Cassis on the nose and on the palate. Ripe dark fruits in the middle. The finish has blackberry and dark chocolate.The tannins are still young and there is acidity that makes me think it could get better in a few years.
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The smell is the first thing we noticed, upon tasting it is full bodied and lighter on tannins. Notes of berries. We enjoyed it with steak and rice, it didn't go as well with bread and garlic butter we had.
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Not as good as I recalled, but may have been the result of not giving this a little mote time to open up. Initially tight and angular. Still nice fruit and good QPR. Agree with other notes that this needs a good 45 minute decant.
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Enjoyed at a local steakhouse. One of the more reasonably priced regulars on the wine list. Still has some sharp edges and needs some time in bottle to show its best.
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Just an overall crowd pleaser. Well balanced with nice acidity, good legs and will cover 95% of your dinner crowd. Very balanced that can hold up on its own or accompany a nice meaty dish. A good 60-90min decant will help it immensley.
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First time trying the ‘19 vintage and it didn’t disappoint. Steakhouse with a large group and I was trying not to break the bank of the host so this was a good option (still 4x retail but it’s all relative). Opened nicely with a menu decant. Dark color, rich fruit, velvety texture, all in balance and a real crowd pleaser. We went through 5 bottles and all were consistent. This remains a great restaurant or travel buy.
Decanted for an hour or so ahead of roast prime rib dinner. Still quite young but paired well with the beef and side dishes. I’d lay this down a couple of more years.
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Popped and wrote this about 40 minutes after. Aromas of lead pencil, blackberry, currant, cherry and lavender. Flavors of melted chocolate. blackberry, cherry, currant and a hint of iron. Ends with a nice 30+ second finish with blackberry and mocha notes. A very nice Cab for $30. Price has gone up to $50 and expect a little more at that point.
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Year after year, this wine delivers. Good balance of intensity, fruit, and acidity. I think this one would benefit another year in bottle if you can wait.
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Delicious. Mid to full body. Still quite tannic and running a tad hot, but within a few hours the fruits shine through. Could run with the big boys in a few years. Excellent QPR.
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Delicious wine - albeit young. Lovely nose with some swirling and time open. Cherry, blackberry, herbs and some asphalt / tar on the finish. Plus lots of fine-grained tannins. Paired beautifully with the 28-day, dry-aged porterhouse steak, cooked with melted butter on top. Will be even better with some bottle age.
A 375 ml purchase from the wine list of Empire Steak House in NYC (recommended). $60 price for 375 ml. ($120 for the 750 ml full bottle). With April.
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Medium bodied. Deep Ruby color. Good structure with firm tannins. Needs about 30 minutes to open up. Red fruit with plum and vanilla. Drinkable now but will be better with a bit more time. Excellent QPR.
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A pretty mellow cab, to me this leans more like a hearty merlot with the lower tannins and some barrel sweet notes, really only getting dark fruit notes from this which accentuates the juicy drinkable aspeects
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Very dark purple color indicative of a lot of pulp. Pleasant floral scent to the nose. Cherry and berry on the palate and a long finish. This is a fairly balanced wine with low to medium acidity, medium tannins but with a bit more alcohol on the backend than expected.
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Nothing like the 2018 at all. At first this opened up with a BBQ note that changed over to a pyrazine after a 60 min decant. Slight Jammie flavor of just a hint of blackberry. Body was medium-medium plus with medium tannins. A lot of this wine was still hidden.
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Very nice wine. We had this in Galveston at a restaurant called BLVd. nice place. Reasonable prices on wine list. Food is very good. The wine is has a bit of hotness on the initial taste. Chalk and tannin to follow Slightly jammy with cherry, currant and slate. This wine has years ahead of it. Good value at restaurant for $48.
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Love this wine. Excellence at a very affordable price point. Needs 60+ minutes of decanting, after which you’re rewarded on both nose and palate. Nose of star jasmine, crushed rock/mineral, a moderate blend of blueberry and raspberry, and lingering cedar. Dark fruits cover the palate, with a more-powerful but balanced cedar and mineral coming through, and just a touch of a most-pleasant asphalt/tar on the long finish. A steak wine if there ever was one. Highly recommended.
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PNP. Deep dark electric magenta color. Brownie, blackberry, black cherry, and subtle nutmeg on the nose. Smooth, dry palate. Firm, full, lower intensity tannins on the medium long+ finish. Awesome QPR here.
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This is my every day drinking wine and it's getting better! Give it some time to open because it is so good now, it needs to open. The nose is candy store and oaky. It's got a dark red to purple hue and it's a baby that opens nicely. The palate is full of blackberry, blueberry, earthiness, mocha, and licorice like notes on the palate with a lot of chewy tannins, oak, and good amount of acid to accompany steak or Italian food. It's delicious with a capital F and an amazing table wine that would stand its own against wines that cost a lot more. For the QPR, it is a standout
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PNP. Deep dark magenta color. Vanilla frosting, blackberry, blueberry, and subtle smoky cedar on the nose. Some cocoa notes crept in over an hour of drinking. Smooth, dry palate, with velvety acidity. Very firm tannins on the longish finish. Such a reliable easy drinker.
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Inadvertantly opened up a ‘19 when I intended to open up a 2018. After 45 minutes in the decanter the nose is concentrated fruit juice. This initially continued onto the palate but as the wine opened it began to dissipate, along with early off-putting green notes.
Dry leather, earth/clay dominate after an hour, but this really needs more time. I’ll give it a 90 for now, but that’s a guess given the dramatic changes since opening. Look forward to revisiting the gassed-off half bottle that remains i the coming day or three.
Update: 3 hrs after decanting the fruit remains deep in the background behind the leather/earth.
5/10/2024 - jocelyng Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cassis on the nose and on the palate. Ripe dark fruits in the middle. The finish has blackberry and dark chocolate.The tannins are still young and there is acidity that makes me think it could get better in a few years.
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4/8/2024 - LizAllen Likes this wine: 83 Points
The smell is the first thing we noticed, upon tasting it is full bodied and lighter on tannins. Notes of berries. We enjoyed it with steak and rice, it didn't go as well with bread and garlic butter we had.
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3/28/2024 - Robwild wrote: 90 Points
Not as good as I recalled, but may have been the result of not giving this a little mote time to open up. Initially tight and angular. Still nice fruit and good QPR. Agree with other notes that this needs a good 45 minute decant.
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3/19/2024 - Vailman Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoyed at a local steakhouse. One of the more reasonably priced regulars on the wine list. Still has some sharp edges and needs some time in bottle to show its best.
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2/24/2024 - JRoman23 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Just an overall crowd pleaser. Well balanced with nice acidity, good legs and will cover 95% of your dinner crowd. Very balanced that can hold up on its own or accompany a nice meaty dish. A good 60-90min decant will help it immensley.
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1/29/2024 - swade wrote:
Steak house staple. At a steak house. Very approachable with velvety cassis and blackberry flavors. Went great with top grade Waygu. 92
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1/16/2024 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 92 Points
First time trying the ‘19 vintage and it didn’t disappoint. Steakhouse with a large group and I was trying not to break the bank of the host so this was a good option (still 4x retail but it’s all relative).
Opened nicely with a menu decant. Dark color, rich fruit, velvety texture, all in balance and a real crowd pleaser.
We went through 5 bottles and all were consistent. This remains a great restaurant or travel buy.
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12/25/2023 - Canoehead Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour or so ahead of roast prime rib dinner. Still quite young but paired well with the beef and side dishes. I’d lay this down a couple of more years.
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12/11/2023 - Arrow of Time Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wife loves this, order three more.
Cherry, black fruits, a bit of leather and baking spice. Ample structure, medium finish. Would describe as rich and between velvety and silk.
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10/21/2023 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and wrote this about 40 minutes after. Aromas of lead pencil, blackberry, currant, cherry and lavender. Flavors of melted chocolate. blackberry, cherry, currant and a hint of iron. Ends with a nice 30+ second finish with blackberry and mocha notes. A very nice Cab for $30. Price has gone up to $50 and expect a little more at that point.
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10/12/2023 - wineotim Likes this wine: 91 Points
Year after year, this wine delivers. Good balance of intensity, fruit, and acidity. I think this one would benefit another year in bottle if you can wait.
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9/29/2023 - Vino Loco Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicious. Mid to full body. Still quite tannic and running a tad hot, but within a few hours the fruits shine through. Could run with the big boys in a few years. Excellent QPR.
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9/7/2023 - Robwild Likes this wine: 91 Points
A well rounded fruit forward Cab at an very good QPR. Blackberries, plums, cherries and oak. Not complex but balanced tannins with good structure
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8/1/2023 - JT4 Likes this wine:
Excellent Napa Valley cab
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8/1/2023 - vacpl Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent find at ruth's chris. Great with the steak.
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7/31/2023 - TashNYC wrote: 92 Points
Delicious wine - albeit young. Lovely nose with some swirling and time open. Cherry, blackberry, herbs and some asphalt / tar on the finish. Plus lots of fine-grained tannins. Paired beautifully with the 28-day, dry-aged porterhouse steak, cooked with melted butter on top. Will be even better with some bottle age.
A 375 ml purchase from the wine list of Empire Steak House in NYC (recommended). $60 price for 375 ml. ($120 for the 750 ml full bottle). With April.
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6/28/2023 - Robwild Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium bodied. Deep Ruby color. Good structure with firm tannins. Needs about 30 minutes to open up. Red fruit with plum and vanilla. Drinkable now but will be better with a bit more time. Excellent QPR.
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6/25/2023 - dpodratsky3 Likes this wine: 89 Points
A pretty mellow cab, to me this leans more like a hearty merlot with the lower tannins and some barrel sweet notes, really only getting dark fruit notes from this which accentuates the juicy drinkable aspeects
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6/6/2023 - Frank_A_M wrote: 91 Points
Very dark purple color indicative of a lot of pulp. Pleasant floral scent to the nose. Cherry and berry on the palate and a long finish. This is a fairly balanced wine with low to medium acidity, medium tannins but with a bit more alcohol on the backend than expected.
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5/21/2023 - prccap Likes this wine: 88 Points
Nothing like the 2018 at all. At first this opened up with a BBQ note that changed over to a pyrazine after a 60 min decant. Slight Jammie flavor of just a hint of blackberry. Body was medium-medium plus with medium tannins. A lot of this wine was still hidden.
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2/11/2023 - 2 Utes Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very nice wine. We had this in Galveston at a restaurant called BLVd. nice place. Reasonable prices on wine list. Food is very good. The wine is has a bit of hotness on the initial taste. Chalk and tannin to follow Slightly jammy with cherry, currant and slate. This wine has years ahead of it. Good value at restaurant for $48.
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1/21/2023 - WinoWatt wrote:
Coravin Davidson tasting party
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1/2/2023 - ToddR911 wrote: 93 Points
Really like this cab. Deep red. Intense blackberry and cherry. Smooth finish.
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12/27/2022 - DuckfaninMT Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love this wine. Excellence at a very affordable price point. Needs 60+ minutes of decanting, after which you’re rewarded on both nose and palate. Nose of star jasmine, crushed rock/mineral, a moderate blend of blueberry and raspberry, and lingering cedar. Dark fruits cover the palate, with a more-powerful but balanced cedar and mineral coming through, and just a touch of a most-pleasant asphalt/tar on the long finish. A steak wine if there ever was one. Highly recommended.
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11/24/2022 - ayerscb Likes this wine:
Great Cab. Very comparable to Leviathan or Hall, or that $45 price point for a Napa Cab.
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10/19/2022 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 93 Points
PNP. Deep dark electric magenta color. Brownie, blackberry, black cherry, and subtle nutmeg on the nose. Smooth, dry palate. Firm, full, lower intensity tannins on the medium long+ finish. Awesome QPR here.
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10/4/2022 - aerosol Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is my every day drinking wine and it's getting better! Give it some time to open because it is so good now, it needs to open. The nose is candy store and oaky. It's got a dark red to purple hue and it's a baby that opens nicely. The palate is full of blackberry, blueberry, earthiness, mocha, and licorice like notes on the palate with a lot of chewy tannins, oak, and good amount of acid to accompany steak or Italian food. It's delicious with a capital F and an amazing table wine that would stand its own against wines that cost a lot more. For the QPR, it is a standout
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8/21/2022 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 93 Points
PNP. Deep dark magenta color. Vanilla frosting, blackberry, blueberry, and subtle smoky cedar on the nose. Some cocoa notes crept in over an hour of drinking. Smooth, dry palate, with velvety acidity. Very firm tannins on the longish finish. Such a reliable easy drinker.
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5/27/2022 - blinkingdog Likes this wine: 88 Points
The hints of dark fruit, earth and baking spice were there. Needs age.
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5/4/2022 - WineytheP00h Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great cabernet. Not positive if it is from the Hess family, but it certainly tastes like it. Medium tannins, full of flavor.
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1/13/2022 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 90 Points
Inadvertantly opened up a ‘19 when I intended to open up a 2018. After 45 minutes in the decanter the nose is concentrated fruit juice. This initially continued onto the palate but as the wine opened it began to dissipate, along with early off-putting green notes.
Dry leather, earth/clay dominate after an hour, but this really needs more time. I’ll give it a 90 for now, but that’s a guess given the dramatic changes since opening. Look forward to revisiting the gassed-off half bottle that remains i the coming day or three.
Update: 3 hrs after decanting the fruit remains deep in the background behind the leather/earth.
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