Community Tasting Notes (45) Avg Score: 91.9 points

  • An absolutely stunning bottle. Right away, a deep, deep nose of red fruit, truffle, leather and umami. Just as vibrant on the palate, with hints of cooked mushroom joining mixed red berries. One of those wines I could just sit and smell.

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  • Drank on 28th anniversary. Double decanted. Absolutely delightful. Powerful ephemeral whiff of red fruits on opening. Touch of tobacco. Held up over the evening.

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  • Quick decant for sediment, then back into the bottle and open for an hour before dinner. Red fruit, earth, mushroom and leather on the nose. Slightly more tired than the last bottle, which was from a prior purchase, this was nonetheless a great example of aged Napa cab. I saved about half a glass and vacuum sealed overnight; it was still holding up on day 2, but was definitely better on day 1.

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  • Conn Valley Vineyards at its greatest -- the early nineties. No fuss, marketing or cigar swirling machismo. Gus and Phyllis on their back porch overlooking the vineyards. Pure expression of cabernet -- subtle fruit, earth tones, round and balanced in the mouth. A pleasing finish meant to accompany food and conversation. My last bottle...

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  • Very dark red/purple color. Drank a small glass over an hour. Double decanted for 30 minutes and 90 minutes slow-O. Drank in a flight with a ’93 Dunn Napa and a ’93 Anderson’s Conn Valley Estate. Boy this really drinks young too. Dense and full bodied, cassis, blackberry, supple mountain fruit, satiny texture so smooth and with great balance. I would love to check in on this every 3 to 5 years for the next decade. 93+pts.

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  • Decanted 30 minutes and then open another 90 minutes at the restaurant. This was outstanding, besting (in my opinion) a 1993 Dunn NV. Beautiful red fruit on the nose and palate, with plenty of depth and nuance. 94+

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  • Another great showing for this 25 years old California Cab!

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  • A gorgeous mature California Cab example!

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  • Okay, the results from the previous night were sufficiently confusing that a decision was made to test the bottle again. Coravin'd one glass @ 8:00, a slight PnP and tested over three hours or so.
    I think it reached a peak around 90 minutes of decanting, On that point it had great taste on palate, lots of earthy notes that did not overdominate the palate, and kept space for the fruit. That said, it did not hold as strong and as long into the third hour+. I agree with other tasters that the nose is certainly evolved, and so are secondary notes. But, imho it is somewhat in a decline stage.

    Summary: At 90 minutes or so 91+.
    It is possible that it is a bottle variation (especially after two decades in a bottle). If you have a bottle that you've personally stored since release and can 'trust' I would say it's worth checking. My second bottle though I know its previous storage conditions was not stored by us all the years.

    (Coravin, ~1 glass to share. To date, ~2 glasses from the bottle)

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  • It was nice, but it did not reach the bar set by the Corra '04. I should have looked into the previous notes I wrote" The nose was more balance (notably) the second night. Indeed the following morning the nose was much better. The finish was bitter compared with ACV '90, and compared with the Corra '04 (abit on the stronger bitter side, imho). Now that I had a chance to revisit it twice a year apart, I would say-- it needs more decanting, but I do not think it would need more time , aka- I am not certain it would improve with additional time. I would still recommend it , but I would suggest finishing them (maybe over the peak). It is somewhat surprising (As the '90 still feels like it has some time ahead)
    ~90

    (From coravin, ~1 glass shared)

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  • We drank this one over two nights in comparison to the '90 ACV. The nose was more balance (notably) the second night. My surprise is that the '93 ACV did not perform as well as the '90 one (given the recent reviews). Detailed notes will follow (overall on second night we ranked it at ~90-91 and the '90 at 91-92). IMHO, still needs something (time/decanting, or both). Recommended but I'd open an older vintage first

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  • Fairly evolved on the nose, secondary notes suggesting age and perhaps the early stages of decline. Thankfully, that's not the case. On the palate, very much alive, if fully resolved. A bit of minerals / Dentyne highlight the flavor profile and give the wine an unusual complexity. Great balance between fruit and acidity. Tannins have faded to a large degree, though some fine / faint expression is still present. Long finish.

    I've had this a number of times before, and while I liked it, I didn't love it to this degree. Another example of "right bottle, right time".

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  • The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle. It smells like red currant. It tastes like red currant and black currant (cassis). The body is medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.

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  • BORDEAUX LIKE NOSE WITH LEATHER, EARTHINESS, AND BLACKERRIES. FLAVOR LIKE THE NOSE WITH A MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH.

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  • Sadly, a little bit corked so 1-2 pts down because of this, but otherwise a gorgeous aged California Cab.

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  • Part of an old cab tasting with quite a few from this period. Stood out. Nicely aged. No alarm bells ringing, but now is a great time to drink.

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  • Pop/pour. Initially very funky on the nose....e.g. earthy and musty as another recent reviewer noted. Becomes more balanced and alluring with time in the glass, adding notes of leather and sweet spices. On the palate, it is the leather note that strikes me along with balanced sweetness and a bit of pencil lead. For me, there's still a relatively prominent tannic influence on the finish.

    I would like to think that the tannins and acidity that remain would provide structure for further aging, but worry a bit that the fruit, which good now, may tail off. Two bottles left for me. Might save one for a longer term experiment, and drink the other one relatively soon given tonight's performance. Strong auction QPR at $38.

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  • - Brick color. It's somewhat balanced with a medium body. Narrow texture with a medium finish - Dark garnet with a thin clear edge; very earthy/musty

    (ie French smelling funk...yumm), notes of tobacco, cassis, pencil shavings, and almost a slight hint of floral smell. Still a touch of tannins on the mid pallet. I would've expected that to be gone by now. Very nice wine. It started off a bit harsh and acidic; however paired with a peppercorn and espresso encrusted filet mignon, the balance was perfect. The after dinner with about two hours of decanting the wine has really opened up. This is a beautiful wine, it just took a while. I'd suspect that its near the end of its life, but based on the balance its carrying right now you may be able to sneak another year or so out of it.

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  • Clear garnet in colour. Clean nose of cassis, floral, and earth. Dry, med acidity, med body, smooth tannin, on palate cassis, mushroom, and floral. Not a long finish. This wine is definitely reaching the end of its life. Drinking well, but needed some time in decanter to open up. If you have this, drink it up.

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  • Elegant, delicious dark cherry, tobacco, earth and cassis. Smooth, drinking beautifully. Old world style.

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  • this followed a 2007 long shadows feather cabernet, and had about an hour of air on it, tremendous.

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  • Wow bordeaux-esque. Probably wouldnt have the longevity but damn good. Earthy and funky.

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  • Very dark hue. Clear rim. Beautiful nose of dark fruit and oak. Soft, nicely resolved tannins. Incredibly smooth. Complex, opening slowly in the glass after a few hours. Long finish. Still not fully mature.

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  • Le vin titre 13%. Robe très foncée pour un vin de 18 ans. Superbe nez sur des notes de cèdre, petits fruits rouges, framboises bleues, vanille et sous-bois plus en retrait. En bouche, c'est parfaitement intégré et la texture est incroyable. Finale très intéressante et de belle longueur. Le vin a encore beaucoup de coffre en bouche et pourrait être gardé encore quelques années sans problème. Splendide bouteille! Dommage que ce domaine ne soit pas importé au Québec.

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  • No detailed notes, but....this is drinking very well with a nice degree of secondary character starting to develop. Best after an hour decant.

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  • This bottle was definitely on the back nine. After decanting an hour, in an attempt to coax some life out of it, the red fruits showed themselves a bit. No tannins to speak of, I don't think you'll get anything more out of this one

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  • Very nice dark fruit, with a hint of tobacco and earth. Very much alive and vibrant. Nice structure and balance.

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  • Dark. Elegant, with reduced tannins. Had with leg of lamb at Tom & Wendy's. Wine was birthday gift from Mom and Dad many years ago.

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  • Garagiste Test Drive; 4/3/2009-4/5/2009 (Minnesota): Cedar and tobacco on the nose. Drinks younger than I expected. Still quite tannic / tight on the finish.

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  • Beaucastel Vertical 81-01 (Gurnee IL, Jordan's house): nose: great classic cab nose filled with cedar, red currants, dark red cherries, bits of walnuts, cassis and tart cranberry notes. Very rich, but balanced nose that is in a perfect place at this time

    taste: wonderful rich and full bodied feel with tannins that are still kicking. Great tones of cedar, dark red cherries, cranberries, and cassis work well with each other

    overall: this was at the end of a long and great night, so my notes aren't completely all there. That said, this was a great showing of an aged anderson conn before it started getting the points and accolades

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  • Complex, medium-full aromatics are reminiscent of left bank Bordeaux --- minerals, tar, cigar box, tobacco leaf with red currants in the background. Medium bodied and bright on the palate with acidity providing freshness and lift. Tannins appear fully resolved. Nicely complex. Medium-length finish has more minerals and tar. I'd drink now - seems to be in the late stages of peak drinking.

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  • nose: beautiful and subtle aromatics of rasbperries, dark red cherries, cassis, tobbacco tones, and earth tones. Well perfumed and balanced nose

    taste: beautiful fine grained tannins with dark red cherries, tobbacco, cassis, earth tones, bits of lavender, and cedar tones

    overall: Wonderful balance with medium body with good medium acidity. Smooth and elegant with a polished dark red cherry attack and cedar finish.

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  • Elegant, delicious dark cherry, coffee and earth flavors. Soft, fine tannins, excellent structure. This could be mistaken for a bordeaux.

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  • Amazing. Even after all this time the immediate nose was full of fruit.

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  • Very deep crimson/purple color. Nose shows lots of deep black fruits and cedar. The palate is remarkably young, with more black currant, cedar and a hint of leather. Still plenty of youthful structure. Not much secondary development yet, and I would never have guessed this to be a nearly 15 yr. old wine. This is drinking well now, but I would suggest holding a few more years to see what happens.

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  • Finally opened up to show sweet fruit, but still lots of oak or tannin. Best bottle of the case, but not as good as hoped.

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  • Ready for prime time, but not a big rush. Drink next bottles over next few years.
    Pleasant fruit. 15 minutes in decanter made a difference, little austere right out of the bottle.
    Tannins very subdued.

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  • Pauillac & St Julien (Chicago): Sweet red currants, tobacco and cedar on the intriguing nose. There's still tons of layered fruit on the palate, relaxed and very supple, though still showing some tannins that could continue to integrate and develop with time. Long finish of pencil lead. This was delicious, with denser fruit on the palate than the Bordeaux, but otherwise quite similar. I am a huge fan of this winery.

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  • Chicago Wine Geeks - Pauillac and St. Julien Tasting (Chicago, IL): Dark ruby with effusive and layered aromatics. Black currants, earth, cedar and pencil lead. Palate is richly concentrated with a flavor profile that echoes the nose. Purity of fruits highlights the pedigree here. Poised with integrated tannins and acidic edge that provides persistence and lift to the fruits. Full-flavored finish of cedar, smoke and herbs. Excellent. 4+13+18+8=93

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  • Great inviting nose... very "classic" tobacco and cedar with some red fruit notes underneath. A bit more definded than the last bottle.. still showing some middle-age bricking. Complete mouth-feel from front to back with the dustyness showing here. Still ample tannin and some fruit but secondary flavors well developed of spice (cinnamon??), leather, and cedar. Just peeked.. and again I thought Rutherford drinking this wine. Note to ask Gus or another Anderson their thoughts on this. A great drink.. and will still be in no hurry and my remaining bottles. Very solid Cali Cab worth agining.. question is will any of these bottles live until they're 20 years old in my cellar :D

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  • Deep garnet with mild bricking at the edges. Rhubarb? on the nose with some cherry notes. More dominated by tobacco/cedar and dustiness. Smooth mouthfeel throughout the palate, with slight tannins on the finish. Mostly resolved. Very Bordeaux-like (would like to see this in a blind tasting..). Dusty(if I knew Cali cab, would say Rutherford) with mild but good acids, low alcohol, and very nicely developed secondary flavors on the earthier side. Most (in fact, almost all) of the primary fruit is gone. A very wonderful drink, but not for those looking for Cali-fruit bombs. 8 more bottles, and will drink them at a leisurely pace.

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  • Wow, what flavor. Great coffee and current flavor with a long smooth finish. Tannins are smooth and fading. This is why I buy and hold young estate reserves. An outstanding wine. I only wish I had more.

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  • This wine has begun to show it's age, time to drink everyone.

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  • 8/99: Color not dense/dark, but solid. Nose wonderful, lush, yet a bit hot. Was robust, tannic, yet accessible. Not ready, but well balanced, and drinking well now. Very good!!
    /01: had bottle, was not so impressive.
    3/03: Liked this much more. Now mature, but classic CS nose, varietal taste. Not our best Ca, but very good.

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  • tried to drink Xmas eve 2002 with xxx. One hour of decanting did not help - manure smell, little fruit. Let it sit in the cellar

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