Pretty red juniper berry aromas. Nice sweet red velvet cake flavors upfront that becomes more nuanced and spiced. Nice brightness and good balance with a dark cocoa finish. Nice.
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This is the declassified wine from Araujo's Eisele vineyard, essentially a second wine to this fabled estate. The wine pours like a typical heavyweight Cali cabernet - a dark and inky garnet color with very long legs because of the high alcohol content. On the nose, the wine shows hints of left bank Bordeaux. This one in particular is a blend of 87% cab, 6.5% petit verdot and 6.5% merlot. It is fruit forward with an explosion of cherries, strawberries, kirsch, coffee, anise, and leather. On the palate, the wine is quite hot at first but grippy tannins soon settled in, bringing with it a robust structure. The wine is definitely a fruit bomb. Flavors of stewed blackberries, cherries and mocha dominate the core which is supported by tertiary notes of rosemary, mint, leather and tobacco. This almost drinks like a Syrah. Finish is very long, lasting almost a minute. Fabulous wine from a fabulous vintage from a fabulous winemaker. Incredible stuff here.
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Decanted and tasted after 30mins. Colour starting to turn, good legs. Liquorice and mint on the nose. Either at or just past its peak on the palate, shorter than I would have expected. Fruit and tannin well balanced, although not a huge amount of either.
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Drinking beautifully. At a great place in it's development. Velvety tannins and creamy flavors of black cherry and red raspberry. Secondary nuances of leather and toasted oak
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Above-average concentration and improbable youthfulness. I was struck by the complete absence of tertiarty fruit. The wine was still completely primary, indicating many more years of cellar-ability. A great bottle, drowning in concentrated black fruit, buffered, finely grained tannins and beautifully-integrated oak.
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Opened this evening. the longer in the decanter, the better it was. This wine has many more years and is in its infancy, but very solid after an hour in decanter. Reminds me of some Phelps Insignias...
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Ripe, sweet flavors of chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon/clove, and coffee. A touch of heat on the finish. Lush, soft texture. Long, sweet finish. Not really my style anymore (and a terrible value at $85), but nevertheless quite tasty.
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Opened and decanted forabout an hour before tasting. Deep, dark purple in color. Nice nose of currant, spice and the previously mentioned coffee. Rich luscious flavors. A very nice wine, and I can't wait to try the Estate.
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Wineflock - 2003 Bordeaux, Parker 90+ (Ken's): Group #1, My #1 (ringer) - Opaque red/black color. Forward nose of spice, black fruit, and chocolate esspresso. Mmmmn, big rich lush sweet bright black fruit with chocolate and coffee notes on the palate. Lovely. Interesting that after everyone was going on about how great the 03 Bordeaux were showing, this California 2nd wine walked away with WOTN by a wide margin. Hmmmn...
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Had a lot of nutmeg, clove and other spice on the nose. The same spice character showed up in the mouth along with coffee. The combination of the spices and coffee made this wine really interesting. While the wine did show some excellent ripe primary fruit, the wine as a whole was just not harmonious yet. The flow was disjointed. The tannins weren't offensive, but they just hadn't resolved and integrated yet. I suppose it needs some time. If this is the second wine, I'm anxious to see how the Estate Cab will be like.
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This was also a nice wine. It is by no means a fruity Napa Cab. This showed a nice complexity and mix of currants, earth, mild spice and a bit of a mild espresso oak finish. The flavors were nicely woven and interesting. I really liked this wine, may buy more, but wish it was less expensive! Great with the rabbit and herbal sauce
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3/23/2021 - norsktorsk wrote: 94 Points
awesome. totallt holding up.
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2/5/2018 - KenK Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pretty red juniper berry aromas. Nice sweet red velvet cake flavors upfront that becomes more nuanced and spiced. Nice brightness and good balance with a dark cocoa finish. Nice.
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2/4/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote: 86 Points
Good Wine with an Exciting Super Bowl (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Small glass, brief note. Slightly roasted and slightly devoid of the structure for the fruit. Not my style.
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10/9/2016 - buckeye76 wrote: 93 Points
RICH BLACK FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH HINTS OF CHOCOLATE, COFFEE, AND LICORICE. LONG FINISH.
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3/8/2015 - emzee.mc wrote: 93 Points
This is the declassified wine from Araujo's Eisele vineyard, essentially a second wine to this fabled estate. The wine pours like a typical heavyweight Cali cabernet - a dark and inky garnet color with very long legs because of the high alcohol content. On the nose, the wine shows hints of left bank Bordeaux. This one in particular is a blend of 87% cab, 6.5% petit verdot and 6.5% merlot. It is fruit forward with an explosion of cherries, strawberries, kirsch, coffee, anise, and leather. On the palate, the wine is quite hot at first but grippy tannins soon settled in, bringing with it a robust structure. The wine is definitely a fruit bomb. Flavors of stewed blackberries, cherries and mocha dominate the core which is supported by tertiary notes of rosemary, mint, leather and tobacco. This almost drinks like a Syrah. Finish is very long, lasting almost a minute. Fabulous wine from a fabulous vintage from a fabulous winemaker. Incredible stuff here.
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9/8/2013 - mavericksane Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted and tasted after 30mins. Colour starting to turn, good legs. Liquorice and mint on the nose. Either at or just past its peak on the palate, shorter than I would have expected. Fruit and tannin well balanced, although not a huge amount of either.
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12/26/2012 - davidspieker Likes this wine: 91 Points
New world style. Excellent and drinking well.
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4/23/2012 - stocksandbondage wrote: 91 Points
Excellent. Drinking really well right now. Plenty of black fruit. Tannins have mellowed nicely. A touch of licorice.
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1/29/2012 - stocksandbondage wrote: 92 Points
Dense and rich with black cherry and mocha. Sweet tobacco and toasted oak. Really impressive for a second.
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10/29/2011 - stocksandbondage wrote: 91 Points
Drinking beautifully. At a great place in it's development. Velvety tannins and creamy flavors of black cherry and red raspberry. Secondary nuances of leather and toasted oak
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6/18/2011 - stocksandbondage wrote: 92 Points
Great wine, especially for a second label
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7/9/2010 - JDRFoster wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding showing. Rich, ripe, dark fruit, leather, mocha, eucalyptus.
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10/30/2009 - TheKel wrote: 92 Points
Above-average concentration and improbable youthfulness. I was struck by the complete absence of tertiarty fruit. The wine was still completely primary, indicating many more years of cellar-ability. A great bottle, drowning in concentrated black fruit, buffered, finely grained tannins and beautifully-integrated oak.
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5/23/2009 - cabguy99 wrote: 93 Points
Opened this evening. the longer in the decanter, the better it was. This wine has many more years and is in its infancy, but very solid after an hour in decanter. Reminds me of some Phelps Insignias...
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10/22/2008 - CMCLR wrote: 93 Points
Plush, fruit-forward. Fantastic.
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7/23/2008 - Siggy wrote: 88 Points
Ripe, sweet flavors of chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon/clove, and coffee. A touch of heat on the finish. Lush, soft texture. Long, sweet finish. Not really my style anymore (and a terrible value at $85), but nevertheless quite tasty.
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3/15/2007 - bdenuyl wrote: 93 Points
Excellent wine! Great balance and finese. Light on its feet as opposed to a big deep wine and immensely enjoyable.
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12/16/2006 - scottj wrote: 91 Points
Opened and decanted forabout an hour before tasting. Deep, dark purple in color. Nice nose of currant, spice and the previously mentioned coffee. Rich luscious flavors. A very nice wine, and I can't wait to try the Estate.
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11/9/2006 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Wineflock - 2003 Bordeaux, Parker 90+ (Ken's): Group #1, My #1 (ringer) - Opaque red/black color. Forward nose of spice, black fruit, and chocolate esspresso. Mmmmn, big rich lush sweet bright black fruit with chocolate and coffee notes on the palate. Lovely. Interesting that after everyone was going on about how great the 03 Bordeaux were showing, this California 2nd wine walked away with WOTN by a wide margin. Hmmmn...
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10/11/2006 - JScott wrote: 91 Points
Maybe the most pronounced coffee notes I've ever detected in a wine.
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7/10/2006 - Jay A wrote: 90 Points
Had a lot of nutmeg, clove and other spice on the nose. The same spice character showed up in the mouth along with coffee. The combination of the spices and coffee made this wine really interesting. While the wine did show some excellent ripe primary fruit, the wine as a whole was just not harmonious yet. The flow was disjointed. The tannins weren't offensive, but they just hadn't resolved and integrated yet. I suppose it needs some time. If this is the second wine, I'm anxious to see how the Estate Cab will be like.
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6/23/2006 - Hillbilly wrote: 93 Points
This was also a nice wine. It is by no means a fruity Napa Cab. This showed a nice complexity and mix of currants, earth, mild spice and a bit of a mild espresso oak finish. The flavors were nicely woven and interesting. I really liked this wine, may buy more, but wish it was less expensive! Great with the rabbit and herbal sauce
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6/4/2006 - JScott wrote: 91 Points
Huge note of coffee on the palate. Just a little hot, serving chilled helps.
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