WineBid purchase - the cork disintegrated but the wine was ok following decanting through a screen. Overall, pleased with this but perhaps a little off due to the bad cork.
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Amazing to me that I had my first experience with this wine 11 years ago. I still love the wine for its dark fruit profile with subsatantial acidity and evolving tannins. Wonderful to drink now and for another 5-10 years. Wish I had more of this to see it pass into full maturity.
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Decanted and drank over 3 hour period. The color is deep dark purple with a big bouquet of dark fruit, oak and spice. The wine is full bodied with lots of dark fruit up front followed by cedar, lead pencil, nice acidity and a long delicious finish. Drinking beautifully right now.
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92 (for its style, perhaps others would go higher)... this is big and bold for sure, in that sense modern (I generally don't like either modern or big), however it wasn't totally over the top / cloying -- rather it was very full bodied and nicely made, wine tasted similar on pnp and five hours later at dinner (after two decanter hours and three back in btl), black / dark fruit, nice acidity, some cedar and pencil lead... interestingly after the decant when putting back in btl the tannins were huge, but receding again before dinner... I think this has 5-10 drink window going fwd
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Wow. Really great wine. Drinking perfect now. Still fruit -- and a Napa Howell Mountain feel -- with a great, smooth, long finish. Tannins very mellowed. Paired with filet mignon & fried potatoes for a great meal/experience.
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March 2016 showing well but has decades of drink ability. I enjoyed the fruit forward nature but it's starting to show tobacco on the finish which I enjoyed
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Still very youthful. Deep and dark blue and black fruits with some crushed stone and spice notes. Tannins have softened. Still a hint of oak. Very long graceful finish.
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Dark fruit, bold but balanced. Felt like this was more expressive a couple yrs ago so not sure if it's sliding downhill or perhaps just in a muted phase? Still delicious either way.
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Popped and poured. Great nose of currants, bright cherry, plum, dark chocolate, earth. On the palate silky and weightless, yet full of body with plum, fig, black raspberry, black cherry, red currant, dark chocolate, and earth. Finishes with great grip and balance. Oak has completely integrated. Drink over the next 10-15 years. It only gets better from here.
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decanted for about an hour. nice dark fruits, subtle spice, and smooth sweet tannins. enjoyable, but alongside '07 rudius and '06 Ridge MB, much less complex.
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Notes same as 6 months ago. I should really learn to look at my CellarTracker notes before I go to the cellar to pick a wine for the evening. Very enjoyable wine but not as I remember earlier bottles.
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A big wine to put an end to a crappy week (main water line into the house busted. What fun that's been!). Poweful nose, tannins have smoothed out, loads of dark fruits. Good stuff.
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Pop and Pour... and I disagree with the other reviewers that this had over the top tannins... with a Howell Cab you expect tannins and this was smoother than I expected. Fig, Plum, Cherry,gentle fruit... I wish I had more of this.. and this led the night, before Syrah. Very pleased with this. I'm a TOR Cimmarossa Fan for the long haul. Outstanding.
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Seems as if this wine is 'shut down' now. Even after a 2 or so hour decant, it was so tight with astringent tannins. There is still tremendous fruit in the background that emerged on day 2. Don't know if this was just an "off" bottle????
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Fruit and tannins - serious potential. Tasting at masonry - this needs a couple hour decant. Inky color, med-light body. Dark fruit on the nose, dark fruit on palate with med length finish, grippy tannins.
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Full mouth of blackberry and plum, much better after open a couple hours and allowed to get to room temperature; seemed to be just little bit out of balance, but not sure what that means -- maybe still needs a couple years.
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This is a big in your face cab. Decanted for about 2 hours; full bodied dark red in color. Lots of black fruit on the nose with some earthiness. On the palate lots of fruit forward, some leather and soil - stong tannins on the finish. We perhaps drank this wine a bit early. I can see this wine being a 96 or 97 with a few more years of bottle age.
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Solid cab, but held back by an abundance of oak and unresolved tannins. Try again in a couple of years and (hopefully) the tannins at least will have integrated a bit.
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Decanted two hours through a Vinturi. Great nose of cassis, spice, mocha, sour cherry, earth. On the palate, black currant, cassis, blackberry, vanilla, spice, black cherry. Nice transition to a strong finish with sweet tannins. A little too much on the oak treatment. Should improve with more age.
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the kind of wine we love that evolves over the evening;initial earth and tightness opened up to reveal some tart fruit;then softer taste but more nose of fruit and california;we suspect there would have been more changes,but alas dinner at Vie was over and it was time to go home;
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Wonderful wine with great dark fruit on the nose. Palate is concentrated mixture of blackberry, cassis, chocolate, and a touch of oak. Finish is long with fine, well-iintegrated tannins.
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Tasted as a series, Nickle suscol ranch merlot, and Switchback. Big wine with great plumb color and good nose that mellowed nicely with 2 hr. decant. As balance as most big Calf. Cabs with a good mid pallet and mid length finish. Current, chocolate and dark plumb jumped out. Nice drink.
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This has wonderful purity of fruit that jumps out of the glass. Rich, ripe, intense and very elegant, with layers of currant, floral notes, black cherry, chocolate shavings. Gains depth and length on the finish, which sails on. Best from 2010-2023 - JD95
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A gigantic wine. Muscular, dense, concentrated, corporso - perfino corporsissimo. Dark purple, almost opaque. Tannins in evidence but nuanced. Fruit (Cab black currant, chocolate) shines through somehow. Decanted for 4 hours & rebottled. 15.1% alcohol.
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93 - cherry red, somewhat of a muted nose of oak and cherries, nice backbone with sweet tannins beginning to integrate with the fruit...sweet flavors of dark fruits and a 20 sec finish ending with a taste of gravel/limestone
7/11 93
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On the elegant side for a Californa cab, which suits my tastes perfectly. Nice nose, great entry and mouthfeel, rich cab fruit, lacking the dreaded green pepper, some tannins evident but not overwhelming at all. Beautiful complement to grilled ribeye and squash risotto.
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Shafer HSS 2004, Scarecrow 2006, and more at Preston's in Naples, Fl: Nice aromas of sweet chocolate cherries. Good flavors of black cassis and and dark chocolate. A touch lean in flavor, but a nice wine. Felt the wine maker was trying to do more with the wine then the quality of fruit had to give. Good extraction and lots of high quality oak. A very good wine, but don't see it developing complexity of flushing out more. Keep in mind peers included Shafer HSS and Scarecrow.
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12/24/2022 - FoMoCo Likes this wine: 90 Points
WineBid purchase - the cork disintegrated but the wine was ok following decanting through a screen. Overall, pleased with this but perhaps a little off due to the bad cork.
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11/20/2021 - meatbomb013 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Amazing to me that I had my first experience with this wine 11 years ago.
I still love the wine for its dark fruit profile with subsatantial acidity and evolving tannins.
Wonderful to drink now and for another 5-10 years. Wish I had more of this to see it pass into full maturity.
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8/24/2020 - NY Wino Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted and drank over 3 hour period. The color is deep dark purple with a big bouquet of dark fruit, oak and spice. The wine is full bodied with lots of dark fruit up front followed by cedar, lead pencil, nice acidity and a long delicious finish. Drinking beautifully right now.
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12/29/2019 - MLwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Balanced and drinking great.
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5/26/2019 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
92 (for its style, perhaps others would go higher)... this is big and bold for sure, in that sense modern (I generally don't like either modern or big), however it wasn't totally over the top / cloying -- rather it was very full bodied and nicely made, wine tasted similar on pnp and five hours later at dinner (after two decanter hours and three back in btl), black / dark fruit, nice acidity, some cedar and pencil lead... interestingly after the decant when putting back in btl the tannins were huge, but receding again before dinner... I think this has 5-10 drink window going fwd
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10/8/2017 - MLwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much improved from the last time I opened a bottle. Better integrated. The oak and alcohol no longer dominate as they once did. Enjoyable.
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6/19/2017 - Bachus Maling wrote: 95 Points
Off the charts amazing! Father's Day dinner with Grilled Tail Cut Filets. Made for a great day.
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4/23/2016 - Farnelicous Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow. Really great wine. Drinking perfect now. Still fruit -- and a Napa Howell Mountain feel -- with a great, smooth, long finish. Tannins very mellowed. Paired with filet mignon & fried potatoes for a great meal/experience.
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4/16/2016 - JCSV wrote: 94 Points
March 2016 showing well but has decades of drink ability. I enjoyed the fruit forward nature but it's starting to show tobacco on the finish which I enjoyed
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11/13/2015 - D3S Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nice nose, nice dark and blue fruits, spice and long finish on palate. Took 15 minutes to open up. I agree that the tannins have soften quite a bit.
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7/4/2015 - meatbomb013 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Still very youthful. Deep and dark blue and black fruits with some crushed stone and spice notes. Tannins have softened. Still a hint of oak. Very long graceful finish.
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4/21/2015 - domco wrote:
Dark fruit, bold but balanced. Felt like this was more expressive a couple yrs ago so not sure if it's sliding downhill or perhaps just in a muted phase? Still delicious either way.
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10/23/2013 - ChasDSM wrote: 91 Points
excellent - better on day 2.
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8/26/2013 - GalvezGuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Great nose of currants, bright cherry, plum, dark chocolate, earth. On the palate silky and weightless, yet full of body with plum, fig, black raspberry, black cherry, red currant, dark chocolate, and earth. Finishes with great grip and balance. Oak has completely integrated. Drink over the next 10-15 years. It only gets better from here.
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12/29/2012 - ELH wrote: 92 Points
Powerful, still slightly tannic.
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12/25/2012 - kthornton78 Likes this wine: 92 Points
decanted for about an hour. nice dark fruits, subtle spice, and smooth sweet tannins. enjoyable, but alongside '07 rudius and '06 Ridge MB, much less complex.
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11/25/2012 - BK29 wrote: 91 Points
Kind of flat and uninspiring. Had open for many hours and never came around.
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10/30/2012 - ToddS wrote:
Typical 06 Cab flavors. Ready to drink now.
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9/22/2012 - BklynNeophyte wrote: 87 Points
Just a beautiful bottle of wine. But, after all, it's what's in the bottle. Very heavy.
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9/10/2012 - meatbomb013 wrote: 91 Points
Notes same as 6 months ago. I should really learn to look at my CellarTracker notes before I go to the cellar to pick a wine for the evening. Very enjoyable wine but not as I remember earlier bottles.
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8/5/2012 - domco wrote: 92 Points
A big wine to put an end to a crappy week (main water line into the house busted. What fun that's been!). Poweful nose, tannins have smoothed out, loads of dark fruits. Good stuff.
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4/9/2012 - King of the Farm wrote: 93 Points
Pop and Pour... and I disagree with the other reviewers that this had over the top tannins... with a Howell Cab you expect tannins and this was smoother than I expected. Fig, Plum, Cherry,gentle fruit... I wish I had more of this.. and this led the night, before Syrah. Very pleased with this. I'm a TOR Cimmarossa Fan for the long haul. Outstanding.
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3/14/2012 - meatbomb013 wrote: 91 Points
Seems as if this wine is 'shut down' now. Even after a 2 or so hour decant, it was so tight with astringent tannins. There is still tremendous fruit in the background that emerged on day 2. Don't know if this was just an "off" bottle????
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1/26/2012 - daniel.jay wrote:
Fruit and tannins - serious potential. Tasting at masonry - this needs a couple hour decant. Inky color, med-light body. Dark fruit on the nose, dark fruit on palate with med length finish, grippy tannins.
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11/27/2011 - awise45 wrote: 92 Points
Full mouth of blackberry and plum, much better after open a couple hours and allowed to get to room temperature; seemed to be just little bit out of balance, but not sure what that means -- maybe still needs a couple years.
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9/16/2011 - bugdoced wrote: 93 Points
terrific wine opening slowly throughout the evening and keeps on giving
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8/10/2011 - Jab_343434 wrote: 94 Points
This is a big in your face cab. Decanted for about 2 hours; full bodied dark red in color. Lots of black fruit on the nose with some earthiness. On the palate lots of fruit forward, some leather and soil - stong tannins on the finish. We perhaps drank this wine a bit early. I can see this wine being a 96 or 97 with a few more years of bottle age.
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6/13/2011 - MLwine wrote: 90 Points
Solid cab, but held back by an abundance of oak and unresolved tannins. Try again in a couple of years and (hopefully) the tannins at least will have integrated a bit.
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2/27/2011 - GalvezGuy wrote: 91 Points
Decanted two hours through a Vinturi. Great nose of cassis, spice, mocha, sour cherry, earth. On the palate, black currant, cassis, blackberry, vanilla, spice, black cherry. Nice transition to a strong finish with sweet tannins. A little too much on the oak treatment. Should improve with more age.
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2/5/2011 - bugdoced wrote: 91 Points
raspberry notes with a long finish
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12/28/2010 - bugdoced wrote: 91 Points
the kind of wine we love that evolves over the evening;initial earth and tightness opened up to reveal some tart fruit;then softer taste but more nose of fruit and california;we suspect there would have been more changes,but alas dinner at Vie was over and it was time to go home;
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10/10/2010 - meatbomb013 wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful wine with great dark fruit on the nose. Palate is concentrated mixture of blackberry, cassis, chocolate, and a touch of oak. Finish is long with fine, well-iintegrated tannins.
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7/17/2010 - awise45 wrote: 94 Points
Rich, full, and a fruit bomb. Balanced, but really jammy and a long finish.
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4/21/2010 - ckinv368 wrote:
Tons of fruit at front of palate, with bit of spice, and a smooth finish, with more of a taste of pinot noir through middle and end of palate
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4/2/2010 - ToddS wrote: 89 Points
Can you say oak?
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1/24/2010 - rb1164 wrote: 90 Points
Tasted as a series, Nickle suscol ranch merlot, and Switchback. Big wine with great plumb color and good nose that mellowed nicely with 2 hr. decant. As balance as most big Calf. Cabs with a good mid pallet and mid length finish. Current, chocolate and dark plumb jumped out. Nice drink.
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12/31/2009 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 95 Points
This has wonderful purity of fruit that jumps out of the glass. Rich, ripe, intense and very elegant, with layers of currant, floral notes, black cherry, chocolate shavings. Gains depth and length on the finish, which sails on. Best from 2010-2023 - JD95
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12/12/2009 - ELH wrote: 93 Points
A gigantic wine. Muscular, dense, concentrated, corporso - perfino corporsissimo. Dark purple, almost opaque. Tannins in evidence but nuanced. Fruit (Cab black currant, chocolate) shines through somehow. Decanted for 4 hours & rebottled. 15.1% alcohol.
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10/30/2009 - beau11 wrote:
93 - cherry red, somewhat of a muted nose of oak and cherries, nice backbone with sweet tannins beginning to integrate with the fruit...sweet flavors of dark fruits and a 20 sec finish ending with a taste of gravel/limestone
7/11 93
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10/18/2009 - Rechrom wrote: 93 Points
On the elegant side for a Californa cab, which suits my tastes perfectly. Nice nose, great entry and mouthfeel, rich cab fruit, lacking the dreaded green pepper, some tannins evident but not overwhelming at all. Beautiful complement to grilled ribeye and squash risotto.
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5/31/2009 - KenK wrote: 92 Points
Shafer HSS 2004, Scarecrow 2006, and more at Preston's in Naples, Fl: Nice aromas of sweet chocolate cherries. Good flavors of black cassis and and dark chocolate. A touch lean in flavor, but a nice wine. Felt the wine maker was trying to do more with the wine then the quality of fruit had to give. Good extraction and lots of high quality oak. A very good wine, but don't see it developing complexity of flushing out more. Keep in mind peers included Shafer HSS and Scarecrow.
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