The disappointing Artemis we had last week tempered my expectations of this wine because it’s another winery owned by a large corp. from outside the valley. (Napa has a long history of big corporations turning great wineries into mediocre wineries) This is another wine I got as a present, and I did put some age on it in the cellar largely out of nostalgia. But I gotta say, this was really good! Classic Napa Cab, in a style we quite like: medium-full bodied, fruit (blueberries, dark cherries) is ripe but not overpowering, spicy (cinnamon, clove), oak beautifully integrated. Pop and poured it, no food. I was prepared to decant it, but after tasting didn’t think I needed to. It’s ready to go!
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1st of 6. This was quite nice. Brought to a party, so only had a glass to taste, and no detailed notes were taken. It's in a good spot now, with lovely fruit and nice balance (14.1% abv) overall. The tannins are fine, but firm, and they could use some more time to mellow out, but it was still a pleasure to have this now. Drink now through 2036. 91+
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Three hours "lazy" decant (in bottle). The wine is not forward, at all, but beautifully refined and goes down like liquid silk. The flavor is lovely, albeit receded as noted. Drink while seated and contemplative, not walking around in a festive setting. You would want more punch pairing with red meat but with a thick chicken or pasta dish this would be superb. I cannot imagine any reason to leave this in the cellar, so enjoy. I'm looking to scrounge more bottles, up to $50.
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Medium intensity nose. Medium+ body. Lacks complexity and would do with a little more fruit but I like it for it is not overly extracted like many new world Cabs. Some would have taken it for a Bordeaux.
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On open nose of cassis, tobacco leaf, earth w dense cab color, flavors like nose. Strong tannins. Day 2: nose gained complexity and smoother on palate more favorable tannins fruit held up and a creamy tactile quality. Enjoyable yes for good qualities but not 90 points in my opinion.
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4th Saturday Brown Bagger (EBCC): Double blind. Deep color. Notes of cassis, blackberry and peppery spice. Develops a note of hoisin sauce as it sits in the glass. Firm tannins with flavors of black fruit. Good underlying acidity. Giuessed Napa cab sauv. It's not "old school," but leaning ever so slightly in that direction. Excellent despite its youth. (MM)
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Slight bit of fruit upon opening with smooth tannins. A little bit of cedar and earth with a slightly dry finish. Paired with a prime rib meal complete with baked potato and capped it off with a piece of rich chocolate fudge cake. Enjoyable
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Hints of black cherry and spice. Wine opened lovely after about an hour of aeration, so either open for a while or decant. Paired well with tenderloin steak, less well with lobster tails (for my birthday dinner).
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85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot from combo of estate fruit and grapes from select Napa Valley growers. Each lot tasted and tested daily to determine vinification regime. Aged 20 months in French oak barrels (37% new). 14.1% Abv. 60500 cases History: First vintage 1893 [Not to be confused with Stag's Leap Wine Celllars] Purchased by Beringer (now Treasury Wine Estates) in 1996. General Manager/Winemaker: Christophe Paubert
A(ccuracy)=2: Deep dark ruby. Plush brambly Cab blend. B(alance)=2: Ripe fruit with adequate acid structure. C(omplexity)=2: Dark berries, plum, herbs, earth. D(epth)=2: Dense mouthfeel. Full length and finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,2,2,2] = 8/10
Still youthful and tight-knit. Bit monolithic.
For story-telling label graphics, see: [https://www.instagram.com/p/CRAiH9OL4Uu/] [https://www.facebook.com/WineTally/] For a unique multimedia resource, see [https://winetally.wixsite.com/vingnette]
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So I had some friends stop by unexpected and we pnp'd this wine. It was dark berries in the nose. The palate was blackberry, blueberry and hints of coffee. The finish was moderate and relatively smooth. I think some air time or decanting might raise the score a little.
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Though Once again I do not agree with the esteemed experts of the 90 plus accolades it is a good wine just not great especially at $50.00. Nice color with dark fruits on the nose, medium bodied so much so that I felt it lacked a bit of body. A bit of mineral at the end with a someone acidic taste down the middle. Perhaps a bit more time in the bottle but not 92,93, 93 points like everyone raves about.
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1 hour decant. Paired with NY Strip Steak. On the nose, bright berry notes with oak vanilla and a touch of cocoa. On the palate pretty blackberry, currant notes. Medium weight, silky tannins. Delicious if not complex. Short finish. Definitely enjoyed it.
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Really enjoyed. Rich but muted. I’ve never been able to identify cocoa in a red wine before, but this was loaded with it. Can definitely see where people are getting vanilla from. Would def buy again
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Always love drinking Stags Leap. I think this wine offers great QPR for a Californian Cab. Never disappoints. No real formal tasting notes, but was a crowd pleaser and I really enjoyed this wine. Would be interesting to see how this holds up in the cellar for 3-5 years. Will revisit.
89+
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It has been a long time since I take this wine again. It is good. Dark fruit with a bit vanilla. Medium bodied and acidity. I think I should have kept this for several more years before drinking. It is dry but not as much as I want.
Clear deep purple. Med + legs Clean. Pronounced blackberry, blueberry jam, licorice, ?oregano. Cedar, coconut, chocolate. Leather. Palate: dry, high acid, high tannin, high alcohol, full body. Pronounced blackberry, blueberry, fig, black cherry, eucalyptus, ?black pepper. Cedar, charred wood. Leather. Med finish Overall very good. Acid and alcohol a bit out of balance. Finish lacks. Can drink now but has potential
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Decanted 2 hrs, dense plum color, inviting nose with some cherry and heat, med mouthfeel, long finish with too much oak/tartness/heat, wife didn't like it, I rated much lower than everyone, just not my cab style, will decant longer next time.
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Sister’s birthday dinner. Wonderful soft balance, Beautiful aroma on the nose with hints of vanilla and baking spices. Wine is a nice reflection of the stags leap area, bold flavor yet softer on the palette than most other napa cabs. We enjoyed a 2014 Groth which was much bolder in flavor. This wine decanted about 35min. Much more than that you start to loose some of the aroma and “punch”. Very good
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This wine has matured or I have matured. Flavors of plum and cherry are dominant along with blackfruit and oak. Good finish. Upgrading it to 92. This will mature further over the next 1-2 years but now easy to drink.
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The wine was deep purple at the core and fuscia at the rim. It was opaque and clear with slow moving viscosity.Alcohol was 14.1% On the nose I smelled black cherry, blackberry and herbatious tones with a hint of oak On the palate the wine was dry not off dry and was very fruity giving the impression of sweetness. I tasted black cherry and blackberry and oak.The wine was well balance with tannins, acid and alcohol medium. This wine is not approachable a this age and needs at least 4 more years in the bottle. If you are going to drink it now drink it with a rib roast, steak or fatty dry cheese.
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A great easy to drink cab from Stags leap from Napa. Great mouth feel with traditional 100% cab body to it. On your mid-palate, you feel berries, black pepper, vanilla and oak. Finishes with supple tannins and long finish. Overall very delicious wine to drink by itself, enjoy with aged cheese, red meat or chicken.
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a nice nose of dark fruit that belies the palate. this wine is way too acidic, tart, and out of balance with a dark blackberry swirl, some oakiness, and charcoal grill. I want to believe this is a bad bottle, but I won't repurchase; seriously unenjoyable.
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Cherry/blackberry aroma, with lots of fruit and velvety tannins and a full body. Drinkable now but have a whole case and a Coravin ;) Excellent length/followthrough. Can sip it by itself though probably at this time better with a meal with flavorful dishes. It clearly needs decanting as I sipped more and swirled more, with a little bit of cheese makes those tannins become silky. Considering its' price point it better improve. Will update with my second glass which will be decanted for 30 min at least.
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Black fruit and plum forward with a mild leather and tobacco finish. Well balance with moderate amounts of tannins and acidity but not overwhelming. An easy drinking cab. 4/5 Stars
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Average especially for the price point. Non descript on the nose with some blackberry and currant. Nice color but very little finish makes this a head scratcher as they usually produce a better bottle than this.
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The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. It smells like blackberry. It tastes like blackberry and red currant. The body is full. The wine finishes medium. Enjoyed it with sirloin strip steaks, caprese salad and rissoto.
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Fruit with oak, vanilla and rosemary on the nose, pallet was initially hint of blueberry and quick conversion to ripe raspberries and black cherry, lingering finish with tobacco and tannin acidity. Good mouthfeel with slightly less than full viscosity, but not thin or medium in any way. Decant for at least an hour to let the tannins settle.
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The smell gives it away, this is so so average. Has the smell of average and tastes that way. I was excited to prove myself wrong, but this is just maybe drinking wine on a good day. Ugh.
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Nose of fresh blueberry and raspberry. Palate is well balanced with darker fruits, blackberry, black currant, and black cherry. There’s a light oak to it as well. Not too acidic, but a good amount of alcohol on it. Pretty decently balanced Napa, in my opinion. Not too bad a buy for the price point.
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Tasted alongside 2017 Amici, 2016 Faust and 2017 Titus. Came in third behind the Faust and Titus. Had no legs and was watery compared to the two better wines. The taste was flat, not much flavor overall. Not a bad wine, but just there in the overall tasting comparison.
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Decanted for an hour and it was still pretty primary, with cherry fruit and plenty of acid. It was much better the second night - richer and rounder, but none of the currant flavor I associate with good Napa cabs. An enjoyable wine that needs some time.
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Berries, oak, light tannins. Big fruit up from but not jammy like Caymus. Smooth in the mouth. Some pepper in the back of the throat to finish. Second time I’ve rated this label highly, though different year.
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Not worth the price. not representative of past efforts. I was disappointed given the location and tradition. It lacks boldness which is not countered by nuance. I have more bottles so I'll have to see if my opinion holds at a later date.
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Rated 94 by WA and JS. I've considered this cab to be a "sleeper" over the years as the QPR has been consistently good to exceptional. The 2016 vintage, at first tasting, trends to the latter on my QPR scale. So much going on here, especially considering the relative youth of this wine. Classic Cali cab aromas with violet, blackberry, cherry and herbal notes predominate. Initial hint of sweetness is followed by drying tannins that are evident but reasonably integrated. Flavors of baking spice, plum, vanilla, cinnamon, chicory and dark pepper, with other layered elements leading me to believe that complexity will develop further with more time in the cellar. Medium-full mouthfeel, velvety texture and silky smooth finish round out this high quality offering. Getting more.
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Note update on previous tasting on 1/18, I had another bottle which was exactly the same, 91pts....1/2 btl.. Forgot about it in the fridge for at least a week, wow, totally changed up. The acidity subsided, obviously, but became much more interesting, on a blind taste you Would almost guess a Chilean red blend-not kidding, same funk etc. Premium juice, which will easily garner big points from cellaring. Re buy. Drink 2022-30, with serious decant.
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Vinturied 4xs into decant. Compelling wine at this point, the oak and tannins are raw but interesting to drink now, this will be really good in 3-10 years. I can see the 94pt justification with cellar time. Drink now with serious air, if you can’t do that drink 2023-2030. A rebuy for long term drinking.
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Much better than I was expecting. Very dark and viscous. Plenty of oak all over it and borderline sweet but texturally I enjoyed it. The 5% Rhone varieties that make the blend really coming out. Made to drink young.
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Nose: cherry, blackberry, jalapeno, black pepper, vanilla, leather Palate: as sweet as a dry wine gets. Strong barrel flavors: oak, leather, vanilla. Dark fruit. More jalapeno. Tannins quite laid back though. Interestingly low acidity Finish: oaky and pretty long. Vanilla
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Purchased from Rye Brook Wines for $36. Decanted and served in Reidel stemware. I have been a fan of other Stags' Leap Winery Cabs in past vintages so I thought I would give this a try despite the mixed reviews on Cellar Tracker. Overall, I was disappointed by this wine...very little on the nose other than dark fruit and essentially the same on the sweet, monolithic palate. There was nothing inherently "bad" about this wine, we just found it incredibly generic. If you put this up against a $10 bottle of McManis Cabernet you would be hard pressed to choose a winner. This was the consensus of two other experienced tasters as well.
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Very pretty Cabernet, well-made and easy to love. The ~$40 price isn't bad, as in my opinion it's a step behind some other $50 Napa Cabs, but still a good example of the style. Definitely worth a taste at that price. Dark plummy fruit with some cassis, light wood, and nuances of tobacco/menthol, a nice herbal touch accompanying the fruit for sure without veering into green territory. The scents aren't especially strong but really lovely. Palate is similar to nose with very soft, silky tannins and a subtle meaty/ironlike accent.
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Not bad at all. Nice aromas of cinnamon, clove, smoke over a cherry/ blackberry core. Similar notes on palate with a little metallic edge on mid palate. Not the most sharply delineated and a little short in the finish but really pretty respectable at its price point. Score : 89. Relative to expectations: 0
So a little addendum here on how consistent (or not) I am on expectations and scoring as pertains to price: I tasted the 2016 Artemis a while back, scored it 90 and gave it a + for expectations. Compare price with this one: Artemis, about $55; regular Cab Sauv: $44. I think the one point difference in quality is about right, but I think I was a little generous to give the Artemis a +, because although better, it also costs about the right amount more, and should be a 0 in expectations, too. So not perfect consistency, but not horribly all over the map either.... I remember being on the fence, but giving it the plus mostly because it was a free sample. An object lesson in impartiality and the impossibility of doing it unless you're paying with your own dime. No wonder the professional scorers are consistently higher than CT in scores: they are inevitably going to be at least a little biased away from criticism and toward marketing -- even if it is a tiny bit, some of the time.
Really nice red and black fruit, baking spices, licorice, cinnamon, silky texture with a balanced finish. Dips a little in the mid-palate but still very good.
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Expecting more. Nice structure dark fruit, pencil lead, low sugar and good tannins. Then just disappears. Finish is almost missing. No complexity. Scratch that, after an hour of air, cherry finish peaked it's head out. Must decant for an hour plus. Much better now
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A month ago I rated this wine 90. At the time I noted that I wanted to add some 2016 cabs that were reasonably priced. (I paid $36) pretty happy with 1st bottle in contrast to this bottle which tasted like a $15 cab. No idea why there was such a contrast, and would certainly not pay the $50+ at some stores.
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I was looking to buy some inexpensive 2016 Napa cabs as I agree with many posters that this vintage will go down as one of the best ever. Old Woodward Cellars had this for $35 a bottle which I thought was a very good price. Very happy with my first one. Nice fruits, smooth, long, and very good for the price
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Started a little reserved but developed into a nice new world cab after a few hours in the decanter. Lots of sweet fruit and some fine grained tannins. I bet this gets better with a couple of years in the cellar, but no reason why these can’t be drunk now. A good value at $30, not at $50.
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1/14/2024 - Akcbeast Likes this wine: 90 Points
Solid 90.5 to me. No decant, paired with NY strip and expected more but had good tannin structure.
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12/23/2023 - btc wrote: 93 Points
Excellent wine. Well integrated tannins. Opened up nicely over an hour. Wish I'd bought more. Drinking nicely now.
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9/21/2023 - winespine Likes this wine: 92 Points
The disappointing Artemis we had last week tempered my expectations of this wine because it’s another winery owned by a large corp. from outside the valley. (Napa has a long history of big corporations turning great wineries into mediocre wineries) This is another wine I got as a present, and I did put some age on it in the cellar largely out of nostalgia. But I gotta say, this was really good! Classic Napa Cab, in a style we quite like: medium-full bodied, fruit (blueberries, dark cherries) is ripe but not overpowering, spicy (cinnamon, clove), oak beautifully integrated. Pop and poured it, no food. I was prepared to decant it, but after tasting didn’t think I needed to. It’s ready to go!
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9/2/2023 - pmcellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good!
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8/5/2023 - trumpet60201 Likes this wine: 91 Points
1st of 6. This was quite nice. Brought to a party, so only had a glass to taste, and no detailed notes were taken. It's in a good spot now, with lovely fruit and nice balance (14.1% abv) overall. The tannins are fine, but firm, and they could use some more time to mellow out, but it was still a pleasure to have this now. Drink now through 2036. 91+
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4/23/2023 - CJV Likes this wine: 91 Points
Three hours "lazy" decant (in bottle). The wine is not forward, at all, but beautifully refined and goes down like liquid silk. The flavor is lovely, albeit receded as noted. Drink while seated and contemplative, not walking around in a festive setting. You would want more punch pairing with red meat but with a thick chicken or pasta dish this would be superb. I cannot imagine any reason to leave this in the cellar, so enjoy. I'm looking to scrounge more bottles, up to $50.
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3/22/2023 - Al-Vino Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good, solid bottle without the fruit forward, sweet profile of many Californian Cabs. Not the best option for value seekers.
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3/7/2023 - cjsadler Likes this wine: 91 Points
Took an hour decant, but this developed into a nice, restrained, almost old-school Napa cab.
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2/22/2023 - Philip Yang Likes this wine: 89 Points
Medium intensity nose. Medium+ body. Lacks complexity and would do with a little more fruit but I like it for it is not overly extracted like many new world Cabs. Some would have taken it for a Bordeaux.
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11/25/2022 - MonAmiPhilippe wrote: 87 Points
On open nose of cassis, tobacco leaf, earth w dense cab color, flavors like nose. Strong tannins.
Day 2: nose gained complexity and smoother on palate more favorable tannins fruit held up and a creamy tactile quality.
Enjoyable yes for good qualities but not 90 points in my opinion.
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9/24/2022 - AllRed wrote: 91 Points
4th Saturday Brown Bagger (EBCC): Double blind. Deep color. Notes of cassis, blackberry and peppery spice. Develops a note of hoisin sauce as it sits in the glass. Firm tannins with flavors of black fruit. Good underlying acidity. Giuessed Napa cab sauv. It's not "old school," but leaning ever so slightly in that direction. Excellent despite its youth. (MM)
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9/24/2022 - Chill51 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Slight bit of fruit upon opening with smooth tannins. A little bit of cedar and earth with a slightly dry finish. Paired with a prime rib meal complete with baked potato and capped it off with a piece of rich chocolate fudge cake. Enjoyable
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9/3/2022 - tadams66 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Beautiful dark fruit with a luscious mouth feel. Nice ta mins but they are getting nicely integrated. Can drink now or hold for several more years.
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7/18/2022 - ramsaypaul144 wrote: 89 Points
great wine, nice long finish.
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6/23/2022 - Saltiecroc Likes this wine: 88 Points
This wine is decent, but no complexity. Highly doubt that more aging will improve it. Enjoyable,but better wines for the price.
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2/23/2022 - Medhat Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened after about 30 minutes. Full bodied, cherry. Paired with filet (solid pairing). Would buy again.
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1/12/2022 - Okanagan Sunset wrote:
Hints of black cherry and spice.
Wine opened lovely after about an hour of aeration, so either open for a while or decant.
Paired well with tenderloin steak, less well with lobster tails (for my birthday dinner).
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12/24/2021 - PLindeSmith wrote:
Very smooth - would buy again
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11/9/2021 - Jlflynn Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid
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10/15/2021 - BloodyMee wrote: 90 Points
Would buy again
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9/26/2021 - cmcleish wrote:
It was ok, wouldn’t buy again. No complexity and it had decanted for over an hour.
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6/29/2021 - WineTally Likes this wine:
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
from combo of estate fruit and grapes from select Napa Valley growers.
Each lot tasted and tested daily to determine vinification regime.
Aged 20 months in French oak barrels (37% new).
14.1% Abv. 60500 cases
History: First vintage 1893
[Not to be confused with Stag's Leap Wine Celllars]
Purchased by Beringer (now Treasury Wine Estates) in 1996.
General Manager/Winemaker: Christophe Paubert
A(ccuracy)=2: Deep dark ruby. Plush brambly Cab blend.
B(alance)=2: Ripe fruit with adequate acid structure.
C(omplexity)=2: Dark berries, plum, herbs, earth.
D(epth)=2: Dense mouthfeel. Full length and finish.
Wine Tally Score [2,2,2,2] = 8/10
Still youthful and tight-knit. Bit monolithic.
For story-telling label graphics, see:
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CRAiH9OL4Uu/]
[https://www.facebook.com/WineTally/]
For a unique multimedia resource, see
[https://winetally.wixsite.com/vingnette]
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5/14/2021 - Bahloola Likes this wine: 92 Points
Enjoyable. Still a lot of cherrys and some tartness of red fruit on the tip. Will hold for another year
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5/8/2021 - markcic Likes this wine: 89 Points
So I had some friends stop by unexpected and we pnp'd this wine. It was dark berries in the nose. The palate was blackberry, blueberry and hints of coffee. The finish was moderate and relatively smooth. I think some air time or decanting might raise the score a little.
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5/2/2021 - RCCOLA43 Does not like this wine:
No smell or taste
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4/18/2021 - nelsonjared wrote: 89 Points
Tasted much better the 2nd day, at room temperature, and when paired with food.
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4/8/2021 - gamlingman Likes this wine: 89 Points
Though Once again I do not agree with the esteemed experts of the 90 plus accolades it is a good wine just not great especially at $50.00.
Nice color with dark fruits on the nose, medium bodied so much so that I felt it lacked a bit of body. A bit of mineral at the end with a someone acidic taste down the middle. Perhaps a bit more time in the bottle but not 92,93, 93 points like everyone raves about.
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3/8/2021 - bburke40 Likes this wine: 92 Points
1 hour decant. Paired with NY Strip Steak. On the nose, bright berry notes with oak vanilla and a touch of cocoa. On the palate pretty blackberry, currant notes. Medium weight, silky tannins. Delicious if not complex. Short finish. Definitely enjoyed it.
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2/20/2021 - E&B Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very smooth. Great with steak!
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2/12/2021 - Al Brookline wrote: 85 Points
Very ordinary; unidimensional.
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1/28/2021 - Eddie&Ro wrote:
Ok, lighter cab, not worth $55
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1/28/2021 - Eddie&Ro wrote:
Nice, Lighter cab
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1/22/2021 - montoyan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really enjoyed. Rich but muted. I’ve never been able to identify cocoa in a red wine before, but this was loaded with it. Can definitely see where people are getting vanilla from. Would def buy again
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1/18/2021 - Marcusg211 Likes this wine: 91 Points
I find this consistently good. Nice ruby red color. Cherry/blackberry finish. Full body.
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1/2/2021 - Jwatson80 wrote: 94 Points
So freaking good
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12/31/2020 - Tlbart Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fruit forward, low tannins
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12/28/2020 - Joejanick1 wrote: 90 Points
Medium bodied with vanilla and BlackBerry notes. Acidity is subdued and very drinkable now
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12/20/2020 - bordeaux456 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Always love drinking Stags Leap. I think this wine offers great QPR for a Californian Cab. Never disappoints. No real formal tasting notes, but was a crowd pleaser and I really enjoyed this wine. Would be interesting to see how this holds up in the cellar for 3-5 years. Will revisit.
89+
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12/19/2020 - GiantRam Likes this wine: 91 Points
It has been a long time since I take this wine again. It is good. Dark fruit with a bit vanilla. Medium bodied and acidity. I think I should have kept this for several more years before drinking. It is dry but not as much as I want.
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12/6/2020 - NSzuflita Likes this wine:
Clear deep purple. Med + legs
Clean. Pronounced blackberry, blueberry jam, licorice, ?oregano. Cedar, coconut, chocolate. Leather.
Palate: dry, high acid, high tannin, high alcohol, full body. Pronounced blackberry, blueberry, fig, black cherry, eucalyptus, ?black pepper. Cedar, charred wood. Leather. Med finish
Overall very good. Acid and alcohol a bit out of balance. Finish lacks. Can drink now but has potential
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12/1/2020 - Leinike Likes this wine: 90 Points
Strong fruit. Good bottle with a steak or something big.
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11/26/2020 - RedValues wrote: 85 Points
Decanted 2 hrs, dense plum color, inviting nose with some cherry and heat, med mouthfeel, long finish with too much oak/tartness/heat, wife didn't like it, I rated much lower than everyone, just not my cab style, will decant longer next time.
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11/24/2020 - GrapeGonz Likes this wine: 92 Points
Sister’s birthday dinner. Wonderful soft balance, Beautiful aroma on the nose with hints of vanilla and baking spices. Wine is a nice reflection of the stags leap area, bold flavor yet softer on the palette than most other napa cabs. We enjoyed a 2014 Groth which was much bolder in flavor. This wine decanted about 35min. Much more than that you start to loose some of the aroma and “punch”. Very good
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11/23/2020 - Dr. Wine MD PhD ;) Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine has matured or I have matured. Flavors of plum and cherry are dominant along with blackfruit and oak. Good finish. Upgrading it to 92. This will mature further over the next 1-2 years but now easy to drink.
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11/12/2020 - kend707 wrote: 89 Points
Ditto Novicemike. Too simple and light bodied to desire more.
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11/10/2020 - novicemike wrote: 90 Points
Good but nothing remarkable.
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11/10/2020 - jsnigeria@gmail.com Likes this wine: 89 Points
The wine was deep purple at the core and fuscia at the rim. It was opaque and clear with slow moving viscosity.Alcohol was 14.1%
On the nose I smelled black cherry, blackberry and herbatious tones with a hint of oak
On the palate the wine was dry not off dry and was very fruity giving the impression of sweetness. I tasted black cherry and blackberry and oak.The wine was well balance with tannins, acid and alcohol medium. This wine is not approachable a this age and needs at least 4 more years in the bottle. If you are going to drink it now drink it with a rib roast, steak or fatty dry cheese.
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10/31/2020 - MattB72 wrote: 91 Points
Better than a year ago for sure. Needs tons of air
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10/29/2020 - SPLJEG Likes this wine: 92 Points
The wine looks ruby colored, is medium/full body, has silky texture, finishes medium and has medium acidity.
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10/21/2020 - bubbachumps wrote: 90 Points
Straightforward unmanipulated cabernet. I was surprised by this, before I drank I was anticipating being disappointed, so it was nice to be surprised.
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10/11/2020 - Zeftnt wrote: 89 Points
Great
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10/9/2020 - sweez1 Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Very light drinking Cab, not as much flavor as hoping for, didn't hold up to other Cab we had during visit. Will not be purchasing anymore.
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10/4/2020 - Dionysus88 wrote:
Anniversary dinner.
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9/24/2020 - Pvaddadi wrote: 93 Points
A great easy to drink cab from Stags leap from Napa. Great mouth feel with traditional 100% cab body to it. On your mid-palate, you feel berries, black pepper, vanilla and oak. Finishes with supple tannins and long finish. Overall very delicious wine to drink by itself, enjoy with aged cheese, red meat or chicken.
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9/23/2020 - jps3@columbia.edu Likes this wine:
After reading reviews I was pleasantly surprised. Was not expecting much but it’s a lovely wine. A bit overpriced as are most Napa cabs.
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9/22/2020 - aerosol wrote: 85 Points
a nice nose of dark fruit that belies the palate. this wine is way too acidic, tart, and out of balance with a dark blackberry swirl, some oakiness, and charcoal grill. I want to believe this is a bad bottle, but I won't repurchase; seriously unenjoyable.
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9/21/2020 - Dr. Wine MD PhD ;) wrote: 90 Points
Cherry/blackberry aroma, with lots of fruit and velvety tannins and a full body. Drinkable now but have a whole case and a Coravin ;) Excellent length/followthrough. Can sip it by itself though probably at this time better with a meal with flavorful dishes. It clearly needs decanting as I sipped more and swirled more, with a little bit of cheese makes those tannins become silky. Considering its' price point it better improve. Will update with my second glass which will be decanted for 30 min at least.
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9/13/2020 - chuckos77 wrote: 88 Points
Soft, non-discript wine that is fine to share but nothing to write much about
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9/12/2020 - as4beatles wrote: 90 Points
Nice fruit, a touch of sweet, a bit dry, mild finish.
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8/31/2020 - KVM wrote:
Dark fruit nose, and cedar. Medium body with black berry and leather flavours. Medium finish, firm. This will last.
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8/29/2020 - DK MacLean wrote: 90 Points
Good but muted experience.
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8/29/2020 - JRaniere wrote:
Black fruit and plum forward with a mild leather and tobacco finish. Well balance with moderate amounts of tannins and acidity but not overwhelming. An easy drinking cab. 4/5 Stars
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8/22/2020 - Chied wrote: 92 Points
Excellent SL Cab! Decanted for 90 minutes before enjoying with Filet Mignon and garden fresh pesto pasta with pine nuts.
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8/22/2020 - gamlingman wrote: 85 Points
Average especially for the price point. Non descript on the nose with some blackberry and currant. Nice color but very little finish makes this a head scratcher as they usually produce a better bottle than this.
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8/18/2020 - Porter2008 wrote:
Shipped 12 spoiled bottles... twice.
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8/17/2020 - Ronald Bracewell Likes this wine: 87 Points
We drank with QCGS at Highlands. Jay Jacobs loved it!
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8/14/2020 - Britches Likes this wine:
Red berries smell, deep red color, robust
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7/26/2020 - winepog wrote: 91 Points
Solid
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7/24/2020 - Jeff Ferrante Likes this wine: 90 Points
The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. It smells like blackberry. It tastes like blackberry and red currant. The body is full. The wine finishes medium. Enjoyed it with sirloin strip steaks, caprese salad and rissoto.
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7/19/2020 - Spartan the V wrote: 93 Points
Fruit with oak, vanilla and rosemary on the nose, pallet was initially hint of blueberry and quick conversion to ripe raspberries and black cherry, lingering finish with tobacco and tannin acidity. Good mouthfeel with slightly less than full viscosity, but not thin or medium in any way. Decant for at least an hour to let the tannins settle.
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7/13/2020 - BMarsden Does not like this wine: 78 Points
The smell gives it away, this is so so average. Has the smell of average and tastes that way. I was excited to prove myself wrong, but this is just maybe drinking wine on a good day. Ugh.
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7/13/2020 - TM11 wrote: 81 Points
81- Standard red Cabernet wine. Smooth and bold
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6/22/2020 - PeterDean17 wrote: 89 Points
Beautiful nose of big napa cab. But light on flavor. Some cherry and pepper.
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6/20/2020 - dlpope Likes this wine: 90 Points
Needs a lot of time to open.
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5/23/2020 - BrendanMcS wrote: 91 Points
Nose of fresh blueberry and raspberry. Palate is well balanced with darker fruits, blackberry, black currant, and black cherry. There’s a light oak to it as well. Not too acidic, but a good amount of alcohol on it. Pretty decently balanced Napa, in my opinion. Not too bad a buy for the price point.
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5/7/2020 - ScottHaller Likes this wine: 90 Points
A fine wine - good fruit, full body, nice finish, but not worth the $$$. Might be better with some age on it.
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5/2/2020 - wildcatjw97 Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Tasted alongside 2017 Amici, 2016 Faust and 2017 Titus. Came in third behind the Faust and Titus. Had no legs and was watery compared to the two better wines. The taste was flat, not much flavor overall. Not a bad wine, but just there in the overall tasting comparison.
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4/26/2020 - mreinitz wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for an hour and it was still pretty primary, with cherry fruit and plenty of acid. It was much better the second night - richer and rounder, but none of the currant flavor I associate with good Napa cabs. An enjoyable wine that needs some time.
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4/26/2020 - WhiNeri Likes this wine: 93 Points
Like this cab, immediately enjoyable out of the bottle.
Smooth and full bodied
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4/9/2020 - danielsjones01 wrote:
Berries, oak, light tannins. Big fruit up from but not jammy like Caymus. Smooth in the mouth. Some pepper in the back of the throat to finish. Second time I’ve rated this label highly, though different year.
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4/4/2020 - Mully’s Wine Likes this wine:
Gift
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3/26/2020 - calcheme wrote: 85 Points
Not worth the price. not representative of past efforts. I was disappointed given the location and tradition. It lacks boldness which is not countered by nuance. I have more bottles so I'll have to see if my opinion holds at a later date.
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3/25/2020 - Stemidoc Likes this wine: 95 Points
Excellent
Both enjoyed
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3/13/2020 - Tahlequahdave1972 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rated 94 by WA and JS. I've considered this cab to be a "sleeper" over the years as the QPR has been consistently good to exceptional. The 2016 vintage, at first tasting, trends to the latter on my QPR scale. So much going on here, especially considering the relative youth of this wine. Classic Cali cab aromas with violet, blackberry, cherry and herbal notes predominate. Initial hint of sweetness is followed by drying tannins that are evident but reasonably integrated. Flavors of baking spice, plum, vanilla, cinnamon, chicory and dark pepper, with other layered elements leading me to believe that complexity will develop further with more time in the cellar. Medium-full mouthfeel, velvety texture and silky smooth finish round out this high quality offering. Getting more.
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2/24/2020 - wino121 wrote: 93 Points
Note update on previous tasting on 1/18,
I had another bottle which was exactly the same, 91pts....1/2 btl..
Forgot about it in the fridge for at least a week, wow, totally changed up.
The acidity subsided, obviously, but became much more interesting, on a blind taste you
Would almost guess a Chilean red blend-not kidding, same funk etc.
Premium juice, which will easily garner big points from cellaring.
Re buy.
Drink 2022-30, with serious decant.
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1/26/2020 - MattB72 wrote: 88 Points
i really hope this gets better in a few yrs, but I'm not sure it will.
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1/25/2020 - axz055 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cherry, blackberry, and green pepper on the nose. Pepper and dark fruit on the palate. Soft to moderate tannins. Peppery moderately long finish.
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1/18/2020 - wino121 wrote: 91 Points
Vinturied 4xs into decant.
Compelling wine at this point, the oak and tannins are raw but
interesting to drink now, this will be really good in 3-10 years.
I can see the 94pt justification with cellar time.
Drink now with serious air, if you can’t do that drink 2023-2030.
A rebuy for long term drinking.
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1/16/2020 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 91 Points
Much better than I was expecting. Very dark and viscous. Plenty of oak all over it and borderline sweet but texturally I enjoyed it. The 5% Rhone varieties that make the blend really coming out. Made to drink young.
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1/7/2020 - stet wrote: 85 Points
Nose: cherry, blackberry, jalapeno, black pepper, vanilla, leather
Palate: as sweet as a dry wine gets. Strong barrel flavors: oak, leather, vanilla. Dark fruit. More jalapeno. Tannins quite laid back though. Interestingly low acidity
Finish: oaky and pretty long. Vanilla
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1/3/2020 - Jdog wrote: 88 Points
Purchased from Rye Brook Wines for $36. Decanted and served in Reidel stemware. I have been a fan of other Stags' Leap Winery Cabs in past vintages so I thought I would give this a try despite the mixed reviews on Cellar Tracker. Overall, I was disappointed by this wine...very little on the nose other than dark fruit and essentially the same on the sweet, monolithic palate. There was nothing inherently "bad" about this wine, we just found it incredibly generic. If you put this up against a $10 bottle of McManis Cabernet you would be hard pressed to choose a winner. This was the consensus of two other experienced tasters as well.
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12/22/2019 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very pretty Cabernet, well-made and easy to love. The ~$40 price isn't bad, as in my opinion it's a step behind some other $50 Napa Cabs, but still a good example of the style. Definitely worth a taste at that price. Dark plummy fruit with some cassis, light wood, and nuances of tobacco/menthol, a nice herbal touch accompanying the fruit for sure without veering into green territory. The scents aren't especially strong but really lovely. Palate is similar to nose with very soft, silky tannins and a subtle meaty/ironlike accent.
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12/9/2019 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not bad at all. Nice aromas of cinnamon, clove, smoke over a cherry/ blackberry core. Similar notes on palate with a little metallic edge on mid palate. Not the most sharply delineated and a little short in the finish but really pretty respectable at its price point.
Score : 89. Relative to expectations: 0
So a little addendum here on how consistent (or not) I am on expectations and scoring as pertains to price: I tasted the 2016 Artemis a while back, scored it 90 and gave it a + for expectations. Compare price with this one: Artemis, about $55; regular Cab Sauv: $44. I think the one point difference in quality is about right, but I think I was a little generous to give the Artemis a +, because although better, it also costs about the right amount more, and should be a 0 in expectations, too. So not perfect consistency, but not horribly all over the map either....
I remember being on the fence, but giving it the plus mostly because it was a free sample. An object lesson in impartiality and the impossibility of doing it unless you're paying with your own dime. No wonder the professional scorers are consistently higher than CT in scores: they are inevitably going to be at least a little biased away from criticism and toward marketing -- even if it is a tiny bit, some of the time.
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11/22/2019 - pakabear Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really nice red and black fruit, baking spices, licorice, cinnamon, silky texture with a balanced finish. Dips a little in the mid-palate but still very good.
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11/10/2019 - garym053 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Good wine for special occasions
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11/8/2019 - redrules wrote: 92 Points
Expecting more. Nice structure dark fruit, pencil lead, low sugar and good tannins. Then just disappears. Finish is almost missing. No complexity. Scratch that, after an hour of air, cherry finish peaked it's head out. Must decant for an hour plus. Much better now
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10/15/2019 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 85 Points
A month ago I rated this wine 90. At the time I noted that I wanted to add some 2016 cabs that were reasonably priced. (I paid $36) pretty happy with 1st bottle in contrast to this bottle which tasted like a $15 cab. No idea why there was such a contrast, and would certainly not pay the $50+ at some stores.
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9/9/2019 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 90 Points
I was looking to buy some inexpensive 2016 Napa cabs as I agree with many posters that this vintage will go down as one of the best ever. Old Woodward Cellars had this for $35 a bottle which I thought was a very good price. Very happy with my first one. Nice fruits, smooth, long, and very good for the price
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8/20/2019 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
Started a little reserved but developed into a nice new world cab after a few hours in the decanter. Lots of sweet fruit and some fine grained tannins. I bet this gets better with a couple of years in the cellar, but no reason why these can’t be drunk now. A good value at $30, not at $50.
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6/23/2019 - Nashtywines wrote: 91 Points
Great drinking Stags cab. Great fruit and almost that cream finish. Beautiful
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4/23/2019 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 90 Points
Brief tasting during a walk around of California Wineries, Montreal.
Very floral with violets and bright red fruits, smooth tannins easy to drink.
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