My last bottle. This has been a crowd pleaser for some time now. See previous note for descriptors. Great qpr for a small production wine. I need to look into recent vintages. Drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for approximately 20 minutes. Lots of sediment requiring a filtered decant. Dark and brooding. A nose of cedar, oak, and remaining jammy dark fruit. Not stewed but more like a jam reduction. The same goes for the palate with even greater integration. This wine is in a great spot in time and us hitting on all cylinders. Drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very disappointing compared to prior bottles that we drank several years ago. In reading other recent reviews, it might simply have been a matter of not knowing EXACTLY when to drink it. Promising immediately upon opening, but not so much a half hour later. In fact, with sporadic tastes during the evening, we opted to not even serve it. The bottle was left on the kitchen counter and periodically tasted over the next two or three days, and there was one moment where it seemed better, but, unfortunately, it was not an opportune time to sit and drink it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
My last bottle from the cellar....have been waiting a while to see how this would evolve. Probably should not have decanted at all. It exhibited its best nose early on and same for the palate. Pruney nose but not on the palate. Dark red/black fruit and if nothing else the balance the wine showed was quite remarkable. My mistake for giving it too much air! It probably would have scored a bit higher. Many people still don't realize how good cab can be from the Sonoma side, when it's done well, it's quite delish!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Zoom with Mark and Jason (Atlanta/Naples/Minneapolis): Another one of my top 3 faves of the night, this time supplied by Mark. When I opened before the tasty it seemed like Bordeaux on the nose, so much tobacco. But then on the palate much sweeter red and black fruit. Interestingly, this was best at PNP and then again on day 2. After 3 hours decant the fruit seemed more stewed and plummy and the complexity had diminished. It came back to life after a night in the refrigerator, so I don't know what to think. maybe palate fatigue because we had so many wines to taste? But even so there was some nice evolution overnight and I really enjoyed this one.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Zooming with some new friends!: PnP then let rest in glass for 30 mins. - Very nice CA cab that offers a very good QPR. Nose slightly perfumed with dark fruit, leather earth and spice. Palate showed the same as the nose....good, balanced wine with just enough fruit, acid and tannins! A solid Napa Cab that is fruit forward, but also has some complexity. This wine seems built for the medium haul. I would say drink up during the next 3 years. In a good spot now....solid 93 points.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pnp...needs a long decant. Medium body and decent but not note worthy. The '08 is more approachable yet a bit over tje hill. This wine just seemed disjointed and out of balance with high acid and low fruit and lacking of body. Perhaps another year or so and more air upon serving will do it more justice. Hold.
Wowwww. Very special bottle. Has everything I want from a Sonoma (or Napa) cab. Complex nose, graphite, eucalyptus, tobacco, dark fruit, structure, balance, long finish. Ok, maybe 96 or so at this point. Just kept getting better over 1st hour. Opened on a weeknight so had to keep from just downing whole bottle. One of my top 5 wines this year. Tears because I only have one left.
A bit thin in the mouth on opening, dark ruby in the glass, standard cab nose. My sense is this wine has evolved to where it will be. Left in decanter, came back to it 45 min later and it had gained some weight and slightly more cab nose and additional nuances with flavor too. Still, at now 10 years old, this bottle not as good as those in past years. I have one left and will be drinking it within the next 6 months.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
drank a glass upon opening, but it was clearly not ready to drink. Actually, did not get to drink it on the 2nd day, but took a drink two days after opening. It was truly phenomenal. Balanced. Long finish with a very distinctive taste. Just fabulous. But, I don't even know if a few hour decant would have been enough. Maybe just open a day ahead of time
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for 6 hours...Wow, this was pretty special. A beautiful nose of jammy dark fruit and baking spices. Lush on the palate with well integrated and polished tannins. Drink now through next year. Great qpr!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was one of the standout wines tasted during the evening. Dark garnet color to the edges of the glass. Smooth and velvety. Drinking spectacularly right now with time still to go in the bottle. Aromas of dark fruit, flavors of blackberry, blueberry and mocha.
Not the same as my first bottle! This bottle really lacked the depth and richness of my first bottle. I still have two left and will open another shortly to really see where this wine is at.
Just a beautiful bottle drinking exceptionally well right now. A Napa cab lover's wine - but from Sonoma.....don't tell anybody. Mr. Bugay has done a remarkable job.....just a beautiful classy floral/lightly wooded/fruit nose...reeks of class. Good weight in the mouth, excellent dark color and tannins that have begun to recede nicely integrating into a rather seamless wine experience. This bottle not far from a 95 in my book, which is what I gave the last bottle.....every now and then you just have a truly beautiful, flavorful, glorious wine experience where all the elements come into perfect focus. This bottle was one such of those moments. Enjoyed with good friends who felt likewise.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This drank beautifully. Perfect tannins provide just the right amount of grit. Dark fruit, blackberry and blueberry aromas and flavors. Such a wonderful wine and still going strong.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
What a powerful wine! An hour in the glass and warming to room temp...loads of lead pencil, dark purple in the glass, a thin entry initially that rapidly turns into a mid heavyweight dark fruited power bomb! Loads of tannin and acidity remain for many years of aging. The mid palate yields dark chocolate and cocoa powder along with dark blue and black fruit that is sweet and tart at the same time. Absolutely beautiful!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I can see why this wine has gotten consistent 90+ scores! This is a high quality Napa Cab, as good as many twice the price. Classic CS nose, explodes in the front palate and lingers on and on. Still lots of life left. I would save for special occasions and to share with friends who really like Napa Cabs.
PnP'd. Very primary with sturdy tannins and acidity; blackberry fruit, coffee, some savory green notes, tobacco, and graphite. Superb now with excellent potential for aging and secondary development.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I last had this in October of 2106 and scored it a 90 but did not provide notes which usually means I opened it at a party and only got a quick sample. Now that I had time to properly taste this I bumped it up to a solid 93 in my book. Opened at 3:30 and splash decanted and started sipping around an hour later. Still very primary suggesting a long life ahead. A wonderfully expressive nose of dark fruit and anise that was easily accessible inches above the rim of the glass. Still hanging on to some tannins but the mouthfeel is then coated with berries in a long, long finish. Great value at $40 and will confidently hold the next couple of bottled to await further development.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
7/15/2023 - Bodyfxr wrote: 92 Points
My last bottle. This has been a crowd pleaser for some time now. See previous note for descriptors. Great qpr for a small production wine. I need to look into recent vintages.
Drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2022 - Bodyfxr wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for approximately 20 minutes. Lots of sediment requiring a filtered decant. Dark and brooding. A nose of cedar, oak, and remaining jammy dark fruit. Not stewed but more like a jam reduction. The same goes for the palate with even greater integration. This wine is in a great spot in time and us hitting on all cylinders. Drink up.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/30/2022 - jzebrack wrote: 85 Points
Very disappointing compared to prior bottles that we drank several years ago. In reading other recent reviews, it might simply have been a matter of not knowing EXACTLY when to drink it. Promising immediately upon opening, but not so much a half hour later. In fact, with sporadic tastes during the evening, we opted to not even serve it.
The bottle was left on the kitchen counter and periodically tasted over the next two or three days, and there was one moment where it seemed better, but, unfortunately, it was not an opportune time to sit and drink it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 92 Points
My last bottle from the cellar....have been waiting a while to see how this would evolve. Probably should not have decanted at all. It exhibited its best nose early on and same for the palate. Pruney nose but not on the palate. Dark red/black fruit and if nothing else the balance the wine showed was quite remarkable. My mistake for giving it too much air! It probably would have scored a bit higher. Many people still don't realize how good cab can be from the Sonoma side, when it's done well, it's quite delish!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/3/2021 - Decanting Queen wrote: 93 Points
Zoom with Mark and Jason (Atlanta/Naples/Minneapolis): Another one of my top 3 faves of the night, this time supplied by Mark. When I opened before the tasty it seemed like Bordeaux on the nose, so much tobacco. But then on the palate much sweeter red and black fruit.
Interestingly, this was best at PNP and then again on day 2. After 3 hours decant the fruit seemed more stewed and plummy and the complexity had diminished. It came back to life after a night in the refrigerator, so I don't know what to think. maybe palate fatigue because we had so many wines to taste? But even so there was some nice evolution overnight and I really enjoyed this one.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/3/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Zooming with some new friends!: PnP then let rest in glass for 30 mins. - Very nice CA cab that offers a very good QPR. Nose slightly perfumed with dark fruit, leather earth and spice. Palate showed the same as the nose....good, balanced wine with just enough fruit, acid and tannins! A solid Napa Cab that is fruit forward, but also has some complexity. This wine seems built for the medium haul. I would say drink up during the next 3 years. In a good spot now....solid 93 points.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/5/2020 - Reblin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Smooth, complex fruit, notes of leather and pencil. A little more acid than the 2006 at the same dinner. Paired beautifully with beef bourgignon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/21/2019 - Bodyfxr wrote: 88 Points
Pnp...needs a long decant. Medium body and decent but not note worthy. The '08 is more approachable yet a bit over tje hill. This wine just seemed disjointed and out of balance with high acid and low fruit and lacking of body. Perhaps another year or so and more air upon serving will do it more justice. Hold.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
12/12/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of the better Napa Cabs I have had in a few years. Very rich, not at all "jammy" and very varietal. Full from front to back palate.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
12/5/2019 - elevwine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wowwww. Very special bottle. Has everything I want from a Sonoma (or Napa) cab. Complex nose, graphite, eucalyptus, tobacco, dark fruit, structure, balance, long finish. Ok, maybe 96 or so at this point. Just kept getting better over 1st hour. Opened on a weeknight so had to keep from just downing whole bottle. One of my top 5 wines this year. Tears because I only have one left.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/31/2019 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 92 Points
A bit thin in the mouth on opening, dark ruby in the glass, standard cab nose. My sense is this wine has evolved to where it will be. Left in decanter, came back to it 45 min later and it had gained some weight and slightly more cab nose and additional nuances with flavor too. Still, at now 10 years old, this bottle not as good as those in past years. I have one left and will be drinking it within the next 6 months.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/27/2019 - Neecies Likes this wine:
The years have been good to this. Has some good secondary development now with notes of leather, pipe tobacco and old books.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
7/4/2019 - elevwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still improving. Powerful wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent Napa Cab. Drinking perfectly right now. Great balance of dark fruit and soft tannins. Slightly thin mid palate, but good none-the-less.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2018 - jzebrack Likes this wine: 93 Points
drank a glass upon opening, but it was clearly not ready to drink.
Actually, did not get to drink it on the 2nd day, but took a drink two days after opening.
It was truly phenomenal. Balanced. Long finish with a very distinctive taste. Just fabulous.
But, I don't even know if a few hour decant would have been enough.
Maybe just open a day ahead of time
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2018 - Bodyfxr wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 6 hours...Wow, this was pretty special. A beautiful nose of jammy dark fruit and baking spices. Lush on the palate with well integrated and polished tannins. Drink now through next year. Great qpr!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/20/2018 - Tym4wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was one of the standout wines tasted during the evening. Dark garnet color to the edges of the glass. Smooth and velvety. Drinking spectacularly right now with time still to go in the bottle. Aromas of dark fruit, flavors of blackberry, blueberry and mocha.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
9/19/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not the same as my first bottle! This bottle really lacked the depth and richness of my first bottle. I still have two left and will open another shortly to really see where this wine is at.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
8/15/2018 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just a beautiful bottle drinking exceptionally well right now. A Napa cab lover's wine - but from Sonoma.....don't tell anybody. Mr. Bugay has done a remarkable job.....just a beautiful classy floral/lightly wooded/fruit nose...reeks of class. Good weight in the mouth, excellent dark color and tannins that have begun to recede nicely integrating into a rather seamless wine experience. This bottle not far from a 95 in my book, which is what I gave the last bottle.....every now and then you just have a truly beautiful, flavorful, glorious wine experience where all the elements come into perfect focus. This bottle was one such of those moments. Enjoyed with good friends who felt likewise.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/3/2018 - Tym4wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
This drank beautifully. Perfect tannins provide just the right amount of grit. Dark fruit, blackberry and blueberry aromas and flavors. Such a wonderful wine and still going strong.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2018 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
What a powerful wine! An hour in the glass and warming to room temp...loads of lead pencil, dark purple in the glass, a thin entry initially that rapidly turns into a mid heavyweight dark fruited power bomb! Loads of tannin and acidity remain for many years of aging. The mid palate yields dark chocolate and cocoa powder along with dark blue and black fruit that is sweet and tart at the same time. Absolutely beautiful!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 93 Points
I can see why this wine has gotten consistent 90+ scores! This is a high quality Napa Cab, as good as many twice the price. Classic CS nose, explodes in the front palate and lingers on and on. Still lots of life left. I would save for special occasions and to share with friends who really like Napa Cabs.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
11/23/2017 - mkoss Likes this wine: 94 Points
Second night are where the fireworks are - and a near perfect glass of cab.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2017 - Neecies Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP'd. Very primary with sturdy tannins and acidity; blackberry fruit, coffee, some savory green notes, tobacco, and graphite. Superb now with excellent potential for aging and secondary development.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2017 - ddmhunter Likes this wine: 93 Points
4-5hr decant Nose of dark fruit and it flows to the palate in depth.
Mild tannin's on finish, great pairing with Med Rare Rib eye
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/13/2017 - Arch57 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I last had this in October of 2106 and scored it a 90 but did not provide notes which usually means I opened it at a party and only got a quick sample. Now that I had time to properly taste this I bumped it up to a solid 93 in my book. Opened at 3:30 and splash decanted and started sipping around an hour later. Still very primary suggesting a long life ahead. A wonderfully expressive nose of dark fruit and anise that was easily accessible inches above the rim of the glass. Still hanging on to some tannins but the mouthfeel is then coated with berries in a long, long finish. Great value at $40 and will confidently hold the next couple of bottled to await further development.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2016 - lisaannecabrera wrote: flawed
Turned
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/16/2016 - theoz wrote: 92 Points
Sorry to see this go. Last bottle. Great value, great wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/7/2016 - theoz wrote: 92 Points
After a couple hours in the decanter this stuff is great. Lays back with a nice velvety feel, great leather, dusty coco, blackberry. Very enjoyable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment