One of the standard bearers in SLD. I felt lucky to have snagged a few bottles of this back in 2020, “discounted” for $65. I’ve enjoyed a number of vintages of this, dating back to the early 2000’s; always a personal favorite, after of course, Shafer Hillside Select.
Decanted in a “Big Apple” decanter. Deep purple color, with ruby emanating from the core. Perfect with the grilled NY Sirloin strip, grilled corn, and arugula salad. Full body. Love the unmistakable purple flowers, and black currant, followed by the loamy, ripe blackberry, black cherry, green tobacco, and rich dark chocolate. Structural components all in harmony, with velvety tannins. Big, and rich, with a very long and satisfying finish. Based on prior experience, this isn’t a “long ager”, good for about fifteen years. Drink through 2031+.
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Started out slowly, a bit hollow and some alcohol taste (15.2% abv) but opened up and smoothed out, nice bouquet, lots of glycerin, drank with Tuscan porterhouse steak, good fruit, smooth tannins, would drink again but need to share with others due to its "bigness" as we did tonight.
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Pretty good wine. 90 minute decant. I thought fruity at first, lisa did not. We both enjoyed. And probably 92 at hour 4. Very little acidity. Drinking well now. Will drink our last one in 2 years.
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Nice dark red fruit (black cherry and raspberry) and licorice. Supple mouthfeel. Smooth tannins. Drinking well now. Doesn’t seem to have the concentration and tannins to support extended aging, so I’d recommend drinking now through 2025.
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We got this wine when we visited the Cliff Lede vineyard in late 2020. We decided to treat ourselves one night and we opened it. This is one of the best wines I've ever tasted. The nose is heavy, but the body is silky smooth with nice, strong tannins. This wine finishes nicely and will have you craving more.
Pnp. Classic CS, deep, long, with gravitas. But this one opens with an unfortunate edge to it. Held on counter under N2, after a few days the edge went away, and it was fairly compelling. Too young?
Raspberry and pen ink on the nose. On the palate, black cherry, currant, and blackberry, with a strong coconut/vanilla note from unabsorbed oak along with notes of cocoa and blueberry on the medium to long finish, with moderate tannins and strong acidity. This was better the second day, with the oak fading into the background. This is several years too young - try again in five years. It was an average value at a little over $50, but it should improve significantly with time.
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Purchased at the PA state store, stored at cellar conditions. This was drunk with dinner over one hour - as it was tasty, it did not last long.
I have followed this wine since the 2012 vintage, and have had 4-6 bottles from each vintage, most of which were purchased directly from the winery. This was my first of the 2016. In general, this wine is consistent, vintage to vintage, and a good representation of SLD. It is a medium bodied, showing finesse and elegance, with a nice balance between the fruit and tannins. The fruit is sourced from Lede's estate vineyards Poetry and Twin Peaks, to which purchased grapes from neighboring SLD vineyards are added. Typically about 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot, Petit Verdot and a splash of cab franc.
The wine is already well integrated, with a nose of violets, cassis, plums and currants. On the palate, there are warm blue and black fruits mixed with spice, figs, cedar and tobacco. The wine finishes with grainy tannins and earth.
Tasted a second bottle. This wine is really nice. The fruit, balance, and elegance are there. The tannins are still firm, but drinkable. It would benefits from 10 years in the bottle, but if you can't wait that long, I think it's very nice with a big steak right now. It is a really nice wine, especially for the money. 94 points.
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I tried this multiple times over several months via coravin. Each time I was disappointed by how flat the wine tasted. It was dull from the very beginning. It wasn’t bad. It was just “there.”
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Tuesday Wines with Epic Wines; 9/15/2020-9/16/2020 (Grapes & Grains, Temecula, CA): Powerful, yet polished Stags Leap that shows much more roasted bell pepper and tobacco leaf at this stage than one might expect. Dense smokey fruit, carmelized brown sugar, and baking spice is plentiful in the aromas and palate. Supple tannins and fresh acidity bode well for current and future consumption.
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Solid offering by Cliff Lede. It probably needs about 10 more years before ready, but it is a very decent wine. The tannins are still very firm and tight, and the wine is slightly closed. I would wait until 2030 before opening.
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Vintage consistent. Never seems to vary much. Deep purple color. Good nose and dark fruit with some earthy notes. Not a block buster but you know what you will get. A big fan of this label especially the rock block. Beckstoffer is a must get and for the money is the best juice out there.
Elegant and well-balanced. Light weight. Delicate and graceful on the palate. Reasonable length. Smooth, contemplative and deep. No noticeable tannins. Napa pricing, tho, unfortunately.
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AVAs of Napa @ KL: Back to fruit after the Napanook, but this is still very well balanced. Red to dark fruit: cherries and plums. Lots of fruit on the palate, but enough structure to back it up. The booze is a little much on the back end, but overall this is very enjoyable.
Another fine vintage. This shows beautiful texture, ripeness, and balance. Not too heavy, not too oaky, not overdone, just a fine example of Stags Leap Cab.
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Beautiful nose. Ripe dark fruits with raspberries and casis. Medium to full bodied. Extremely approachable when initially decanted and opened up nicely over the course of the next hour. Soft, velvety and well balanced tannin. A good value for this type of wine.
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The QPR on this wine is a little bit poor. If I was rich and having a party with a mixture of wine novices and experts, this would be a very good house wine to serve. It is a very safe, middle-of-the-road, sweet blackberry dominant wine. A hint of black licorice, a hint of tobacco, a hint of chocolate, a little bit of pepper on the finish, a little bit of herb. Would not be the best wine on the table with wines that cost about $20 a bottle more than this, and would be very middle of the pack in a group of wines that are similarly-priced. I think I had the 2010 a couple of years ago and remember being wowed by it. This one is definitely not bad, but I did not get the same reaction. Drink or hold another two or three years.
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Currant, blueberry, grilled peppers, and smoky mineral nose. Full, assertive and muscular palate; balanced and structured; weighty but well-integrated palate. 4/5
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Very approachable, big ripe fruit, some oak, integrated alcohol and tannins. Went through three bottles at a restaurant and all fantastic on first opening.
Lovely, fairly intense nose of herbs, dark and red fruits, currant, oak spice, and cassis. The full-bodied is structured and elegant with gritty tannins that have some grip, but are otherwise well-integrated. Pleasing aroma replays on the flavour profile with juicy, mouth-watering acids. Excellent length on the spiced finish. Approachable now, but should age gracefully over the next 15+ years.
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Beautiful purple colour. Good acidity and tannins integration. Full of fresh fruit with hints of oak. Has a little to much sugar left. Overall a very good wine.
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A typical Napa styling Gorgeous palate, very elegant Ripe black currant, graphite, mint, French oak, tobacco Its high alcohol doesn’t show Fine, grainy tannins Will age further but very drinkable now
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Solid, if somewhat boring Napa Cab. Aromatically a bit one note, without the perfume of a Heitz or even a Clos du Val. Standard ripe, concentrated, blueberry/cassis, with a touch of tobacco and round ripe tannins. It’s clearly Napa cab, but nothing says to me SLD terroir and there’s not a lot of finesse. There’s a bit of an awkward bitter note at the end, which might be attractive if the wine were less ripe and more savory, but seems at odds here. 15.1% which you definitely feel.
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Really bright purple color. Nose boasts black currants, cassis, plums, rich and loaded but mixed with a host of coffee, cocoa, anise, mint chocolate chip, roasted herbs and graphite. Full-bodied and big on the palate (15.2%) but it’s built well with solid grip, enough acidity to hold it all together. Rich and velvety with waves of plums, black cherries and blueberries. The fruit is mixed with complex earth, graphite, iron, anise, along with coffee, mint chocolate chip and cedar. Accessible and delicious now but plenty of time ahead. Includes 11% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, aged 21 months in about half-new French oak.
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PnP Intense ruby rim and a blood red core. Leaning a bit more red fruit on the nose, raspberry, cherry, some blue/black fruit, hot dry rock/earth and some baking spice. Tight on the palate, as one would expect at this age, with medium weight, moderate acidity, and dusty, soft tannins. Not as muscular as past vintages. One of the more finessed vintages I've had. It will drink well early on and the layers of flavors on the finish indicate that this will evolve beautifully over the next 15+ years.
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12/24/2023 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 92 Points
Robust, full of black and blue fruit, tobacco and coffee. Nicely integrated but still firm tannins.
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10/4/2023 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine: 95 Points
So much flavor. Blueberry, ripe plum, sweet tobacco, licorice. Settled and in the prime drinking window right now. Superb.
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5/27/2023 - wmccone54 wrote: 93 Points
One of the standard bearers in SLD. I felt lucky to have snagged a few bottles of this back in 2020, “discounted” for $65. I’ve enjoyed a number of vintages of this, dating back to the early 2000’s; always a personal favorite, after of course, Shafer Hillside Select.
Decanted in a “Big Apple” decanter. Deep purple color, with ruby emanating from the core. Perfect with the grilled NY Sirloin strip, grilled corn, and arugula salad. Full body. Love the unmistakable purple flowers, and black currant, followed by the loamy, ripe blackberry, black cherry, green tobacco, and rich dark chocolate. Structural components all in harmony, with velvety tannins. Big, and rich, with a very long and satisfying finish. Based on prior experience, this isn’t a “long ager”, good for about fifteen years. Drink through 2031+.
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4/22/2023 - mwneil Likes this wine: 93 Points
Started out slowly, a bit hollow and some alcohol taste (15.2% abv) but opened up and smoothed out, nice bouquet, lots of glycerin, drank with Tuscan porterhouse steak, good fruit, smooth tannins, would drink again but need to share with others due to its "bigness" as we did tonight.
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12/9/2022 - Winechat63 wrote: 90 Points
Pretty good wine. 90 minute decant. I thought fruity at first, lisa did not. We both enjoyed. And probably 92 at hour 4. Very little acidity. Drinking well now. Will drink our last one in 2 years.
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10/22/2022 - Joshdana Likes this wine: 94 Points
Aged very nicely
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9/12/2022 - Scottwhipp Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice dark red fruit (black cherry and raspberry) and licorice. Supple mouthfeel. Smooth tannins. Drinking well now. Doesn’t seem to have the concentration and tannins to support extended aging, so I’d recommend drinking now through 2025.
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3/26/2022 - joshandjeff Likes this wine: 100 Points
We got this wine when we visited the Cliff Lede vineyard in late 2020. We decided to treat ourselves one night and we opened it. This is one of the best wines I've ever tasted. The nose is heavy, but the body is silky smooth with nice, strong tannins. This wine finishes nicely and will have you craving more.
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3/2/2022 - Ceo wrote: 92 Points
Needs air but opens into edgy bold Cabernet 🍷🍇🍷🍇
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2/16/2022 - Peter Kleban Likes this wine:
*+
Pnp. Classic CS, deep, long, with gravitas. But this one opens with an unfortunate edge to it. Held on counter under N2, after a few days the edge went away, and it was fairly compelling. Too young?
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7/3/2021 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine: 96 Points
Has made incredible strides in the last year. Superb wine
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5/8/2021 - Soche Likes this wine: 91 Points
1/4-Damn good and drinking well
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12/14/2020 - RichardP wrote: 90 Points
Raspberry and pen ink on the nose. On the palate, black cherry, currant, and blackberry, with a strong coconut/vanilla note from unabsorbed oak along with notes of cocoa and blueberry on the medium to long finish, with moderate tannins and strong acidity. This was better the second day, with the oak fading into the background. This is several years too young - try again in five years. It was an average value at a little over $50, but it should improve significantly with time.
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11/29/2020 - wdcwineguys Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decent cab, medium body, a bit of acid that reminds me of Stags Leap district.
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11/29/2020 - Franken Berry Likes this wine: 92 Points
Purchased at the PA state store, stored at cellar conditions. This was drunk with dinner over one hour - as it was tasty, it did not last long.
I have followed this wine since the 2012 vintage, and have had 4-6 bottles from each vintage, most of which were purchased directly from the winery. This was my first of the 2016. In general, this wine is consistent, vintage to vintage, and a good representation of SLD. It is a medium bodied, showing finesse and elegance, with a nice balance between the fruit and tannins.
The fruit is sourced from Lede's estate vineyards Poetry and Twin Peaks, to which purchased grapes from neighboring SLD vineyards are added. Typically about 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot, Petit Verdot and a splash of cab franc.
The wine is already well integrated, with a nose of violets, cassis, plums and currants. On the palate, there are warm blue and black fruits mixed with spice, figs, cedar and tobacco. The wine finishes with grainy tannins and earth.
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11/28/2020 - Sfflyer123 wrote: 94 Points
Tasted a second bottle. This wine is really nice. The fruit, balance, and elegance are there. The tannins are still firm, but drinkable. It would benefits from 10 years in the bottle, but if you can't wait that long, I think it's very nice with a big steak right now. It is a really nice wine, especially for the money. 94 points.
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9/18/2020 - 007inColorado wrote:
I tried this multiple times over several months via coravin. Each time I was disappointed by how flat the wine tasted. It was dull from the very beginning. It wasn’t bad. It was just “there.”
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9/16/2020 - R2-D2 wrote: 92 Points
Tuesday Wines with Epic Wines; 9/15/2020-9/16/2020 (Grapes & Grains, Temecula, CA): Powerful, yet polished Stags Leap that shows much more roasted bell pepper and tobacco leaf at this stage than one might expect. Dense smokey fruit, carmelized brown sugar, and baking spice is plentiful in the aromas and palate. Supple tannins and fresh acidity bode well for current and future consumption.
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8/29/2020 - Sfflyer123 wrote: 92 Points
Solid offering by Cliff Lede. It probably needs about 10 more years before ready, but it is a very decent wine. The tannins are still very firm and tight, and the wine is slightly closed. I would wait until 2030 before opening.
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6/16/2020 - MADV Likes this wine: 92 Points
Vintage consistent. Never seems to vary much. Deep purple color. Good nose and dark fruit with some earthy notes. Not a block buster but you know what you will get. A big fan of this label especially the rock block. Beckstoffer is a must get and for the money is the best juice out there.
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5/26/2020 - Peter Kleban Likes this wine:
**
Elegant and well-balanced. Light weight. Delicate and graceful on the palate. Reasonable length. Smooth, contemplative and deep. No noticeable tannins. Napa pricing, tho, unfortunately.
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5/16/2020 - wineotim Likes this wine: 93 Points
Consistent with my first review. Nicely textured Cabernet!
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2/22/2020 - mkribar Likes this wine: 91 Points
AVAs of Napa @ KL: Back to fruit after the Napanook, but this is still very well balanced. Red to dark fruit: cherries and plums. Lots of fruit on the palate, but enough structure to back it up. The booze is a little much on the back end, but overall this is very enjoyable.
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1/21/2020 - wineotim Likes this wine: 93 Points
Another fine vintage. This shows beautiful texture, ripeness, and balance. Not too heavy, not too oaky, not overdone, just a fine example of Stags Leap Cab.
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12/6/2019 - Robwild Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful nose. Ripe dark fruits with raspberries and casis. Medium to full bodied. Extremely approachable when initially decanted and opened up nicely over the course of the next hour. Soft, velvety and well balanced tannin. A good value for this type of wine.
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11/21/2019 - YankeeRobio Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black currant, cassis, cherry pipe tobacco. Good wine now, will be better in 5 years
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11/15/2019 - mflesh wrote: 91 Points
The QPR on this wine is a little bit poor. If I was rich and having a party with a mixture of wine novices and experts, this would be a very good house wine to serve. It is a very safe, middle-of-the-road, sweet blackberry dominant wine. A hint of black licorice, a hint of tobacco, a hint of chocolate, a little bit of pepper on the finish, a little bit of herb. Would not be the best wine on the table with wines that cost about $20 a bottle more than this, and would be very middle of the pack in a group of wines that are similarly-priced. I think I had the 2010 a couple of years ago and remember being wowed by it. This one is definitely not bad, but I did not get the same reaction. Drink or hold another two or three years.
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11/1/2019 - BDM50 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Excellent wine. Group of 4 and we all thought it was very good.
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10/30/2019 - Double-A Likes this wine: 90 Points
Currant, blueberry, grilled peppers, and smoky mineral nose. Full, assertive and muscular palate; balanced and structured; weighty but well-integrated palate.
4/5
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10/19/2019 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very approachable, big ripe fruit, some oak, integrated alcohol and tannins. Went through three bottles at a restaurant and all fantastic on first opening.
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10/18/2019 - cono_sur Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely, fairly intense nose of herbs, dark and red fruits, currant, oak spice, and cassis. The full-bodied is structured and elegant with gritty tannins that have some grip, but are otherwise well-integrated. Pleasing aroma replays on the flavour profile with juicy, mouth-watering acids. Excellent length on the spiced finish. Approachable now, but should age gracefully over the next 15+ years.
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10/5/2019 - Holadi wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful purple colour. Good acidity and tannins integration. Full of fresh fruit with hints of oak. Has a little to much sugar left. Overall a very good wine.
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9/28/2019 - Alykhan V Likes this wine: 92 Points
A typical Napa styling
Gorgeous palate, very elegant
Ripe black currant, graphite, mint, French oak, tobacco
Its high alcohol doesn’t show
Fine, grainy tannins
Will age further but very drinkable now
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9/25/2019 - ohne_musik wrote: 88 Points
Solid, if somewhat boring Napa Cab. Aromatically a bit one note, without the perfume of a Heitz or even a Clos du Val. Standard ripe, concentrated, blueberry/cassis, with a touch of tobacco and round ripe tannins. It’s clearly Napa cab, but nothing says to me SLD terroir and there’s not a lot of finesse. There’s a bit of an awkward bitter note at the end, which might be attractive if the wine were less ripe and more savory, but seems at odds here. 15.1% which you definitely feel.
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7/16/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Can't ask for more from Napa Cab I don't think. With a touch of green.
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6/22/2019 - Steven DiFiore Likes this wine: 92 Points
Good Cabernet for the price. Sophisticated and complex like some higher priced stags Leap district Cabernets.
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6/13/2019 - Steven DiFiore Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid, stats leap district Cabernet.
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4/30/2019 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 92 Points
Really bright purple color. Nose boasts black currants, cassis, plums, rich and loaded but mixed with a host of coffee, cocoa, anise, mint chocolate chip, roasted herbs and graphite. Full-bodied and big on the palate (15.2%) but it’s built well with solid grip, enough acidity to hold it all together. Rich and velvety with waves of plums, black cherries and blueberries. The fruit is mixed with complex earth, graphite, iron, anise, along with coffee, mint chocolate chip and cedar. Accessible and delicious now but plenty of time ahead. Includes 11% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, aged 21 months in about half-new French oak.
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4/25/2019 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
A really approachable wine that has everything you need. Great fruit, with spices Cheers
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2/16/2019 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Needs more time. Decant for a while. Definitely better the next day Cheers
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1/29/2019 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:
PnP
Intense ruby rim and a blood red core.
Leaning a bit more red fruit on the nose, raspberry, cherry, some blue/black fruit, hot dry rock/earth and some baking spice.
Tight on the palate, as one would expect at this age, with medium weight, moderate acidity, and dusty, soft tannins.
Not as muscular as past vintages. One of the more finessed vintages I've had. It will drink well early on and the layers of flavors on the finish indicate that this will evolve beautifully over the next 15+ years.
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