Good stuff Maynard! The unsung 2003 come through again with this purple piece of soft tannin candy. I was worried I’d missed this wine but it delivered. Dark fruits and candied currents with a touch of leather and graphite. A winner for sure.
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Very nice, drinking really well right now -- you can taste the age a little bit, has almost an aged Bordeaux like quality while still being 100% Napa cab and very much new world in style.
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I rate this powerful giant extract cabernet a 95 because it was as opulent as a sweet tobacco river, flowing over soft bolders of spice, with chocolate eucalyptus trees above, dropping their chocolatey fruits into the river. Powerful and long finish, with very firm and approachable tannins delivering a firm, long ,yet round finish. Very impressive for an 03 Napa.
I think that the price pissed allot of people off...
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Good, not great. Loads of cassis and dark berries but a little on the overdone side surprisingly. Charcoal, caramel and roasted plums. A bit disjointed. Might have been poorly stored at one point in its life.
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Good effort for a tough vintage year. The wine is a little hot which takes it down a point. Menthol, vanilla Oak, black cherries. Still a dark garnet core and through the rim. Finish is a bit short which also took it down a point. I doubt this wine will improve and it might have been better earlier in its life.
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Left to breathe in the bottle for 3 hours. Cassis with some green vegetable on the nose. Medium bodied and quite smooth in the mouth with a nice initial attack of blackcurrent and black cherry fruit. However, on the mid paalte the fruit struggles to contain the alcohol. The finish is moderate in length but there is noticeable heat. This is pretty good but just isn't very well balanced at this point. May improve with more cellar time but i am not sure the fruit will ever be able to stand up to the alcohol. I think this retails at around $200 and even though i only paid half that amount it has to be considered disappointing. very poor QPR
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Slow-ox for 2 hrs, decanted and served immediately, enjoyed over the next 2 hours. This was served alongside the '05 Araujo Altagracia - the less expensive (~ $85) Araujo dominated this wine on all levels. A full-bodied wine with a firm, compact frame, it offers up a mildly complex nose, a somewhat interesting palate and a clean, but only slightly above-average finish. Perhaps some bottle variation could be attributed to this, but in the instant case, I find the wine pretentious and uninteresting. Approx $150, 14,8% abv.
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We had this bottle at RN74 restaurant in SF with friends. We decanted for 45 min before drinking. The wine tastes very nice right now. Although it could improve in the next 4-5 years. Reminds me a little of Harlan without the big power behind it. The finish on this was a solid 30-45 seconds. Hints of vanilla and very smooth. This wine would be great on its own without food but it does complement food nicely as well. My only flaw is that is that it tastes similar to other Napa cabs and was not the original. One other note, you can get cabs that taste this nice for much less. But the price aside it is a very nice wine. I will be looking for this on an auction sites. But will not spend more than $85 per bottle.
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6/19/2022 - Abanker Likes this wine:
wonderful wine, very smooth and delicate
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8/2/2020 - Vitis Maximus Likes this wine: 94 Points
Good stuff Maynard! The unsung 2003 come through again with this purple piece of soft tannin candy. I was worried I’d missed this wine but it delivered. Dark fruits and candied currents with a touch of leather and graphite. A winner for sure.
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1/13/2016 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very nice, drinking really well right now -- you can taste the age a little bit, has almost an aged Bordeaux like quality while still being 100% Napa cab and very much new world in style.
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5/24/2014 - Purple Tooth wrote: 95 Points
I rate this powerful giant extract cabernet a 95 because it was as opulent as a sweet tobacco river, flowing over soft bolders of spice, with chocolate eucalyptus trees above, dropping their chocolatey fruits into the river. Powerful and long finish, with very firm and approachable tannins delivering a firm, long ,yet round finish. Very impressive for an 03 Napa.
I think that the price pissed allot of people off...
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1/3/2014 - Uglypinga wrote:
Good, not great. Loads of cassis and dark berries but a little on the overdone side surprisingly. Charcoal, caramel and roasted plums. A bit disjointed. Might have been poorly stored at one point in its life.
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5/5/2013 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 88 Points
Good effort for a tough vintage year. The wine is a little hot which takes it down a point. Menthol, vanilla Oak, black cherries. Still a dark garnet core and through the rim. Finish is a bit short which also took it down a point. I doubt this wine will improve and it might have been better earlier in its life.
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11/5/2011 - phenricsson wrote: 96 Points
Great, dark, complex flavors. One of the better VY 29.
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6/22/2011 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
RICH FRUIT, BLACK CHERRIES AND CURRANTS WITH CHOCOLATE AND LICORICE IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. ELEGANT WINE WITH NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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6/2/2011 - Yamadori wrote: 89 Points
Left to breathe in the bottle for 3 hours. Cassis with some green vegetable on the nose. Medium bodied and quite smooth in the mouth with a nice initial attack of blackcurrent and black cherry fruit. However, on the mid paalte the fruit struggles to contain the alcohol. The finish is moderate in length but there is noticeable heat. This is pretty good but just isn't very well balanced at this point. May improve with more cellar time but i am not sure the fruit will ever be able to stand up to the alcohol. I think this retails at around $200 and even though i only paid half that amount it has to be considered disappointing. very poor QPR
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1/22/2010 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Slow-ox for 2 hrs, decanted and served immediately, enjoyed over the next 2 hours. This was served alongside the '05 Araujo Altagracia - the less expensive (~ $85) Araujo dominated this wine on all levels. A full-bodied wine with a firm, compact frame, it offers up a mildly complex nose, a somewhat interesting palate and a clean, but only slightly above-average finish. Perhaps some bottle variation could be attributed to this, but in the instant case, I find the wine pretentious and uninteresting. Approx $150, 14,8% abv.
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6/2/2009 - RBurgundy wrote: 93 Points
We had this bottle at RN74 restaurant in SF with friends. We decanted for 45 min before drinking. The wine tastes very nice right now. Although it could improve in the next 4-5 years. Reminds me a little of Harlan without the big power behind it. The finish on this was a solid 30-45 seconds. Hints of vanilla and very smooth. This wine would be great on its own without food but it does complement food nicely as well. My only flaw is that is that it tastes similar to other Napa cabs and was not the original. One other note, you can get cabs that taste this nice for much less. But the price aside it is a very nice wine. I will be looking for this on an auction sites. But will not spend more than $85 per bottle.
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3/9/2008 - yanik wrote: 91 Points
Was suggested as a Gemstone alternative. Go with gemstone next time. It was good but not outstanding
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12/22/2007 - olm2000 wrote: 92 Points
very balanced and long, but the oak was a bit too much for me...overall very good but at $200 or so, can't recommend it
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3/20/2007 - rloomis wrote:
nice structure and fruit, just too much green garlic shoot mercaptans on top to really enjoy.
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12/1/2006 - bdenuyl wrote: 95 Points
Outstanding wine. Tastes like a meritage. Very elegant with great balance and depth. It is drinking well now. Although expense I wish I had more.
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