2nd and 3rd bottles much better, 1st must have been an off bottle. Nice wine better finish. dark plums and some cherry no tannins and medium acid. Does not compare well to the Virage bottles.
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Disjointed mess for 90 min, but blossomed with air. Dried blueberries, cool mint, eucalyptus, red cherries, earthy/musty notes. At $35 and 11 years of age, this was a steal of a deal from BD XIV.
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I wish I had a case of this stuff. Can’t stop drinking them. Perfectly mature, at-peak, gorgeously built Cab Franc with a big slug of Merlot. Amazing perfume. Almost at the level of the Virage bottlings but more accessibly priced. These days Napa is a circus. $100+ for monolithic reds up and down the valley. And here this sits. Aged to perfection and $44.
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Pop and pour through Vinturi…Really nice wine, with style and structure that is still an easy drinker. Sour cherries up front, present, but not harsh tannins and mineral earthy notes for interest. Our second bottle of a case and we are duly impressed.
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This bottle was a bit more muted than previous ones. Not sure if bottle variation or age was at play. Opened up with a decant and didn't seem to fade but we may be at the latter end of the drinking window on these.
Still velvety smooth with a clean finish, great with and without food during the evening.
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I always loved Michael Haven’s version of this wine, this is a worthy successor. Popped and poured at cellar temp, although this wine in retrospect could have benefitted from a quick decant. Cocoa powder, graphite and black raspberry on the nose. Interesting mix of black raspberry fruit, graphite laden minerality and still prominent tannins on the back end. Very nice and I think this will pick up some more interest as it ages and has many good years ahead of it.
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Coravin Taste (11/18/2020): Fruity, bold, structured wine. Needs bottle age, but has some tight aromas and flavors, tannins, and acid, so should continue aging well. Looking forward to this one in a couple years (or a long decant if I get impatient).
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Dark fruit, cocoa, bell pepper. Lush, but not over extracted. Decanted for an hour. Firm tannins, medium acidity, bit of a bite at the end. Enjoyable now, still mostly primary. This will continue to improve with age. 73% Cab Franc, 27% Merlot.
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4/8/2024 - scott w wrote:
2nd and 3rd bottles much better, 1st must have been an off bottle. Nice wine better finish. dark plums and some cherry no tannins and medium acid. Does not compare well to the Virage bottles.
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2/26/2024 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 88 Points
Had just consumed the Virage top blend and this one paled by comparison. A bit disjointed.
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2/12/2024 - klezman wrote:
This was quite good. Didn't open up quite as much as the prior bottle, but a tiny bit of bottle variation at 10+ years old isn't surprising.
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2/1/2024 - scott w wrote:
Have not had this bottle before but the finish was so short it did not exist, not great.
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9/22/2023 - Neat Water Back Likes this wine:
This wine benefits from significant time in the decanter, 2 hours plus.
PnP was tight and not enjoyable. We were rewarded after several hours in the decanter.
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4/30/2023 - Geaux Tigers wrote: 90 Points
Disjointed mess for 90 min, but blossomed with air. Dried blueberries, cool mint, eucalyptus, red cherries, earthy/musty notes. At $35 and 11 years of age, this was a steal of a deal from BD XIV.
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2/25/2023 - Benj wrote: 92 Points
I wish I had a case of this stuff. Can’t stop drinking them. Perfectly mature, at-peak, gorgeously built Cab Franc with a big slug of Merlot. Amazing perfume. Almost at the level of the Virage bottlings but more accessibly priced. These days Napa is a circus. $100+ for monolithic reds up and down the valley. And here this sits. Aged to perfection and $44.
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1/31/2023 - rjquillin Likes this wine:
Last bottle from BD in 2020; grabbed six more this year.
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11/9/2022 - ptaylor2112 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Plummy, modern-styled Cab Franc / Merlot blend. Best with a 2 hr decant; tasted at 60 degrees.
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10/12/2022 - Charlie Carnes Likes this wine:
Virage 2nd label is very nice.
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9/27/2022 - klezman wrote:
This was excellent. Restrained in style, but deep fruit and lots of texture. Long finish. Lots of age.
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5/19/2022 - markandsusanw Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pop and pour through Vinturi…Really nice wine, with style and structure that is still an easy drinker. Sour cherries up front, present, but not harsh tannins and mineral earthy notes for interest. Our second bottle of a case and we are duly impressed.
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3/27/2022 - CurtaVino Likes this wine: 89 Points
This bottle was a bit more muted than previous ones. Not sure if bottle variation or age was at play. Opened up with a decant and didn't seem to fade but we may be at the latter end of the drinking window on these.
Still velvety smooth with a clean finish, great with and without food during the evening.
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4/24/2021 - jreis Likes this wine:
I always loved Michael Haven’s version of this wine, this is a worthy successor. Popped and poured at cellar temp, although this wine in retrospect could have benefitted from a quick decant. Cocoa powder, graphite and black raspberry on the nose. Interesting mix of black raspberry fruit, graphite laden minerality and still prominent tannins on the back end. Very nice and I think this will pick up some more interest as it ages and has many good years ahead of it.
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11/18/2020 - CurtaVino Likes this wine:
Coravin Taste (11/18/2020): Fruity, bold, structured wine. Needs bottle age, but has some tight aromas and flavors, tannins, and acid, so should continue aging well. Looking forward to this one in a couple years (or a long decant if I get impatient).
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5/31/2020 - rjquillin Likes this wine:
BD day suggestion from Emily. Damn nice bottle
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2/8/2020 - Maphill01 Likes this wine:
Dark fruit, cocoa, bell pepper. Lush, but not over extracted. Decanted for an hour. Firm tannins, medium acidity, bit of a bite at the end. Enjoyable now, still mostly primary. This will continue to improve with age. 73% Cab Franc, 27% Merlot.
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