Coombsville, Calif., small vineyard 2012 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon ($106 in 2015). Mid-garnet, rim variation, viscous (14.9 alc.); herbaceous, black fruit, berries, smokey nose; mid acids; softening tannins; balanced; good fruit; a bit hot on the long finish. w/ribs. 16.5 UC Davis scale, 91 other scales.
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Beautiful little wine. The nose on this has perfumes of alcohol, however there are wisps of raisin and ripened black cherry. It nis not quite to its sweet spot, but it is an excellent drinker. Enjoy
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Decent but not great. Some bricking already evident. PnP and drank over 90 min. Some black cherry and bay leaf but that was about it. Disappointing to say the least. I hope this is a dumb phase.
Not nearly as good as my last bottle but near as much air either. Hmmmm?
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I rated the 2007 twice (93 & 95 scores) and noted that it was bright and youthful (at eight and twelve years of age respectively). The 2012 is anything but. This bottle (which could be an anomaly) was the opposite, dark and mature at eight plus years. I didn't taste anything here that would indicate improvement if left in the cellar for another four years. Hey, it was great with the pizza so not a total bummer. Here's hoping that this was just atypical of other bottles out there, as recent CT notes would indicate. Full disclosure: drank while watching the Suns lose the NBA Finals (still a great and surprising season for the Suns) so perhaps I wasn't in the best wine evaluating space? :)
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3 hr slow ox and then open for business. Earthy nose with a touch of leather. The palate exploded with red and black cherry and raspberry and a touch of smoke and rocky forest floor. A few tasters put this ahead of a ‘12 Favia Magdalena—mostly because of the showy fruit profile. It was good, but lacked the sophistication and elegant mouthfeel of the Magdalena. No oak or tannins in the way. This is definitely in the zone and ready to roll with a little air.
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Deep opaque purple with a cranberry rim. Heavy nose of cedar, sandalwood, strawberry leaves, unripe plum and cranberry. Taste is similar, definitely on the woodsy side but with notes of baker’s chocolate, vanilla and just a tinge of nail polish. Has a luscious dry mouthfeel. Full bodied. Long finish.
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60 min of air and then ready to go. Charcoal, nice dirt earthy note, red and black fruit, black raspberry and black cherry, faint red raspberry. Touch of bright red cherry and cola on a med-long finish, but a distracting sweet note held this back. Nice extraction dark color without being heavy. Oak is out, a few residual tannins complimentary to the other notes. Felt like a mix of Tench/Eastern Oakville and Pritchard Hill.
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1st day it was just ok, 89pts, second day the wine was singing, lively with good acidity,balance and fruit. Last bottle. I would think wine is in it's sweet spot now.
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92.5 with room to run. PnP and drank over 2 hrs. Smoke, floral red fruit nose. Black cherry and dried dark fruit on the palate, with nice wood balance. Tannins starting to subside. Threw off a lot of sediment. Has potential for 95-96 with more cellar time.
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Earthy nose, maybe a bit of lead pencil, black olive, cassis and blue fruit. Med/full bodied with black cherry on the palate leading to a fairly long finish with acidity and tannins to back this up. While good now, I think this will get immensely better in the next few years.
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10/14/2023 - Good Stuff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking wonderfully right now, Bordeaux style, medium body, no dfficult tannins, drake berries, some chocolate, very easy to drink
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1/3/2023 - sdwineguru Likes this wine: 91 Points
Coombsville, Calif., small vineyard 2012 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon ($106 in 2015). Mid-garnet, rim variation, viscous (14.9 alc.); herbaceous, black fruit, berries, smokey nose; mid acids; softening tannins; balanced; good fruit; a bit hot on the long finish. w/ribs. 16.5 UC Davis scale, 91 other scales.
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12/20/2022 - 2 Utes Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really a great bottle of wine. At its sweet spot Enjoy.
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12/5/2022 - 2 Utes Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful little wine. The nose on this has perfumes of alcohol, however there are wisps of raisin and ripened black cherry. It nis not quite to its sweet spot, but it is an excellent drinker. Enjoy
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7/23/2021 - Geaux Tigers wrote: 91 Points
Decent but not great. Some bricking already evident. PnP and drank over 90 min. Some black cherry and bay leaf but that was about it. Disappointing to say the least. I hope this is a dumb phase.
Not nearly as good as my last bottle but near as much air either. Hmmmm?
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7/20/2021 - ozziewine Likes this wine: 89 Points
I rated the 2007 twice (93 & 95 scores) and noted that it was bright and youthful (at eight and twelve years of age respectively).
The 2012 is anything but. This bottle (which could be an anomaly) was the opposite, dark and mature at eight plus years. I didn't taste anything here that would indicate improvement if left in the cellar for another four years.
Hey, it was great with the pizza so not a total bummer. Here's hoping that this was just atypical of other bottles out there, as recent CT notes would indicate.
Full disclosure: drank while watching the Suns lose the NBA Finals (still a great and surprising season for the Suns) so perhaps I wasn't in the best wine evaluating space? :)
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12/16/2020 - ppandian wrote: 90 Points
Well integrated, medium tannins, very restrained red fruit..fantastic wine.
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6/9/2020 - dude1999 Likes this wine: 93 Points
It tastes like forest floor, red currant and oak.
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4/29/2020 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 97 Points
3 hr slow ox and then open for business. Earthy nose with a touch of leather. The palate exploded with red and black cherry and raspberry and a touch of smoke and rocky forest floor. A few tasters put this ahead of a ‘12 Favia Magdalena—mostly because of the showy fruit profile. It was good, but lacked the sophistication and elegant mouthfeel of the Magdalena. No oak or tannins in the way. This is definitely in the zone and ready to roll with a little air.
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3/24/2020 - RockyII Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep opaque purple with a cranberry rim. Heavy nose of cedar, sandalwood, strawberry leaves, unripe plum and cranberry. Taste is similar, definitely on the woodsy side but with notes of baker’s chocolate, vanilla and just a tinge of nail polish. Has a luscious dry mouthfeel. Full bodied. Long finish.
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12/15/2019 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 94 Points
60 min of air and then ready to go. Charcoal, nice dirt earthy note, red and black fruit, black raspberry and black cherry, faint red raspberry. Touch of bright red cherry and cola on a med-long finish, but a distracting sweet note held this back. Nice extraction dark color without being heavy. Oak is out, a few residual tannins complimentary to the other notes. Felt like a mix of Tench/Eastern Oakville and Pritchard Hill.
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10/8/2019 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 94 Points
1st day it was just ok, 89pts, second day the wine was singing, lively with good acidity,balance and fruit. Last bottle. I would think wine is in it's sweet spot now.
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10/7/2019 - Quiet Lion wrote: flawed
Flawed in some way. Strong green pepper on palate, compressed and woody, not much flavor. Tried over two days.
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7/19/2019 - Tonythefish wrote: 93 Points
See prior notes - decant due to sediment - and snjoy
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5/18/2019 - Tonythefish wrote: 92 Points
Wine was almost opaque in color. The smoky earthy hints were great and accented with the dark fruits and Cassis. Must decant due to sediment.
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4/14/2019 - Mneumeier Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank great. Quick decant be showed very well.
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12/2/2017 - Mneumeier wrote: 92 Points
Drink great. Decanted for about an hour before consuming.
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9/11/2017 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 93 Points
92.5 with room to run. PnP and drank over 2 hrs. Smoke, floral red fruit nose. Black cherry and dried dark fruit on the palate, with nice wood balance. Tannins starting to subside. Threw off a lot of sediment. Has potential for 95-96 with more cellar time.
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11/28/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Full bodied, round, forward, fleshy styled wine, with a smoky, blackberry core of fruit in the center.
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10/19/2016 - Tonythefish wrote: 91 Points
Earth he knows, dark fruits and medium bodied. Good color and very nice note. Just give this one a little bit more time
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2/7/2016 - yonster24 wrote:
Earthy nose, maybe a bit of lead pencil, black olive, cassis and blue fruit. Med/full bodied with black cherry on the palate leading to a fairly long finish with acidity and tannins to back this up. While good now, I think this will get immensely better in the next few years.
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1/29/2016 - dotdog Likes this wine: 94 Points
A work in progress. Good, but decant for several hours or wait another year of two.
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11/18/2015 - mckillop Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very smooth. Black/Blue fruit. Long finish.
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11/14/2015 - franinnyc Likes this wine: 91 Points
Complex Licorice. Delicious. Getting more to store for a year or two.
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9/21/2015 - dotdog Likes this wine: 92 Points
Complex. Delicious.. Give it six hour decant. You will not regret it.
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2/3/2015 - thatrick wrote: 96 Points
Wow what perfume on the nose. Loved this elegant silky smooth Cabernet Sauvignon. Could see this a point or so higher in a few years.
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