Kendrick’s Wine Club (67 Pall Mall, London): Double decanted for a good hour and not a bad idea to do so. The wine has a bit of a pomerol feel in its ripe and lush palate feel and of course with an extra level of ripeness that comes with the postcode. Definitely a bit of puppy fat to assimilate and also some soft mocha feel from the oak. Very well made and works for the style , and hopefully patience will be rewarded too when a more of a secondary feel arrives . We worried though if the wine now is as good as it gets and older would not mean better .Still at this age the wine is welcoming and in no way austere. 92-93 and wish one day we cross paths with it in the future.
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PnP. First pour, the nose is amazing! If this is the only Napa 2011 I’ve ever tasted, I would never know that 2011 was a very wet year in the valley. Though I skied and snowboarded in Lake Tahoe til May/June 2011 :) The fruit is muted. But, this bottle is so well integrated with acid and tannin that I don’t care to compare it to other vintages. Really enjoying this. Great job here Tor Kenward. Thank you. Cheers!
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In the the universe of expensive Napa Valley cabs this one is remarkably well-balanced and structured. Thoughtful winemaking keeps this intense, deep purple wine from veering into the realm of a bombastic hyper-alcoholic fruit bomb. A rich nose of red fruit; mostly plum/blackberry/raspberry, supports a palate of similar flavor notes. Tannins remain well-structured in this decade-old bottling. Worth the price? That depends on your preferences-this is still a card-carrying member of the Napa Cabernet club-just more well-rounded than many others.
PNP was very good the 1st day, but outstanding day 2. 2011 cabs are not supposed to be good, but this is a wow wine, I had this wine a number of times with recent bottles getting 94pts so this might be in a sweet spot right now. Rich, balanced, smooth, long, cherry, dark fruits. Tor cabs are excellent as evidenced by this wine in a supposedly poor vintage.
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After having a 2014 Schrader Beckstoffer To-Kalom last week which I assumed would be undrinkably young but which was delicious (and yes young) I thought I’d try the 2011 Tor. Definitely a young wine, but ripe, rich, fruit forward, smooth, vanilla textures from the oak and while definitely young actually spectatcular right now. With a grilled porterhouse, butter sautéed mushrooms and grilled vidalia onions for some sweetness to go with the fat, salt and earthy flavors.
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I recently had the 2012 vintage which I gave an extremely high (for me) score of 97pts. Was this as good, maybe. 2011 is supposed to be an off vintage but there is no such indication of that with this wine. Tor is expensive, but I think their cabs compare with the best Napa has to offer.
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I've had this wine several times and this was the best. Decanted for several hours, dark richfruit, long, well balanced. Jeff called it the perfect wine. It was as good as any wine this year, really singing. 2011 was supposed to be an off year, I can't see it in this wine. I have some 2012 Tor BTK and 2013 Tor Melanson for comparison down the road.
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Awfully good!! Nose: blackberries, blueberries, light anise and wood. I could just smell this wine. Taste: all kinds of dark fruit, long finish of oak, black berries and low tannins. Wow this is good.
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Initially had a bitter edge that smoothed out with air. Another green, woody 2011 Napa cab. Not a bad wine just not good for a Tor or a To Kalon. Probably should have drunk this sooner, since it was already shedding some of the amped-up fruit common in many of the high-end Cabs from this vintage.
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Since I knew this would be a pop, I tried something I hadn't done before - I poured this through the vinturi into an aerating funnel into the decanter. The wine was ready to drink - it was very youthful with lots of blackberry and sweet fruit. It was expressive midway with good weight. Pretty, lasting finish. No tannin - kinda' odd but not bad at all. It's a very good wine - not great. I bit overpriced for what it is but I've had great bottles of TOR BTK. I'm guessing this wine has a short horizon.
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Drinking very well now with no noticeable tannins, however, on the 2nd day I was very surprised that the fruit was very muted and wine was nothing special. 85pts. Not sure this would happen again with this wine since it rarely does with any other high quality wines,
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I bought some 2012 so we tried a bottle of the 2011. Too early and I expect the wine to score higher in the future, but still really good. Wine continues to evolve in the glass after decanting and got better and better.
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I bought a case so I thought we could try one too early, even for an off year this was outstanding, just luscious, I expect it to get even better with age.
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4/8/2024 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Kendrick’s Wine Club (67 Pall Mall, London): Double decanted for a good hour and not a bad idea to do so.
The wine has a bit of a pomerol feel in its ripe and lush palate feel and of course with an extra level of ripeness that comes with the postcode. Definitely a bit of puppy fat to assimilate and also some soft mocha feel from the oak. Very well made and works for the style , and hopefully patience will be rewarded too when a more of a secondary feel arrives . We worried though if the wine now is as good as it gets and older would not mean better .Still at this age the wine is welcoming and in no way austere. 92-93 and wish one day we cross paths with it in the future.
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9/5/2023 - williamswhine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Earthy, dark fruit, spice nose. Full bodied, blueberry, earthy, spicy, velvety, smooth, drink with or without food. Enjoyed with steak. Nice bottle.
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4/17/2022 - grafighter Likes this wine: 94 Points
PnP. First pour, the nose is amazing! If this is the only Napa 2011 I’ve ever tasted, I would never know that 2011 was a very wet year in the valley. Though I skied and snowboarded in Lake Tahoe til May/June 2011 :)
The fruit is muted. But, this bottle is so well integrated with acid and tannin that I don’t care to compare it to other vintages. Really enjoying this. Great job here Tor Kenward. Thank you. Cheers!
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8/30/2021 - SteelerFan wrote: 88 Points
Tasty fruit but lacking in structure and a bit flabby.
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4/17/2021 - MadeiraLev Likes this wine: 92 Points
In the the universe of expensive Napa Valley cabs this one is remarkably well-balanced and structured. Thoughtful winemaking keeps this intense, deep purple wine from veering into the realm of a bombastic hyper-alcoholic fruit bomb. A rich nose of red fruit; mostly plum/blackberry/raspberry, supports a palate of similar flavor notes. Tannins remain well-structured in this decade-old bottling. Worth the price? That depends on your preferences-this is still a card-carrying member of the Napa Cabernet club-just more well-rounded than many others.
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1/3/2020 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 95 Points
PNP was very good the 1st day, but outstanding day 2. 2011 cabs are not supposed to be good, but this is a wow wine, I had this wine a number of times with recent bottles getting 94pts so this might be in a sweet spot right now. Rich, balanced, smooth, long, cherry, dark fruits.
Tor cabs are excellent as evidenced by this wine in a supposedly poor vintage.
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6/25/2018 - ClaudioMac1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
After having a 2014 Schrader Beckstoffer To-Kalom last week which I assumed would be undrinkably young but which was delicious (and yes young) I thought I’d try the 2011 Tor. Definitely a young wine, but ripe, rich, fruit forward, smooth, vanilla textures from the oak and while definitely young actually spectatcular right now. With a grilled porterhouse, butter sautéed mushrooms and grilled vidalia onions for some sweetness to go with the fat, salt and earthy flavors.
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11/7/2017 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 94 Points
I recently had the 2012 vintage which I gave an extremely high (for me) score of 97pts. Was this as good, maybe. 2011 is supposed to be an off vintage but there is no such indication of that with this wine. Tor is expensive, but I think their cabs compare with the best Napa has to offer.
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7/18/2016 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 94 Points
I've had this wine several times and this was the best. Decanted for several hours, dark richfruit, long, well balanced. Jeff called it the perfect wine. It was as good as any wine this year, really singing. 2011 was supposed to be an off year, I can't see it in this wine. I have some 2012 Tor BTK and 2013 Tor Melanson for comparison down the road.
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1/24/2016 - ewasowicz wrote: 95 Points
Awfully good!!
Nose: blackberries, blueberries, light anise and wood. I could just smell this wine.
Taste: all kinds of dark fruit, long finish of oak, black berries and low tannins. Wow this is good.
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1/24/2016 - jeffm_fla wrote: 87 Points
Initially had a bitter edge that smoothed out with air. Another green, woody 2011 Napa cab. Not a bad wine just not good for a Tor or a To Kalon. Probably should have drunk this sooner, since it was already shedding some of the amped-up fruit common in many of the high-end Cabs from this vintage.
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1/4/2016 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 94 Points
excellent, took to Mike"s and had with short rib chili. Mike said it was the best wine he had in a year.
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8/2/2015 - Thirsty1 Likes this wine:
Since I knew this would be a pop, I tried something I hadn't done before - I poured this through the vinturi into an aerating funnel into the decanter. The wine was ready to drink - it was very youthful with lots of blackberry and sweet fruit. It was expressive midway with good weight. Pretty, lasting finish. No tannin - kinda' odd but not bad at all. It's a very good wine - not great. I bit overpriced for what it is but I've had great bottles of TOR BTK. I'm guessing this wine has a short horizon.
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7/21/2015 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking very well now with no noticeable tannins, however, on the 2nd day I was very surprised that the fruit was very muted and wine was nothing special. 85pts. Not sure this would happen again with this wine since it rarely does with any other high quality wines,
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2/27/2015 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 92 Points
I bought some 2012 so we tried a bottle of the 2011. Too early and I expect the wine to score higher in the future, but still really good. Wine continues to evolve in the glass after decanting and got better and better.
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12/19/2014 - ewasowicz wrote: 96 Points
Nose: blueberry, blackberry, anise, oak
Taste: wow this is good, light tannins, dark fruit, oak,
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4/2/2014 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 93 Points
I bought a case so I thought we could try one too early, even for an off year this was outstanding, just luscious, I expect it to get even better with age.
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