Last one of these. Definitely starting to show some age but definitely needs the time. Most of the palate is roasted figs and aged blackberry. It definitely improved with about 30 minutes of air. At first, the nose was a little bit brambly and nitrogenous. But, that quickly faded with some air. Medium+ density wine. Very good balance, and finished with resolved tannin, a little bit of black pepper. At first, it seemed as though the best years of this wine are behind it, but was still extremely enjoyable nevertheless. Went better with saltine crackers that kind of helped wake it up a little bit versus all by itself where it was a little bit tart. But then, 2 hours later, this one blossomed into a well-aged brambly black cherry and fig pie monster. So, if you open this one up, give it time. This still has plenty left.
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This is on its way down. I will tell you after 30 minutes there was a lot more life here. Blackberry, saddle leather and smoke with some ash is the backbone. Still some food black pepper on the finish. This one is a little more varied vs the last bottle which seemed to have a bit more fruit.
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Okay, so this one has probably lost about 40% of its mojo. I would call this one on the decline. But you could definitely tell what this one used to be. I'm not so sure it was ever a black fruited 'napacab' that seems to be so popular these days. But definitely red and black cherry fruit used to abound, and really sort of did today after about 1 and 1/2 hours of decant time. The nose makes this one seem more youthful than it is on the palate. But on the palate, this one is showing a little bit of raisin. It still has a moderate bit of that red fruit and black cherry, but there is a fair amount of tart, and the finish of this one is a little bit flat.....Short. Fruit has lost its punch. I have a couple of these so I definitely feel there is probably some bottle variation with the others. If you're holding on to these, I would open them now because it is not at peak anymore.
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Excellent cabernet. Had shown very poorly at the winery over the last couple of years (closed, off flavors). Now has opened up into a wine full of ripe cherries and cassis. Good balance and length. Will last a couple more years with no problem.
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If I had more, I'd wait and hope; this wine showed quite poorly in a blind tasting of 9 '04 Napa Valley cabs -- but, tellingly, the winner was a ringer, an '00 Stags Leap; this is not drinking well right now -- smells like asparagus, is disjointed and out-of-focus, and has little structure
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10/18/2021 - mflesh wrote:
Last one of these. Definitely starting to show some age but definitely needs the time. Most of the palate is roasted figs and aged blackberry. It definitely improved with about 30 minutes of air. At first, the nose was a little bit brambly and nitrogenous. But, that quickly faded with some air. Medium+ density wine. Very good balance, and finished with resolved tannin, a little bit of black pepper. At first, it seemed as though the best years of this wine are behind it, but was still extremely enjoyable nevertheless. Went better with saltine crackers that kind of helped wake it up a little bit versus all by itself where it was a little bit tart. But then, 2 hours later, this one blossomed into a well-aged brambly black cherry and fig pie monster. So, if you open this one up, give it time. This still has plenty left.
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3/31/2021 - mflesh wrote:
This is on its way down. I will tell you after 30 minutes there was a lot more life here. Blackberry, saddle leather and smoke with some ash is the backbone. Still some food black pepper on the finish. This one is a little more varied vs the last bottle which seemed to have a bit more fruit.
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12/10/2020 - mflesh wrote:
Okay, so this one has probably lost about 40% of its mojo. I would call this one on the decline. But you could definitely tell what this one used to be. I'm not so sure it was ever a black fruited 'napacab' that seems to be so popular these days. But definitely red and black cherry fruit used to abound, and really sort of did today after about 1 and 1/2 hours of decant time. The nose makes this one seem more youthful than it is on the palate. But on the palate, this one is showing a little bit of raisin. It still has a moderate bit of that red fruit and black cherry, but there is a fair amount of tart, and the finish of this one is a little bit flat.....Short. Fruit has lost its punch. I have a couple of these so I definitely feel there is probably some bottle variation with the others. If you're holding on to these, I would open them now because it is not at peak anymore.
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8/4/2018 - MKHarris1 Likes this wine:
Needs to be drunk, fading.
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8/29/2011 - JOEABR wrote: 92 Points
Drinking well now. Great texture and mouthfeel, full with cassis and dark fruits. Oak integrated well. Should hold up well for another 10 years.
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9/11/2010 - pdadams66 wrote: 89 Points
Drinking very well.
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7/3/2010 - pdadams66 wrote: 89 Points
Excellent cabernet. Had shown very poorly at the winery over the last couple of years (closed, off flavors). Now has opened up into a wine full of ripe cherries and cassis. Good balance and length. Will last a couple more years with no problem.
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4/6/2008 - ctbob wrote: 79 Points
If I had more, I'd wait and hope; this wine showed quite poorly in a blind tasting of 9 '04 Napa Valley cabs -- but, tellingly, the winner was a ringer, an '00 Stags Leap; this is not drinking well right now -- smells like asparagus, is disjointed and out-of-focus, and has little structure
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12/17/2007 - Maz wrote: 91 Points
I really enjoyed this wine. Great fruit. Good tannins. Long finish. Should continue to improve.
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