Five years and a day since my last bottle. PnP at cellar temp. Blackberry, plum, and tea flavors dominate. It's full-bodied without being a fruit bomb, and it's perfectly balanced with strong tannins. This shows no signs of aging so drink or hold. My wife and I were both impressed with the wine Helen has crafted.
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Amazing - I first tried this wine out of the barrel at a party with DJ and HelenKeplinger- it was my favorite of all the wines we tried, and it did not disappoint- stupendous !
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Brought to tonight's table by Dan, visiting from CO. Not sure of the decant time but it drinks well and improves over 2-3 hours at the table. In fact, I would give it a 93 earlier in the night and a 94 at the end. Hence, my score. Pretty typical Oakville notes of lead pencil, darker fruit and smooth integrated tannins, though they are still quite present.
At 8 years old, it’s still quite young, but with bright, crystalline, fresh red and dark berries, a smidge of spice, some red licorice, great mouthwatering acidity, and very fine tannins. If I had the willpower, I would have waited until it was 10.
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Unfortunately didn’t get to decant ahead of time. Splash decant and drank over an hour. While 2014s are drinking well now this wine needed a bit of time before it opened up. Nice wine that held its own with a couple of Bordeaux standouts but still could use another 1-2 years to hit its prime.
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Drank after 27 wine tasting at Vinum55. Of the 27 wines, only two stood out, 2013 Ulysses and Plumjack Merlot. Didn’t pull the trigger on either but they were enjoyable.
After the tasting pulled out Helen Keplinger’s first Cabernet under her own label (2014 Oakville) and 2010 Smith Haut Lafitte). All three of us immediately commented on how good these wines are in comparison to what we just tasted. Wine snobs? Yep but who doesn’t like the pretty things?
Ok- this is awesome. Damn My allocation. Makes me feel inadequate for not being enough of a man to figure out how to buy a case. How I can ever look at my family again is beyond me. Soft voluptuous wonderful mouth feel. Ready to drink right now. A gem and only 3 left. Need, no Have to get in on the 2015s. 94-95. Drink now.
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10/20/2023 - Crunge Likes this wine: 95 Points
Five years and a day since my last bottle. PnP at cellar temp. Blackberry, plum, and tea flavors dominate. It's full-bodied without being a fruit bomb, and it's perfectly balanced with strong tannins. This shows no signs of aging so drink or hold. My wife and I were both impressed with the wine Helen has crafted.
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1/6/2023 - jillietee Likes this wine: 98 Points
Amazing - I first tried this wine out of the barrel at a party with DJ and HelenKeplinger- it was my favorite of all the wines we tried, and it did not disappoint- stupendous !
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11/30/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Brought to tonight's table by Dan, visiting from CO. Not sure of the decant time but it drinks well and improves over 2-3 hours at the table. In fact, I would give it a 93 earlier in the night and a 94 at the end. Hence, my score. Pretty typical Oakville notes of lead pencil, darker fruit and smooth integrated tannins, though they are still quite present.
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9/6/2022 - BadOyster wrote: 95 Points
At 8 years old, it’s still quite young, but with bright, crystalline, fresh red and dark berries, a smidge of spice, some red licorice, great mouthwatering acidity, and very fine tannins. If I had the willpower, I would have waited until it was 10.
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3/20/2021 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 93 Points
Unfortunately didn’t get to decant ahead of time. Splash decant and drank over an hour. While 2014s are drinking well now this wine needed a bit of time before it opened up. Nice wine that held its own with a couple of Bordeaux standouts but still could use another 1-2 years to hit its prime.
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1/30/2020 - citizen1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Needed about 45 minutes to open. Luscious - almost viscous. Will let the rest sit for a while.
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10/18/2018 - LiteItOnFire wrote: 94 Points
No notes.
Drank after 27 wine tasting at Vinum55. Of the 27 wines, only two stood out, 2013 Ulysses and Plumjack Merlot. Didn’t pull the trigger on either but they were enjoyable.
After the tasting pulled out Helen Keplinger’s first Cabernet under her own label (2014 Oakville) and 2010 Smith Haut Lafitte). All three of us immediately commented on how good these wines are in comparison to what we just tasted. Wine snobs? Yep but who doesn’t like the pretty things?
Ok- this is awesome. Damn My allocation. Makes me feel inadequate for not being enough of a man to figure out how to buy a case. How I can ever look at my family again is beyond me. Soft voluptuous wonderful mouth feel. Ready to drink right now. A gem and only 3 left. Need, no Have to get in on the 2015s. 94-95. Drink now.
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