6 months since my last review....prep time very similar. Posting these notes so that if you have them, you'll know how to get the most out of them!
Popped the cork the night before, poured off a small glass to get some air space in the bottle down to mid shoulder, left the cork out for 1-2 hours. Enjoyed that small glass, again noting very blackish fruit, but excellent overall, probably a 94. Put the cork back in half way and left at room temp for the next night.
Visited friends and removed the cork for about a 30 min slow ox at their place. Started drinking after that and enjoyed for another 3-4 hours. It needed that first hour to fully deal with the air and come together. It's both decadent and extremely well balanced. At that point this is an absolutely beautiful bottle once again, an easy 96.
Pnp'd last night after dinner.....big juicy fruit, slightly herbal nose and nice mouth feel. Within 60-90 minutes this one turns quite a deep shade of black with accompanying coffee grounds. Not the best of showings and not what I remember so fondly from this one, either. Maybe a 90-91?
Cork back in the bottle, left out on the counter to room temp for 24 hours. Opened after dinner tonight, waiting on the new season of Yellowstone to drop.......
Big difference tonight...this wine is READY within 10 minutes of opening........there's still a fair amount of black here but it's not harsh and overbearing like it was last night just a beautiful classic cab franc nose, smooth on the palate, like silk, in a way. Big, voluptuous dark fruit, almost decadent in another way. Some chocolate covered cherries, cocoa and sweet tobacco leaf mixed with black tea and just a touch of grilled herbs. This is now more like how I remember it. This really floats my boat. The acidic backbone carries the fruit and the remaining tannins right into a 45 second finish that says, ''wait, don't take another sip just yet." 95-96 the second night so I'm grading it on that. No hot. Just big. Make no mistake this is not a Montelena or Togni that you let sit and age for 30 years into this nice mellow food wine. This is a hedonistic modern, sweet cab franc that can be enjoyed with or without food and on any occasion, just so long as you know what you're getting into when you pop the cork.
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Whoa! More than a year since my last bottle.....double decanted for 30 min then placed back in bottle to take to HMC's for some after dinner chillin'. Very jammy at the start but evolves into this great floral/fruited dark red beauty. Excellent weight in the glass, great balance of all components, so long as you give it the needed air time to come together. So many of these '16s that were pnp beauties 3-4 years ago, need some serious air time now. Awesome wine......
Poppin poor; these notes are 2+ hours after uncorking the bottle. Jammy nose of blue and black berries, along w wet pine needles. Clean, pure fruit upfront on the palate follows the nose; the finish shows modest polish and dry, brief front-palate finish. None of the green notes often expected from a CF, this comes across more like a jammy cabernet.
First of 3 bottles, I’m unsure of the longevity as the wine continues tk soften and the finish shortens as time wears on. Will try the balance of this bottle later i the week.
2 nights later, ~1/2 the bottle was gassed off under argon. Black tea and a cigar on the nose, tonight this comes across much more like a Cabernet; Id never guess this as a CF. Fruit has been tamed and while present, it’s softened significantly. The wine leaves a satiny, polished finish front-palate. An elegance has emerged which more than offsets the finish being more brief than before. +1-2 points and comfy with a drinking window of 2026+
Will retry next bottle in 3+ years.
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Same score, same notes as last bottle last week. Given the right airtime of 4-6 hours or enough splash decanting, this wine is drinking beautifully. You can certainly enjoy them now! Great bottle at dinner with Jen and her family.....good memories!
Mark brought this one to dinner and he is making cab franc lovers out of all of us! This was WOTN out of some very good company. This is a cab franc with some weight to it, fruity but not a fruit bomb, lots of savory and other notes, complex despite its youth. Smelling it at first made me hungry for dinner—almost a meaty savory elegant along with a subtle herbal. Tannins are grippy but enhance the experience and everything in balance.
Drinking very well from the pnp but it really shines after 4 hours of air....this is silky fruit, mostly blueberry but a hint of red fruit, too. It is integrated nicely and the nose develops more complexity over the 4 hours. More weight than most Cab Francs, just a touch of dried herbs, no distinct green pepper. This is a beautiful wine......
Coravin pour after going thru a bottle of the '15 cab with dinner. This is my first experience with their cab franc.....the score is but an arbitrary figment of my imagination, or maybe just an accurate perception?.....lol....the '15 cab warrants a 6-7 hour decant. It was a 96 tonight, easy. I don't have that luxury this late at night after dinner and finishing that bottle. 30 min after the pnp, this fruit is energetically flying across my palate. Initially the fruit is quite dark but it's turning redder as I speak. There is a vibrancy, an electricity to this fruit with wonderful acidic backbone and a mouth watering finish. I was worried that this wine, like so many other '16s right now, would be going through some kind of shutdown phase, but not so. It is vibrant, teeming with life.....there is just a whiff of alc to the nose, not offputting in the least, as the fruit is so overpowering, it easily hides it. I was very impressed with my first cab sav from this producer, now.....this cab franc really cements my love for what they are doing. I'll revisit the note if the glass makes it through another 3-5 hours tonight.
Addendum: purposely put the glass down and let it rest for another 3 hours tonight....the wine has put on weight, thicker in the mouth and turned back a little blacker with a slight sage component to it. Really nice. Going to let this sit overnight and try again tomorrow afternoon.
11/30.....24 hours open to air, this has settled in nicely. Softer mouthfeel, still some drying tannins, fruit has deepened, lost some electricity but the acid is still carrying it and it's quite good. I think I liked last night better but this is still quite good.
5/22/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
6 months since my last review....prep time very similar. Posting these notes so that if you have them, you'll know how to get the most out of them!
Popped the cork the night before, poured off a small glass to get some air space in the bottle down to mid shoulder, left the cork out for 1-2 hours. Enjoyed that small glass, again noting very blackish fruit, but excellent overall, probably a 94. Put the cork back in half way and left at room temp for the next night.
Visited friends and removed the cork for about a 30 min slow ox at their place. Started drinking after that and enjoyed for another 3-4 hours. It needed that first hour to fully deal with the air and come together. It's both decadent and extremely well balanced. At that point this is an absolutely beautiful bottle once again, an easy 96.
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11/13/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Pnp'd last night after dinner.....big juicy fruit, slightly herbal nose and nice mouth feel. Within 60-90 minutes this one turns quite a deep shade of black with accompanying coffee grounds. Not the best of showings and not what I remember so fondly from this one, either. Maybe a 90-91?
Cork back in the bottle, left out on the counter to room temp for 24 hours. Opened after dinner tonight, waiting on the new season of Yellowstone to drop.......
Big difference tonight...this wine is READY within 10 minutes of opening........there's still a fair amount of black here but it's not harsh and overbearing like it was last night just a beautiful classic cab franc nose, smooth on the palate, like silk, in a way. Big, voluptuous dark fruit, almost decadent in another way. Some chocolate covered cherries, cocoa and sweet tobacco leaf mixed with black tea and just a touch of grilled herbs. This is now more like how I remember it. This really floats my boat. The acidic backbone carries the fruit and the remaining tannins right into a 45 second finish that says, ''wait, don't take another sip just yet." 95-96 the second night so I'm grading it on that. No hot. Just big. Make no mistake this is not a Montelena or Togni that you let sit and age for 30 years into this nice mellow food wine. This is a hedonistic modern, sweet cab franc that can be enjoyed with or without food and on any occasion, just so long as you know what you're getting into when you pop the cork.
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3/24/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Whoa! More than a year since my last bottle.....double decanted for 30 min then placed back in bottle to take to HMC's for some after dinner chillin'. Very jammy at the start but evolves into this great floral/fruited dark red beauty. Excellent weight in the glass, great balance of all components, so long as you give it the needed air time to come together. So many of these '16s that were pnp beauties 3-4 years ago, need some serious air time now. Awesome wine......
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4/18/2021 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 93 Points
Poppin poor; these notes are 2+ hours after uncorking the bottle. Jammy nose of blue and black berries, along w wet pine needles. Clean, pure fruit upfront on the palate follows the nose; the finish shows modest polish and dry, brief front-palate finish. None of the green notes often expected from a CF, this comes across more like a jammy cabernet.
First of 3 bottles, I’m unsure of the longevity as the wine continues tk soften and the finish shortens as time wears on. Will try the balance of this bottle later i the week.
2 nights later, ~1/2 the bottle was gassed off under argon. Black tea and a cigar on the nose, tonight this comes across much more like a Cabernet; Id never guess this as a CF. Fruit has been tamed and while present, it’s softened significantly. The wine leaves a satiny, polished finish front-palate. An elegance has emerged which more than offsets the finish being more brief than before. +1-2 points and comfy with a drinking window of 2026+
Will retry next bottle in 3+ years.
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12/29/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Same score, same notes as last bottle last week. Given the right airtime of 4-6 hours or enough splash decanting, this wine is drinking beautifully. You can certainly enjoy them now! Great bottle at dinner with Jen and her family.....good memories!
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12/28/2020 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 95 Points
Mark brought this one to dinner and he is making cab franc lovers out of all of us! This was WOTN out of some very good company. This is a cab franc with some weight to it, fruity but not a fruit bomb, lots of savory and other notes, complex despite its youth. Smelling it at first made me hungry for dinner—almost a meaty savory elegant along with a subtle herbal. Tannins are grippy but enhance the experience and everything in balance.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
12/25/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drinking very well from the pnp but it really shines after 4 hours of air....this is silky fruit, mostly blueberry but a hint of red fruit, too. It is integrated nicely and the nose develops more complexity over the 4 hours. More weight than most Cab Francs, just a touch of dried herbs, no distinct green pepper. This is a beautiful wine......
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11/29/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Coravin pour after going thru a bottle of the '15 cab with dinner. This is my first experience with their cab franc.....the score is but an arbitrary figment of my imagination, or maybe just an accurate perception?.....lol....the '15 cab warrants a 6-7 hour decant. It was a 96 tonight, easy. I don't have that luxury this late at night after dinner and finishing that bottle.
30 min after the pnp, this fruit is energetically flying across my palate. Initially the fruit is quite dark but it's turning redder as I speak. There is a vibrancy, an electricity to this fruit with wonderful acidic backbone and a mouth watering finish. I was worried that this wine, like so many other '16s right now, would be going through some kind of shutdown phase, but not so. It is vibrant, teeming with life.....there is just a whiff of alc to the nose, not offputting in the least, as the fruit is so overpowering, it easily hides it. I was very impressed with my first cab sav from this producer, now.....this cab franc really cements my love for what they are doing. I'll revisit the note if the glass makes it through another 3-5 hours tonight.
Addendum: purposely put the glass down and let it rest for another 3 hours tonight....the wine has put on weight, thicker in the mouth and turned back a little blacker with a slight sage component to it. Really nice. Going to let this sit overnight and try again tomorrow afternoon.
11/30.....24 hours open to air, this has settled in nicely. Softer mouthfeel, still some drying tannins, fruit has deepened, lost some electricity but the acid is still carrying it and it's quite good. I think I liked last night better but this is still quite good.
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