Basically same notes as 7 months ago. 90 minute decant. Tons of overripe, almost jammy, black and blue fruits that dominate. Some dried herbs, sweet Oak. A smooth wine but still some grit to the tannins. Fine sediment coats the shoulders of the bottle with minimal utra fine sediment in the last glass. Short finish takes it down a point.
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Plenty of overripe black and blue fruits. Still going strong and in need of 60 minutes of decanting. Some sage and Oak. Very smooth. Full mouthfeel. Finish is not particularly long and is relatively short by Arietta standards.
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Tremendous effort. Fruit well integrated with enough structure to carry it another several years. A simple WOW would have been enough. Every sip enjoyable.
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A fruit bomb with a bit more. Very smooth. Overripe and nearly jammy blue and black fruits but thick pliable tannins, with a little spice, Oak and black currant.
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Lovely black and blue fruits. Overripe and nearly jammy both in sweetness and body. Smooth. Vanilla Oak with hints of dried herbs. A crowd pleaser and it has really started to come together. Save about 6 oz for 2 days via Vin-Vac and it was unchanged. This wine has at least 3-4 more years in top form.
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Having already opened a bottle of H Block Hudson 2005 and finding it to be terrible. I tried this and found it to be almost exactly the same. Nose and taste like rotting vegetation, like creek water in November when the creek is full of decaying leaves. Two years ago this was drinking well but it has gone over the edge and has fallen fast. Drink up if you want to drink it at all.
I hope for your sake my two bottles, my last two of this vintage, are simply faulty bottles that are not representative of the vintage at this point. I have my doubts.
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Massive wine of blue and black fruits that are overly ripe and on verge of being jammy or pruney. There are some other elements of tar and leather, but it's a bit lost with a tad too much alcohol. You'd think with a review like this it would be an 85 point wine, but somehow it parts are much when consumed as a whole. I could see a lot of people raving about this wine.
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Unique napa red, definitely benefits from a good decant. Got some cherry, berry on the nose, full mouth, bit tannic... Meat, leather, tobacco. Drinking well now
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Single decant at restaurant. Could have used another. But WOW!! It's Yuuuuuuummmmm! Triple yum! Bright fruit. Beautiful bouquet. As good a bottle as we have ever drank. Fantastic!
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Fantastic wine! Slow ox'd this for 8 hours and it still wasn't enough before this wine hit full stride about an hour into the meal. I'd recommend a 3-4 decant for this wine, still very tightly wound. Once the wine opened up, the nose had raspberries, chocolate, cinammon, touch of vanilla. The pallate silky soft but with nice level of viscosity that doesn't punch you in the mouth, and the perfect amount of acid to pair with the steak. All I could think about was chocolate covered raspberries when drinking this. There is no hurry on this, can hold for few more years.
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Aerated and decanted about 2 hours, and drank over next 2 hours or so, could have used longer decant. Dark garnet, inky color; nose- figs, some earthy vegetable notes, maybe a hint of fennel; palate- agree with others that it's not as fruity as you might expect, nice balance of fruit, oak and tannin, flavors of dark fruits, fennel, hints of figs, anise, and leather, then a little smoky and meaty, definitely got flavors of both the merlot and syrah, good a acidity, medium finish, paired well with grilled lamb steaks. We thought it was starting to integrate nicely but could probably use a little more time, or a longer decant...it started to open up as the night went on. A very nice wine for sure, we got it on sale, but still wouldn't really call it good QPR.
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Decanted for 2 hours, tasted like it needed 2 more. By the end of dinner the wine was singing but the bottle was empty. Meaty nose with fruit pusing through, but not as fruity as expected. Great bottle, requires patience.
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Still too young. Popped/poured. The nose opens up strongly with meat and game, with syrah fruit and oak showing themselves more as it evolves. The overall effect is of a spicy, savory stew. The palate is not as rich as the nose would suggest, with acidity levels that are a little higher than one might expect. The finish seems slightly clipped at present with a slightly bitter tannins.
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Interesting but too young is the best I can say at the moment. Unlike previous vintages of this I've had, the 05 didn't seem well integrated. It tasted like sipping Syrah and Merlot separately not blended, if that makes sense. The syrah black fruit and meatiness dominated and contrasted strangely with the strong chocolate component (which I presume comes from the merlot). Initially lush and juicy, it became increasingly tannic with air. As I have very much enjoyed previous vintages, I have hopes for this one, but I won't touch again for a few years.
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1/23/2021 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Basically same notes as 7 months ago. 90 minute decant. Tons of overripe, almost jammy, black and blue fruits that dominate. Some dried herbs, sweet Oak. A smooth wine but still some grit to the tannins. Fine sediment coats the shoulders of the bottle with minimal utra fine sediment in the last glass. Short finish takes it down a point.
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6/8/2020 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Plenty of overripe black and blue fruits. Still going strong and in need of 60 minutes of decanting. Some sage and Oak. Very smooth. Full mouthfeel. Finish is not particularly long and is relatively short by Arietta standards.
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1/9/2020 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tremendous effort. Fruit well integrated with enough structure to carry it another several years. A simple WOW would have been enough. Every sip enjoyable.
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11/22/2019 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decant or let breathe for an hour. And enjoy!
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9/22/2018 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
A fruit bomb with a bit more. Very smooth. Overripe and nearly jammy blue and black fruits but thick pliable tannins, with a little spice, Oak and black currant.
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1/21/2018 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely black and blue fruits. Overripe and nearly jammy both in sweetness and body. Smooth. Vanilla Oak with hints of dried herbs. A crowd pleaser and it has really started to come together. Save about 6 oz for 2 days via Vin-Vac and it was unchanged. This wine has at least 3-4 more years in top form.
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3/21/2017 - Michael Baskett Does not like this wine:
Having already opened a bottle of H Block Hudson 2005 and finding it to be terrible. I tried this and found it to be almost exactly the same. Nose and taste like rotting vegetation, like creek water in November when the creek is full of decaying leaves. Two years ago this was drinking well but it has gone over the edge and has fallen fast. Drink up if you want to drink it at all.
I hope for your sake my two bottles, my last two of this vintage, are simply faulty bottles that are not representative of the vintage at this point. I have my doubts.
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1/11/2016 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Massive wine of blue and black fruits that are overly ripe and on verge of being jammy or pruney. There are some other elements of tar and leather, but it's a bit lost with a tad too much alcohol. You'd think with a review like this it would be an 85 point wine, but somehow it parts are much when consumed as a whole. I could see a lot of people raving about this wine.
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11/21/2015 - nmoreilly Likes this wine: 92 Points
Better than the last one. Tons of light and dark fruits, vanilla, pound cake and the tannins were more apparent in this one. Popped and poured.
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11/7/2015 - nmoreilly Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted for 1 hour, sweet dark and light berry fruits, cherry lifesavers
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6/6/2015 - Patrickmcw Likes this wine: 91 Points
Unique napa red, definitely benefits from a good decant. Got some cherry, berry on the nose, full mouth, bit tannic... Meat, leather, tobacco. Drinking well now
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8/31/2014 - bnord81 wrote: 95 Points
Nice fruit, balance and finish. Decanted for 4 hours.
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3/24/2013 - Martnmac wrote: 94 Points
Single decant at restaurant. Could have used another. But WOW!! It's Yuuuuuuummmmm! Triple yum! Bright fruit. Beautiful bouquet. As good a bottle as we have ever drank. Fantastic!
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3/14/2013 - ccotton8 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic wine! Slow ox'd this for 8 hours and it still wasn't enough before this wine hit full stride about an hour into the meal. I'd recommend a 3-4 decant for this wine, still very tightly wound. Once the wine opened up, the nose had raspberries, chocolate, cinammon, touch of vanilla. The pallate silky soft but with nice level of viscosity that doesn't punch you in the mouth, and the perfect amount of acid to pair with the steak. All I could think about was chocolate covered raspberries when drinking this. There is no hurry on this, can hold for few more years.
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8/27/2011 - mdkraft99 wrote: 92 Points
Aerated and decanted about 2 hours, and drank over next 2 hours or so, could have used longer decant. Dark garnet, inky color; nose- figs, some earthy vegetable notes, maybe a hint of fennel; palate- agree with others that it's not as fruity as you might expect, nice balance of fruit, oak and tannin, flavors of dark fruits, fennel, hints of figs, anise, and leather, then a little smoky and meaty, definitely got flavors of both the merlot and syrah, good a acidity, medium finish, paired well with grilled lamb steaks. We thought it was starting to integrate nicely but could probably use a little more time, or a longer decant...it started to open up as the night went on. A very nice wine for sure, we got it on sale, but still wouldn't really call it good QPR.
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9/20/2010 - bnord81 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for 2 hours, tasted like it needed 2 more. By the end of dinner the wine was singing but the bottle was empty. Meaty nose with fruit pusing through, but not as fruity as expected. Great bottle, requires patience.
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7/25/2010 - drgrape wrote: 92 Points
Nice nose upon opening. Dark fruit and merlot earthiness. Balanced oak and tannins. Very approachable but still young. Almost like a bordeaux.
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5/6/2010 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
Still too young. Popped/poured. The nose opens up strongly with meat and game, with syrah fruit and oak showing themselves more as it evolves. The overall effect is of a spicy, savory stew. The palate is not as rich as the nose would suggest, with acidity levels that are a little higher than one might expect. The finish seems slightly clipped at present with a slightly bitter tannins.
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7/20/2009 - Pflinn wrote: 95 Points
A very good full body WOW cab/ Merlott
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3/19/2008 - rsepulve wrote:
Interesting but too young is the best I can say at the moment. Unlike previous vintages of this I've had, the 05 didn't seem well integrated. It tasted like sipping Syrah and Merlot separately not blended, if that makes sense. The syrah black fruit and meatiness dominated and contrasted strangely with the strong chocolate component (which I presume comes from the merlot). Initially lush and juicy, it became increasingly tannic with air. As I have very much enjoyed previous vintages, I have hopes for this one, but I won't touch again for a few years.
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