Last of my original stash, first bottling available to the mailing list. Recent notes basically spot on. Bright blackberry and black current, with a little licorice and tobacco and spice on the finish. Soft, as you might expect at this age, but still with substantial lift and energy: the tannins have all but receded, and the structure is mostly acid. Shows most of the TRB markers. An easy wine to drink, very tasty, missing the concentration to really elevate the wine.
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This bottle was sublime. TRB at the top of his craft. Everything in balance and beautifully aged. I could not ask for more out of a Napa Cab. I only wish I had bought more on release. This was decanted for about an hour before drinking. I don't see any benefit to more aging.
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Really eager to try this bottle, purchased upon release. Well made, with nice structure. Still showing inky purple out of the bottle, virtually no bricking. Nose interesting combination of primary and secondary with black currant, dark cherry followed by sweet tobacco and a bit of espresso. Easy to place as California. Not a lot of tannin on the palate, shaved down by judicious use of oak and, of course, 18 years of bottle age. But still showed well, all elements nicely integrated. Definitely still has some legs to age here, though soft tannin suggests another 5 or so years of peak window. We drank among a series of other top shelf wines so perhaps got lost in the shuffle a bit (and we were several in at this point), wouldn’t argue with a slightly higher score for fans of the genre. But not sure it’s worth todays prices.
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I last tried this wine five years and change ago, and it has really developed. From a juice bomb (think buxom college girl) to a gorgeous MILF. This wine is just superbly balanced and so much better than it was in its youth. Delicious! Fruit is still plentiful but well balanced with a heterogenous tannic structure and secondary flavors with tertiary starting to develop on the back palate and finish, akin to the way black truffle lingers. Wonderful spot here. Enjoy!!
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The 2004 Maybach Materium features sweet cassis, no. 2 pencil, tobacco leaf, and vanilla on the nose. Smooth and velvety, with quite a bit of sweetness that persists through the lengthy finish. You are going to need to decant this for sediment before drinking. I would drink any remaining bottles up over the next few years.
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smooth, velvety. fruit faded as it decanted, found the sweet spot after about 3 hours and became well balanced. almost black. probably the most sediment I've ever had in a bottle.
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Solid dark red/black color. Nose of plum, dark fruit, tobacco, vanilla, oak. On drinking, the telltale vanillaso prevelant in Maybachs seems tempered here (but it is still there). Well balanced. A little hot on alcohol. Still has many more years. Very pleasant but a little underwhelming for a Maybach and a TRB wine. Solid but not a rockstar.
Battled between 93 and 94but decided on the lower.
Drinking well now but try again in 2020- it has legs.
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Browns suck, Wines Don't (Volume 15:6) Maybach, Bevan (Our home): Pop and pour. Consumed over a few hours watching the Browns lose to the Cardinals. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. No real sign of age. The nose takes some coaxing but after about an hour of air it is very nice. Cassis, iodine, spice, slight leather. With air some cherries come out. Oddly, at the three hour mark some aquarium notes emerge but swirling wakes the wine up and removes them. On the palate, this is very good. Not quite the texture of some later vintages. Lots of cassis, slight spice and vanilla. It shows a tight complexity. The tannins are light. Not sure this will improve from here, but its not going downhill any time soon either. IIRC, this was the first vintage. Heck of a start!
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Something of a juice bomb with big oak and smoked meats developing from nose through early finish. Tannins are still tight in the early body and linger for thirty seconds although fruit drowns them out in mid-palette.
4th of July BBQ with Friends and good wine; 7/4/2015-7/5/2015 (Zurich, Switzerland): Seved blind. I initially guessed a 2007 or 2008 Shiraz. Was I wrong...! Dark color. Nose shows sweet dark fruit, mint and dark 90% chocolate with hints of pepper. Still quite a chubby baby with an enormous potential. Decant or better wait 5 more years...
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Tasted blind: Still quite dark in color. I did not expect it to be a 10-year old wine. Nose of dark fruit, tobacco, herbs and plums. Still tannic and youthful but already great to drink. The wine is elegant and has a great length, is mulitlayered and powerful. A superb showing for the first vintage of Maybach. Drink now - 2025
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Nice rich red driven fruits, good sweet tannins and nice zippy edge. Fruits speak of high quality, yet just slightly reserved relative to my expectations. Drinking fine, but don't foresee big improvement ahead either.
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I the most advanced example I have had of this yet. 10 years on and it shows. At first I thought I might have had a flawed bottle but within 5 minutes it bloomed nicely, just not Maybach nicely. Nose of dried black currants and pencil shavings. This was a very fragile seeming wine with an elegance that I did enjoy. It seemed some secondaries & tertiaries have crept in. An interesting mix of black and red fruits all leaning to the dry side rolled this forward to a decent balance and a tannin structure that I may be a bit dismayed to say could be hitting a wall. Worn leather, cedar box, blah blah blah…. :) Finish was decent and overall impression was, yeah, it’s a good cab. Others (more 'worldly' tasters) at the table seemed to like this better than I today so what do I know. I have 3 more that I would drink earlier than later, hopefully finding some TRB distinctiveness in there again.
I know, keep your opinions to yourself, Mike. :)
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Drank blind alongside six other 2004s. I was struck by the balance of this wine. Nobody picked this as a Mayback or a TRB wine. Layers or smooth textured fruit, with a nice mix of vanilla and brown sugar sweetness. Lovely wine.
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Hi End Napa Cabs with an Haut Brion Kicker (Gary's Place, Hudson, WI): Very dark red-purple color. Decanted for 2 hours plus. Followed two pours of 2 oz over 2.5 hours. This suffered by comparison, and maybe would have been better as a stand alone wine. The nose is oaky, plum, vanilla, sweet, black raspberry. The palate strikes me as very young, would not peg this as 10 years old, lots of oak, wood, spice, big black fruit, concentrated, full bodied and firm tannins. Not so sure this will come around, but it needs time to try.
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Love this wine! Inky dark purple in the glass. Great blue and black fruit flavors and silky mouthfeel with incredible balance given the overall richness of the wine. Very long and lingering finish. Last bottle of '04, wish I had more...
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Good bouquet of blue and black fruits on the nose, inky dark purple in the glass. Really nice pop and pour with a little bit of heat on the finish, but definitely much nicer after about an hour of slow-ox. No noticable oak, no heat, and great dark fruit, blackberry and rasberry with full mid-palate and a long, lingering finish. Really strong showing by this one today!
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Poured through Vinturi and enjoyed over 2 hrs. Very well-balanced and precise. Plenty of dark fruit, but not overripe. Firm structure that will likely hold up for some time. Delicious, but not that exciting - never opened up to express as much as I had hoped. Probably could use more cellar and air time.
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This is aging along nicely. Pretty nose of black currant, tobacco, and herbal spice. In the mouth, plush and fruit-forward but not overblown. It's got a very classic California Cabernet character, with good acidity and a firm, tannic backbone. THis will keep trucking. A-
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Very consistent and a nice complex napa Cabernet. Not overly ripe, really silky mouthfeel, which is very pleasant. Aging at a slow pace since I opened one a few years back and remember similar characteristics. Popped and poured both times so I wonder if some decanting will change the mouthfeel. Awesome wine. Glad to have a magnum of this too.
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From a magnum. This is a big California cabernet, but has surprising balance to it. Deep dark nose, but some nice minerality on the palate. This had defined structure. The tannin is there and there are touches of oak that could stand to calm down but these seems to be aging gracefully and should continue to age and mellow well. Impressive.
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Not bad. Shows both tannin and some heat, along with cedar and big black cherry flavors. The 2004 Schrader To Kalon, on this night beat the Maybach, as I found that wine to be overall better.
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Massive attack. Not the band. Slight oak and loaminess up front, with anis and pencil followed by massive black fruits. Velvet on the palate, with hints of lavender to accompany the still massive fruit. All seamlessly integrated, with a finish longer than a minute. Unfortunately I think I drank the restaurant's last bottle. A steal at $150 at the bar.
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Popped and poured for the SF/NY game. This took some time to open. I had not had this since release. It is ageing at a very slow pace. Purple in color. The nose is gorgeous. Cassis, minerals, slight blueberry and kirsch notes. Some vanilla and other oak properties still showing. Great texture. On the palate, though this is dense, one can taste it starting to unwind. It is delicious with great fruit, lots of tannins and good balance. I think a few more years and it gets a point or two better.
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Opening up nicely since the last bottle earlier in the year. Rich cassis and blackberry on the nose and palate with mocha and chocolate notes, finishing with tasty acidity and tannins.
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Wednesday Night Club - December 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): Blind - Splash decanted 7hrs prior to dinner - This was a big, in your face wine, the nose was very strong and held notes of fresh crushed rasberry, violets and sage, the palate wasn't as put together as the last time I had this wine and it may be in a transitional state, but it was still damn good.
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This wine is so it its groove, we need anoth....well you know. Dark and precise Cabernet with black cassis, blackberry and black plums. Hints of creme de cassis, mocha, cardamom and lead pencil run within this ones skin. Pretty and focused. Perfect balance, this middle weight wine shows its breed well in its conveyor-like delivery system and pure joy. I brought this to Berserkerfest NYC and it was the first empty on the table. Enough said. :)
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14.8% alcohol. poured thru a venturi into a decanter, dormant for an hour, and drunk over 4 more hours. this is a powerful cab that definitely needs aggressive decanting to work. i've not been much of a fan since day one; however, i will soften my stance tonight, and tell you to keep your mitts off it for the time being. a painful educational process reveals that this wine needs both cellar time and big air. there is still some mouth puckering tannin. you musn't be put off by some oak that won't, thankfully, remind you of vanilla extract, and give this wine a vintage break. don't take this to an offline, pop and pour, and expect it to impress. this tastes like a monbousquet, with coffee bean, tobacco, and dark chocolate. yes, i know that's a comparison to a merlot based wine, but that's the what i get, especially the coffee. i say hold, decant, and drink 2012- 2016. 91+
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Nose was a little shy, but on the palate, a gorgeous Cabernet. Rich, deep, layers of flavor, dark red fruit, cinnamon, licorice, soft tannins, a little flabby though.
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No detailed notes, but this suffered, alot, next to a 91 Anderson Conn Valley and a '92 Harlan both generously supplied by Mike. In comparison, this seemed a bit over-engineered.
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San Antonio Wine Geeks - The Great Gathering (aka: Steak porn/Wine Orgy); 11/5/2010-11/6/2010 (The Home of Steve Treu): Change in style from the other Napa cabs. Very concentrated red fruits, low acidity, sweet lush and slightly candied, with a very round and lush mouthfeel. Surprisingly tannic and drying, but soft . Pure red fruits—mostly cassis, currants and berries. Plenty of new oak, with a strong vanilla mocha finish. Good wine, but slightly “amped up” for my taste.
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decanted. i keep trying this wine, and i keep ending up not really being that enthused about it. it just doesn't go anywhere, and the fruit is...well, rather hooded. i realize that such a descriptor implies the wine is shut down, but i don't think so. if it is hard as a rock, and will come around in 5 years, i'm probably going to miss out because i won't have the patience, or the optimism. time to try an 05.
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Blind High-end Cali Cab Tasting (Ken's Place): Purple. Nose shows primary red fruits with some underlying herb notes. Smooth and suave palate has medium to full bodied fruit. Great integration and length. Bright fruit shows nice delineation across the palate. Group's 4 of 4.
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Lovely. Decanted for about 5 hours and paired very well with steak. Finish was longer than the 04 Shafer HSS but the Shafer seemed to have more complexity throughout the night. Great wine though!
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had this with a nice filet. Double decanted over 2 hours, took to Morton's and enjoyed this right after an 04 Oshaughnessy Howell Mt (which was also very good). This wine was a bit more elegant and wasn't as fruit forward as some of the Napa fruit bombs. This is a great wine, but I would still let it sit in the cellar for another 4-5 years to get the best that this bottle has to offer. I wish had more than one left.
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Deep purple core with a vibrant rim. Very pure aromas of crème de cassis, green tobacco, and licorice. With air there is more of a heady blackberry tone combined with lavender, candied plums, slate, and cedar. The palate opens up with superbly fresh red and black fruit flavors supported by sweet and firm yet approachable tannins. Later the fruit explodes with pure blackberry, savory herbs, and supple oak. Wonderful balance with harmonious acidity and tannin structure. This seems to be very high quality fruit and the style is so attractive. Double decanted and followed over six hours.
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Consumed w/ 03 HSS & 05 Scarecrow during a wonderful evening of giant porterhouses & great Napa Cabs . The Maybach was the #2 wine of the night but in great company
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This is killer. It's tight, even with four hours in the decanter, with currant, blackberry, and licorice. A svelte masterpiece, with big fruit and tannins in abundance.
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A quiet beauty. Deep and dark with nary a sign of demise. The nose is all camphor, cassis, creme de kirsch and framboise. The palate has the cassis with a soft but firm mouthfell. There is the kirsch and the creme, but there is also some tar, and leather. Some black pkums with a hint of super black cherry, This has surely quieted down since my last taste. A decent acid level keeps this lively and fresh. A long and exact finish beckons more.......and I'm glad to have more in the cellar.
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decanted, and now followed in the glass for about 3 hours. first glass was rich and well delineated. i was thinking that it displayed more structure and depth of fruit than my first tasting (i also had a glass at outpost with thomas around labor day. no formal note, but i thought it showed ok, nothing special) back in 5/08. fine grit tannin that is pretty sweet, strong backbone, nice finish. but now at the 3 hour mark, the midpalate is losing it's muscle. it's not shutting down, it's fading away. the finish is now clipped, and tastes confectionary + minor heat. i guess i'm going to have to keep trying this wine over more time to determine it's value to me. now at 4 hours...the wine is taking on weight again. i hate wine.
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drunk at hawksmoor with steaks and other new worlders- deep dark color, purple, sweet blue and black fruit nose, smooth on the way in, well balanced a little vanilla of oak, soft tanins and it rolled through the mouth, front to back. med length and med acidity, seemed quite young but very balanced
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(double decanted 4.5 hours) Dark and intense. The nose showed a wall of fruit that raged from the glass. Wow. There was black berry, black cherry, dark currant, black plums, some tobacco, some sweet kirsch, Wow. The purity of this multi-fruited profiled wine is both mind blowing and mind-boggling. Elegant and precise, this is a Cab drinkers Cab. I sat with this all night and it kept changing places with its younger brother always fighting for first place. A long finish and wow. Anyone who thinks wow wines do not exist needs to taste this one treated with the correct decant and respect. One more time….. Wow
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Wowwwww!!! This is about as good a California Cab as I've ever had. Phenomenal, fruit forward, perfectly balanced Cabernet. Astoundingly good. I did not get the sense of it being over-oaked, as some others here have noted. The mid-palate was soft but I wouldn't say flabby. Maybe I just got lucky but my score stands.
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Impressive even if a bit undifferentiated. Rich, deep black cherry and even plum, some leather and sandalwood, exotic tea and licorice spice notes, and a long, lingering finish. This was given a fairly long decant of 4 hours and it served it well. The oak treatment is a bit much and the parts overshadow the whole right now, but if the 05 is indeed a finer bottle, I'm very pleased with my decision to remain on this list. A solid entry that may be the harbinger of spectacular wines down the road.
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Blind Night: Decanted for 3-4 hours. Blackberry nose. Tastes of blackberries, blue berries, earth, leather, blackcurrant, liquorice, caramel, vanilla oak and cedar. Rich but a touch one dimensional at this point in time. Firm tannins. Could use a touch more acidity to keep it from being a little on the flabby side. 14.8% alcohol.
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14.8% alcohol. decanted three hours, followed over two in the glass. my first taste of this wine. powerful nose of licorice and blackberry, with a slight hint of alcohol. the midpalate is somewhat tubby/ lacking acid; soft, sweet tannin. there is good fruit, but a lack of structure that is troubling. over/ underdecanted? too young? closed? a good, but not great wine? lots of questions, but few answers at the moment.
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Sweet red fruit nose with some vanilla on the tail end. Extracted on the palate with more sweet red fruit (not overly sweet though). Good balance with some oak a little noticeable. Very good wine, just not great.
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Drank at Union Square Cafe. Decanted for one hour -- not too much on the nose. Very pure, very elegant on palate, with some angular notes that dissipated over the evening. Terrific dark, sweet fruit and some earthy notes with a long finish. Really enjoyed it and should last for many more years.
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The wine was very smooth and integrated well after about 45 minutes. Dark in color and and silky on the palate. I expected a bigger style wine based on other wines I have had from Thomas Brown.
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"eternal689" nailed the review below. Day one: Average cab, light and a bit out of balance. Day two: Holy crap, where did this wine come from? Great balance, thickened extraction. You must give this a super long breathe.
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Wineflock - Wow wines (Ken's): Opaque deep purple/red color. Meidum full spicy slightly canned spicy black fruit with just a hint of heat. Mmmmn, nice clean bright red/black fruit. Sophisticated and complex with good breed.
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Blind tasting of 'Wow' wines at Ken's (Northbrook, IL): Reddish-black colour with showing highly extracted flavours of dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla and oak on the nose and palate. After some of the other wines in the flight, this just felt clumsy and unbalanced.
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With 8 hours of air and the recognition this was still 5 years too soon to be drinking it, this bottle showed brilliantly. Gorgeous fruit, incredible structure, and a long happy life ahead of it. Can't wait 'til 2012!
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CLONYC 6 - Cultish Cabs (Philip Marie): A bit out of its depth next to the HSS and Scarecrow, it is the nevertheless a classy, well-made effort. Not surprising for a wine this young, the oak is a bit fatiguing, but there are some really nice elements here. The nose is expressive if not explosive with black and blue fruit, white flowers and, yes, toasty oak. It picks up speed as it hits the mouth with black cherry, cassis and black plums nicely layers and easily delineated. The tannins are ripe and sweet and provide a nice lift to the mouthfeel. I'd give this some time. It has ample structure and is impeccably balanced to weight out some of the awkwardness that it shows at the moment. I don't think it will ever be a great wine, but I'm a fan.
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Decanted for 3 hours. This wine exhibited a garnet/dark garnet color. On the nose, aromas of blackberries, blueberries and cherries with notes of vanilla and jasmine tea. On the palate, flavors of cherries, blackberries and plums were accentuated with notes of graphite, tobacco and hints of oak. Great finesse to this wine considering how young it is and looking forward to seeing how some more bottle age on this wine helps in developing this wine. HS94
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I drank half the bottle the first day and it was a 90 point bottle at best, too much oak and very sharp, just not a great balance to the wine. However I left half the bottle for the second night and it blew me away. So amazingly elegant, silky and balanced while still maintaining a nice level of extraction with not an obnoxious amount of oak. I will wait to drink anymore, but if anyone wants to try one, decant in bottle for a few hours and then for a day in the bottle.
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Tasted recently a a friend's house. Beautiful nose of sweet oak and chocolate. This is fully ripe but crafted in a more restrained style. Long lingering aftertaste bodes well for improvement with aging. I like this style and it reminded me a bit of a Hillside Select a had recently.
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Per Se - so lovely. Delighted to have brought this bottle. 3 hours decant the night before. Rebottled, put in fridge and 8 hours decant before drinking (sue me - its young!) Blueberries, but not in the derogatory way people describe barossa shirazes. I didn't get mint (as others have), but got other sweet berries. So happy to have more. Definite buy for 2005.
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When I heard others describe this is a finesse wine I mistakenly believed that this wasn’t going to be a clearly Napa wine. Upon first smell and first taste I immediately realized I was mistaken in interpreting finesse in that manner. Make no mistake about it, this is clearly a California wine, but I clearly understand what people mean by finesse especially when compared to many of my other favorite California wines. On the nose there was a very creamy cherry smell intermixed with oak. On the palate I got dark cherries, light pepper and cassis. Although clearly tannic and youthful, the wine is definitely well-balanced and full of finesse as everyone else has said. Due to the clear youthful nature of the wine I wouldn’t say I committed infanticide and am glad I tried a bottle, but I won’t be touching either of my two remaining bottles for at least 2 if not 3 years.
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Fairly shy nose at this point, but deep dark fruit on the palate, with hints of menthol, herbs, and tobacco. Long finish, and suprisingly approachable now.
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Didn't spend as much time with this as I'd've liked, but showed well. Definitely a newer style of Cabernet - almost the kind of Cab that would be hard to pick out as a Cab. Well structured, good delineation, nice fruit, and good balance, but I was somehow left wanting more. Maybe the expectations set me up for a disappointment. Don't get me wrong - this was very, very good wine and I think it has even more potential in the future, but I don't think it's there yet.
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Opened and set aside to breath. Decide to pour 2-3 ounces to get a taste right away before following over the next 3-4 hours...
Appearance - Ruby, not plum. Clear edges.
Nose - White flowers (may just be my nose, I seem to get them in a lot of wines), cherry, maybe some hints of darker fruits, like blueberry. Very promising start, given this tasters' old-world leaning palate...
Palate - In the mouth and...NEW WORLD. Yup, now this is clearly cali cab...some oaky nose (maybe I'll call it vanilla, but that could be Otto's influence), but certainly not overdone oaky nose. Definately darker fruits now on the palate...plums maybe. I am getting a fair bit of heat here...could be that the wine is served a bit to temperature hot as its been sitting on my counter for 4-5 hours at ~70 degrees ambient temp. I find the wine balanced, good acidity (something I always look for in cabernet, but don't always find), no noticable tannin, very integrated and, frankly, balanced.
Overall - I like the delicate nose and appearance. The darker palate fruit and very well done structure are quiet nice also. The heat on the palate is distracting right now. Otherwise very promising. Points? Well, I guess maybe 91-93 on my cali cab scale...we'll see where it goes over the next couple of hours...
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Classy bottle/packaging. Medium purple. Medium bodied wine. Decanted and consumed between 2 to 4+ hours of airtime. Optimal fruit expression from 2- 3.5 hours of air. At peak, this has a mixed berry nose with some slight barrel smokey, toasty notes. Up front blackberry juice, cassis, beautiful graphite flavors, some light herbal notes and a tiny touch of tobacco. A red fruit note is present early, but takes a backseat with air. After 4 hours the fruit tightened and more herbal tobacco notes are present. Oaky touches of mocha are more present with a lot of air. The structure is pleasant and well proportioned, no overt tannic presence. Smooth mouthfeel. The acid level seems a touch higher than average, but not out of whack. Balanced all around. Well done, lovely wine.
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4/11/2024 - ChrisR Likes this wine:
Last of my original stash, first bottling available to the mailing list. Recent notes basically spot on. Bright blackberry and black current, with a little licorice and tobacco and spice on the finish. Soft, as you might expect at this age, but still with substantial lift and energy: the tannins have all but receded, and the structure is mostly acid. Shows most of the TRB markers. An easy wine to drink, very tasty, missing the concentration to really elevate the wine.
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4/9/2024 - Deryl Likes this wine: 96 Points
This bottle was sublime. TRB at the top of his craft. Everything in balance and beautifully aged. I could not ask for more out of a Napa Cab. I only wish I had bought more on release.
This was decanted for about an hour before drinking.
I don't see any benefit to more aging.
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6/5/2022 - hrazdiiv Likes this wine: 92 Points
Really eager to try this bottle, purchased upon release. Well made, with nice structure. Still showing inky purple out of the bottle, virtually no bricking. Nose interesting combination of primary and secondary with black currant, dark cherry followed by sweet tobacco and a bit of espresso. Easy to place as California. Not a lot of tannin on the palate, shaved down by judicious use of oak and, of course, 18 years of bottle age. But still showed well, all elements nicely integrated. Definitely still has some legs to age here, though soft tannin suggests another 5 or so years of peak window. We drank among a series of other top shelf wines so perhaps got lost in the shuffle a bit (and we were several in at this point), wouldn’t argue with a slightly higher score for fans of the genre. But not sure it’s worth todays prices.
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3/4/2022 - DesMarteau Likes this wine: 96 Points
So approachable ….15 mins of air in a decanter and it’s rocking . Plum , blueberry , stones , hint of vanilla and cinnamon …leather …long finish
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12/25/2020 - Rick 4 Wine Likes this wine: 96 Points
I last tried this wine five years and change ago, and it has really developed. From a juice bomb (think buxom college girl) to a gorgeous MILF. This wine is just superbly balanced and so much better than it was in its youth. Delicious! Fruit is still plentiful but well balanced with a heterogenous tannic structure and secondary flavors with tertiary starting to develop on the back palate and finish, akin to the way black truffle lingers. Wonderful spot here. Enjoy!!
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11/26/2020 - jgreco Does not like this wine: 93 Points
The 2004 Maybach Materium features sweet cassis, no. 2 pencil, tobacco leaf, and vanilla on the nose. Smooth and velvety, with quite a bit of sweetness that persists through the lengthy finish. You are going to need to decant this for sediment before drinking. I would drink any remaining bottles up over the next few years.
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9/21/2018 - chiefilliniboy Likes this wine: 93 Points
smooth, velvety. fruit faded as it decanted, found the sweet spot after about 3 hours and became well balanced. almost black. probably the most sediment I've ever had in a bottle.
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6/29/2018 - NTR wrote: 93 Points
Solid dark red/black color. Nose of plum, dark fruit, tobacco, vanilla, oak. On drinking, the telltale vanillaso prevelant in Maybachs seems tempered here (but it is still there). Well balanced. A little hot on alcohol. Still has many more years. Very pleasant but a little underwhelming for a Maybach and a TRB wine. Solid but not a rockstar.
Battled between 93 and 94but decided on the lower.
Drinking well now but try again in 2020- it has legs.
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8/29/2017 - tcarter Likes this wine: 94 Points
Gitter's 50th Bday Dinner (Marino Ristorante): A bit jammy and sweet, even with 12 years age.
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4/23/2017 - onboisduvin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fruity, not too oaky with tannin quite smooth. Young but ready to drink.
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11/2/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
Browns suck, Wines Don't (Volume 15:6) Maybach, Bevan (Our home): Pop and pour. Consumed over a few hours watching the Browns lose to the Cardinals. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. No real sign of age. The nose takes some coaxing but after about an hour of air it is very nice. Cassis, iodine, spice, slight leather. With air some cherries come out. Oddly, at the three hour mark some aquarium notes emerge but swirling wakes the wine up and removes them. On the palate, this is very good. Not quite the texture of some later vintages. Lots of cassis, slight spice and vanilla. It shows a tight complexity. The tannins are light. Not sure this will improve from here, but its not going downhill any time soon either. IIRC, this was the first vintage. Heck of a start!
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10/17/2015 - Rick 4 Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Something of a juice bomb with big oak and smoked meats developing from nose through early finish. Tannins are still tight in the early body and linger for thirty seconds although fruit drowns them out in mid-palette.
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7/5/2015 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 93 Points
4th of July BBQ with Friends and good wine; 7/4/2015-7/5/2015 (Zurich, Switzerland): Seved blind. I initially guessed a 2007 or 2008 Shiraz. Was I wrong...! Dark color. Nose shows sweet dark fruit, mint and dark 90% chocolate with hints of pepper. Still quite a chubby baby with an enormous potential. Decant or better wait 5 more years...
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12/22/2014 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted blind: Still quite dark in color. I did not expect it to be a 10-year old wine. Nose of dark fruit, tobacco, herbs and plums. Still tannic and youthful but already great to drink. The wine is elegant and has a great length, is mulitlayered and powerful. A superb showing for the first vintage of Maybach. Drink now - 2025
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11/1/2014 - KenK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice rich red driven fruits, good sweet tannins and nice zippy edge. Fruits speak of high quality, yet just slightly reserved relative to my expectations. Drinking fine, but don't foresee big improvement ahead either.
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7/6/2014 - budman wrote: 94 Points
No sign of this bottle going downhill. Yum!!!
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6/25/2014 - King Cab wrote: 91 Points
I the most advanced example I have had of this yet. 10 years on and it shows. At first I thought I might have had a flawed bottle but within 5 minutes it bloomed nicely, just not Maybach nicely.
Nose of dried black currants and pencil shavings. This was a very fragile seeming wine with an elegance that I did enjoy. It seemed some secondaries & tertiaries have crept in. An interesting mix of black and red fruits all leaning to the dry side rolled this forward to a decent balance and a tannin structure that I may be a bit dismayed to say could be hitting a wall. Worn leather, cedar box, blah blah blah…. :)
Finish was decent and overall impression was, yeah, it’s a good cab. Others (more 'worldly' tasters) at the table seemed to like this better than I today so what do I know. I have 3 more that I would drink earlier than later, hopefully finding some TRB distinctiveness in there again.
I know, keep your opinions to yourself, Mike. :)
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6/16/2014 - Cow Town Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank blind alongside six other 2004s. I was struck by the balance of this wine. Nobody picked this as a Mayback or a TRB wine. Layers or smooth textured fruit, with a nice mix of vanilla and brown sugar sweetness. Lovely wine.
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3/23/2014 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 88 Points
Awesome Napa Cabernet Tasting (Hillside, Montelena, Mayback and more) (Minneapolis, MN): Not a fan at all. The most boring wine of the night and didn't have much of an identity. Blueberries, spices and oak. Too much oak. Decanted several hours and glass one and two didn't change for the better. Sit on it for five years and hope it gets better.
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3/22/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
Hi End Napa Cabs with an Haut Brion Kicker (Gary's Place, Hudson, WI): Very dark red-purple color. Decanted for 2 hours plus. Followed two pours of 2 oz over 2.5 hours. This suffered by comparison, and maybe would have been better as a stand alone wine. The nose is oaky, plum, vanilla, sweet, black raspberry. The palate strikes me as very young, would not peg this as 10 years old, lots of oak, wood, spice, big black fruit, concentrated, full bodied and firm tannins. Not so sure this will come around, but it needs time to try.
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2/14/2014 - H*3 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Love this wine! Inky dark purple in the glass. Great blue and black fruit flavors and silky mouthfeel with incredible balance given the overall richness of the wine. Very long and lingering finish. Last bottle of '04, wish I had more...
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2/8/2014 - pjhr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Continues to evolve beautifully since my last bottle two years ago.
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12/27/2013 - apounds Likes this wine:
This has all the attributes of a great cab. There is no rush to drink it now but, if you do, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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9/22/2013 - G-Man555 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Awesome fruit, structure, and nose, drinking well
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9/7/2013 - runandshoot wrote: 95 Points
Good bouquet of blue and black fruits on the nose, inky dark purple in the glass. Really nice pop and pour with a little bit of heat on the finish, but definitely much nicer after about an hour of slow-ox. No noticable oak, no heat, and great dark fruit, blackberry and rasberry with full mid-palate and a long, lingering finish. Really strong showing by this one today!
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3/30/2013 - KeithSurg wrote: 92 Points
Poured through Vinturi and enjoyed over 2 hrs. Very well-balanced and precise. Plenty of dark fruit, but not overripe. Firm structure that will likely hold up for some time. Delicious, but not that exciting - never opened up to express as much as I had hoped. Probably could use more cellar and air time.
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3/29/2013 - rdsboca wrote: 95 Points
Rich, hedonistic and rocking for prime time. Great deep rich cherry fruit with nice sweet finish. Nuff said.
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3/2/2013 - rdsboca Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very well integrated. Over the op excellent black and blue fruit but well knitted. Delish!
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12/1/2012 - gutt22 Likes this wine:
This is aging along nicely. Pretty nose of black currant, tobacco, and herbal spice. In the mouth, plush and fruit-forward but not overblown. It's got a very classic California Cabernet character, with good acidity and a firm, tannic backbone. THis will keep trucking. A-
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11/23/2012 - hudamang wrote:
Very consistent and a nice complex napa Cabernet. Not overly ripe, really silky mouthfeel, which is very pleasant. Aging at a slow pace since I opened one a few years back and remember similar characteristics. Popped and poured both times so I wonder if some decanting will change the mouthfeel. Awesome wine. Glad to have a magnum of this too.
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8/23/2012 - jrobs7777 wrote:
From a magnum. This is a big California cabernet, but has surprising balance to it. Deep dark nose, but some nice minerality on the palate. This had defined structure. The tannin is there and there are touches of oak that could stand to calm down but these seems to be aging gracefully and should continue to age and mellow well. Impressive.
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4/2/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Not bad. Shows both tannin and some heat, along with cedar and big black cherry flavors. The 2004 Schrader To Kalon, on this night beat the Maybach, as I found that wine to be overall better.
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1/25/2012 - winecharmer wrote: 96 Points
Massive attack. Not the band. Slight oak and loaminess up front, with anis and pencil followed by massive black fruits. Velvet on the palate, with hints of lavender to accompany the still massive fruit. All seamlessly integrated, with a finish longer than a minute. Unfortunately I think I drank the restaurant's last bottle. A steal at $150 at the bar.
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1/23/2012 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
Popped and poured for the SF/NY game. This took some time to open. I had not had this since release. It is ageing at a very slow pace. Purple in color. The nose is gorgeous. Cassis, minerals, slight blueberry and kirsch notes. Some vanilla and other oak properties still showing. Great texture. On the palate, though this is dense, one can taste it starting to unwind. It is delicious with great fruit, lots of tannins and good balance. I think a few more years and it gets a point or two better.
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12/10/2011 - pjhr wrote: 93 Points
Opening up nicely since the last bottle earlier in the year. Rich cassis and blackberry on the nose and palate with mocha and chocolate notes, finishing with tasty acidity and tannins.
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12/7/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: 93 Points
Wednesday Night Club - December 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): Blind - Splash decanted 7hrs prior to dinner - This was a big, in your face wine, the nose was very strong and held notes of fresh crushed rasberry, violets and sage, the palate wasn't as put together as the last time I had this wine and it may be in a transitional state, but it was still damn good.
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11/19/2011 - JDB wrote: 94 Points
WOTN with 3 2004 cabs, Pride Reserve, Shafer HSS, & Maybach. Cork pulled the night before & decanted 1 hour before, might have been too much air !!
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10/23/2011 - King Cab wrote: 94 Points
This wine is so it its groove, we need anoth....well you know. Dark and precise Cabernet with black cassis, blackberry and black plums. Hints of creme de cassis, mocha, cardamom and lead pencil run within this ones skin. Pretty and focused. Perfect balance, this middle weight wine shows its breed well in its conveyor-like delivery system and pure joy. I brought this to Berserkerfest NYC and it was the first empty on the table. Enough said. :)
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7/15/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 91 Points
14.8% alcohol. poured thru a venturi into a decanter, dormant for an hour, and drunk over 4 more hours. this is a powerful cab that definitely needs aggressive decanting to work. i've not been much of a fan since day one; however, i will soften my stance tonight, and tell you to keep your mitts off it for the time being. a painful educational process reveals that this wine needs both cellar time and big air. there is still some mouth puckering tannin. you musn't be put off by some oak that won't, thankfully, remind you of vanilla extract, and give this wine a vintage break. don't take this to an offline, pop and pour, and expect it to impress. this tastes like a monbousquet, with coffee bean, tobacco, and dark chocolate. yes, i know that's a comparison to a merlot based wine, but that's the what i get, especially the coffee. i say hold, decant, and drink 2012- 2016. 91+
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6/19/2011 - Xtriguy wrote: 93 Points
A very nicely balanced wine. Dark fruit, cocoa powder, hints of coffee. Still some mouth drying tannins but a lingering finish to go with them.
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4/17/2011 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Somewhat restrained nose and palate with tasty acidity on the finish. A well made cab, but at least this vintage and bottle is not up to the price.
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3/21/2011 - davergny wrote: 94 Points
Nose was a little shy, but on the palate, a gorgeous Cabernet. Rich, deep, layers of flavor, dark red fruit, cinnamon, licorice, soft tannins, a little flabby though.
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2/15/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
No detailed notes, but this suffered, alot, next to a 91 Anderson Conn Valley and a '92 Harlan both generously supplied by Mike. In comparison, this seemed a bit over-engineered.
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2/15/2011 - shaferguy91 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
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11/6/2010 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
San Antonio Wine Geeks - The Great Gathering (aka: Steak porn/Wine Orgy); 11/5/2010-11/6/2010 (The Home of Steve Treu): Change in style from the other Napa cabs. Very concentrated red fruits, low acidity, sweet lush and slightly candied, with a very round and lush mouthfeel. Surprisingly tannic and drying, but soft . Pure red fruits—mostly cassis, currants and berries. Plenty of new oak, with a strong vanilla mocha finish. Good wine, but slightly “amped up” for my taste.
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7/1/2010 - goofy Yno wrote:
gone
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2/27/2010 - jeff nowak wrote:
decanted. i keep trying this wine, and i keep ending up not really being that enthused about it. it just doesn't go anywhere, and the fruit is...well, rather hooded. i realize that such a descriptor implies the wine is shut down, but i don't think so. if it is hard as a rock, and will come around in 5 years, i'm probably going to miss out because i won't have the patience, or the optimism. time to try an 05.
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1/10/2010 - Ki Punwar wrote: 92 Points
High Alcohol, notes of licorice and oak...this lacks the minerality I like but it's a big mouthfull of wine. Not from my favorite vintage.
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1/1/2010 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Wineflock - High End California Cabs from the 2000s (Ken's): Flight #4 - Opaque deep purple color. Lovely deep chocolate black fruit with just a hint of stem? Nic eround dense complex black fruit with coffee notes.
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1/1/2010 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Blind High-end Cali Cab Tasting (Ken's Place): Purple. Nose shows primary red fruits with some underlying herb notes. Smooth and suave palate has medium to full bodied fruit. Great integration and length. Bright fruit shows nice delineation across the palate. Group's 4 of 4.
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1/1/2010 - psmith wrote:
Blind Cabernet Retrospective (Chicago, IL): Muted nose - some red fruit hints. Rich, pure palate. High pitched minty, fine tannins. Hot. Weighty palate. M92/G92.8
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12/17/2009 - hudamang wrote: 94 Points
Lovely. Decanted for about 5 hours and paired very well with steak. Finish was longer than the 04 Shafer HSS but the Shafer seemed to have more complexity throughout the night. Great wine though!
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11/8/2009 - wallstreet wrote:
had this with a nice filet. Double decanted over 2 hours, took to Morton's and enjoyed this right after an 04 Oshaughnessy Howell Mt (which was also very good). This wine was a bit more elegant and wasn't as fruit forward as some of the Napa fruit bombs. This is a great wine, but I would still let it sit in the cellar for another 4-5 years to get the best that this bottle has to offer. I wish had more than one left.
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10/6/2009 - kstoddard wrote: 90 Points
Tasting with Jefferson Henry of Karl Lawrence Cellars (Backstreet Wine Salon): Dark purple color. Pretty nose of black cherry fruit. Tastes of black berry and currant with some vanilla oak. Well balanced. Medium bodied. Rich powerful finish with some depth. A touch green. 14.8% alcohol.
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6/17/2009 - Badfish wrote: 94 Points
Deep purple core with a vibrant rim. Very pure aromas of crème de cassis, green tobacco, and licorice. With air there is more of a heady blackberry tone combined with lavender, candied plums, slate, and cedar. The palate opens up with superbly fresh red and black fruit flavors supported by sweet and firm yet approachable tannins. Later the fruit explodes with pure blackberry, savory herbs, and supple oak. Wonderful balance with harmonious acidity and tannin structure. This seems to be very high quality fruit and the style is so attractive. Double decanted and followed over six hours.
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6/12/2009 - JDB wrote: 94 Points
Consumed w/ 03 HSS & 05 Scarecrow during a wonderful evening of giant porterhouses & great Napa Cabs . The Maybach was the #2 wine of the night but in great company
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5/30/2009 - mdstenner wrote: 95 Points
This is killer. It's tight, even with four hours in the decanter, with currant, blackberry, and licorice. A svelte masterpiece, with big fruit and tannins in abundance.
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5/21/2009 - King Cab wrote: 94 Points
A quiet beauty. Deep and dark with nary a sign of demise. The nose is all camphor, cassis, creme de kirsch and framboise. The palate has the cassis with a soft but firm mouthfell. There is the kirsch and the creme, but there is also some tar, and leather. Some black pkums with a hint of super black cherry, This has surely quieted down since my last taste. A decent acid level keeps this lively and fresh. A long and exact finish beckons more.......and I'm glad to have more in the cellar.
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3/14/2009 - JDB wrote: 94 Points
part of a great tasting evening in Bonaire @ Capriccio's & it more than held it's own . Deep dark fruit w/ great length . Voted wine of the night
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2/15/2009 - Cheryl wrote:
Pizza and Cabs at Mike P's, aka Go Buy Yourself Some Buccella (Mike and Barb's, Staten Island, NY): This was very nice and I like it, but I'm not sure it is as good as the 2005. I wish I'd have decanted it longer. All in, it got about three hours of air.
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1/19/2009 - jeff nowak wrote:
decanted, and now followed in the glass for about 3 hours. first glass was rich and well delineated. i was thinking that it displayed more structure and depth of fruit than my first tasting (i also had a glass at outpost with thomas around labor day. no formal note, but i thought it showed ok, nothing special) back in 5/08. fine grit tannin that is pretty sweet, strong backbone, nice finish. but now at the 3 hour mark, the midpalate is losing it's muscle. it's not shutting down, it's fading away. the finish is now clipped, and tastes confectionary + minor heat. i guess i'm going to have to keep trying this wine over more time to determine it's value to me. now at 4 hours...the wine is taking on weight again. i hate wine.
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1/3/2009 - psmith wrote:
All chocolate milkshake and oak-driven vanilla notes. Thick, viscous wine - creamy with fine grain tannins. Very modern and flashy. Enjoyable.
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11/27/2008 - reichken wrote:
drunk at hawksmoor with steaks and other new worlders- deep dark color, purple, sweet blue and black fruit nose, smooth on the way in, well balanced a little vanilla of oak, soft tanins and it rolled through the mouth, front to back. med length and med acidity, seemed quite young but very balanced
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10/10/2008 - Paul Lin wrote: 94 Points
Even better than the last time.
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9/11/2008 - King Cab wrote: 95 Points
(double decanted 4.5 hours) Dark and intense. The nose showed a wall of fruit that raged from the glass. Wow. There was black berry, black cherry, dark currant, black plums, some tobacco, some sweet kirsch, Wow. The purity of this multi-fruited profiled wine is both mind blowing and mind-boggling. Elegant and precise, this is a Cab drinkers Cab. I sat with this all night and it kept changing places with its younger brother always fighting for first place. A long finish and wow. Anyone who thinks wow wines do not exist needs to taste this one treated with the correct decant and respect. One more time….. Wow
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7/24/2008 - nvandyk wrote: 97 Points
Wowwwww!!! This is about as good a California Cab as I've ever had. Phenomenal, fruit forward, perfectly balanced Cabernet. Astoundingly good. I did not get the sense of it being over-oaked, as some others here have noted. The mid-palate was soft but I wouldn't say flabby. Maybe I just got lucky but my score stands.
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6/18/2008 - Moorese wrote: 93 Points
Impressive even if a bit undifferentiated. Rich, deep black cherry and even plum, some leather and sandalwood, exotic tea and licorice spice notes, and a long, lingering finish. This was given a fairly long decant of 4 hours and it served it well. The oak treatment is a bit much and the parts overshadow the whole right now, but if the 05 is indeed a finer bottle, I'm very pleased with my decision to remain on this list. A solid entry that may be the harbinger of spectacular wines down the road.
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5/20/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 89 Points
Blind Night: Decanted for 3-4 hours. Blackberry nose. Tastes of blackberries, blue berries, earth, leather, blackcurrant, liquorice, caramel, vanilla oak and cedar. Rich but a touch one dimensional at this point in time. Firm tannins. Could use a touch more acidity to keep it from being a little on the flabby side. 14.8% alcohol.
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5/20/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 91 Points
14.8% alcohol. decanted three hours, followed over two in the glass. my first taste of this wine. powerful nose of licorice and blackberry, with a slight hint of alcohol. the midpalate is somewhat tubby/ lacking acid; soft, sweet tannin. there is good fruit, but a lack of structure that is troubling. over/ underdecanted? too young? closed? a good, but not great wine? lots of questions, but few answers at the moment.
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5/19/2008 - pakabear wrote: 93 Points
Sweet red fruit nose with some vanilla on the tail end. Extracted on the palate with more sweet red fruit (not overly sweet though). Good balance with some oak a little noticeable. Very good wine, just not great.
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5/2/2008 - andolini wrote: 94 Points
Drank at Union Square Cafe. Decanted for one hour -- not too much on the nose. Very pure, very elegant on palate, with some angular notes that dissipated over the evening. Terrific dark, sweet fruit and some earthy notes with a long finish. Really enjoyed it and should last for many more years.
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1/8/2008 - T G F wrote: 95 Points
The wine was very smooth and integrated well after about 45 minutes. Dark in color and and silky on the palate. I expected a bigger style wine based on other wines I have had from Thomas Brown.
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12/5/2007 - Phin wrote: 94 Points
"eternal689" nailed the review below. Day one: Average cab, light and a bit out of balance. Day two: Holy crap, where did this wine come from? Great balance, thickened extraction. You must give this a super long breathe.
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11/23/2007 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Wineflock - Wow wines (Ken's): Opaque deep purple/red color. Meidum full spicy slightly canned spicy black fruit with just a hint of heat. Mmmmn, nice clean bright red/black fruit. Sophisticated and complex with good breed.
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11/23/2007 - salil wrote: 88 Points
Blind tasting of 'Wow' wines at Ken's (Northbrook, IL): Reddish-black colour with showing highly extracted flavours of dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla and oak on the nose and palate. After some of the other wines in the flight, this just felt clumsy and unbalanced.
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10/11/2007 - jbposell wrote: 95 Points
With 8 hours of air and the recognition this was still 5 years too soon to be drinking it, this bottle showed brilliantly. Gorgeous fruit, incredible structure, and a long happy life ahead of it. Can't wait 'til 2012!
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9/4/2007 - bsherwin wrote:
CLONYC 6 - Cultish Cabs (Philip Marie): A bit out of its depth next to the HSS and Scarecrow, it is the nevertheless a classy, well-made effort. Not surprising for a wine this young, the oak is a bit fatiguing, but there are some really nice elements here. The nose is expressive if not explosive with black and blue fruit, white flowers and, yes, toasty oak. It picks up speed as it hits the mouth with black cherry, cassis and black plums nicely layers and easily delineated. The tannins are ripe and sweet and provide a nice lift to the mouthfeel. I'd give this some time. It has ample structure and is impeccably balanced to weight out some of the awkwardness that it shows at the moment. I don't think it will ever be a great wine, but I'm a fan.
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8/21/2007 - HurrahSyrah wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. This wine exhibited a garnet/dark garnet color. On the nose, aromas of blackberries, blueberries and cherries with notes of vanilla and jasmine tea. On the palate, flavors of cherries, blackberries and plums were accentuated with notes of graphite, tobacco and hints of oak. Great finesse to this wine considering how young it is and looking forward to seeing how some more bottle age on this wine helps in developing this wine. HS94
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8/18/2007 - pakabear wrote: 96 Points
I drank half the bottle the first day and it was a 90 point bottle at best, too much oak and very sharp, just not a great balance to the wine. However I left half the bottle for the second night and it blew me away. So amazingly elegant, silky and balanced while still maintaining a nice level of extraction with not an obnoxious amount of oak. I will wait to drink anymore, but if anyone wants to try one, decant in bottle for a few hours and then for a day in the bottle.
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7/1/2007 - Ki Punwar wrote: 95 Points
Tasted recently a a friend's house. Beautiful nose of sweet oak and chocolate. This is fully ripe but crafted in a more restrained style. Long lingering aftertaste bodes well for improvement with aging.
I like this style and it reminded me a bit of a Hillside Select a had recently.
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6/16/2007 - Cheryl wrote:
Per Se - so lovely. Delighted to have brought this bottle. 3 hours decant the night before. Rebottled, put in fridge and 8 hours decant before drinking (sue me - its young!) Blueberries, but not in the derogatory way people describe barossa shirazes. I didn't get mint (as others have), but got other sweet berries. So happy to have more. Definite buy for 2005.
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6/11/2007 - millerfamily wrote: 93 Points
When I heard others describe this is a finesse wine I mistakenly believed that this wasn’t going to be a clearly Napa wine. Upon first smell and first taste I immediately realized I was mistaken in interpreting finesse in that manner. Make no mistake about it, this is clearly a California wine, but I clearly understand what people mean by finesse especially when compared to many of my other favorite California wines. On the nose there was a very creamy cherry smell intermixed with oak. On the palate I got dark cherries, light pepper and cassis. Although clearly tannic and youthful, the wine is definitely well-balanced and full of finesse as everyone else has said. Due to the clear youthful nature of the wine I wouldn’t say I committed infanticide and am glad I tried a bottle, but I won’t be touching either of my two remaining bottles for at least 2 if not 3 years.
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5/20/2007 - vanpe003 wrote: 94 Points
Fairly shy nose at this point, but deep dark fruit on the palate, with hints of menthol, herbs, and tobacco. Long finish, and suprisingly approachable now.
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5/9/2007 - A&B wrote: 91 Points
Good balanced wine, some funk on the nose, slight 4EP?
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5/6/2007 - MarkC wrote:
Didn't spend as much time with this as I'd've liked, but showed well. Definitely a newer style of Cabernet - almost the kind of Cab that would be hard to pick out as a Cab. Well structured, good delineation, nice fruit, and good balance, but I was somehow left wanting more. Maybe the expectations set me up for a disappointment. Don't get me wrong - this was very, very good wine and I think it has even more potential in the future, but I don't think it's there yet.
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4/29/2007 - dsankaran wrote: 92 Points
Opened and set aside to breath. Decide to pour 2-3 ounces to get a taste right away before following over the next 3-4 hours...
Appearance - Ruby, not plum. Clear edges.
Nose - White flowers (may just be my nose, I seem to get them in a lot of wines), cherry, maybe some hints of darker fruits, like blueberry. Very promising start, given this tasters' old-world leaning palate...
Palate - In the mouth and...NEW WORLD. Yup, now this is clearly cali cab...some oaky nose (maybe I'll call it vanilla, but that could be Otto's influence), but certainly not overdone oaky nose. Definately darker fruits now on the palate...plums maybe. I am getting a fair bit of heat here...could be that the wine is served a bit to temperature hot as its been sitting on my counter for 4-5 hours at ~70 degrees ambient temp. I find the wine balanced, good acidity (something I always look for in cabernet, but don't always find), no noticable tannin, very integrated and, frankly, balanced.
Overall - I like the delicate nose and appearance. The darker palate fruit and very well done structure are quiet nice also. The heat on the palate is distracting right now. Otherwise very promising. Points? Well, I guess maybe 91-93 on my cali cab scale...we'll see where it goes over the next couple of hours...
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4/29/2007 - Hillbilly wrote: 95 Points
Classy bottle/packaging. Medium purple. Medium bodied wine. Decanted and consumed between 2 to 4+ hours of airtime. Optimal fruit expression from 2- 3.5 hours of air. At peak, this has a mixed berry nose with some slight barrel smokey, toasty notes. Up front blackberry juice, cassis, beautiful graphite flavors, some light herbal notes and a tiny touch of tobacco. A red fruit note is present early, but takes a backseat with air. After 4 hours the fruit tightened and more herbal tobacco notes are present. Oaky touches of mocha are more present with a lot of air. The structure is pleasant and well proportioned, no overt tannic presence. Smooth mouthfeel. The acid level seems a touch higher than average, but not out of whack. Balanced all around. Well done, lovely wine.
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3/24/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 93 Points
The Wines of Thomas Rivers Brown (Orange County, CA): Notes of cassis, licorice, sweet mint, and vanilla. Long finish. Polished and absolutely delicious!
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