Decanted for 2 hours and consumed over a further 3 hours. Very dark purple color with ripe black and red fruits on the nose together with some cedar. Full bodied with lots of red and black fruit flavors together with notes of anise and tobacco. Finish is about 30 seconds with smooth tannins. Powerful but well balanced. Evolved and improved over the course of several hours. Seems to be approaching prime drinking time. Extremely good but did not enjoy this quite as much as the '02 bottling.
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Smell: Granite, blueberries, black berries, cassis, cedar, and tobacco upon opening.
Taste: Black berries, cassis, a hint of lavendar, and mineral notes initially right out of the bottle.
Overall: Still a wonderful wine. I find this wine to be just as enjoyable as I recall...yet I no longer think it holds the typicity for the place of origin that I would look for to qualify it as a "classic" Napa Cabernet...however it is still an excellent wine. Part of what I love so much about this wine is that is appears to be the exact opposite of what I look for in Napa Cabernet. It is lithe, elegant, and has wonderful balance. Med+ tannin, Med+ acid, and vibrant fruit lead me to think this has a longer life than I might have originally thought. Time will tell. I have it in a decanter now and will check back in in about two hours.
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Nice Bottle. A little light on the finish. Tannins aren't too bad, which, I'm assuming, is the result of the wine sitting in the oak casks for 30 months or so. Recommend it very much.
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King Grape- california cabernets (cafe pyrennes, libertyville IL): Nose: very expressive nose filled with cedar, dark red cherries, cassis, perfumes, cranberries and bits of sour red fruits. Lovely nose that has that classic cabernet smell that is very alluring and almost intoxicating
taste: great medium/full feel with lush tannins that are there for support. Well balanced tones of cedar, dark red cherries, floral bits, cranberries and hints of cassis
overall: A very expressive cabernet. The body is deceptive as it moves very well across the palate. This really acts like a realatively mature Diamond Creek. This can definitely go further, but is a real joy right now and is in a great place.
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King Grape Dinner (Cafe Pyrennes, Libertyville, IL): Nose of cedar, soft oak, rich dark cherries. Some mint leaf, cigar wrapper, and a bit of anise--great, extremely expressive nose. Tastes bring on cherry, light leather, a little herb & anise. Finish brings much of the same flavors with excellent length...smoke, herb, hint of cigar, and a little nice red fruit. Very smooth & refined throughout. 93-94; certainly outstanding
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50+5+15+18+8 Aromatic nose of blackberry, blueberry, menthol, leather, spice, and chocolate. Silky mouthfeel with well integrated tannins, mixed berries, riverstone, sage, and cocoa all of which linger into a drawn out finish. We drank this undecanted from a bottle that had been opened maybe an hour prior to the first sip, and were in love before the first sip was gone. As time went on the wine continued to open and evolve. Heady and luscious, a 96 now--and still an infant.
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94+ I put this in the skybar and drank over 3 nights, notes were consistent but it was a little tight nite 1 and I think it needs an hour to decant. Beautiful medium purple color deep but not inky. Blackberry, maybe a hint of red fruit and spice. Good depth of aromas as I swirl it. Good moouthfeel, medium plus plus body not very heavy for napa. Definite up front blackberries, again some spice that goes through the mid palate as well as eucalyptus and vanilla. I did read slaves notes and as soon as I saw eucalyptus I couldn't stop smelling it. The is a herbacious aspect. This has a nice mouthfeel and is really a wonderful cab. The fruit is nice but not overpowering. For my palate this is probably the best '03 cab that I've had. It has depth balance and layers of flavors. 94 points, but I do think this needs another 2 years, the tannins were just a bit "prickly" still.
A few things that stood out to me. This is what I would think of as a great "wine geek" wine. It's not a fruit bomb or an overextracted super cabernet. It not a "perfect 10 model, more like a gorgeous young girl next door wine, that wouldn't be in a pin-up calendar but you'd love to spend time around.
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Amazing wine, though probably didn't give it enought time to breath. Drank after 45 minutes. Nose of Black and blue fruit, herbs, mint, and leather. Pallate mirrored the nose, with a bit more sweet fruit. Just a great wine
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Smell: HUGE, powerful nose roared out of the bottle as soon as the cork came out. Bursts of chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, dry earth, and violets mixed together in waves. Taste: Initial heavy oak notes dissolved to reveal fine tannins with complex layers of vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, dust from a dirt road, and dark fruits. Great mix of fruit and earth!
The bottle was decanted for 1hr, but with each subsequent sip the wine continued to evolve. Will be looking forward to enjoying this again and will decant for 1.5-2hrs.
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Decanted for 60-90 minutes before serving with dinner. On the nose multiple scents assault at one time. Scents of blackberry, blueberry, casis, and spice lead into further scents of eucaliptis, mint, cigar box, and cacao bean. In the mouth flavors of new oak, vanilla bean lead off initially before transitioning to blackberry, black cherry, and blueberry with lingering flavors of spice and tobacco. The finish on this wine is 45+ seconds long and promises to do more with a little more time in bottle. While this is an outstanding wine...it still needs time in bottle. I believe this wine will be at it's best in 2009-2015. Patience will be rewarded with this wine.
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11/1/2013 - ENSXE Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for 2 Hrs, Wow, Wow, Wow. Powerful, Velvety and Balanced.
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2/5/2011 - Yamadori wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 2 hours and consumed over a further 3 hours. Very dark purple color with ripe black and red fruits on the nose together with some cedar. Full bodied with lots of red and black fruit flavors together with notes of anise and tobacco. Finish is about 30 seconds with smooth tannins. Powerful but well balanced. Evolved and improved over the course of several hours. Seems to be approaching prime drinking time. Extremely good but did not enjoy this quite as much as the '02 bottling.
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6/14/2010 - Kirk Grant wrote: 94 Points
Color: Deep violet
Smell: Granite, blueberries, black berries, cassis, cedar, and tobacco upon opening.
Taste: Black berries, cassis, a hint of lavendar, and mineral notes initially right out of the bottle.
Overall: Still a wonderful wine. I find this wine to be just as enjoyable as I recall...yet I no longer think it holds the typicity for the place of origin that I would look for to qualify it as a "classic" Napa Cabernet...however it is still an excellent wine. Part of what I love so much about this wine is that is appears to be the exact opposite of what I look for in Napa Cabernet. It is lithe, elegant, and has wonderful balance. Med+ tannin, Med+ acid, and vibrant fruit lead me to think this has a longer life than I might have originally thought. Time will tell. I have it in a decanter now and will check back in in about two hours.
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10/8/2009 - remeny1 wrote: 95 Points
wow
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5/9/2009 - bhalljr wrote: 94 Points
Nice Bottle. A little light on the finish. Tannins aren't too bad, which, I'm assuming, is the result of the wine sitting in the oak casks for 30 months or so. Recommend it very much.
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3/29/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
King Grape- california cabernets (cafe pyrennes, libertyville IL): Nose: very expressive nose filled with cedar, dark red cherries, cassis, perfumes, cranberries and bits of sour red fruits. Lovely nose that has that classic cabernet smell that is very alluring and almost intoxicating
taste: great medium/full feel with lush tannins that are there for support. Well balanced tones of cedar, dark red cherries, floral bits, cranberries and hints of cassis
overall: A very expressive cabernet. The body is deceptive as it moves very well across the palate. This really acts like a realatively mature Diamond Creek. This can definitely go further, but is a real joy right now and is in a great place.
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3/29/2009 - cobbpa wrote: 93 Points
King Grape Dinner (Cafe Pyrennes, Libertyville, IL): Nose of cedar, soft oak, rich dark cherries. Some mint leaf, cigar wrapper, and a bit of anise--great, extremely expressive nose. Tastes bring on cherry, light leather, a little herb & anise. Finish brings much of the same flavors with excellent length...smoke, herb, hint of cigar, and a little nice red fruit. Very smooth & refined throughout. 93-94; certainly outstanding
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2/13/2009 - annerk wrote: 96 Points
50+5+15+18+8
Aromatic nose of blackberry, blueberry, menthol, leather, spice, and chocolate.
Silky mouthfeel with well integrated tannins, mixed berries, riverstone, sage, and cocoa all of which linger into a drawn out finish.
We drank this undecanted from a bottle that had been opened maybe an hour prior to the first sip, and were in love before the first sip was gone. As time went on the wine continued to open and evolve. Heady and luscious, a 96 now--and still an infant.
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1/1/2009 - KWC3141 wrote: 94 Points
94+ I put this in the skybar and drank over 3 nights, notes were consistent but it was a little tight nite 1 and I think it needs an hour to decant. Beautiful medium purple color deep but not inky. Blackberry, maybe a hint of red fruit and spice. Good depth of aromas as I swirl it. Good moouthfeel, medium plus plus body not very heavy for napa. Definite up front blackberries, again some spice that goes through the mid palate as well as eucalyptus and vanilla. I did read slaves notes and as soon as I saw eucalyptus I couldn't stop smelling it. The is a herbacious aspect. This has a nice mouthfeel and is really a wonderful cab. The fruit is nice but not overpowering. For my palate this is probably the best '03 cab that I've had. It has depth balance and layers of flavors. 94 points, but I do think this needs another 2 years, the tannins were just a bit "prickly" still.
A few things that stood out to me. This is what I would think of as a great "wine geek" wine. It's not a fruit bomb or an overextracted super cabernet. It not a "perfect 10 model, more like a gorgeous young girl next door wine, that wouldn't be in a pin-up calendar but you'd love to spend time around.
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9/1/2008 - remeny1 wrote: 96 Points
Amazing wine, though probably didn't give it enought time to breath. Drank after 45 minutes. Nose of Black and blue fruit, herbs, mint, and leather. Pallate mirrored the nose, with a bit more sweet fruit. Just a great wine
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5/29/2008 - ErikV wrote: 96 Points
Smell: HUGE, powerful nose roared out of the bottle as soon as the cork came out. Bursts of chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, dry earth, and violets mixed together in waves.
Taste: Initial heavy oak notes dissolved to reveal fine tannins with complex layers of vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, dust from a dirt road, and dark fruits. Great mix of fruit and earth!
The bottle was decanted for 1hr, but with each subsequent sip the wine continued to evolve. Will be looking forward to enjoying this again and will decant for 1.5-2hrs.
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5/9/2008 - Kirk Grant wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 60-90 minutes before serving with dinner. On the nose multiple scents assault at one time. Scents of blackberry, blueberry, casis, and spice lead into further scents of eucaliptis, mint, cigar box, and cacao bean. In the mouth flavors of new oak, vanilla bean lead off initially before transitioning to blackberry, black cherry, and blueberry with lingering flavors of spice and tobacco. The finish on this wine is 45+ seconds long and promises to do more with a little more time in bottle. While this is an outstanding wine...it still needs time in bottle. I believe this wine will be at it's best in 2009-2015. Patience will be rewarded with this wine.
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