Agree with VERAISON40, THIS WINE, FROM AN INDIFFERENT VINTAGE, IS SHOWING REALLY WELL. Perfumed, silky, warm and balanced, this is just delicious. However, I did not see it fade at all, and found it equally delicious on the second day, (under argon gas preservative) Perfectly stored on release, this underlines the joy of cellaring for 15 years if you can. A real success.
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absolutely outstanding and ridiculous QPR... I assumed this was dead, but with perfect cellaring, this "cheap" wine from FF was a show stopper... do not decant.. was best right out of the bottle and faded with time... began to fall apart after about 90 minutes, so drink up once you open
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No detailed notes. In a good spot right now. Balanced, relatively elegant. Earlier bottles showed a fair amount of oak. That's much more in check this time around...almost to the point that it's in the background relative to other components. Still seems to have a good deal of life left (acidity and tannins not completely resolved, but enough fruit to suggest further aging possibilities). This has gotten "brighter" each time I've opened it. Last bottle was 3 years ago. A nice showing for the '03 vintage, which I've had hit and miss experiences with, and probably the best of the several bottles I've tried since 2007. Good QPR at $39.
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For whatever reason, this one is quite different than the bottle I had just a month ago. Rather than call this "big" in style, I would consider it more elegant. Also don't really notice any significant oak this time around. Go figure.
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Nice nose of black berry, black currant, mocha, and vanilla. On the palate, blackberry, black currant, licorice, mocha, vanilla. Nice transition to a long dry finish with smooth tannins. Excellent to outstanding. Oak has started to integrated but this has not stylistically changed. Drink over the next five years.
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Inky purple with oak aromas. Dark fruit forward with smooth, moderate tannin, a very pleasant mouth feel. An all around pleasant tasting experience that reminds me of some Napa cellars.
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Purple. Similar tn's. Not your regular Cali Cab, a bit strange with the oakified feel and all the fruit. A nice wine but that oak monster lurking just takes away from all the good things going on. Pass.
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Dark red, bit translucent. Nice red fruit nose, ripe. Bit of vanilla oak cream?? On the palate blueberries, big in the mouth, simple, very Napa mouthfeel, nice comfortable. Drank very easy, little bit of oak monster just on the edge. Seems the fruit will allow the whole thing to come together. A solid effort.
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Decanted one hour. Nice nose of black berry, black currant, mocha, OAK, and vanilla. On the palate, blackberry, black currant, licorice, mocha, OAK, vanilla. Nice transition to a long dry finish with smooth tannins. Excellent to outstanding. Heavy oak treatment holds this back a little. Hold. OK value.
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Solid wine. Not over-oaked, balanced fruit, and good acidity. A touch pricey considering the quality of wine available for $5-$10 less, but still an enjoyable bottle of wine.
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I really enjoy this wine. Fairly big profile of big dark fruit with a nice dose of toasty oak, but nicely offest by some sweet tannins. The package makes for a classic ripe, Napa cab with a lovely, well balanced finish.
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Classic Cali-cab, expressive nose of black fruit. Thick glycerin like full finish that lasted 20 seconds. Everyone enjoyed this but I though it had a bit too much oak. Smooth tannins.
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Decanted for 1 hour. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine exhibited a rich, dark purple color that lighten around the rim. On the nose, aromas of raspberry, blackberries and dark chocolate were evident with notes of earthiness and spice. On the palate, flavors of cherries and plums were accentuated with notes of raspberry flavored dark chocolate that were finished up by notes of spice and oak. Well-integrated oak and smooth tannins on this one.. but pales in comparison to the Juslyn, Cliff Lede and Ladera. Still... a nice Cabernet. HS90
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Pous blackish purple with strong aromas of ripe, sweet, blackfruit. Full body with a luscious round mouthfeel. Very approachable with chewy mild tannins. Fat, concentrated, and viscous dripping with blackcherry, plumb, licorice, mocha, and currant. The finish lingers with decadent fruit. This is a premium fruitbomb with just enough tannin to give it structure.
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Chocolate, rasberry and little bit of moss w/ a long finish. Rich new world nose w/ chocolate and cherries. The nose made each sip even more enjoyable.
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Deep dark purple color with a nose of black fruit, cassis & spice. Full mouth feel and heavy tannins as this wine is very young still but strong blackberry and currant upfront and complexity of cedar and spice break through. Nice medium long finish. Let this nice bottle of wine sit a while before pulling it out of the cellar.
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I usually like a few years in bottle for this producer, and this vintage holds the same. Tight and tannic off the bat. Decanted and consumed over 2 hours. Eventually the aromatics evolved into a nice cedar, spiced black fruit with a healthy amount of new oak and vanilla. The palate was disjointed at first, and like the nose, eventually came around. Full bodied and fairly rich with some hints of chocolate, creme de cassis, and again use of new oak. Will hopefully evolve into a 90+ bottle.
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Very nice - big fruit (not extracted) taste with buttery notes. Realtively low tannins and ready to drink right now. Delicious by itself and with strip steak.
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This is still quite young, but curiousity got the better of me. Next bottle needs to be decanted for a couple of hours. This is made in an elegant style, tight with good structure, nice depth of fruit without being overextracted, tannic at this stage but not overpowering. I wouldn't call this "Old World", but it doesn't show the excess of some of the more coveted Cali Cabs. A very safe and quality pick for a wide variety of applications (on its own, as a great wine with food...).
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Decanted for 2 hours. This wine exhibited a dark garnet color throughout with aromas of black cherries, ripe plums, dark chocolate with hints of earthiness and sweet oak. On the palate, this wine fills one's mouth with rich flavors of black cherries, ripe plums, blackberries with hints of dark chocolate, vanilla and a kiss of oak. From start to finish, this is an elegant wine that finishes with firm tannins and power. HS93
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1/25/2019 - Arturoonwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Agree with VERAISON40, THIS WINE, FROM AN INDIFFERENT VINTAGE, IS SHOWING REALLY WELL. Perfumed, silky, warm and balanced, this is just delicious. However, I did not see it fade at all, and found it equally delicious on the second day, (under argon gas preservative) Perfectly stored on release, this underlines the joy of cellaring for 15 years if you can. A real success.
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1/9/2018 - cupoverflowing1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
absolutely outstanding and ridiculous QPR... I assumed this was dead, but with perfect cellaring, this "cheap" wine from FF was a show stopper... do not decant.. was best right out of the bottle and faded with time... began to fall apart after about 90 minutes, so drink up once you open
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7/3/2015 - dmcella Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Overripe and unbalanced. Alcohol dominates.
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10/31/2014 - toontune wrote: 93 Points
Licorice and musky dust. Wonderful.
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1/27/2014 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
No detailed notes. In a good spot right now. Balanced, relatively elegant. Earlier bottles showed a fair amount of oak. That's much more in check this time around...almost to the point that it's in the background relative to other components. Still seems to have a good deal of life left (acidity and tannins not completely resolved, but enough fruit to suggest further aging possibilities). This has gotten "brighter" each time I've opened it. Last bottle was 3 years ago. A nice showing for the '03 vintage, which I've had hit and miss experiences with, and probably the best of the several bottles I've tried since 2007. Good QPR at $39.
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1/27/2013 - SW2020 Likes this wine: 90 Points
medium body, slight fruit, little tannin
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1/6/2012 - pts wrote: 90 Points
Very nice
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10/16/2011 - Klensing wrote: 93 Points
Drinking perfect tannins smoothed out fruit still big up front all of it in balance wish I had more
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3/25/2011 - xuaeinw wrote: 92 Points
Definitely within its drinking window which still has several years to go.
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2/20/2011 - vanpe003 wrote:
For whatever reason, this one is quite different than the bottle I had just a month ago. Rather than call this "big" in style, I would consider it more elegant. Also don't really notice any significant oak this time around. Go figure.
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1/22/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
No detailed notes, but in general drinking quite nicely now. Relatively big in style with a fair dose of oak.
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10/30/2010 - drphil wrote: 91 Points
Decanted two hours. Full flavored, dark fruit, leather, very well-balanced. Silky and mellow with long finish.
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7/22/2010 - GalvezGuy wrote: 90 Points
Nice nose of black berry, black currant, mocha, and vanilla. On the palate, blackberry, black currant, licorice, mocha, vanilla. Nice transition to a long dry finish with smooth tannins. Excellent to outstanding. Oak has started to integrated but this has not stylistically changed. Drink over the next five years.
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3/28/2010 - drphil wrote: 90 Points
Inky purple with oak aromas. Dark fruit forward with smooth, moderate tannin, a very pleasant mouth feel. An all around pleasant tasting experience that reminds me of some Napa cellars.
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2/10/2010 - Always4wine wrote: 91 Points
This was yummy! We decanted and enjoyed. The tannins are mellowing a bit and it was smooth and full of spice
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7/11/2009 - tplskylrk wrote: 88 Points
Purple. Similar tn's. Not your regular Cali Cab, a bit strange with the oakified feel and all the fruit. A nice wine but that oak monster lurking just takes away from all the good things going on. Pass.
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5/17/2009 - tplskylrk wrote: 90 Points
Dark red, bit translucent. Nice red fruit nose, ripe. Bit of vanilla oak cream?? On the palate blueberries, big in the mouth, simple, very Napa mouthfeel, nice comfortable. Drank very easy, little bit of oak monster just on the edge. Seems the fruit will allow the whole thing to come together. A solid effort.
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3/3/2009 - GalvezGuy wrote: 90 Points
Decanted one hour. Nice nose of black berry, black currant, mocha, OAK, and vanilla. On the palate, blackberry, black currant, licorice, mocha, OAK, vanilla. Nice transition to a long dry finish with smooth tannins. Excellent to outstanding. Heavy oak treatment holds this back a little. Hold. OK value.
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2/3/2009 - ink_junkie wrote: 90 Points
Solid wine. Not over-oaked, balanced fruit, and good acidity. A touch pricey considering the quality of wine available for $5-$10 less, but still an enjoyable bottle of wine.
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12/24/2008 - drphil wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 1.5 hours. Big, full bodied, palate covering dark fruit with medium long finish. Very enjoyable, nicely balanced.
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11/27/2008 - 911SCracer wrote: 89 Points
Vanilla and chocolate. Ok. Structured well.
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11/24/2008 - Always4wine wrote: 87 Points
Not as good as recelled when we bought. Had a bit of an earthy funk -
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10/5/2008 - smphelps wrote: 88 Points
Dark and tending to the sweet side. Soft sweet tannins with oak frame. Tight nose. Finish on the cocoa side.
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7/20/2008 - vinole wrote: 91 Points
I really enjoy this wine. Fairly big profile of big dark fruit with a nice dose of toasty oak, but nicely offest by some sweet tannins. The package makes for a classic ripe, Napa cab with a lovely, well balanced finish.
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3/15/2008 - Arch57 wrote: 89 Points
Classic Cali-cab, expressive nose of black fruit. Thick glycerin like full finish that lasted 20 seconds. Everyone enjoyed this but I though it had a bit too much oak. Smooth tannins.
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12/15/2007 - HurrahSyrah wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine exhibited a rich, dark purple color that lighten around the rim. On the nose, aromas of raspberry, blackberries and dark chocolate were evident with notes of earthiness and spice. On the palate, flavors of cherries and plums were accentuated with notes of raspberry flavored dark chocolate that were finished up by notes of spice and oak. Well-integrated oak and smooth tannins on this one.. but pales in comparison to the Juslyn, Cliff Lede and Ladera. Still... a nice Cabernet. HS90
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11/27/2007 - GreatLibations wrote: 87 Points
Pous blackish purple with strong aromas of ripe, sweet, blackfruit. Full body with a luscious round mouthfeel. Very approachable with chewy mild tannins. Fat, concentrated, and viscous dripping with blackcherry, plumb, licorice, mocha, and currant. The finish lingers with decadent fruit. This is a premium fruitbomb with just enough tannin to give it structure.
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11/23/2007 - jmoskow wrote: 85 Points
Little nose. Otherwise, nice earthy tones and berries. Smooth and drinkable.
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11/10/2007 - Capybara562 wrote: 88 Points
Intense nose of oak and fruit, but drying tannins - needs more time.
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10/23/2007 - ETrain wrote: 89 Points
I broke in my new decanter with this bottle. Very enjoyable, but even decaned it was a little tight. Maybe I'm just too impatient!!
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9/27/2007 - David Stanley wrote: 89 Points
Dark and inky, viscous with great legs, great fruit with a smooth finish.
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9/18/2007 - JCWine wrote: 93 Points
Chocolate, rasberry and little bit of moss w/ a long finish. Rich new world nose w/ chocolate and cherries. The nose made each sip even more enjoyable.
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9/9/2007 - Wino Joe wrote: 90 Points
Deep dark purple color with a nose of black fruit, cassis & spice. Full mouth feel and heavy tannins as this wine is very young still but strong blackberry and currant upfront and complexity of cedar and spice break through. Nice medium long finish. Let this nice bottle of wine sit a while before pulling it out of the cellar.
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9/8/2007 - vanpe003 wrote:
Northwoods Wineapalooza; 9/7/2007-9/9/2007 (Boulder Junction, Wisconsin): No dtl'd notes. Marker for 3 day tasting @ Wineapalooza. Normally a fine bottle, but out of its league in this crowd.
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9/4/2007 - jjclips2 wrote: 87 Points
I usually like a few years in bottle for this producer, and this vintage holds the same. Tight and tannic off the bat. Decanted and consumed over 2 hours. Eventually the aromatics evolved into a nice cedar, spiced black fruit with a healthy amount of new oak and vanilla. The palate was disjointed at first, and like the nose, eventually came around. Full bodied and fairly rich with some hints of chocolate, creme de cassis, and again use of new oak. Will hopefully evolve into a 90+ bottle.
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8/27/2007 - EricB wrote: 92 Points
Very nice - big fruit (not extracted) taste with buttery notes. Realtively low tannins and ready to drink right now. Delicious by itself and with strip steak.
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8/14/2007 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
Not as complex as I remembered the last bottle...didn't show well against the 1999 Paoletti.
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8/7/2007 - toontune wrote:
9.25: A joy Subtle fruits with extraordinary balance
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8/7/2007 - vinole wrote: 91 Points
Napa Winery Tour (Larkmead, Cliff Lede, Neal, Ladera, Etude & more): Nice ripe dark fruit flavors, but with some drying tannins to provide balance and yield a wine of structure and some elegance. A very nice wine at its price point, but not quite up to the 02.
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7/15/2007 - EricB wrote: 90 Points
Very good - buttery (yes, it sounds wierd, but true). Woody tannins. Nice by itself and also balanced with food.
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4/19/2007 - toontune wrote:
9: Retirement celebration great Big with slightly sweet pungent finish
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4/18/2007 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
This is still quite young, but curiousity got the better of me. Next bottle needs to be decanted for a couple of hours. This is made in an elegant style, tight with good structure, nice depth of fruit without being overextracted, tannic at this stage but not overpowering. I wouldn't call this "Old World", but it doesn't show the excess of some of the more coveted Cali Cabs. A very safe and quality pick for a wide variety of applications (on its own, as a great wine with food...).
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3/16/2007 - HurrahSyrah wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. This wine exhibited a dark garnet color throughout with aromas of black cherries, ripe plums, dark chocolate with hints of earthiness and sweet oak. On the palate, this wine fills one's mouth with rich flavors of black cherries, ripe plums, blackberries with hints of dark chocolate, vanilla and a kiss of oak. From start to finish, this is an elegant wine that finishes with firm tannins and power. HS93
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