Too many cabs for the low amount of beef we eat! Good w/ thick, loin lamb chops. No longer at its best. Aged leather nose. Got better in the glass. Then gave up nice blackberry, anise, cedar, leather.
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Nose of black cherry fruit, spearmint, leather, and cedar, more of the same on the palate, big body, showing its age with rich fruit, cherry and mint driven, delicious, elegant, mouth filling fruit, brought back memories of Joe Heitz phoning to say release day is coming and hope to see you, terrific personality and winemaker, and a long, flavorful finish, nostalgic good bye to an end of an era.
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a beautiful old lady was this bottle, opened with a whiff of funk but that blew off quickly, then was very reserved for about three hours of decant, you could tell the body was there but not out playing in the yard, put back in bottle around 3pm and opened for drinks dinner at 6pm... this was beautiful, on the elegant side, with red currants and slight spice / cedar flavors, good acidity for lift and med + body... red fruits throughout the night, the magnum was 90% done when I gassed it at 11pm and tonight she is hanging on but past peak... I've had some better Bella Oaks but this was a true delight... a toast to old Cali cabs of days gone by
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Best bottle (@ Weindorf Kirchheim): Intense, youthful, deep ruby red color. Nose muted. On the palate this wine is a stunner: Extract sweetness, fruit, eucalyptus notes, elegant, velvet tannin, perfectly ripe. This perfect bottle would certainly stay there on this level for some more time.
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Took this bottle to a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. It seemed closed at first, but the waiter decanted it and it gradually opened up over the hour or so while we dined. Nicely mature, bricking around the edges. At first not much fruit apparent, but as it opened I got some nice dark fruit and c bit of cherry that came through the otherwise dusty and minty foundation. Lovely, complex wine. Glad I didn't hold it any longer. Time to consider the other Bellas and Marthas I have from this same era. Gotta love Heitz.
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Our new years dinner wine. when I popped and poured it had a high tannin taste. after a 2 hour decant the tannins did leave but with some still hiding. Great oak smell but after drinking the wine it only lasted 4 seconds. I didn't care for it but for being a 25 year old wine it was decent. Drink now!! The wine looks Brick colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Toast, Oak, and Petrol. It tastes like Mushroom, Petrol, Clove, and Black Pepper. The body is Medium. The wine has Narrow texture. The wine finishes Short.
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Cabernet tasting six wines. Lovely rich cabernet nose, dark black cherry fruit with hints of white pepper, mint, and cedar, more of the same on the palate with hints of herbs, mint, and dark fruit, very rich, friendly, and pleasant to drink, medium finish, opened and improved consistently to a better nose and taste for the first hour. The group was favorabl impressed as was I. Number One, tied but broke based on complexity of taste.
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There was a bit of fruit upon opening. However over an hour it got more green and more bitter. A real disappointment. I've had good luck in general with 87 cabs holding together, but you don't win them all.
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Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind; 11/1/2011-11/2/2011: - Purple color with fast forming legs. It's balanced with a medium body. Polished texture with a medium finish - Janet's wine. I was expecting eucalyptus, which is a marker for Martha's Vineyard, but not Bella Oaks.
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Well colored at 20yo, a slight bricking at the edge but overall looked very healthy. The aromatics were somewhat reticent and withdrawn despite 30m of decanting. In the mouth, the wine was simple and frankly tart. Certainly no trace of the kind of secondary development and mellowing evolution that one would have hoped for. Fairly short, somewhat clipped finish. The wine was not flawed in any detectable way and the cork was healthy. Bad bottle (?) or perhaps OTH and unfortunately quite disappointing. Sorry, no previous reference points to assist.
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1987 Heitz, Bella Oaks, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, California, USA (double blind, from memory): Faint TCA in the nose, some TCA in the taste, aftertaste bit chemical. No score
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8/31/2020 - roxles Likes this wine:
Too many cabs for the low amount of beef we eat! Good w/ thick, loin lamb chops. No longer at its best. Aged leather nose. Got better in the glass. Then gave up nice blackberry, anise, cedar, leather.
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1/1/2019 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 99 Points
Nose of black cherry fruit, spearmint, leather, and cedar, more of the same on the palate, big body, showing its age with rich fruit, cherry and mint driven, delicious, elegant, mouth filling fruit, brought back memories of Joe Heitz phoning to say release day is coming and hope to see you, terrific personality and winemaker, and a long, flavorful finish, nostalgic good bye to an end of an era.
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12/3/2018 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
a beautiful old lady was this bottle, opened with a whiff of funk but that blew off quickly, then was very reserved for about three hours of decant, you could tell the body was there but not out playing in the yard, put back in bottle around 3pm and opened for drinks dinner at 6pm... this was beautiful, on the elegant side, with red currants and slight spice / cedar flavors, good acidity for lift and med + body... red fruits throughout the night, the magnum was 90% done when I gassed it at 11pm and tonight she is hanging on but past peak... I've had some better Bella Oaks but this was a true delight... a toast to old Cali cabs of days gone by
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8/18/2016 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 92 Points
Best bottle (@ Weindorf Kirchheim): Intense, youthful, deep ruby red color. Nose muted. On the palate this wine is a stunner:
Extract sweetness, fruit, eucalyptus notes, elegant, velvet tannin, perfectly ripe. This perfect bottle would certainly stay there on this level for some more time.
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11/13/2014 - milesdavis wrote: flawed
Corked
:(
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4/5/2014 - BradE wrote:
The last bottle of Heitz I own, bought on release, and a very decent end to an era. Rich, a touch unfocused, but overall quite good.
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12/10/2013 - rsprouse Likes this wine: 92 Points
Took this bottle to a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. It seemed closed at first, but the waiter decanted it and it gradually opened up over the hour or so while we dined. Nicely mature, bricking around the edges. At first not much fruit apparent, but as it opened I got some nice dark fruit and c bit of cherry that came through the otherwise dusty and minty foundation. Lovely, complex wine. Glad I didn't hold it any longer. Time to consider the other Bellas and Marthas I have from this same era. Gotta love Heitz.
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12/31/2012 - TheShrimpRider wrote: 86 Points
Our new years dinner wine. when I popped and poured it had a high tannin taste. after a 2 hour decant the tannins did leave but with some still hiding. Great oak smell but after drinking the wine it only lasted 4 seconds. I didn't care for it but for being a 25 year old wine it was decent. Drink now!!
The wine looks Brick colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Toast, Oak, and Petrol. It tastes like Mushroom, Petrol, Clove, and Black Pepper. The body is Medium. The wine has Narrow texture. The wine finishes Short.
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10/28/2012 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 98 Points
Cabernet tasting six wines. Lovely rich cabernet nose, dark black cherry fruit with hints of white pepper, mint, and cedar, more of the same on the palate with hints of herbs, mint, and dark fruit, very rich, friendly, and pleasant to drink, medium finish, opened and improved consistently to a better nose and taste for the first hour. The group was favorabl impressed as was I. Number One, tied but broke based on complexity of taste.
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7/3/2012 - Barnaby33 wrote:
There was a bit of fruit upon opening. However over an hour it got more green and more bitter. A real disappointment. I've had good luck in general with 87 cabs holding together, but you don't win them all.
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11/2/2011 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind; 11/1/2011-11/2/2011: - Purple color with fast forming legs. It's balanced with a medium body. Polished texture with a medium finish - Janet's wine. I was expecting eucalyptus, which is a marker for Martha's Vineyard, but not Bella Oaks.
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2/26/2009 - dgmm3 wrote: 92 Points
just another great bottle of cab from Heitz
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3/29/2008 - Keith Levenberg wrote:
Pretty, actually richer than the '94 but not as finely textured.
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10/13/2007 - BradE wrote:
This bottle showed well. Balanced, and actually still quite youthful. I liked it a lot.
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8/6/2007 - Sky King wrote: 85 Points
Well colored at 20yo, a slight bricking at the edge but overall looked very healthy. The aromatics were somewhat reticent and withdrawn despite 30m of decanting. In the mouth, the wine was simple and frankly tart. Certainly no trace of the kind of secondary development and mellowing evolution that one would have hoped for. Fairly short, somewhat clipped finish. The wine was not flawed in any detectable way and the cork was healthy. Bad bottle (?) or perhaps OTH and unfortunately quite disappointing. Sorry, no previous reference points to assist.
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3/17/2006 - BradE wrote:
Not a lot here. Fruit was muted, tannin was high. Nothing special.
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2/14/2004 - Wilfried wrote:
1987 Heitz, Bella Oaks, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, California, USA (double blind, from memory): Faint TCA in the nose, some TCA in the taste, aftertaste bit chemical. No score
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3/27/1991 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 84 Points
Barky nose and taste, good fruit, medium/big body, nice finish.
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