Flat, and short on the palate. Unimpressive. Musty, earthy, with hints of dark chocolate, yet still dull, without a lot of other flavors. I still have 4 more bottles. Hopefully they will be better.
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PnP, no decant. Took 1/2hr or so to open up a bit. In the nose, dried red and black fruits in the nose, with some cedar and leathery notes, very inviting and pretty. In the mouth, the wine is almost saline, a bit of tart fruit acid up front, no noticeable alcohol as well. Med-full, round and supple flavors of black fruit, old wood, leather, and used coffee grounds.
Overall. Well made, mature/slightly over the hill- I bet some are showing better than others. Drink up either way.
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Much more youthful than the 750ml I had earlier. Needed 5-6 hrs to come around.
Pours a dark garnet in color with some solid bricking around the edges, good clarity.
Offered up ripe aromas of red and black fruits, nothing too overwhelming (not jammy/syrupy); aromas of earth, sage, leather, eucalyptus, and old wood as well. The wine seems effusive with it's aroma- easily detectable from 5' away.
Flavors of red and black currant, cassis, are balanced by silty tannins. Secondary aromas of fresh, used coffee grounds, chaparral, leather, and a musty oakiness are balanced by fading vanilla. Really well balanced, good mid-palate and an orderly progression/evolution of flavors in the mouth- in a real good spot right now.
We didn't finish the bottle the first night, so we transferred the remaining to a 750ml, and finished the next night. The wine was more open, but seemed a little less focused than it was the night before.
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Tasted on June 6, 2016. Definitely past its prime, But still a robust wine that will do justice to any gourmet meal. It is currently more acidic than ideal, and the palate comes up a bit short. It has a bold presentation, with hints of black cherry, dark chocolate, and wet rocks.
December 15, 2020: Short on the palate, with a wet-earth mustiness that correlates with its old age. Still can appreciate the oakiness, complexity and fullness this wine likely had in previous years.
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Opened and decanted an hour or so before drinking over another hour.
The wine exhibits a bit of bricking around the edges, threw a bit of sediment as well. The cork came out in two pieces (operator error), but was pretty saturated- I was somewhat surprised with this.
On the nose: Leather, a bit of eucalyptus, red and black fruit, some dried fruit as well.
Palette: Med-heavy bodied red. Well integrated tannins- there is still some structure for this wine to sit, but not to improve (in my opinion). The wine is well balanced with notes of dried cherries, plum, and earth. Very pleasing to have all by itself.
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Blood red with a tinge of orange at the edge. Cork broke. Decanted (for sediment) for 1.5 hours. Nose was a nice, fruity perfume with some herbal notes. Wine was fresher than expected, and even had a some rounded tannins left. Not bad for a wine that wasn't meant to age this long. Clearly has been crafted with care. Nice surprise.
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(C+) The nose is still there, for sure. But the fruit just disappears after a quick showing on the tip of the tongue. Zero tanin left, it surely goes down smooth. Tries to maintain your interest with a pleasantly subtle presence. Worth opening and sipping now. It is surely past it's peak, but not completely done.
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From magnum: Interesting night over four hours. We opened this bottle based on previous notes. Upon opening, seemed tight, but showing signs that it was holding up nicely. Wonderful dark cherry and coffee notes on the nose, followed by a solid medium length finish with nice structure showing an evolved California cab. Double decanted, then re-opened an hour later. It seemed to slip into a dumb phase, getting short and light. One taster characterized it as tasting of strawberries. We waited another hour before matching it against an '04 Stags Leap Petite Sirah, with our rib eye steaks. The Stag's Leap was drinking beautifully and definitely had the attention of the table. However, the Marinus started to come back into its own, with a much richer nose and pleasing dark cherry notes again. For the last couple of hours since then, it seemed to hit its stride, and offer a pleasing medium finish.
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Splash decanted due to cork breaking in neck of bottle. Aromas of sage, cedar, and black currants. More secondary characteristics on the palate with cedar, cranberry, and red currant. Excellent mouthfeel finishing with soft, well integrated tannins. This might be a little past its peak, but still a very pleasant bottle. Drink now.
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Dinner w/ Friends (NW Suburbs Chicago): Still going strong, this 10 year old wine is hitting it stride. The past year in the bottle has softened the tannins to create an elegant California Bordeaux. Well balanced with black fruit, cedar, and fine, integrated tannins. Supple mouthfeel and lingering, sophisticated finish. Doubt that this wine will get any better and should be drank within the next couple of years.
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Decanted for about 1 1/2 hours. The wine opened up as we consumed the bottle but never became vibrant. It remained a little dull even after 2 1/2 hours.
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Popped this after running through the 2000 CdP with the lamb chops. Not decanted. A bit disappointing for a Cali meritage from an excellent vintage. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't in the same league as the white aperitif and CdP that went before it. In fairness, this was a pleasant bordeaux blend that surely would have benefitted from some air time. Medium weight and tannins. Tasted some cherries and currants on the palate Relatively short finish. Probably didn't do justice to it. Oh well....
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Still dark red in color, cedar and cherries on the nose. Very good medium weight bordeaux blend that still took several hours to open up. At the beginning the fruit was somewhat buried under the tannins, once it opened up, picked up cherries, leather, minerals and spicebox. One of the best reds from the Monterey area.
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After 24 hours in a decanter the wine opened up and became a pleasant light Bordeaux type wine. At this age this wine needs a long decanting betore serving.
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This wine has a clear, ruby-red color with medium to dark intensity. Aromas of clackberry, spice, oak and olive on the nose. Low to medium acidity, light to smooth tannings, medium bodied with a short to medium finish. Balanced fine.
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Medium to full-bodied with rough tannins that still need to smooth out. Decanting helped. Lots of spice and dark fruit on the nose, with an acceptable finish and enough length.
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2/19/2022 - Cellartracker@drkayem.com wrote: 85 Points
Flat, and short on the palate. Unimpressive. Musty, earthy, with hints of dark chocolate, yet still dull, without a lot of other flavors. I still have 4 more bottles. Hopefully they will be better.
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8/25/2021 - HandmadeHomemade Likes this wine:
Drinking well.
PnP, no decant. Took 1/2hr or so to open up a bit. In the nose, dried red and black fruits in the nose, with some cedar and leathery notes, very inviting and pretty. In the mouth, the wine is almost saline, a bit of tart fruit acid up front, no noticeable alcohol as well. Med-full, round and supple flavors of black fruit, old wood, leather, and used coffee grounds.
Overall. Well made, mature/slightly over the hill- I bet some are showing better than others. Drink up either way.
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2/1/2017 - HandmadeHomemade Likes this wine:
From 1.5L
Much more youthful than the 750ml I had earlier. Needed 5-6 hrs to come around.
Pours a dark garnet in color with some solid bricking around the edges, good clarity.
Offered up ripe aromas of red and black fruits, nothing too overwhelming (not jammy/syrupy); aromas of earth, sage, leather, eucalyptus, and old wood as well. The wine seems effusive with it's aroma- easily detectable from 5' away.
Flavors of red and black currant, cassis, are balanced by silty tannins. Secondary aromas of fresh, used coffee grounds, chaparral, leather, and a musty oakiness are balanced by fading vanilla. Really well balanced, good mid-palate and an orderly progression/evolution of flavors in the mouth- in a real good spot right now.
We didn't finish the bottle the first night, so we transferred the remaining to a 750ml, and finished the next night. The wine was more open, but seemed a little less focused than it was the night before.
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6/6/2016 - Cellartracker@drkayem.com wrote: 89 Points
Tasted on June 6, 2016. Definitely past its prime, But still a robust wine that will do justice to any gourmet meal. It is currently more acidic than ideal, and the palate comes up a bit short. It has a bold presentation, with hints of black cherry, dark chocolate, and wet rocks.
December 15, 2020: Short on the palate, with a wet-earth mustiness that correlates with its old age. Still can appreciate the oakiness, complexity and fullness this wine likely had in previous years.
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1/20/2015 - woof wrote: 89 Points
Held up well; was drinking very nice but probably not going to get better
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9/27/2014 - HandmadeHomemade Likes this wine: 88 Points
Opened and decanted an hour or so before drinking over another hour.
The wine exhibits a bit of bricking around the edges, threw a bit of sediment as well. The cork came out in two pieces (operator error), but was pretty saturated- I was somewhat surprised with this.
On the nose: Leather, a bit of eucalyptus, red and black fruit, some dried fruit as well.
Palette: Med-heavy bodied red. Well integrated tannins- there is still some structure for this wine to sit, but not to improve (in my opinion). The wine is well balanced with notes of dried cherries, plum, and earth. Very pleasing to have all by itself.
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8/31/2013 - PDavisMarble wrote: 87 Points
Blood red with a tinge of orange at the edge. Cork broke. Decanted (for sediment) for 1.5 hours. Nose was a nice, fruity perfume with some herbal notes. Wine was fresher than expected, and even had a some rounded tannins left. Not bad for a wine that wasn't meant to age this long. Clearly has been crafted with care. Nice surprise.
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2/22/2011 - prettydeceextrap wrote: 83 Points
(C+) The nose is still there, for sure. But the fruit just disappears after a quick showing on the tip of the tongue. Zero tanin left, it surely goes down smooth. Tries to maintain your interest with a pleasantly subtle presence. Worth opening and sipping now. It is surely past it's peak, but not completely done.
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9/30/2008 - tshields wrote: 90 Points
Time to drink now, almost past its prime
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6/15/2008 - zinslurpie wrote:
From magnum: Interesting night over four hours. We opened this bottle based on previous notes. Upon opening, seemed tight, but showing signs that it was holding up nicely. Wonderful dark cherry and coffee notes on the nose, followed by a solid medium length finish with nice structure showing an evolved California cab. Double decanted, then re-opened an hour later. It seemed to slip into a dumb phase, getting short and light. One taster characterized it as tasting of strawberries. We waited another hour before matching it against an '04 Stags Leap Petite Sirah, with our rib eye steaks. The Stag's Leap was drinking beautifully and definitely had the attention of the table. However, the Marinus started to come back into its own, with a much richer nose and pleasing dark cherry notes again. For the last couple of hours since then, it seemed to hit its stride, and offer a pleasing medium finish.
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3/9/2008 - dharlow wrote: 91 Points
Just keeps on getting better....but probably peaking.
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11/3/2007 - sakemakibug wrote: 90 Points
good bouquet, mature tannins, some floral notes, drink up though
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9/12/2007 - GalvezGuy wrote: 90 Points
Splash decanted due to cork breaking in neck of bottle. Aromas of sage, cedar, and black currants. More secondary characteristics on the palate with cedar, cranberry, and red currant. Excellent mouthfeel finishing with soft, well integrated tannins. This might be a little past its peak, but still a very pleasant bottle. Drink now.
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8/26/2007 - Thralow wrote: 88 Points
We had higher hopes. It did improve as it sat. It sat because we were not impressed upon opening.
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7/29/2007 - SAjulio wrote: 90 Points
Drink now. Decant for at least 2 hours.
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5/28/2007 - zinfidel wrote: 90 Points
Drink now, this has peaked. Still has nice fruit and some oak, but I don't think it will improve.
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3/2/2007 - GolferChris wrote: 91 Points
Dinner w/ Friends (NW Suburbs Chicago): Still going strong, this 10 year old wine is hitting it stride. The past year in the bottle has softened the tannins to create an elegant California Bordeaux. Well balanced with black fruit, cedar, and fine, integrated tannins. Supple mouthfeel and lingering, sophisticated finish. Doubt that this wine will get any better and should be drank within the next couple of years.
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2/24/2007 - cpandmg wrote: 90 Points
Very strong on the nose when the bottle was opened but became very nice after decanting for about an hour.
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2/7/2007 - Gfritzh wrote: 84 Points
Decanted for about 1 1/2 hours. The wine opened up as we consumed the bottle but never became vibrant. It remained a little dull even after 2 1/2 hours.
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5/6/2006 - mouton45 wrote: 88 Points
Popped this after running through the 2000 CdP with the lamb chops. Not decanted. A bit disappointing for a Cali meritage from an excellent vintage. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't in the same league as the white aperitif and CdP that went before it. In fairness, this was a pleasant bordeaux blend that surely would have benefitted from some air time. Medium weight and tannins. Tasted some cherries and currants on the palate Relatively short finish. Probably didn't do justice to it. Oh well....
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4/3/2006 - GolferChris wrote: 90 Points
Still dark red in color, cedar and cherries on the nose. Very good medium weight bordeaux blend that still took several hours to open up. At the beginning the fruit was somewhat buried under the tannins, once it opened up, picked up cherries, leather, minerals and spicebox. One of the best reds from the Monterey area.
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10/3/2005 - Wine Cellar wrote: 89 Points
After 24 hours in a decanter the wine opened up and became a pleasant light Bordeaux type wine. At this age this wine needs a long decanting betore serving.
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2/28/2004 - Tom_B wrote: 87 Points
This wine has a clear, ruby-red color with medium to dark intensity. Aromas of clackberry, spice, oak and olive on the nose. Low to medium acidity, light to smooth tannings, medium bodied with a short to medium finish. Balanced fine.
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7/8/2003 - Tom_B wrote: 89 Points
Medium to full-bodied with rough tannins that still need to smooth out. Decanting helped. Lots of spice and dark fruit on the nose, with an acceptable finish and enough length.
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1/1/2002 - joshwoodward wrote: 91 Points
Dark red. Jammy cabby sweet cough syrup nose. Light grainy tannins, big acid. Berries (black/rasp). Fruity.
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