P: MF body; RNDISH entry with very NICE, ALMOST SWTISH frt (at least 1 experienced taster noting some heat) met by some astringent pucker which never loses the init frt as it evolves into a LONG, poss still very, VERY slightly puckerish finish with a chocolatey swtness to the dusty tannins. MIGHT still improve a bit through '21 (?), then holding for another 5 yrs easily. 14.9% ABV; My EXC/EXC+. 93 pts & "Cellar Selection" from WE @ $70, 92 RJonWine, 90 WE, & 89 Tanzer.
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N: RIPE berries with notable pyrazines with notes of choc; Intensity lurking
P: Med, poss MF, body; RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by some astringent pucker which QUITE resolves by the very LONG, BALANCED finish with an attractive bitter/swtness to the firming, dusty tannins. For now & through '23 safely, poss making its 20th? 14.9% ABV; My EXC+. 93 pts & "Cellar Selection" from WE @ $70, 92 RJonWine, 90 WE, & 89 Tanzer.
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Unfortunately this was my last bottle. Decanted one hour. Deep color and buttery smooth. The flavor was extraordinary. One of the best wines I've had in a while at any price point.
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Drinking absolutely wonderful. Opened up perfectly at about one hour. Blackberry and a little floral. May still have some time on the shelf but I would ask why? Drink it, you won't be disappointed.
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Not impressed with this at all. Closed at the pop and never evolved, even day two. Not what I have come to expect from a single vineyard wine from Sam Baxter
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Drank subsequent to the Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 at a birthday dinner party. Although very good, it lacked the finesse, smoothness, and elegance displayed by its Stag's Leap counterpart. As expected the Yverdon's Spring Mountain roots reflected a big and still very structured wine. Even with a short decant, it was still a bit tight and never seemed to really open completely. A bit shy it did start to show dark fruits and some earthiness underscored with a slight touch of oak. Solid finish. Recommend a long decant and hearty food. This will develop for another 8-10 years.
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Mercifully, this was the last of the four Terra Valentine bottles I bought in an apparent fit of madness three years ago. In addition to my notes on my last bottle of this exactly one year ago to the day, which basically mirror my experience tonight, I discovered something I missed before. The back label (clearly with no shame) reveals that this $75 cuvee was made with not-even-four-year-old vines. As in, this is the second vintage these vines have ever produced. So I suppose it's no surprise that this wine tastes like overripe, overextracted nondescript fruit crammed into too much new oak for too long---that's exactly what it is. Incredible that they have no problem selling this.
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Color: Still very youthful and dark. Almost black at the center and purplish magenta at the rim.
Nose: Hugely ripe, with thick, dark aromas of blueberry, blackberry, and plum. Smells overripe. Quite a bit of oak as well, with lots of toasty wood, cinnamon spice, sharp dried flowers, and dill notes. Quite a bit of alcohol too, which combined with the character of the fruit makes this smell porty, or even medicinal or liqueur-like. Not getting much of anything in the way of secondary characteristics. Not an encouraging nose.
Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied and coarse.
Palate: Way overoaked. The wood masks the fruit, and most of the palate experience becomes oak and wood-spice, along with a bitterness that I also associate with wood tannin. Combined with the apparent alcohol (14.9% on the label, meaning it might be damn near 16%), this just delivers an assault on the mouth. The finish is Big Red gum and wood chips. There's literally nothing here except alcohol, cinnamon, and wood.
I just cannot understand wine like this. It comes from what seems like a wonderful vineyard on Spring Mountain, meaning it should produce great grapes full of character and ruggedness and brambly fruit, but all I can smell or taste in this wine is alcohol and wood. Even though the nose and alcohol level indicate that it is super-extracted, I can't taste the fruit. That's how oaky and alcoholic it is. You spend $50+ ($75 from the winery) on this bottle, and you can't drink it with food, and you can't drink it on its own---what am I supposed to do with this? If I wanted something that tasted like biting an oak tree, I would buy an 18-year-old bourbon. It would taste better, last longer, and be a better value. If you gave this to me blind and then told me it was a $10 cab from South America or the Central Valley flavored with oak chips, I would believe you. It really pisses me off that I dropped $50 on this joke of a wine. Hopefully my score will help balance the incomprehensible 90+s here.
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Excellent wine from this vintage. Solid aromas of dark fruits and sandalwood, as well as graphite, and an earthiness that almost reminds me of Shiraz. On the palate, the dark fruits are just starting to come through along with pencil shavings and a good amount of spice, although they are carving their way through the tannins which are just barely too heavy, along with good acidity. Some time in the decanter cleaned these up and once the wine started breathing, it blossomed nicely showing its vanilla notes that perfectly integrated with the fruit. Another classically elegant Spring Mountain wine.
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Decanted for about 45 minutes before starting to drink. Floral and cherry notes on the nose. Palate showed baked cherry pie, menthol, with some bitter tannins on the finish. After two hours in the decanter, the bitter tannins subsided and this became smoother with nice length on the finish. This wine matches my preferred flavor profile, so I enjoyed this quite a bit - score may be a point higher than it otherwise should be.
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Decanted 30 min, then enjoyed for two hours. Dark, with maybe a hint of bricking at the edge. Nice dark berries on the nose, lush mouthfeel, taste consistent with aromatics. Medium finish, tannins smooth and well integrated. Seems to have found a nice plateau, but nothing to suggest a lot of incremental development to come.
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Not very impressive when freshly opened (my taste buds said 87-88 rating)... poured a glass and re-corked the bottle. Trying it again the next day, a bit better on the first pour, but it really opened up over the next hour or two... the last glass I feel deserves a 91. Just let her breathe for a while.
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Another solid fruit forward cab from Terra, Full bodied, nice fruit, big feel. Color is deep dark red, black in nature, Nose: strong spice and hints of red berries, Flavors: I get a dark black fruit with plum on the front, midpalate has a light earthiness/woodiness, finish has a good stickiness to it light vanilla, tannins need time to smooth out but I think this cab has good structure to age. Low 90s for now with potential to improve with time.
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11/1/2020 - chuckos77 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still drinking well although may be starting to show its age. Drink up
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6/28/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Friday Tasting Group: "Killer Bar" (#03 for me): "New World" Theme (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): N: Earth with just a BIT of dirty diaper; Intensity lurking
P: MF body; RNDISH entry with very NICE, ALMOST SWTISH frt (at least 1 experienced taster noting some heat) met by some astringent pucker which never loses the init frt as it evolves into a LONG, poss still very, VERY slightly puckerish finish with a chocolatey swtness to the dusty tannins. MIGHT still improve a bit through '21 (?), then holding for another 5 yrs easily. 14.9% ABV; My EXC/EXC+. 93 pts & "Cellar Selection" from WE @ $70, 92 RJonWine, 90 WE, & 89 Tanzer.
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6/1/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [2 Rosés, 2 Whts, & 8 Reds] from 05/31/19 + 4 Shared Bottles (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Dan, THANK you for sharing this SENSATIONAL mountain C.S.! :)
N: RIPE berries with notable pyrazines with notes of choc; Intensity lurking
P: Med, poss MF, body; RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by some astringent pucker which QUITE resolves by the very LONG, BALANCED finish with an attractive bitter/swtness to the firming, dusty tannins. For now & through '23 safely, poss making its 20th? 14.9% ABV; My EXC+. 93 pts & "Cellar Selection" from WE @ $70, 92 RJonWine, 90 WE, & 89 Tanzer.
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7/4/2018 - soneill104 wrote: 91 Points
Outstanding and holding up even 13 years later. Wish I had more
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12/31/2017 - kiawah1 wrote: 94 Points
Unfortunately this was my last bottle. Decanted one hour. Deep color and buttery smooth. The flavor was extraordinary. One of the best wines I've had in a while at any price point.
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12/7/2016 - dines wrote: 93 Points
Opened up perfectly after about 30 minutes. Drinking beautifully right now.
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11/8/2015 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 93 Points
Yes , yes and yes. Finally. Totally open and vibrant. Great deep red fruit...Complex an maturing, though several years before peaking.
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8/28/2015 - mmurph wrote:
Drinking beautifully but I wouldn't wait much longer...
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4/3/2015 - chuckos77 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drinking absolutely wonderful. Opened up perfectly at about one hour. Blackberry and a little floral. May still have some time on the shelf but I would ask why? Drink it, you won't be disappointed.
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2/27/2015 - Chapel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Smooth. Dry . Balanced. Excellent
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12/26/2014 - 1961Vintage wrote: 85 Points
Not impressed with this at all. Closed at the pop and never evolved, even day two. Not what I have come to expect from a single vineyard wine from Sam Baxter
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12/19/2014 - NapaInBaltimore Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was terrific!
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8/8/2014 - wmccone54 wrote: 89 Points
Drank subsequent to the Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 at a birthday dinner party. Although very good, it lacked the finesse, smoothness, and elegance displayed by its Stag's Leap counterpart. As expected the Yverdon's Spring Mountain roots reflected a big and still very structured wine. Even with a short decant, it was still a bit tight and never seemed to really open completely. A bit shy it did start to show dark fruits and some earthiness underscored with a slight touch of oak. Solid finish. Recommend a long decant and hearty food. This will develop for another 8-10 years.
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6/4/2014 - JVG wrote:
Mercifully, this was the last of the four Terra Valentine bottles I bought in an apparent fit of madness three years ago. In addition to my notes on my last bottle of this exactly one year ago to the day, which basically mirror my experience tonight, I discovered something I missed before. The back label (clearly with no shame) reveals that this $75 cuvee was made with not-even-four-year-old vines. As in, this is the second vintage these vines have ever produced. So I suppose it's no surprise that this wine tastes like overripe, overextracted nondescript fruit crammed into too much new oak for too long---that's exactly what it is. Incredible that they have no problem selling this.
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6/4/2013 - JVG wrote: 70 Points
Color: Still very youthful and dark. Almost black at the center and purplish magenta at the rim.
Nose: Hugely ripe, with thick, dark aromas of blueberry, blackberry, and plum. Smells overripe. Quite a bit of oak as well, with lots of toasty wood, cinnamon spice, sharp dried flowers, and dill notes. Quite a bit of alcohol too, which combined with the character of the fruit makes this smell porty, or even medicinal or liqueur-like. Not getting much of anything in the way of secondary characteristics. Not an encouraging nose.
Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied and coarse.
Palate: Way overoaked. The wood masks the fruit, and most of the palate experience becomes oak and wood-spice, along with a bitterness that I also associate with wood tannin. Combined with the apparent alcohol (14.9% on the label, meaning it might be damn near 16%), this just delivers an assault on the mouth. The finish is Big Red gum and wood chips. There's literally nothing here except alcohol, cinnamon, and wood.
I just cannot understand wine like this. It comes from what seems like a wonderful vineyard on Spring Mountain, meaning it should produce great grapes full of character and ruggedness and brambly fruit, but all I can smell or taste in this wine is alcohol and wood. Even though the nose and alcohol level indicate that it is super-extracted, I can't taste the fruit. That's how oaky and alcoholic it is. You spend $50+ ($75 from the winery) on this bottle, and you can't drink it with food, and you can't drink it on its own---what am I supposed to do with this? If I wanted something that tasted like biting an oak tree, I would buy an 18-year-old bourbon. It would taste better, last longer, and be a better value. If you gave this to me blind and then told me it was a $10 cab from South America or the Central Valley flavored with oak chips, I would believe you. It really pisses me off that I dropped $50 on this joke of a wine. Hopefully my score will help balance the incomprehensible 90+s here.
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12/2/2012 - cglomski517 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent wine from this vintage. Solid aromas of dark fruits and sandalwood, as well as graphite, and an earthiness that almost reminds me of Shiraz. On the palate, the dark fruits are just starting to come through along with pencil shavings and a good amount of spice, although they are carving their way through the tannins which are just barely too heavy, along with good acidity. Some time in the decanter cleaned these up and once the wine started breathing, it blossomed nicely showing its vanilla notes that perfectly integrated with the fruit. Another classically elegant Spring Mountain wine.
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11/5/2012 - flwinos wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for about 45 minutes before starting to drink. Floral and cherry notes on the nose. Palate showed baked cherry pie, menthol, with some bitter tannins on the finish. After two hours in the decanter, the bitter tannins subsided and this became smoother with nice length on the finish. This wine matches my preferred flavor profile, so I enjoyed this quite a bit - score may be a point higher than it otherwise should be.
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9/23/2012 - MLD70 wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 30 min, then enjoyed for two hours. Dark, with maybe a hint of bricking at the edge. Nice dark berries on the nose, lush mouthfeel, taste consistent with aromatics. Medium finish, tannins smooth and well integrated. Seems to have found a nice plateau, but nothing to suggest a lot of incremental development to come.
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10/1/2011 - CamraMaan wrote: 91 Points
Not very impressive when freshly opened (my taste buds said 87-88 rating)... poured a glass and re-corked the bottle. Trying it again the next day, a bit better on the first pour, but it really opened up over the next hour or two... the last glass I feel deserves a 91. Just let her breathe for a while.
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11/12/2010 - dburkes Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice and chewy, but the finish was a little bit on the hot side
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11/22/2008 - mike l. wrote: 89 Points
finsh is nice but a bit too much oak.
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11/13/2008 - sasvino wrote: 93 Points
Another solid fruit forward cab from Terra, Full bodied, nice fruit, big feel. Color is deep dark red, black in nature, Nose: strong spice and hints of red berries, Flavors: I get a dark black fruit with plum on the front, midpalate has a light earthiness/woodiness, finish has a good stickiness to it light vanilla, tannins need time to smooth out but I think this cab has good structure to age. Low 90s for now with potential to improve with time.
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11/8/2008 - Clarkmeister wrote: 86 Points
November 2008 Napa Trip; 11/7/2008-11/10/2008 (Napa): Tight as a drum, needs serious time.
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