My god this was good. Brought this to a colleague’s house to show appreciation for the relationship. There is no better bottle in this world to accomplish this. PnP, immediately had aromatics of eucalyptus and blue fruits. Still has incredible structure 23 years in, the perfect amount of tannin structure with a typical Harlan 3 minute finish. The conversation around this bottle never stops, it never disappoints. Mission accomplished.
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Very enjoyable. Mild tannins. Ripe dried fruit flavors, heavy on dark cherry. I wish I had more of this!
The cork pulled apart, but I was able to easily get it out without it crumbling in to the bottle. I've had several other of Bond's corks from the early 2000s do this. The corks were still nicely sealing the bottle, so no worries there.
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45+ minute decant and could have used a little more. Deep red color with maroon edges. Still youthful. Very big, deep wine. Very complex wine from nose to finish. Has that discernible Napa sweetness. Nose has bramble and cherries. Palate contains earth, subtle herbs, licorice, and plenty of fruit. Insane texture! Finish has Amarone and Port elements with spice, cinnamon and decent alcohol. Seems to have characteristics from every region of the world which is super cool. Very good, but not sure it’s worth current market prices.
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Two hour decant. Color is brilliant ruby red. Lot of fruit on the nose. Black cherry but some red fruit as well. Was excited as I sniffed. More black cherry on the palate, with tar, coffee, cedar. For me finish a bit short, and still dry and tannic. Disappointed, I suppose.
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my last bottle and absolutely the best. The longer these are held the better they get. Still multiple flavors of cherry, cassis, hit of blueberry, chocolate, licorice and cinnamon, but as the tannins ever solslightly recede, these wonderful flavors become more prominent. If I had more, I'd wait another 3-5 years for the next bottle.
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Agreed with the previous not that this is showing little if any signs of age so far. It’s got really dense, pasty dark fruit with tannic scaffolding still well in place. Acid is balanced. There’s a part of me that thinks this could be a 40+ year wine like those great Napa cabs of the 70s
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Double decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby & showing no signs of its age, dark fruit with mocha, classic CA cab, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding drink or hold (definitely no rush!)
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Another example of what I call the California Flatline. This wine could have been 3 or 5 or 7 years old. Blind I would absolutely have never ever guessed 18 years old! Dark, dense, chocolate. Purple fruits. Like a well-made Napa cab a year after release. I just don't understand how these wines can show so little evolution over such a long time.
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Upon opening it smelled like a dirty sweat sock. Within 30 minutes the odor was mostly gone. The wine tasted fine but nothing memorable. Overall disappointing. Have one other bottle so will soon find out if it’s the wine it just a bad bottle. I have had this issue with other Older Bottles Of Bond.
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BYO - US wines (Bistro Boheme): Young, dense and lush blackberry with very rough tannins and very powerful acidity acidity. Despite all the right ingredients there was still a lack of balance and in general the alcohol was dominating everything else yielding a disjointed experience.
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This wine was singing tonight. Opened to celebrate our daughters 11th birthday. Explosive nose of dark fruits that brought me back to the first time I had a bottle of Harlan. Perfectly integrated oak and super fine tannins on the medium to full bodied mid-palate that lingered for 45 seconds. Flavors of cassis, eucalyptus, black cherry coats the mouth over this prolonged finish. Made me happy I have a good stash of high quality 2001/2 Napa Cabs in the cellar. Peaking now but I suspect the structure is there for it to hold in his spot for at least another 3 years.
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At peak now. This was the best bottle of this that I have had, though they have all been good. Loaded with chocolate, leather, moss, and a hint of pine. Great structure, very good balance, big crowd pleaser. I'd be drinking these up over the next 2-3 years.
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Very pretty wine. Compelling nose, sweet blue and black fruit with some deeper notes of chocolate and cinnamon. Medium to full body now and velvety texture. Overall a very nice drinking experience, with or without food.
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Lighter-colored than I remember (that's a relative judgment with this one), this is solid rosewood in hue and is subtly translucent. That ridiculous descriptor "hot rocks" is actually quite apposite here. I informed the other tasters that the soils underlying this vineyard are volcanic in character, and they agreed that the overall effect is evocative of all the sensations you'd commonly associate with a volcano: smoke, ash, black rocks, and so forth. After several hours of decanting the infernal sensations start to yield to aromas of pepper, dried herbs, and shoe polish. The latter is pronounced on the palate, which begins to have a textural feel of oily leather. Tannins have released their grip only moderately; this still has plenty of stuffing and backbone to last for a decade at least. Altogether I enjoyed this slightly less than the superlative bottle I had last year, though it is still a very fine wine indeed. Drink now, much later, or sometime in-between.
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been waiting years for someone to pop one and enjoy it. This is the time, smoking hot, love the rush of spicy delight, brisk but the lady is sweating just enough to make the attack enjoyable
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Dinner at WD 50 in NYC with Ray Harris and Kevin Dunleavy. Lineup also included 87 Spring Mountain and a mag of 04 Sassicaia, so this had some strong competition...
We decanted about 45 minutes, was opening nicely by that point. Blueberry, blackberry flavors, chocolate, cassis, earth and floral notes on the finish. Gorgeous wine, has a very long life ahead. Drinking well right now but I suspect it will continue to improve.
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This wine is truly hitting its stride now. It reminded me of the very amazing Harlan 2001. Beautifully balanced. Gorgeous nose and medium to mild tannins now.
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Opaque inky black color, with a characteristic Cabernet nose that jumps right out as soon as you open the bottle. The wine has matured nicely, with the full flavor spectrum from floral, through fruity and into savory, earthy and smoky notes. A great expression of the underlying volcanic soils at the vineyard site. Still plenty of tannic backbone left here to support at least a decade of continued maturation.
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JT is having a baby (Houstons - Irvine, CA): Sumptuous and profound, this wine has all the markings of a new world classic. It boasts delicious notes of red velvet cake, ripe black cherries, dark chocolate and raspberry coulis. Yet the wine also shows a certain gravitas, gripping the palate with tannic red currents, wet soil, and pencil shavings. Impressive finish and quite the stunner! Voted #2 WOTN.
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EWG - 2001: A Taste Odyssey (Conrad Green's Abode): Dark fruited nose. More focused that it's brother with concentrated dark fruits. Clean with tarts acids. Quite different than the St Eden next to it though still in a more modern style than classic. Drank nicely.
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Tannins were way too bitter for this point in this wine's life. Highly extracted but still not enough fruit to challenge the tannins. Tannins may fade, but so will the fruit. Don't see this ever being a great wine. A case of over-hyping.
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Dense dark in color. Nose is dark fruit with cassis and dark cheery mixed. Some oak on the nose with Chocolate and spices. Taste is still tannic with good balance. The alcohol is there but the fruit really shines. Decanter for over an hour to settle it down.
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Bedrock overlain with fine grained alluvial wash. Eastern exposure. A nice linear wine, long lasting. Blackberry and mineral. Astringent nose, tannic; fruiot is already receding.
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not sure what to make of this. perhaps needs more time in the bottle? color almost black. nose is hot with elements of dark choc, cassis, and wood. let me say that again - wood. palate is hot on the fore. mid palate is big but not lush. heavy, dark and austere. fruits are there but bathed in secrecy and wood. finish is a bit harsh but does last for quite some time. i'm hoping this just needs more development, so i'll add a ? to the score.
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not decanted, bottle open less than an hour. this was tight, and a bit sharp/ clipped on the finish. black cherry and mocha, medium body, tannic mouthfeel.
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3/31/2024 - chugwine Likes this wine: 97 Points
My god this was good. Brought this to a colleague’s house to show appreciation for the relationship. There is no better bottle in this world to accomplish this. PnP, immediately had aromatics of eucalyptus and blue fruits. Still has incredible structure 23 years in, the perfect amount of tannin structure with a typical Harlan 3 minute finish. The conversation around this bottle never stops, it never disappoints. Mission accomplished.
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12/3/2023 - englishman's claret wrote:
Muted nose. Very tannic palate, showing fresh blackberry which builds with time. 93-94
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4/8/2023 - ginfizz wrote: 96 Points
Stellar.
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2/12/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 94 Points
Super mature and ready to drink.
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10/3/2022 - JDB's Cellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very enjoyable. Mild tannins. Ripe dried fruit flavors, heavy on dark cherry. I wish I had more of this!
The cork pulled apart, but I was able to easily get it out without it crumbling in to the bottle. I've had several other of Bond's corks from the early 2000s do this. The corks were still nicely sealing the bottle, so no worries there.
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8/20/2022 - PMJak11 Likes this wine: 96 Points
45+ minute decant and could have used a little more. Deep red color with maroon edges. Still youthful. Very big, deep wine. Very complex wine from nose to finish. Has that discernible Napa sweetness. Nose has bramble and cherries. Palate contains earth, subtle herbs, licorice, and plenty of fruit. Insane texture! Finish has Amarone and Port elements with spice, cinnamon and decent alcohol. Seems to have characteristics from every region of the world which is super cool. Very good, but not sure it’s worth current market prices.
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1/30/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dynamite. Dark fruit, tasty, long finish. Hold/drink to enjoy.
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4/4/2021 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 96 Points
Deep garnet. Nose of plums, blueberries, medium age big cab. Taste lasted 1 minute+. Can easily tell it’s in the Harlan family. 96/100
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2/7/2021 - blakevino wrote:
.
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9/26/2020 - rcg62 wrote: 92 Points
Two hour decant. Color is brilliant ruby red. Lot of fruit on the nose. Black cherry but some red fruit as well. Was excited as I sniffed. More black cherry on the palate, with tar, coffee, cedar. For me finish a bit short, and still dry and tannic. Disappointed, I suppose.
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8/6/2020 - Topper wrote: 97 Points
my last bottle and absolutely the best. The longer these are held the better they get. Still multiple flavors of cherry, cassis, hit of blueberry, chocolate, licorice and cinnamon, but as the tannins ever solslightly recede, these wonderful flavors become more prominent. If I had more, I'd wait another 3-5 years for the next bottle.
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5/16/2020 - jviz wrote: 95 Points
Agreed with the previous not that this is showing little if any signs of age so far. It’s got really dense, pasty dark fruit with tannic scaffolding still well in place. Acid is balanced. There’s a part of me that thinks this could be a 40+ year wine like those great Napa cabs of the 70s
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3/14/2020 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Double decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby & showing no signs of its age, dark fruit with mocha, classic CA cab, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding drink or hold (definitely no rush!)
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5/2/2019 - jaylew1 wrote: 92 Points
Another example of what I call the California Flatline. This wine could have been 3 or 5 or 7 years old. Blind I would absolutely have never ever guessed 18 years old! Dark, dense, chocolate. Purple fruits. Like a well-made Napa cab a year after release. I just don't understand how these wines can show so little evolution over such a long time.
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12/15/2017 - bobwire wrote: 85 Points
Upon opening it smelled like a dirty sweat sock.
Within 30 minutes the odor was mostly gone.
The wine tasted fine but nothing memorable. Overall disappointing.
Have one other bottle so will soon find out if it’s the wine it just a bad bottle.
I have had this issue with other Older Bottles Of Bond.
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7/18/2017 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow! Deep color, decanted 2 hours, has all the making of a great wine, delicious mouthfeel. Love it.
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3/25/2017 - canan wrote: 95 Points
BYO - US wines (Bistro Boheme): Young, dense and lush blackberry with very rough tannins and very powerful acidity acidity.
Despite all the right ingredients there was still a lack of balance and in general the alcohol was dominating everything else yielding a disjointed experience.
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3/11/2017 - scravis wrote:
This wine was singing tonight. Opened to celebrate our daughters 11th birthday. Explosive nose of dark fruits that brought me back to the first time I had a bottle of Harlan. Perfectly integrated oak and super fine tannins on the medium to full bodied mid-palate that lingered for 45 seconds. Flavors of cassis, eucalyptus, black cherry coats the mouth over this prolonged finish. Made me happy I have a good stash of high quality 2001/2 Napa Cabs in the cellar. Peaking now but I suspect the structure is there for it to hold in his spot for at least another 3 years.
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8/13/2016 - Topper wrote: 95 Points
At peak now. This was the best bottle of this that I have had, though they have all been good. Loaded with chocolate, leather, moss, and a hint of pine. Great structure, very good balance, big crowd pleaser. I'd be drinking these up over the next 2-3 years.
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3/20/2016 - Topper wrote: 94 Points
Very pretty wine. Compelling nose, sweet blue and black fruit with some deeper notes of chocolate and cinnamon. Medium to full body now and velvety texture. Overall a very nice drinking experience, with or without food.
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2/25/2016 - rgcanada Likes this wine: 95 Points
Hard to think of how this could be better. Decanted for a few hours and it was singing. In the sweet spot now...
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11/5/2014 - susieqni wrote: 94 Points
wow! decanted 4 hours
Beautiful nose
smooth tannins
blackberry chocolate on the tongue
Great wine to celebrate with a good steak!
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11/23/2013 - sdsull wrote: 95 Points
Stunner. Needed 3 hours to fully open.
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10/25/2013 - Knicksfan wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hrs. Very nice, complex and well integrated; not sure about QPR but very enjoyable
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8/24/2013 - Kemo Sabe wrote:
Really nice bottle. Ina good place right now - definitely not a young Cali cab anymore but this is still really good. Aged, refined, nuanced. 93+
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7/16/2013 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lighter-colored than I remember (that's a relative judgment with this one), this is solid rosewood in hue and is subtly translucent. That ridiculous descriptor "hot rocks" is actually quite apposite here. I informed the other tasters that the soils underlying this vineyard are volcanic in character, and they agreed that the overall effect is evocative of all the sensations you'd commonly associate with a volcano: smoke, ash, black rocks, and so forth. After several hours of decanting the infernal sensations start to yield to aromas of pepper, dried herbs, and shoe polish. The latter is pronounced on the palate, which begins to have a textural feel of oily leather. Tannins have released their grip only moderately; this still has plenty of stuffing and backbone to last for a decade at least. Altogether I enjoyed this slightly less than the superlative bottle I had last year, though it is still a very fine wine indeed. Drink now, much later, or sometime in-between.
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1/19/2013 - shadow wrote: 96 Points
been waiting years for someone to pop one and enjoy it.
This is the time, smoking hot, love the rush of spicy delight, brisk but the lady is sweating just enough to make the attack enjoyable
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12/18/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 96 Points
Dinner at WD 50 in NYC with Ray Harris and Kevin Dunleavy. Lineup also included 87 Spring Mountain and a mag of 04 Sassicaia, so this had some strong competition...
We decanted about 45 minutes, was opening nicely by that point. Blueberry, blackberry flavors, chocolate, cassis, earth and floral notes on the finish. Gorgeous wine, has a very long life ahead. Drinking well right now but I suspect it will continue to improve.
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11/18/2012 - Share 67 wrote: 98 Points
This wine is truly hitting its stride now. It reminded me of the very amazing Harlan 2001. Beautifully balanced. Gorgeous nose and medium to mild tannins now.
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9/17/2012 - jtw1969 wrote: 92 Points
Deep dark rich... maybe a little dry... opened up nicely with italian meal...
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7/5/2012 - mwanasheria wrote: 95 Points
Friends and family ad hoc tasting (Frankfurt, Divino): Dark purple. Cassis, blueberry, herbs, forest floor. Sweet tannins and still very young. Great.
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7/4/2012 - arniec wrote: 94 Points
Still tannic with sharp edges.
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6/2/2012 - fdub wrote: 93 Points
From magnum at Auction Napa Valley. In no way is this showing its age. Would hold for 5+ more years.
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4/1/2012 - NineteenEightyTwo wrote: 98 Points
Opaque inky black color, with a characteristic Cabernet nose that jumps right out as soon as you open the bottle. The wine has matured nicely, with the full flavor spectrum from floral, through fruity and into savory, earthy and smoky notes. A great expression of the underlying volcanic soils at the vineyard site. Still plenty of tannic backbone left here to support at least a decade of continued maturation.
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3/20/2012 - Paul Lin wrote: 95 Points
JT is having a baby (Houstons - Irvine, CA): Sumptuous and profound, this wine has all the markings of a new world classic. It boasts delicious notes of red velvet cake, ripe black cherries, dark chocolate and raspberry coulis. Yet the wine also shows a certain gravitas, gripping the palate with tannic red currents, wet soil, and pencil shavings. Impressive finish and quite the stunner! Voted #2 WOTN.
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12/26/2011 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Massive huge tannins; black fruits, grippy tannins, a bit heavy and over the top. West Oakville.
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12/18/2011 - WetRock wrote:
EWG - 2001: A Taste Odyssey (Conrad Green's Abode): Dark fruited nose. More focused that it's brother with concentrated dark fruits. Clean with tarts acids. Quite different than the St Eden next to it though still in a more modern style than classic. Drank nicely.
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9/16/2011 - ZorroCT wrote: 88 Points
Tannins were way too bitter for this point in this wine's life. Highly extracted but still not enough fruit to challenge the tannins. Tannins may fade, but so will the fruit. Don't see this ever being a great wine. A case of over-hyping.
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9/15/2011 - shaferguy91 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 3 hours. This one is still a long time from being ready. Try again in 5 years.
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6/11/2011 - mcneil7 wrote: 94 Points
Dense dark in color. Nose is dark fruit with cassis and dark cheery mixed. Some oak on the nose with Chocolate and spices. Taste is still tannic with good balance. The alcohol is there but the fruit really shines. Decanter for over an hour to settle it down.
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4/21/2010 - winestem Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank with prime ribeyes with friends. Gorgeous silky dark wine with oak, cassis and chocolate notes.
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4/10/2010 - CultCabKing wrote: 91 Points
Bedrock overlain with fine grained alluvial wash. Eastern exposure. A nice linear wine, long lasting. Blackberry and mineral. Astringent nose, tannic; fruiot is already receding.
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3/7/2010 - Mike V wrote: 90 Points
Harshly tannic on night 1. The next day this wine was much more open and the fruit was peeking through. Needs Time or a long decant.
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4/19/2009 - mnh wrote: 94 Points
Very deep color. Brooding. Big and ripe with plenty of tannins to go.
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10/4/2008 - A&C wrote: 90 Points
Rich -- raisins, coffee, espresso, dark fruits -- a tanic beast. Needs more time. Disappointed by the lack of fruit.
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8/11/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 88 Points
not sure what to make of this. perhaps needs more time in the bottle? color almost black. nose is hot with elements of dark choc, cassis, and wood. let me say that again - wood. palate is hot on the fore. mid palate is big but not lush. heavy, dark and austere. fruits are there but bathed in secrecy and wood. finish is a bit harsh but does last for quite some time. i'm hoping this just needs more development, so i'll add a ? to the score.
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11/19/2005 - Wine Cellar wrote:
This wine needs many more years in the cellar before drinking!
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3/18/2005 - jeff nowak wrote:
not decanted, bottle open less than an hour. this was tight, and a bit sharp/ clipped on the finish. black cherry and mocha, medium body, tannic mouthfeel.
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