Brilliant wine for thirsty Thursday. Jean Hoefliger makes this with Michel Rolland. Expressive toasted dark fruits, tobacco, crushed stones, cedarwood, sautéed spices, incense and leather. Bright and lifting for a fairly big Cabernet with with many layers. Ripe tannins on long finish. I’d definitely look for more. Cheers! 95-96!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened close to dinner as we'd run through most of the '14 Rolland I'd opened, as it turns out, an hour or two, too early for dinner.
Great from the pnp, though a tad strong upfront. Within a short time, that recedes, and the same great 'Rolland Experience' emerges. Garnet color in the glass, another classic Napa cab nose, etc. Again, just clean, pure red/blue and maybe a little blackberry fruit in this vintage. There is a tad more astringency to this vintage but in no way is it off-putting. It maybe takes a point away as compared to the '14 which just felt and drank so well balanced tonight.
Now open about 90 min......nose remains classic Napa. Maybe a little more sense of graphite to it. Cassis increases up front. Moderate astringency remains. The '15 in general, seems to have a slight win over the '14 as far as 'density' of fruit it seems. The palate is slightly more intense. Maybe in another year this one will come across as seamless and balanced as the '14 was earlier tonight? It's density of fruit and concentration of flavors would give it a one point edge over the '14 if that were to happen. As it stands now it falls back a point or two with more than 3 hours of air. Which leads one to think this needs more time to evolve. Probably not at its best drinking window yet.
Addendum: one glass left in the bottle under cork, on the counter at room temp of 74 deg here in FL. This wine has 'circled back' and come completely together now. It is smooth, deep and rich in fruit and challenging the '14 for a 96. It just took it 24 more hours to get there. Nice wine.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
ground coffee, blackberries, black currant, savory herbs, cassis, plum, cedar, chocolate, toasted oak spice, and blue florals. Ripe and fruit forward dark fruits, bold upfront. warm spice on the mid palate, rounded tannins, smooth finish.
Needs to be decanted about 4-5 hours before serving, but pretty smooth sailing through the night afterwards. Big wine.
I was expecting way more out of this bottle, I bit over the top fruit wise and unidimensional (but enjoyable). I think 2-5 years of cellar will definitely do some good...
I opened this while I still had recent tasting memories of the '16 Insignia. This wine has the telltale heavy handed oak treatment that Monsieur Rolland is known for, btw I suggest everyone see the movie "Mondovino" as he is portrayed to be the consultant to almost everyone who is anyone in the wine industry. Anyway, I have my obvious bias in that regard. This is very oaked and in need of some lift to make it great, just a bit flat and weighty for my palate. I know by experience that Insignia will age well. I'm not so sure on this wine. It is created at Alpha Omega under the auspices of Rolland.
Recent one-off purchase, following CT friends msu and mark's TNs, from the big box wine store for $99. Probably wouldn't have consumed so young except 1) great experience with the '16 Spottswoode cab and some less than great ones with high end older wines has left me more open to mixing some newer vintages in with the older, and 2) considering buying more at this price, so wanted to try before making further commitment. Was pretty sure this wouldn't suck based on the TNs, and it didn't. Opened with 1 oz pour, then let sit for hour+. On the nose, intense blue and blackberry liquer, black cherry and lead/graphite, similar on the palate with just a bit of leather and licorice, overall feeling of a wonderfully pure and concentrated, if somewhat simple, fruit punch. Dark, dark purple, medium to full-bodied, enormous legs. Very light acidity--my main difference from mark and msu's TNs--moderate tannins which came out more as the fruit pulled back a bit after an hour or so, no heat, but definitely a bit of sweetness, particularly on the initial pour. This wine is pure modern Napa to me, most similar to the '15 Myriad GIII I had a month or 2 ago, but in the 1-2+ hour mark, some more interesting darker and deeper notes came out, forest floor, spice box and espresso, which, although not making the wine Bordeaux-like in any way to me, gave it welcome contrast. Per Mark's TN, I put the cork back in after a couple of hours, and the wine is holding up really well on night 2. Good but not great complement to a NY strip, just not quite enough acidity for me. For me, 92-93 on the pour, 94-95 after a couple of hours, with the possibility of another point, maybe 2 at some point in a couple of years or so, although I'm just not sure that there's the structure for much improvement (that said, this wine should be solid for at least 5 years, I think). Unlike mark, I won't back up the truck on this--my wine budget may be more limited!--but I will buy, and hold for 2-3 years, another bottle. Thanks for the great TNs, guys. Let's do it live one of these days . . . 94+ NB#1 kudos to msu for being able to differentiate seedy boysenberries from non-seedy boysenberries. NB#2: this wine has an incredibly annoying rubber, as opposed to metal, seal. I thought about docking it a point for this, but decided that would be too churlish.
Great right from the pnp 93-94.......builds into even a better wine over the next 2-3 hours...easy 95-96. Soft, velvety red BDX feeling to the fruit but it has that Napa strength to it. The acidity and tannins are perfectly matched. Nice 20 second ending. Adds a little more astringency by hour 4....
This ripe and polished wine is drinking beautifully right now, with lovely fruit and lively acidity. Ruby red in color and medium in body, the wine offers lovely aromas of black cherry, blueberry liqueur, mocha, and graphite. Tastes of blackberry tart, boysenberry (the seedy kind), leather, and anise, with a silky finish that still has tannic push. 14.5% alcohol. Still going strong on second day.
This is a contender in the $100 range (if you can find it for that), since it offers rich fruit crafted by a well-trained hand. I don't think it's worth more, since it lacks the kind of explosive, layered, unique profile of wines at higher price points. This, though, is splitting hairs: it is well-made and delicious, and I have no complaints. Give this another year or two in order to let it truly unfold.
Very polished wine. Intoxicating notes of Black currants, blackberries, lead pencil shavings and faint tapenade. Smooth and and endowed fruit on the palate. A wonderful richness to this supple wine. Overall top notch.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just slightly behind the last bottle but still up there. The qpr on this is fantastic! Great fruit, great winemaking.......see the last note for details.
I must amend, to note I got these for under $100 each which is very nice for this quality. At their normal $150-170 it might just be another in a long list of good but expensive Napa cabs.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
First bottle of this '15...had a '12 a few weeks ago and really loved the winemaking. Pure class.....
This bottle has an enormously Napa nose right on opening and for 1-2 hours in. Gentle rose petals, pencil shavings and a certain spice/herb quality. NOTHING is overbearing in any way. If you close your eyes and sniff, you'd swear you were sitting on a veranda somewhere in Napa sipping this wine. Beautiful. One hour in, the fruit hits its stride.....a mix of red/black fruit, it's soft, it's silky, it's feminine. It has a superb front palate, mid and ending in the mouth. It is supported by a nice bead of refined acidity throughout and powdery tannins that are neither in the forefront, nor too integrated. In other words there is really nice balance to this wine. This is one classy bottle. HMC and I immediately ordered more online before calling it an afternoon.......at 3-4 hours in the fruit becomes just a tad thinner/redder, the body a tad lighter and the nose a little less present.
5/2/2024 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Brilliant wine for thirsty Thursday. Jean Hoefliger makes this with Michel Rolland. Expressive toasted dark fruits, tobacco, crushed stones, cedarwood, sautéed spices, incense and leather. Bright and lifting for a fairly big Cabernet with with many layers. Ripe tannins on long finish. I’d definitely look for more. Cheers!
95-96!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened close to dinner as we'd run through most of the '14 Rolland I'd opened, as it turns out, an hour or two, too early for dinner.
Great from the pnp, though a tad strong upfront. Within a short time, that recedes, and the same great 'Rolland Experience' emerges. Garnet color in the glass, another classic Napa cab nose, etc. Again, just clean, pure red/blue and maybe a little blackberry fruit in this vintage. There is a tad more astringency to this vintage but in no way is it off-putting. It maybe takes a point away as compared to the '14 which just felt and drank so well balanced tonight.
Now open about 90 min......nose remains classic Napa. Maybe a little more sense of graphite to it. Cassis increases up front. Moderate astringency remains. The '15 in general, seems to have a slight win over the '14 as far as 'density' of fruit it seems. The palate is slightly more intense. Maybe in another year this one will come across as seamless and balanced as the '14 was earlier tonight? It's density of fruit and concentration of flavors would give it a one point edge over the '14 if that were to happen. As it stands now it falls back a point or two with more than 3 hours of air. Which leads one to think this needs more time to evolve. Probably not at its best drinking window yet.
Addendum: one glass left in the bottle under cork, on the counter at room temp of 74 deg here in FL. This wine has 'circled back' and come completely together now. It is smooth, deep and rich in fruit and challenging the '14 for a 96. It just took it 24 more hours to get there. Nice wine.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/26/2021 - pkouchu wrote: 95 Points
ground coffee, blackberries, black currant, savory herbs, cassis, plum, cedar, chocolate, toasted oak spice, and blue florals. Ripe and fruit forward dark fruits, bold upfront. warm spice on the mid palate, rounded tannins, smooth finish.
Needs to be decanted about 4-5 hours before serving, but pretty smooth sailing through the night afterwards. Big wine.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
1/3/2021 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 92 Points
I was expecting way more out of this bottle, I bit over the top fruit wise and unidimensional (but enjoyable). I think 2-5 years of cellar will definitely do some good...
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
9/1/2020 - wineotim wrote: 93 Points
I opened this while I still had recent tasting memories of the '16 Insignia. This wine has the telltale heavy handed oak treatment that Monsieur Rolland is known for, btw I suggest everyone see the movie "Mondovino" as he is portrayed to be the consultant to almost everyone who is anyone in the wine industry. Anyway, I have my obvious bias in that regard. This is very oaked and in need of some lift to make it great, just a bit flat and weighty for my palate. I know by experience that Insignia will age well. I'm not so sure on this wine. It is created at Alpha Omega under the auspices of Rolland.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3)
8/8/2020 - bubbachumps wrote: 96 Points
consistent with my prior note
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
8/7/2020 - selahcellar wrote:
SOLID! Picked up from C55 and enjoyed @LBK house right away!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/14/2020 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Recent one-off purchase, following CT friends msu and mark's TNs, from the big box wine store for $99. Probably wouldn't have consumed so young except 1) great experience with the '16 Spottswoode cab and some less than great ones with high end older wines has left me more open to mixing some newer vintages in with the older, and 2) considering buying more at this price, so wanted to try before making further commitment. Was pretty sure this wouldn't suck based on the TNs, and it didn't. Opened with 1 oz pour, then let sit for hour+. On the nose, intense blue and blackberry liquer, black cherry and lead/graphite, similar on the palate with just a bit of leather and licorice, overall feeling of a wonderfully pure and concentrated, if somewhat simple, fruit punch. Dark, dark purple, medium to full-bodied, enormous legs. Very light acidity--my main difference from mark and msu's TNs--moderate tannins which came out more as the fruit pulled back a bit after an hour or so, no heat, but definitely a bit of sweetness, particularly on the initial pour. This wine is pure modern Napa to me, most similar to the '15 Myriad GIII I had a month or 2 ago, but in the 1-2+ hour mark, some more interesting darker and deeper notes came out, forest floor, spice box and espresso, which, although not making the wine Bordeaux-like in any way to me, gave it welcome contrast. Per Mark's TN, I put the cork back in after a couple of hours, and the wine is holding up really well on night 2. Good but not great complement to a NY strip, just not quite enough acidity for me. For me, 92-93 on the pour, 94-95 after a couple of hours, with the possibility of another point, maybe 2 at some point in a couple of years or so, although I'm just not sure that there's the structure for much improvement (that said, this wine should be solid for at least 5 years, I think). Unlike mark, I won't back up the truck on this--my wine budget may be more limited!--but I will buy, and hold for 2-3 years, another bottle. Thanks for the great TNs, guys. Let's do it live one of these days . . . 94+ NB#1 kudos to msu for being able to differentiate seedy boysenberries from non-seedy boysenberries. NB#2: this wine has an incredibly annoying rubber, as opposed to metal, seal. I thought about docking it a point for this, but decided that would be too churlish.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
6/11/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Great right from the pnp 93-94.......builds into even a better wine over the next 2-3 hours...easy 95-96. Soft, velvety red BDX feeling to the fruit but it has that Napa strength to it. The acidity and tannins are perfectly matched. Nice 20 second ending. Adds a little more astringency by hour 4....
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (4)
5/18/2020 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points
This ripe and polished wine is drinking beautifully right now, with lovely fruit and lively acidity. Ruby red in color and medium in body, the wine offers lovely aromas of black cherry, blueberry liqueur, mocha, and graphite. Tastes of blackberry tart, boysenberry (the seedy kind), leather, and anise, with a silky finish that still has tannic push. 14.5% alcohol. Still going strong on second day.
This is a contender in the $100 range (if you can find it for that), since it offers rich fruit crafted by a well-trained hand. I don't think it's worth more, since it lacks the kind of explosive, layered, unique profile of wines at higher price points. This, though, is splitting hairs: it is well-made and delicious, and I have no complaints. Give this another year or two in order to let it truly unfold.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
4/18/2020 - bubbachumps wrote: 96 Points
Very polished wine. Intoxicating notes of Black currants, blackberries, lead pencil shavings and faint tapenade. Smooth and and endowed fruit on the palate. A wonderful richness to this supple wine. Overall top notch.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Just slightly behind the last bottle but still up there. The qpr on this is fantastic! Great fruit, great winemaking.......see the last note for details.
I must amend, to note I got these for under $100 each which is very nice for this quality. At their normal $150-170 it might just be another in a long list of good but expensive Napa cabs.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
First bottle of this '15...had a '12 a few weeks ago and really loved the winemaking. Pure class.....
This bottle has an enormously Napa nose right on opening and for 1-2 hours in. Gentle rose petals, pencil shavings and a certain spice/herb quality. NOTHING is overbearing in any way. If you close your eyes and sniff, you'd swear you were sitting on a veranda somewhere in Napa sipping this wine. Beautiful. One hour in, the fruit hits its stride.....a mix of red/black fruit, it's soft, it's silky, it's feminine. It has a superb front palate, mid and ending in the mouth. It is supported by a nice bead of refined acidity throughout and powdery tannins that are neither in the forefront, nor too integrated. In other words there is really nice balance to this wine. This is one classy bottle. HMC and I immediately ordered more online before calling it an afternoon.......at 3-4 hours in the fruit becomes just a tad thinner/redder, the body a tad lighter and the nose a little less present.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (9)