't let friends drink red wine at room temp!
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4/28/2012 - winopops3 wrote: 90 Points
Dark purple, nose of cigar, mint faint fruit. Palate brings the same with fairly heavy wood, tobacco, some mint. Fairly tannic. The underlying fruit is nice and makes a late appearance segueing into a nice long finish. Not what I was expecting and may improve over several years. For now somewhat of a letdown.
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4/14/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
San Antonio Wine Geeks; 4/13/2012-4/14/2012 (Tre Trattoria): Big rich blackcurrant and vanilla nose. Palate with finely polished tannins, concentrated dark fruit with a bit of cassis to highlight. Quite concentrated, but tight, as it seemed to keep a lot in reserve. Showing oak spice and coffee on a moderate finish. Primary and young, needs to time to come around. Solid, with high quality tannins and good depth, but didn’t distinguish itself. 91-93
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2/13/2012 - mactheknife wrote: 93 Points
Brought to dinner out and had it decanted for 30 minutes before tasting; unbelievably smooth and balanced; the fruit is more subdued than I would have expected for such a young wine; this could be shutting down a bit, but can't be sure. This wine has immense potential and should be long lived.
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4/3/2011 - winegr wrote:
From barrel sample, this wine is absolutely fabulous. Tremendous balance, complexity, classically dry. This is fabulous stuff. This puts most cult wines to shame. I'd probably give this 96+. The fellow pouring was amusing and had a nice pink shirt:)
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