Inky purple color, medium-full bodied, vibrant black cherry and boysenberry fruits up front with hints of tea, lead pencil, spice and smoky oak on a moderate smooth tannin finish.
This experience was slightly better than my 4/21 experience, also documented on CellarTracker. Cork was solid, no signs of leaking. Color was good, a nice deep garnet. Nose offered up some lavender and violet. On the palate, this was better than the earlier bottle, opening earlier to reveal light berry and tea flavors. The difference was this offered brighter, clearer notes than the earlier bottle which tended to be a bit muddy. All in all a nice comparison with the 1996 Del Dotto Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve and a great complement to Italian dinner with friends
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Medium garnet color. Mild nose with mostly floral notes..lavender, violet and a bit perfumey. Has a narrow drinking window. Needed an hour to open but shut down again after 45 minutes. Uninteresting at first but when it opened, revealed some flavors of tea, cola and light berry. Not as complex or layered as the '93 I opened for OTBN. Needs to be consumed now.
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Opened and decanted for an hour +. This was a very nice bottle of wine, though it is on the back end of its career; beautiful and dark, but with just a hint of vinegar on the nose. The mouthfeel was nice; most of the fruit is gone and the just a slight metal taste. Am sure this was about 3-5 years too late, but still a very nice bottle.
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Double decanted for an hour before traveling to dinner. No sediment? Initially astringent with muted fruit notes. Showed up after 45 minutes, when it did begin to resemble a classic Bordeaux with some cassis cedar notes. It seems to be losing its fruit, but hopefully evolving into secondary and tertiary devlopment. At this stage the jury is out on this one.
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With seared steaks.. 1996 29 Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Grace Family), alc 13.5%, $75: The color is a little light at the edges but still opaque...a marvelous brambly black fruit driven nose...amazingly rich and relatively youthful on the palate with great depth and a velvety texture....all of the requisite black fruits, earthiness and leather that one would want...the finish is long with minimal tannins...this seems to be drinking at or near peak and provides great pleasure as a reward for the cellaring for 10+ yrs...if I were a "point guy"...96
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Same as the '95 but with the scores (vertical of 92-99) this one for the group got just one more vote. Where is the dominate flavor of the california cabernet.
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At Prime 112. Double decanted in am, then let sit in uncorked bottle for 1-1/2hrs. Restrained nose, although I might be sufferin g through a sniffle. Ellen, the hypertaster, said it was elegant. Very concentrated and dense. More so than the 97. Should keep well for another 10 years+. Developed beautifully in the glass after 1 hour. Next time, I will give it more air.
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This was a nice one, agree with the Bordaux comment below, was the last of several bottles of the night, wish I had been slightly more sober for it. Very smooth, with some good age on it.
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7/5/2019 - JackCMac wrote: flawed
corked
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7/5/2019 - JackCMac wrote: flawed
corked very disappointing
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8/15/2013 - rmcnees Likes this wine: 89 Points
Inky purple color, medium-full bodied, vibrant black cherry and boysenberry fruits up front with hints of tea, lead pencil, spice and smoky oak on a moderate smooth tannin finish.
http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/08/vintage-1996-napa-reds-for-italian.html
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8/15/2013 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 86 Points
This experience was slightly better than my 4/21 experience, also documented on CellarTracker. Cork was solid, no signs of leaking. Color was good, a nice deep garnet. Nose offered up some lavender and violet. On the palate, this was better than the earlier bottle, opening earlier to reveal light berry and tea flavors. The difference was this offered brighter, clearer notes than the earlier bottle which tended to be a bit muddy. All in all a nice comparison with the 1996 Del Dotto Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve and a great complement to Italian dinner with friends
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4/21/2013 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 86 Points
Medium garnet color. Mild nose with mostly floral notes..lavender, violet and a bit perfumey. Has a narrow drinking window. Needed an hour to open but shut down again after 45 minutes. Uninteresting at first but when it opened, revealed some flavors of tea, cola and light berry. Not as complex or layered as the '93 I opened for OTBN. Needs to be consumed now.
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6/1/2010 - mactheknife wrote: 91 Points
Opened and decanted for an hour +. This was a very nice bottle of wine, though it is on the back end of its career; beautiful and dark, but with just a hint of vinegar on the nose. The mouthfeel was nice; most of the fruit is gone and the just a slight metal taste. Am sure this was about 3-5 years too late, but still a very nice bottle.
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8/30/2009 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
Double decanted for an hour before traveling to dinner. No sediment? Initially astringent with muted fruit notes. Showed up after 45 minutes, when it did begin to resemble a classic Bordeaux with some cassis cedar notes. It seems to be losing its fruit, but hopefully evolving into secondary and tertiary devlopment. At this stage the jury is out on this one.
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4/17/2009 - ssouth wrote: 96 Points
With seared steaks..
1996 29 Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Grace Family), alc 13.5%, $75: The color is a little light at the edges but still opaque...a marvelous brambly black fruit driven nose...amazingly rich and relatively youthful on the palate with great depth and a velvety texture....all of the requisite black fruits, earthiness and leather that one would want...the finish is long with minimal tannins...this seems to be drinking at or near peak and provides great pleasure as a reward for the cellaring for 10+ yrs...if I were a "point guy"...96
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10/18/2008 - zimmy07 wrote:
still sucked. good thing that lot is done with. very disappointing
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9/25/2007 - jlgnml wrote: 88 Points
Same as the '95 but with the scores (vertical of 92-99) this one for the group got just one more vote. Where is the dominate flavor of the california cabernet.
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7/31/2007 - zimmy07 wrote: 80 Points
just bought a bad lot. over the hill. must have been poorly stored
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6/2/2007 - zimmy07 wrote: 82 Points
worst bottle of the night. This was not oxidized, corked or cooked, just way off. Lost all fruit. very disappointing
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10/20/2006 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
At Prime 112. Double decanted in am, then let sit in uncorked bottle for 1-1/2hrs. Restrained nose, although I might be sufferin g through a sniffle. Ellen, the hypertaster, said it was elegant. Very concentrated and dense. More so than the 97. Should keep well for another 10 years+. Developed beautifully in the glass after 1 hour. Next time, I will give it more air.
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9/25/2006 - stoll wrote:
This was a nice one, agree with the Bordaux comment below, was the last of several bottles of the night, wish I had been slightly more sober for it. Very smooth, with some good age on it.
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2/21/2006 - 97mjr wrote: 90 Points
Nicely balanced. More Bordeaux in style, acid, cedar, coffee, dark fruit.
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