Wow, what a treat. Had this one for a long time in not terribly wine-friendly apartments, so I was worried it would have gone bad - worries were unfounded. Big rich black berry compote with a hefty backbone of spice and leather. Honestly I probably could have kept it cellared for another 5+ years and it just would have gotten better.
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Opened these two bottles because preceding tasting notes mentioned the wine as getting close to being done. Opened about two hours before dinner, and the wine was closed tight. Finally decanted it about an hour later, which helped, but wine never really opened up until about an hour after decanting. Plenty of fruit and decent acidity, wish I had opened it 3-4 hours earlier. Still a nice cab.
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PdP'd. Quickly opened up in the glass. Dark fruit on the nose. Soft mouthfeel with flavors of berries, spice & raisin. DRINK UP, one bottle left in my cellar - suggest consuming within the next 2 years.
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This wine holds up over time- good color, nice even tannins, good mix of blue and red fruit. A little musty on the nose but that blew off with some air. I got some cedar as well. Nice wine with a bit of age on it!
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Was very good but not good enough for the price. Next time I would get the regular Frank Family Cab. This bottle was over double the price and not worth $100+.
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Air for two hours. Subdued nose. Black fruits. Structured and balanced. Smooth with integrated tannins. Improved with time in glass. Medium length finish. Good, but not $80 good.
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Initial thought: "I murdered this. This needs to be opened up in 2022"....the thought at the end of the bottle: "DID I murder this? I am not sure this is going to get much better in bottle." This was opened and allowed to bottle decant for 2 hours. Initial thoughts: Black cherry and blackberry cassis, sweet, youthful decant fruit on the nose. And I will definitely say that the nose of this wine was its best attribute. Palate was rather generic. I don't think I could have sniffed out Rutherford dust on this one if I was a bloodhound. Tasted like an overextracted jammy Lodi or Russell Bevan bomb cab with zero personality. I kept this wine for a litttle over two years looking for the final time to open. Could this have improved with more time in the bottle? Possibly. But the consensus of this wine even then would be probably about the same. Chalky youthful blackberry and black pepper finish. Wishing I had paid about $50 less for this wine.
Loads of black fruit. Primarily from Winston Hill vineyard Hill in the Rutherford vineyard. Sits right below Pritchard Hill. And with some red fruit. Massive, monolithic.
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Slow ox for a couple of hours. Also had a 2015 Bevan Ontogeny and a Sugarloaf open.
I love this wine, and this night was no different. Red fruit. Rutherford Dust. Baking spices. Consistently delicious. On this night, I slightly preferred over the Ontogeny. Different wine profiles (and vintages) to be sure, but I am often a sucker for Rutherford.
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Served at a friend's house who picked it up on close-out for $79. Black and dark red fruit - blackberry, dark currants, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate coupled with solid depth/concentration and nice flavors of dark berries and a little spice. However, I thought the finish was somewhat lacking - fairly short and not much depth. In my opinion, in line with the 92 rating from WS. However, no question quality fruit and if I didn't care for how petit verdot tends to finish I would rate it a couple points higher - no surprise Parker rated this vintage 94. 93% cabernet sauvignon and the rest a blend of petit verdot and cab franc.
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Monthly Men's Wine Dinner (Bottle and Bull, Kirkland, WA): All the 2013s from Napa I've tried recently are shut down and I didn't even want to rate this, but as we were getting up to leave I tried one more sip and lo and behold! It was opening up, showing dark, deep Napa fruit. It's at least a 93 but I'm cellaring all my 2013s until they come out of the dumb phase like the 2006s did in the last year (I had written that vintage off). This came in #4 of 4 from everyone but if it was showing better it would have been much more competitive.
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P: MF, *poss* Full, body; Almost swtish frt (very, VERY slightly hot?) met by an astringent pucker which SLOWLY evolves into a very LONG finish with a swtness to its dusty tannins. A power packed style needing SIGNIFICANT cellaring (into, if not through '20, poss even longer?) before (potentially) emerging from its cocoon as a MOST interesting wine. 14.5% ABV; (If interested, check the 5 scores on wine-searcher's Tasting Notes pg.) [As of early Apr '20, wine-searcher still shows 1 source @ $85].
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It appears I am the outlier in reviewing this wine. Uncorked and let slow ox for 2 hours prior to transporting to Harvest BYOB. At the restaurant the wine exhibited a heady nose of milk chocolate, cherry, caramel, and light cassis. On the palate a disjointed and monolithic mess. Gobs of creamy vanillin, overoaked influence, and almost sickly sweet cherry. Little acidity or structure to speak of.
No sense of terroir, distinction, or nuance perceived; as it came across as very generic for a Reserve offering. Very fruit forward and one dimensional. Paired with a dry aged / garlic rub NY Strip with kale salad. Not sure what Vinous saw here .....
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4th Saturday group uptown tasting (R&C's): Double blind. Inky dark color. Vanilla and black fruit notes dominate; hint of incense underneath. Structured and tannic, showing flavors of cassis, vanilla and mocha. There's also a plush quality here, perhaps this has a bit of Merlot blended in? Lengthy finish. Needs time. Guessed young Napa Cab blend.
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Deep in color, with layers of fat, dark, ripe, juicy fruits, polished tannins and a long, opulent, fruit filled finish, with a judicious touch oak, meaning that the wood does not overwhelm the wine.
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Slow ox for 7 hours. Had side-by-side with 2013 Outpost Howell Mountain.
This was the better wine for me right now. Already incredibly well-rounded. Dark red fruit profile, a smattering of Rutherford Dust, and a wonderfully integrated finish. 94 might be on the low side. This wine can drink in the near term with some air. Others preferred the Outpost, but I found it generally too tight right now.
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For such a young wine, I found this actually to be very balanced. I did super decant via the VinoVolve. Mostly black fruit with some raspberry, cassis, and spice.
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Tasted at Country Vintner Mid Atlantic Spring Tasting.
Very tight but lots of potential. Muscular currants and blackberry with a whallop of delicious oak and sanguine Napa minerality. Jarring tannins and heat on the finish need a lot of time in the bottle.
That being said i can see this evolving into a wine of real finesse. Drink 2020-
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93% Cab and then touches of the rest. Almost all of it from Winston Hill right near Caymus and the Mumm facility on highway 128. 20 months all new French oak. That is big, powerful, massive stuff. All upfront right now, needs some time to come around.
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10/21/2023 - Ivan T.W. Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow, what a treat. Had this one for a long time in not terribly wine-friendly apartments, so I was worried it would have gone bad - worries were unfounded. Big rich black berry compote with a hefty backbone of spice and leather. Honestly I probably could have kept it cellared for another 5+ years and it just would have gotten better.
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9/2/2023 - GJVines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened these two bottles because preceding tasting notes mentioned the wine as getting close to being done. Opened about two hours before dinner, and the wine was closed tight. Finally decanted it about an hour later, which helped, but wine never really opened up until about an hour after decanting. Plenty of fruit and decent acidity, wish I had opened it 3-4 hours earlier. Still a nice cab.
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1/21/2023 - AAJR Likes this wine:
PdP'd. Quickly opened up in the glass. Dark fruit on the nose. Soft mouthfeel with flavors of berries, spice & raisin. DRINK UP, one bottle left in my cellar - suggest consuming within the next 2 years.
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1/20/2023 - OldHick95 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Well-mannered, medium bodied, full of dark fruit and a tinge of licorice. It’s all about the juicy finish.
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11/20/2022 - goonar182 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice color good tannins. Solid wine but as it ages the fruit forward goes away, which is what I look for.
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10/17/2022 - goonar182 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine holds up over time- good color, nice even tannins, good mix of blue and red fruit. A little musty on the nose but that blew off with some air. I got some cedar as well. Nice wine with a bit of age on it!
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9/14/2022 - winebot Likes this wine:
Paired with a prime filet. Marvelous. Now going to pair it with chocolate cake. Should also be marvelous.
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11/25/2021 - smileBD Likes this wine: 90 Points
Was very good but not good enough for the price. Next time I would get the regular Frank Family Cab. This bottle was over double the price and not worth $100+.
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3/26/2021 - Dr. Bee Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful rutherford dust! Elegant wine with manners to boot! Inna nice window but still tannins abound.
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10/12/2020 - mvande21 wrote: 92 Points
Air for two hours. Subdued nose. Black fruits. Structured and balanced. Smooth with integrated tannins. Improved with time in glass. Medium length finish. Good, but not $80 good.
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5/10/2020 - meeshe wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for two hours first. Surprised but I think it needed it.
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11/15/2019 - Laura LK wrote: 79 Points
Not as deep as other Frank Family cabs.
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10/8/2019 - mflesh wrote: 89 Points
Initial thought: "I murdered this. This needs to be opened up in 2022"....the thought at the end of the bottle: "DID I murder this? I am not sure this is going to get much better in bottle." This was opened and allowed to bottle decant for 2 hours. Initial thoughts: Black cherry and blackberry cassis, sweet, youthful decant fruit on the nose. And I will definitely say that the nose of this wine was its best attribute. Palate was rather generic. I don't think I could have sniffed out Rutherford dust on this one if I was a bloodhound. Tasted like an overextracted jammy Lodi or Russell Bevan bomb cab with zero personality. I kept this wine for a litttle over two years looking for the final time to open. Could this have improved with more time in the bottle? Possibly. But the consensus of this wine even then would be probably about the same. Chalky youthful blackberry and black pepper finish. Wishing I had paid about $50 less for this wine.
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5/9/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Loads of black fruit. Primarily from Winston Hill vineyard Hill in the Rutherford vineyard. Sits right below Pritchard Hill. And with some red fruit. Massive, monolithic.
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5/3/2019 - Cinimod Likes this wine: 90 Points
Family favorite, this is a smooth cab, taste of pepper but not too big. Perfect pairing with a Ribeye cap.
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5/26/2018 - ageverett Likes this wine: 95 Points
Slow ox for a couple of hours. Also had a 2015 Bevan Ontogeny and a Sugarloaf open.
I love this wine, and this night was no different. Red fruit. Rutherford Dust. Baking spices. Consistently delicious. On this night, I slightly preferred over the Ontogeny. Different wine profiles (and vintages) to be sure, but I am often a sucker for Rutherford.
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4/7/2018 - Badmonkey wrote: 92 Points
Served at a friend's house who picked it up on close-out for $79. Black and dark red fruit - blackberry, dark currants, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate coupled with solid depth/concentration and nice flavors of dark berries and a little spice. However, I thought the finish was somewhat lacking - fairly short and not much depth. In my opinion, in line with the 92 rating from WS. However, no question quality fruit and if I didn't care for how petit verdot tends to finish I would rate it a couple points higher - no surprise Parker rated this vintage 94. 93% cabernet sauvignon and the rest a blend of petit verdot and cab franc.
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12/9/2017 - ageverett Likes this wine: 93 Points
Got about an hour of air. Drank over 2 hours.
This has loads of fruit; dark red fruit in abundance. Not the most depth in the world, but lots of pleasure. Classic Rutherford profile for me.
Decent structure, but unlike many Napa 2013s, don't think this one needs to linger in the cellar forever.
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10/24/2017 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 93 Points
Monthly Men's Wine Dinner (Bottle and Bull, Kirkland, WA): All the 2013s from Napa I've tried recently are shut down and I didn't even want to rate this, but as we were getting up to leave I tried one more sip and lo and behold! It was opening up, showing dark, deep Napa fruit. It's at least a 93 but I'm cellaring all my 2013s until they come out of the dumb phase like the 2006s did in the last year (I had written that vintage off). This came in #4 of 4 from everyone but if it was showing better it would have been much more competitive.
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8/24/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Smooth and soft. And needs some time.
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5/20/2017 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [4 Whites & 8 Reds] from 5/19/17 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): N: Closed, but SEEMS deep, even brooding
P: MF, *poss* Full, body; Almost swtish frt (very, VERY slightly hot?) met by an astringent pucker which SLOWLY evolves into a very LONG finish with a swtness to its dusty tannins. A power packed style needing SIGNIFICANT cellaring (into, if not through '20, poss even longer?) before (potentially) emerging from its cocoon as a MOST interesting wine. 14.5% ABV; (If interested, check the 5 scores on wine-searcher's Tasting Notes pg.) [As of early Apr '20, wine-searcher still shows 1 source @ $85].
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3/11/2017 - drdan8 Does not like this wine: 86 Points
It appears I am the outlier in reviewing this wine. Uncorked and let slow ox for 2 hours prior to transporting to Harvest BYOB. At the restaurant the wine exhibited a heady nose of milk chocolate, cherry, caramel, and light cassis. On the palate a disjointed and monolithic mess. Gobs of creamy vanillin, overoaked influence, and almost sickly sweet cherry. Little acidity or structure to speak of.
No sense of terroir, distinction, or nuance perceived; as it came across as very generic for a Reserve offering. Very fruit forward and one dimensional. Paired with a dry aged / garlic rub NY Strip with kale salad. Not sure what Vinous saw here .....
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2/25/2017 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points
4th Saturday group uptown tasting (R&C's): Double blind. Inky dark color. Vanilla and black fruit notes dominate; hint of incense underneath. Structured and tannic, showing flavors of cassis, vanilla and mocha. There's also a plush quality here, perhaps this has a bit of Merlot blended in? Lengthy finish. Needs time. Guessed young Napa Cab blend.
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11/23/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Deep in color, with layers of fat, dark, ripe, juicy fruits, polished tannins and a long, opulent, fruit filled finish, with a judicious touch oak, meaning that the wood does not overwhelm the wine.
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4/16/2016 - ageverett Likes this wine: 94 Points
Slow ox for 7 hours. Had side-by-side with 2013 Outpost Howell Mountain.
This was the better wine for me right now. Already incredibly well-rounded. Dark red fruit profile, a smattering of Rutherford Dust, and a wonderfully integrated finish. 94 might be on the low side. This wine can drink in the near term with some air. Others preferred the Outpost, but I found it generally too tight right now.
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4/3/2016 - TastesGoodToMe Likes this wine: 92 Points
For such a young wine, I found this actually to be very balanced. I did super decant via the VinoVolve. Mostly black fruit with some raspberry, cassis, and spice.
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3/22/2016 - Merky_Waters Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tasted at Country Vintner Mid Atlantic Spring Tasting.
Very tight but lots of potential. Muscular currants and blackberry with a whallop of delicious oak and sanguine Napa minerality. Jarring tannins and heat on the finish need a lot of time in the bottle.
That being said i can see this evolving into a wine of real finesse. Drink 2020-
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3/2/2016 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
93% Cab and then touches of the rest. Almost all of it from Winston Hill right near Caymus and the Mumm facility on highway 128. 20 months all new French oak. That is big, powerful, massive stuff. All upfront right now, needs some time to come around.
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1/9/2016 - billwine5 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Solid Rutherford Cabernet. Deep fruit dark tannins. Tobacco and leather finish.
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