This wine is abhorrent. Paint thinner, nail polish. After I threw it out, I opened up an $8 supermarket wine and it tasted like a Petrus in comparison. I gave it one single point for still being red in color.
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I was the last person to review this wine ~two years ago and it has continued to worsen I think, a disappointment. The color is fading into a medium dark crimson which is not bad at this stage, but the whole experience goes downhill from there. Stewed fruits, very high on the sweet fruit quotient with very little else to back it up here, and a misplaced beam of acidity that is immediately detectable on the nose highlights to me very clearly that this wine is way past its peak. For the price point and it being a Fred Schrader effort, I am surprised at how poorly it has fared. Fifteen years of bottle age is not that much, this is just simply not a well made wine. Supermarket quality.
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Even though this bottle was perfectly stored from the moment I bought it, the wine still displayed some "wobbly" elements causing me to think it is just not that well made. Still has a nice color in the glass, but right away the nose tells you it's on its last legs. The overriding initial nose was glycerine with some petrol notes - completely out of place here. Down the spectrum were some stewed fruits and tannins that scarcely registered. Finish was medium, and admittedly the wine improved slightly as the night wore on, though I never considered giving it, say, 90 points. This wine is definitely not worth aging any longer, which is ok - after all it is 13 years old, but just realize this is not an elite Schrader effort.
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The simplicity of the is all you notice. Its jam like with some real bright red fruits, high acidity and resolved tannins, but the acidity rides it so high its almost un-drinkable. I have had cabs from Amber Knolls before and can honestly tell you I hate them all. The Mayacamas bottling is much better, even in a bad (2003) vintage.
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This bottle did not impress. I don't know if it is just some bottle variation, the plastic corks kicking in, or my mind set. Rather single note with some tart cherries on the finish.
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Cherry, plum and a touch of red licorice on the nose. The palate follows through with those flavors and adds a bit of pepper and some tart tanins on the finish.
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This wine is drinking very well right now- jammy, fruit-forward, lots of crushed raspberry and strawberry. The menthol taste that dominated previous bottles is largely gone. I think the key to this wine is to double-decant it about two hours before serving. The perfect steak / bbq wine.
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Medium cranberry red color. Aromas of medium light red berries. Lighter aromas than expected. Cinnamon, menthol, light red flowers and light white pepper also on the nose. Palate is much lighter than expected like the nose and the finish is un Cab-like. Though somewhat shorter than expected, the finish didn't completely dissapear, it just was compltely void of tannin strcuture. Moderate acidity, moderate low tannins, moderate acidity. Kinda dissapointing being from Schrader, but at 30 bucks I guess it isn't a terrible buy. Still wished it were a 90 pointer.
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I loved this BIG California Cab, so much so, that when I read the other t/n's I thought I had a different bottle of wine! This heavily- extracted yummy wine had loads of fruit upfront, jammy and was fun to drink. We had this dense wine with steak; was a great match. I love mountain-grown fruit, especially when you have both the taste and nose of berries, cassis,etc. I don't imagine this wine being a great wine at its 10-year mark so I would drink before 2015.
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Still excellent wine for the $$$. Bright berry and currant flavors dominate the palate. Nice tannins along with cocoa notes round out the wine. This has the perfect amount of acidity to mesh well with grilled summer fare (burgers, steak tips, etc.).
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I've had this twice in the past week as well as another time about a month ago. The wine is really settling in nicely and is starting to deliver on the goods. If you read my notes from March you'll see how different the wine is between now and just 2+ months ago. I've never seen a wine change this much in such a short period.
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Decanted for 1 hour. This was really excellent. Bright fruit: currant, blackberry and plum along with mild and velvety tannins. Notes of anise and cocoa powder complemented the finish. Best sub $50 cali cab I've had in quite some time.
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Aromas of toasted oak, minerals and herbs; medium to full body; firm tannins dominate the dark berry fruit flavors; should improve significantly with some bottle age if the tannins mellow and the fruit continues to last.
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Wow....I'm surprised at how not ready this was. Decanted for 5 hours...started the night with a 2003 Whitehall Lane Cab..which was great. Balsamic and toasty. Really needs some time. And they suggested that you wait at least 6 months, I will wait much longer than that.
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No score. NOT EVEN CLOSE TO READY. The insert said "let them rest for 6 months", I'm doing just that. I split the case with another person. Her comments after only having them rest 7 days were "thin and fizzy". I thought she was crazy. I popped one open just to see where things stood and believe it or not, I can understand exactly what she was saying. It's literally like drinking a grape soda and I don't mean that in an overextracted thick kind of way. My suggestion is wait until the fall like the winery suggests.
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11/14/2020 - hrazdiiv Does not like this wine: 71 Points
This wine is abhorrent. Paint thinner, nail polish. After I threw it out, I opened up an $8 supermarket wine and it tasted like a Petrus in comparison. I gave it one single point for still being red in color.
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10/24/2020 - hrazdiiv Does not like this wine: 83 Points
Horrible. Just keeps getting worse. Last review because I am throwing away the rest.
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8/8/2020 - hrazdiiv Does not like this wine: 86 Points
I was the last person to review this wine ~two years ago and it has continued to worsen I think, a disappointment. The color is fading into a medium dark crimson which is not bad at this stage, but the whole experience goes downhill from there. Stewed fruits, very high on the sweet fruit quotient with very little else to back it up here, and a misplaced beam of acidity that is immediately detectable on the nose highlights to me very clearly that this wine is way past its peak. For the price point and it being a Fred Schrader effort, I am surprised at how poorly it has fared. Fifteen years of bottle age is not that much, this is just simply not a well made wine. Supermarket quality.
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6/3/2018 - hrazdiiv wrote: 88 Points
Even though this bottle was perfectly stored from the moment I bought it, the wine still displayed some "wobbly" elements causing me to think it is just not that well made. Still has a nice color in the glass, but right away the nose tells you it's on its last legs. The overriding initial nose was glycerine with some petrol notes - completely out of place here. Down the spectrum were some stewed fruits and tannins that scarcely registered. Finish was medium, and admittedly the wine improved slightly as the night wore on, though I never considered giving it, say, 90 points. This wine is definitely not worth aging any longer, which is ok - after all it is 13 years old, but just realize this is not an elite Schrader effort.
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9/25/2016 - clutj wrote:
A bit sweet
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1/2/2016 - birdiefour wrote: 80 Points
Almost sweet. No tannins. Never would have guessed cabernet sauvignon if tasting blind.
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10/1/2012 - wine65 wrote: 91 Points
Juicy sweet cherries with nice mouthwatering acidity. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in fun!
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12/21/2010 - King Cab wrote:
The simplicity of the is all you notice. Its jam like with some real bright red fruits, high acidity and resolved tannins, but the acidity rides it so high its almost un-drinkable. I have had cabs from Amber Knolls before and can honestly tell you I hate them all. The Mayacamas bottling is much better, even in a bad (2003) vintage.
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12/19/2010 - RMundell Likes this wine: 90 Points
Jam like with dark fruit. Drinking nicely.
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11/26/2010 - Nancy&Chris wrote: 88 Points
very fruity---had over 2 days and remained rather fruity and jammy
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8/1/2010 - stevenp22 wrote: 90 Points
OPened up nicely, age will improve the wine
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4/10/2010 - stevenp22 wrote: 88 Points
Not bad, took a little time to open up.
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1/23/2010 - RMundell wrote: 93 Points
Love this wine dark inky cherry flavor.
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12/25/2009 - RMundell wrote: 92 Points
Excellent deep fruit forward wine.
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11/30/2009 - D.Callahan wrote: 85 Points
This bottle did not impress. I don't know if it is just some bottle variation, the plastic corks kicking in, or my mind set. Rather single note with some tart cherries on the finish.
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10/7/2009 - D.Callahan wrote: 92 Points
Cherry, plum and a touch of red licorice on the nose. The palate follows through with those flavors and adds a bit of pepper and some tart tanins on the finish.
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9/20/2009 - stevenp22 wrote: 89 Points
Needs an hour or so to open up, but after that very nice
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8/14/2009 - joshwoodward wrote: 89 Points
Very nice. Fairly bright and juicy. Drinking very well.
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5/10/2009 - Sticky wrote: 89 Points
Great, GREAT wine for the money, much better than expected.
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4/11/2009 - GZ3 wrote: 86 Points
better than last time, green edge has dissapated.
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3/22/2009 - jehirsch wrote: 89 Points
This wine is drinking very well right now- jammy, fruit-forward, lots of crushed raspberry and strawberry. The menthol taste that dominated previous bottles is largely gone. I think the key to this wine is to double-decant it about two hours before serving. The perfect steak / bbq wine.
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1/17/2009 - beezer6 wrote: 88 Points
Medium cranberry red color.
Aromas of medium light red berries. Lighter aromas than expected.
Cinnamon, menthol, light red flowers and light white pepper also on the nose.
Palate is much lighter than expected like the nose and the finish is un Cab-like.
Though somewhat shorter than expected, the finish didn't completely dissapear, it just was compltely void of tannin strcuture.
Moderate acidity, moderate low tannins, moderate acidity.
Kinda dissapointing being from Schrader, but at 30 bucks I guess it isn't a terrible buy. Still wished it were a 90 pointer.
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9/1/2008 - jnanz wrote: 91 Points
Same as previous.
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8/31/2008 - Roman DeChevalier wrote: 91 Points
I loved this BIG California Cab, so much so, that when I read the other t/n's I thought I had a different bottle of wine! This heavily- extracted yummy wine had loads of fruit upfront, jammy and was fun to drink. We had this dense wine with steak; was a great match. I love mountain-grown fruit, especially when you have both the taste and nose of berries, cassis,etc. I don't imagine this wine being a great wine at its 10-year mark so I would drink before 2015.
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8/17/2008 - jnanz wrote: 92 Points
Still excellent wine for the $$$. Bright berry and currant flavors dominate the palate. Nice tannins along with cocoa notes round out the wine. This has the perfect amount of acidity to mesh well with grilled summer fare (burgers, steak tips, etc.).
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8/11/2008 - GZ3 wrote: 86 Points
much improved from last bottle. nice fruit, but a little too acidic and thin. a good $25 cab, but not much more.
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7/27/2008 - NDrulz wrote: 88 Points
Too soon
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6/4/2008 - snipes wrote:
I've had this twice in the past week as well as another time about a month ago. The wine is really settling in nicely and is starting to deliver on the goods. If you read my notes from March you'll see how different the wine is between now and just 2+ months ago. I've never seen a wine change this much in such a short period.
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5/25/2008 - jnanz wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. This was really excellent. Bright fruit: currant, blackberry and plum along with mild and velvety tannins. Notes of anise and cocoa powder complemented the finish. Best sub $50 cali cab I've had in quite some time.
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5/20/2008 - knelsfk wrote: 88 Points
Aromas of toasted oak, minerals and herbs; medium to full body; firm tannins dominate the dark berry fruit flavors; should improve significantly with some bottle age if the tannins mellow and the fruit continues to last.
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4/18/2008 - Lanny21 wrote:
Wow....I'm surprised at how not ready this was. Decanted for 5 hours...started the night with a 2003 Whitehall Lane Cab..which was great. Balsamic and toasty. Really needs some time. And they suggested that you wait at least 6 months, I will wait much longer than that.
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3/22/2008 - snipes wrote:
No score. NOT EVEN CLOSE TO READY. The insert said "let them rest for 6 months", I'm doing just that. I split the case with another person. Her comments after only having them rest 7 days were "thin and fizzy". I thought she was crazy. I popped one open just to see where things stood and believe it or not, I can understand exactly what she was saying. It's literally like drinking a grape soda and I don't mean that in an overextracted thick kind of way. My suggestion is wait until the fall like the winery suggests.
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3/10/2008 - spendergast wrote: 91 Points
Very concentrated fruit with mild tannins, nice smooth finish. Very accessible right now.
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3/9/2008 - GZ3 wrote: 79 Points
Heavy balsamic overtones, both in nose and taste. Perhaps flawed bottle. I'm hoping that is the case.
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10/30/2007 - peternelson wrote: 89 Points
chjronicle: Hot choc. in the nose w/blkberry, med. bod, gd. a’s, lite t’s, gd balanced drinker w/char!
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