So primary and full of sweet oak on the nose upon PNP. But after 45 minutes of air, the excess oak blows off leaving a rich tertiary spread. The palate desiring a bit more acidity but there's enough to barely avoid any real concern of flabbiness. Tannins quite pronounced and somewhat mouth-drying. Will update further...
Into day 2, the initially pronounced tannins softened up quite a bit. The acid very pronounced. Not a bright mouth-puckering feel but more like it was sorta dominating the palate. Still pleasant to drink however.
Had a good glass full left for day 3, when it was floral in aromas and the palate was back in balance, acid no longer dominating.
This has quite a but of life left! Would serve next time with multiple hours of air prior.
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Classic eloge that’s at a sweet spot of maturity and verve here. Worth a slow ox or gentle decant. Great food wine too boot. Pair off the coffee and cigar.
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A nose of dark fruit and spices, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red with black cherry, blackberry, licorice and spices on finish, drink now. www.winelx.com
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The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like raisin, cherry and mineral. The body is full. The wine has coarse texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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Nicely balanced red and black fruits. We’ll made as always from this producer. Full bodied but not cloying or over-extracted. 54% Cab Sav, 21% Cab Franc, 22% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot. Aged 22 months. Drink now to 2027.
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Decanted for an hour. Nose full of red fruit and earthy elements and minerality. Palate also quite full with red plum and cherry with a nice balance of moderate acid and light tannic feel. A little hot maybe. But the alcohol may have been accentuated from letting this warm up a little too much. Otherwise quite the showing.
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Clay and clove notes (with some red and dark berries) dominate. Gets only better with 2+ hours of decanting. The peak is likely to continue over the next two years, could remain very good over the next 5+ years.
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This bottle was as close to perfect for this wine that I've had recently. It is drinking very well. A nice nose, balance, and finish. Brought a bottle to Morton's to share with DK and BK.
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Prior experience shows, for my palate, that these are better at middle-age than they are 10+ years out. This vintage of Elogé is in a really good place right now and is terrific with food. On its own, especially with extended air, the acidity sticks out a bit. But, as someone who typically opens wine to have with a meal, this hit the spot.
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Opened, but not decanted, with my wine group at a NYC restaurant. Close between this and the Betz for my favorite of the night. The rest of the group my have preferred this, as it was the first of the 4 reds to be finished. Long finish. One of my favorite wineries and I always enjoy the Eloge blend.
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Much like an aged BDX, lead pencil shavings on the nose, dark plum fruit on entry, good weight in the mouth. There is quality here but it is a bit muddied. There is a heavy iron component. There is good acidity and length but the overall product is chalky and a bit non-descript with a bit of a tart red cherry ending. I liked it but my wife did not.
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This still needs time to reach my sweet spot. I would hold for a couple more years at least. It has potential to be great for a long time. Try again in 2021.
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A well made wine with a signature flavor profile for this Bordeaux blend, but still very California in style. However, it is not a memorable wine and is somewhat uninteresting.
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Decanted for an hour then drank over dinner, could have used more time to open up. Mouth feel is softening with age, no rough edges. Lean in comparison to most Napa, which is something we appreciate about CVV, at the same time, the wine hasn't fully developed, while the primary has dropped off leaving it in a bit of an awkward teenage phase. I'd hold these until they develop more mature notes to add interest and complexity.
Wow. After an hour in the glass, juicy with leather, espresso, very long finish. A little tanniny to start but mellowed out after another hour. Very complex taste.
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Great showing of a classic Napa Bordeaux blend. Plenty of currant and blackberry fruit but nothing gloopy or overdone. Really nice oak and pepper complimentary notes. Early drinking window now, might get better.
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Decanted for two hours at the suggestion of prior tasting notes. I’m glad I did because this wine opened up beautifully. It is a big Cabernet Sauvignon fruit dominated wine, but it also has great structure and complexity. This is drinking great now with proper decanting, but will get even better with a few more years in bottle.
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Tasted disjointed upon opening, with noticeable oak and green notes of Cab Franc. Transformed and improved considerably, however, after about two hours of decanting, becoming much more balanced, with layers of black and blue fruit on the palate. Fairly ripe but not excessively; massive, with sufficient complexity and structure to support that though. Notes of clove, tobacco, and leather on the palate, with some secondary floral notes on the palate after three hours of decanting. Full of life and should only improve with time. Note to self: do not touch the rest for 2 years.
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7/18/2023 - Stufonhead Likes this wine: 93 Points
So primary and full of sweet oak on the nose upon PNP. But after 45 minutes of air, the excess oak blows off leaving a rich tertiary spread. The palate desiring a bit more acidity but there's enough to barely avoid any real concern of flabbiness. Tannins quite pronounced and somewhat mouth-drying. Will update further...
Into day 2, the initially pronounced tannins softened up quite a bit. The acid very pronounced. Not a bright mouth-puckering feel but more like it was sorta dominating the palate. Still pleasant to drink however.
Had a good glass full left for day 3, when it was floral in aromas and the palate was back in balance, acid no longer dominating.
This has quite a but of life left! Would serve next time with multiple hours of air prior.
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3/4/2023 - Rick 4 Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Classic eloge that’s at a sweet spot of maturity and verve here. Worth a slow ox or gentle decant. Great food wine too boot. Pair off the coffee and cigar.
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1/20/2023 - corkscrews Likes this wine: 90 Points
A nose of dark fruit and spices, dark garnet in color. A medium to full bodied red with black cherry, blackberry, licorice and spices on finish, drink now. www.winelx.com
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1/1/2023 - merlot78 Likes this wine: 90 Points
The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like raisin, cherry and mineral. The body is full. The wine has coarse texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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12/9/2022 - John O' Likes this wine:
pop n pour. terrific
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10/9/2022 - StainedGlass wrote: 92 Points
Nicely balanced red and black fruits. We’ll made as always from this producer. Full bodied but not cloying or over-extracted. 54% Cab Sav, 21% Cab Franc, 22% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot. Aged 22 months. Drink now to 2027.
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10/1/2022 - cliffkol wrote: 94 Points
deep, well established tannins, mature fruits, quality acidity, flavors of leather, oak, layers of red fruits. Still going strong.
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3/15/2022 - Stufonhead Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for an hour. Nose full of red fruit and earthy elements and minerality. Palate also quite full with red plum and cherry with a nice balance of moderate acid and light tannic feel. A little hot maybe. But the alcohol may have been accentuated from letting this warm up a little too much. Otherwise quite the showing.
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4/4/2021 - John O' Likes this wine:
decanted 2 hours. Damn near perfect
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9/7/2020 - Slaz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Clay and clove notes (with some red and dark berries) dominate. Gets only better with 2+ hours of decanting. The peak is likely to continue over the next two years, could remain very good over the next 5+ years.
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8/28/2020 - DrBad Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still drinking great. Dark fruits, leather, dark chocolate and espresso.
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12/17/2019 - drmarc61 wrote: 93 Points
Great drinking window. Finally found its balance.
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11/16/2019 - OpuMayaQuem Likes this wine: 96 Points
This bottle was as close to perfect for this wine that I've had recently. It is drinking very well. A nice nose, balance, and finish. Brought a bottle to Morton's to share with DK and BK.
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11/1/2019 - oenophilemoose wrote: 92 Points
Double decanted however suggest PNP to preserve freshness. After a short time in the decanter, this wine takes on a musty note.
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10/12/2019 - EMTAME wrote: 92 Points
Prior experience shows, for my palate, that these are better at middle-age than they are 10+ years out. This vintage of Elogé is in a really good place right now and is terrific with food. On its own, especially with extended air, the acidity sticks out a bit. But, as someone who typically opens wine to have with a meal, this hit the spot.
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9/2/2019 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very enjoyable and open for business. Oak has more of a presence than ideal and time will integrate. Otherwise quite good.
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5/19/2019 - PSUSteve Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnP.
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3/6/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened, but not decanted, with my wine group at a NYC restaurant. Close between this and the Betz for my favorite of the night. The rest of the group my have preferred this, as it was the first of the 4 reds to be finished. Long finish. One of my favorite wineries and I always enjoy the Eloge blend.
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1/17/2019 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much like an aged BDX, lead pencil shavings on the nose, dark plum fruit on entry, good weight in the mouth. There is quality here but it is a bit muddied. There is a heavy iron component. There is good acidity and length but the overall product is chalky and a bit non-descript with a bit of a tart red cherry ending. I liked it but my wife did not.
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1/12/2019 - OpuMayaQuem Likes this wine: 92 Points
This still needs time to reach my sweet spot. I would hold for a couple more years at least. It has potential to be great for a long time. Try again in 2021.
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12/15/2018 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 89 Points
A well made wine with a signature flavor profile for this Bordeaux blend, but still very California in style. However, it is not a memorable wine and is somewhat uninteresting.
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11/11/2018 - cliffkol wrote: 92 Points
sediment, needs decanting, yet still young. Tannic. Dense, dark purple. Leather, earth.
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9/19/2018 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour then drank over dinner, could have used more time to open up. Mouth feel is softening with age, no rough edges. Lean in comparison to most Napa, which is something we appreciate about CVV, at the same time, the wine hasn't fully developed, while the primary has dropped off leaving it in a bit of an awkward teenage phase. I'd hold these until they develop more mature notes to add interest and complexity.
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6/24/2018 - cliffkol wrote: 90 Points
Needed 1-2 hours decant, very tannic. Probably still too young. Opened to a very nice, complex blend.
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5/5/2018 - Bloms wrote: 94 Points
Lovely Bordeaux blend. Perfect balance. One hour decant, continued to improve.
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3/24/2018 - John O' Likes this wine:
coravin'd a large glass and aired for 1.5 hours. This is the real deal
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2/1/2018 - DrBad Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow. After an hour in the glass, juicy with leather, espresso, very long finish. A little tanniny to start but mellowed out after another hour. Very complex taste.
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12/26/2017 - gmbdds wrote: 93 Points
Great showing of a classic Napa Bordeaux blend. Plenty of currant and blackberry fruit but nothing gloopy or overdone. Really nice oak and pepper complimentary notes. Early drinking window now, might get better.
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12/25/2017 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for two hours at the suggestion of prior tasting notes. I’m glad I did because this wine opened up beautifully. It is a big Cabernet Sauvignon fruit dominated wine, but it also has great structure and complexity. This is drinking great now with proper decanting, but will get even better with a few more years in bottle.
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11/5/2017 - John O' Likes this wine:
2 hour decant. Lovely
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6/6/2017 - cliffkol wrote: 92 Points
Fruit forward, still young. Red berry flavors blended with mature fruits. Slight oak, smoke. Elegant, silky tannins, showing progression toward maturity.
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1/14/2017 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still young. Funny enough, it tasted more aged then less aged as the night went on. Very good
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12/11/2016 - Slaz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted disjointed upon opening, with noticeable oak and green notes of Cab Franc. Transformed and improved considerably, however, after about two hours of decanting, becoming much more balanced, with layers of black and blue fruit on the palate. Fairly ripe but not excessively; massive, with sufficient complexity and structure to support that though. Notes of clove, tobacco, and leather on the palate, with some secondary floral notes on the palate after three hours of decanting. Full of life and should only improve with time. Note to self: do not touch the rest for 2 years.
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10/18/2016 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Really big black fruit but not stewed. Just massive.
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10/16/2016 - kingboo wrote: 92 Points
Another fine effort from ACV.
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2/19/2016 - floridawinedrkr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lighter in color and body. Not quite as powerful as I would like. Some alcohol notes throughout . Needs a little more time in the bottle.
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2/15/2016 - camben Likes this wine:
Excellent red and black fruit with good underlying spice
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