Opened the day prior, but stored under nitrogen. Nearly opaque purplish magenta color. Mixed berry, violet, and subtle baking spice on the nose. Smooth, dry, plush palate. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the longish finish.
This is still a bit youthful. It will be 95 points (or more) in a year or two, which makes it a terrific QPR.
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Intensely dark garnet-purple color, with a powerful, delightfully fragrant nose. On the palate, black cherry (with an ever so slight tart aspect), blackberry, dark currants, plum, tobacco, and cedar. I can see this wine gaining traction with longer cellaring, it seems to be nicely constructed for better than average longevity. Personally, this 2018 showed better than I anticipated. There was a ton of hoopla over 2018’s, but hasn’t been my favorite. Could it be, the 2018’s are approaching a more favorable drinking window? I sure hope so. 92+/ 93 Points
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This is tight and austere even after 3 or 4 hours in a large Reidel glass. I could mistake this for a young Bordeaux as it lacks the CA opulence that prior vintages of this wine (like '16) had. I think it probably has enough fruit for upside so the score is conservative for now. Still tasty stuff, but needs probably at least 7-10 years to show much. Putting last bottle in the "forget me" section of the cellar.
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12/22/2023 - castle.rob@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points
Luxury in a bottle
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4/8/2023 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened the day prior, but stored under nitrogen. Nearly opaque purplish magenta color. Mixed berry, violet, and subtle baking spice on the nose. Smooth, dry, plush palate. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the longish finish.
This is still a bit youthful. It will be 95 points (or more) in a year or two, which makes it a terrific QPR.
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3/7/2023 - Yack Man Likes this wine: 92 Points
Intensely dark garnet-purple color, with a powerful, delightfully fragrant nose. On the palate, black cherry (with an ever so slight tart aspect), blackberry, dark currants, plum, tobacco, and cedar. I can see this wine gaining traction with longer cellaring, it seems to be nicely constructed for better than average longevity. Personally, this 2018 showed better than I anticipated. There was a ton of hoopla over 2018’s, but hasn’t been my favorite. Could it be, the 2018’s are approaching a more favorable drinking window? I sure hope so. 92+/ 93 Points
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3/12/2022 - tphilca Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is tight and austere even after 3 or 4 hours in a large Reidel glass. I could mistake this for a young Bordeaux as it lacks the CA opulence that prior vintages of this wine (like '16) had. I think it probably has enough fruit for upside so the score is conservative for now. Still tasty stuff, but needs probably at least 7-10 years to show much. Putting last bottle in the "forget me" section of the cellar.
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