The one “older” (I say this as someone who, for the most part, is just beginning to drink his ‘13s) wine opened for us by Lucy. This was dark, dark, dark, with gothic tannins joined by black currants, black plums, dark earth, leather with end notes of hot bricks and asphalt. Already great persistence and intensity and VG+ complexity, this wine has a dense, and dare I say, slightly forbidding feel. I’m now forgetting how much air this received prior to our tasting, but for my palate, it clearly needed more, or better still, 5+ years more of bottle age. Don’t rush to drink this, as it may outlast the arctic ice caps. While, like almost all of these wines, we drank with minimal to no food (the Hidden Ridge and Immortal Estate were the exceptions for the tastings, and then the Morlet CdC with the sushi), I think that, if were one to disregard my advice, as many often do, in the world of wine and otherwise, it’s far more of a food than cocktail wine at present. Within the family, the heavy, brooding quality at present is interesting to contemplate as it’s so much at variance with the Prom of the same vintage I was fortunate to drink a year and a half ago. More generally, it would be interesting to do a retaste of all of these wines in the future, as at present, they were well below the Proms and Harlans I’ve had (though, I hasten to add, less expensive, even if *far* from cheap, or even affordable, for that matter).
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This rich and lively Cabernet needs a real decant (or preferably a few years) in order to calm down: it is saturated with flavors at the moment, but it lacks the nuance and precision I hoped for from this producer (and at this price). I confess to leaning towards the Pluribus in most vintages, but the Quella - grown on the eastern hills of Oakville - is a very tasty bottle that just got opened too early (by someone... um, me).
Dark red in color and medium in body, the wine offers a dense rush of primary aromas, including blueberry, cherry compote, graphite, and anise (read: the tertiary notes have yet to arrive). The flavors are similarly boisterous, offering up boysenberry (seeds and all), cocoa powder, graphite, and leather, with a grippy and polished finish. 14.8% alcohol. 94+ at the moment, but this should shine in 2026 or later.
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4/15/2024 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 96 Points
The one “older” (I say this as someone who, for the most part, is just beginning to drink his ‘13s) wine opened for us by Lucy. This was dark, dark, dark, with gothic tannins joined by black currants, black plums, dark earth, leather with end notes of hot bricks and asphalt. Already great persistence and intensity and VG+ complexity, this wine has a dense, and dare I say, slightly forbidding feel. I’m now forgetting how much air this received prior to our tasting, but for my palate, it clearly needed more, or better still, 5+ years more of bottle age. Don’t rush to drink this, as it may outlast the arctic ice caps. While, like almost all of these wines, we drank with minimal to no food (the Hidden Ridge and Immortal Estate were the exceptions for the tastings, and then the Morlet CdC with the sushi), I think that, if were one to disregard my advice, as many often do, in the world of wine and otherwise, it’s far more of a food than cocktail wine at present. Within the family, the heavy, brooding quality at present is interesting to contemplate as it’s so much at variance with the Prom of the same vintage I was fortunate to drink a year and a half ago. More generally, it would be interesting to do a retaste of all of these wines in the future, as at present, they were well below the Proms and Harlans I’ve had (though, I hasten to add, less expensive, even if *far* from cheap, or even affordable, for that matter).
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2/16/2024 - LBDWine wrote:
KIS See ML
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2/21/2023 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points
This rich and lively Cabernet needs a real decant (or preferably a few years) in order to calm down: it is saturated with flavors at the moment, but it lacks the nuance and precision I hoped for from this producer (and at this price). I confess to leaning towards the Pluribus in most vintages, but the Quella - grown on the eastern hills of Oakville - is a very tasty bottle that just got opened too early (by someone... um, me).
Dark red in color and medium in body, the wine offers a dense rush of primary aromas, including blueberry, cherry compote, graphite, and anise (read: the tertiary notes have yet to arrive). The flavors are similarly boisterous, offering up boysenberry (seeds and all), cocoa powder, graphite, and leather, with a grippy and polished finish. 14.8% alcohol. 94+ at the moment, but this should shine in 2026 or later.
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