Dinner in Seattle (Bin on the Lake - Kirkland, WA): The nose of this wine was pretty bad with paint thinner/acetone over some plum and smoke notes. The palate was far more inviting with peppery red fruit and charcoal. The aroma of a wine is such a critical part for me, so despite the palate being relatively nice, it's hard for me to be overly excited about the complete package.
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WLTV Offline - WA/OR tasting (Bin on the Lake, Kirkland, WA): The nose had aromas of acetone right up front. Too much VA for me to really enjoy. There were other aromas of pepper and red fruits, but the nose wasn't very enjoyable. The palate had a nice mix of red and black fruits on the attack, but it turned to a more tart cherry by the finish. Medium length finish.
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Still holding up very well. Good concentration, with lots of red and black fruit and a little bit of spice. Whatever tannins there might have been have definitely faded though and there's not much acidity, so it doesn't have much structure at this point.
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It was supposed to be over the hill, but NOT. Too dark to tell but seemed to be a young dark burgundy color. Dark cherries with a herbaceous quality to the nose, pleasant. The palate showed a right bank bordeaux quality to it. Some dark fruits, but restrained, some earth that balanced it out nicely, a little grip at the end that said it was still alive and well. Matched well with an Heirloom tomato caprese and a bolognese pasta that was excellent at a new find in Del Mar, Prepkitchen. Drinking great tonight, able to share with the wait-staff. Another great qpr from Winebid.
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Greenblanket didn't spend a lot of time evaluating this wine as conversation and football filled the room. He did however choose it to go with the excellent dinner offered by his hosts and remembers enjoying the wine very much with the food. (Isn't this the way it is supposed to happen?) It featured a bright attack and good depth and texture across the palate with nice red fruit backed by spicy herbal notes. Some tertiary notes were starting to peek around the edges. From a magnum.
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Delicious with a nose of red fruit, tobacco and some floral perfume. This is starting to show some secondary fruit and herbal flavors but still retains ample tannin and lift. Worth holding.
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Decanted for about an hour, still needs it. 81% Merlot, 19% Cab Franc. Dark purple color, just a hint of red, quite cloudy, lots of body. Aroma is interesting, more dark cherry and tobacco, some perfume. Palate has lots of texture, fair amount of tannin, leather, currant, lots of pepper, and tobacco, giving way to a huge finish. This opened up a lot after one hour air time. Still has some life left, wouldn't hurt to let it sit for a bit longer.
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OK, this is really good stuff. From a 375 decanted for over an hour and it just kept getting better and better. It had dark fruit, spice, strong hints of shaved chocolate and definite tobacco notes on the nose. I really liked the texture and structure of this wine on the palate – it had great depth of dark cherry fruit and bright acidity. The finish featured dusty drying tannins and a high pure cherry note. I can’t believe that I used to think that a split was the right amount of wine for Mrs. Greenblanket and myself.
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Looking at my previous notes that of others, the bottle variation on this wine is staggering. This bottle was fabulous! Deep rich dark red cherry notes that just seem to build and build over time. Wow! Definite pepper and subtle notes of soy, chocolate and kirsch, with a bit of a metallic note up front. Great texture in the mouth with a nice medium length finish. This bottle was drinking best after 2 hours. The only question is, will my last bottle be like this, or a disappointment like the others?
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Tasted from 375ml. Upon first opening this was a bit weird smelling, somewhat vegetal with a whiff of something high-pitched that resembled VA. However, with a couple of hours in the decanter this improved. The palate is very bright with more of a black-cherry and raspberry personality, quite tannic actually, a little coarse, yet not at all overly sweet or grapey. This is a solid but not outstanding Washington wine.
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My, this wines seems to have taken a downward slope. I'm usually a big fan of Cadence wines, but the 2000 was not drinking well at all, very tannic and harsh. It was hard to get much fruit from it. There was some improvement on the second day, which gives me hope that it will improve somewhat over time. Not sure though.
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Blind humiliation with Scott Thornber (Woodinville, WA, USA): I really didn't enjoy this wine which surprised me to no end. Was it an off bottle? I had another a few months ago and rated it 10 points higher. The nose shows a lot of bright, violet notes with some heat and a very off-putting VA thing. On the palate this is very primary and tannic, somewhat hot and grapey. On three prior occasions I have loved this. What happened this time?
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Wow, this has a gorgeous nose that really shows off the Cab Franc in the blend. While this is 81% Merlot and 19% Cab Franc, it sure seems like there is more CF. On the singing nose there is pie spice and vanilla with a somewhat herbal, tobacco element. On the palate this has impressive acidity, a huge burst of plush and supple fruit, and a surprising amount of structure. The finish is pure and long with slightly dusty tannins and continued acidity lending some tartness. This is still drinking insanely young, but with just 30 minutes in the decanter it is already very enjoyable. Ben Smith is really turning out gorgeous juice, some of the most undersung stuff in WA!
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3/28/2021 - norsktorsk wrote: 94 Points
Awesome wine. holding up very well. big fruit nose. rich mid palate and long finish. one of the best reds from Wa I have had.
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1/7/2013 - greenblanket Does not like this wine:
Sharp and unpleasant with VA; undrinkable.
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6/17/2011 - tooch wrote:
Dinner in Seattle (Bin on the Lake - Kirkland, WA): The nose of this wine was pretty bad with paint thinner/acetone over some plum and smoke notes. The palate was far more inviting with peppery red fruit and charcoal. The aroma of a wine is such a critical part for me, so despite the palate being relatively nice, it's hard for me to be overly excited about the complete package.
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6/17/2011 - last chance wrote: 87 Points
WLTV Offline - WA/OR tasting (Bin on the Lake, Kirkland, WA): The nose had aromas of acetone right up front. Too much VA for me to really enjoy. There were other aromas of pepper and red fruits, but the nose wasn't very enjoyable. The palate had a nice mix of red and black fruits on the attack, but it turned to a more tart cherry by the finish. Medium length finish.
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3/22/2011 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still holding up very well. Good concentration, with lots of red and black fruit and a little bit of spice. Whatever tannins there might have been have definitely faded though and there's not much acidity, so it doesn't have much structure at this point.
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7/17/2010 - Whine-oh Likes this wine: 92 Points
It was supposed to be over the hill, but NOT. Too dark to tell but seemed to be a young dark burgundy color. Dark cherries with a herbaceous quality to the nose, pleasant. The palate showed a right bank bordeaux quality to it. Some dark fruits, but restrained, some earth that balanced it out nicely, a little grip at the end that said it was still alive and well. Matched well with an Heirloom tomato caprese and a bolognese pasta that was excellent at a new find in Del Mar, Prepkitchen. Drinking great tonight, able to share with the wait-staff. Another great qpr from Winebid.
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1/3/2010 - greenblanket wrote:
Greenblanket didn't spend a lot of time evaluating this wine as conversation and football filled the room. He did however choose it to go with the excellent dinner offered by his hosts and remembers enjoying the wine very much with the food. (Isn't this the way it is supposed to happen?) It featured a bright attack and good depth and texture across the palate with nice red fruit backed by spicy herbal notes. Some tertiary notes were starting to peek around the edges. From a magnum.
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10/26/2009 - FatBeagle wrote: 91 Points
Drinking very well right now, with the soft fruit from the Merlot nicely balanced by the herbal qualities of the Cab Franc.
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10/7/2008 - greenblanket wrote:
Delicious with a nose of red fruit, tobacco and some floral perfume. This is starting to show some secondary fruit and herbal flavors but still retains ample tannin and lift. Worth holding.
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2/16/2008 - norsktorsk wrote: 91 Points
This wine is very nice. Beautiful color, big dark fruit nose and a long balanced finish. Ready now.
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12/23/2006 - CP wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for about an hour, still needs it. 81% Merlot, 19% Cab Franc. Dark purple color, just a hint of red, quite cloudy, lots of body. Aroma is interesting, more dark cherry and tobacco, some perfume. Palate has lots of texture, fair amount of tannin, leather, currant, lots of pepper, and tobacco, giving way to a huge finish. This opened up a lot after one hour air time. Still has some life left, wouldn't hurt to let it sit for a bit longer.
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11/1/2006 - greenblanket wrote: 91 Points
OK, this is really good stuff. From a 375 decanted for over an hour and it just kept getting better and better. It had dark fruit, spice, strong hints of shaved chocolate and definite tobacco notes on the nose. I really liked the texture and structure of this wine on the palate – it had great depth of dark cherry fruit and bright acidity. The finish featured dusty drying tannins and a high pure cherry note. I can’t believe that I used to think that a split was the right amount of wine for Mrs. Greenblanket and myself.
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10/23/2005 - Mark wrote: 91 Points
Looking at my previous notes that of others, the bottle variation on this wine is staggering. This bottle was fabulous! Deep rich dark red cherry notes that just seem to build and build over time. Wow! Definite pepper and subtle notes of soy, chocolate and kirsch, with a bit of a metallic note up front. Great texture in the mouth with a nice medium length finish. This bottle was drinking best after 2 hours. The only question is, will my last bottle be like this, or a disappointment like the others?
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6/20/2005 - Eric wrote: 86 Points
Tasted from 375ml. Upon first opening this was a bit weird smelling, somewhat vegetal with a whiff of something high-pitched that resembled VA. However, with a couple of hours in the decanter this improved. The palate is very bright with more of a black-cherry and raspberry personality, quite tannic actually, a little coarse, yet not at all overly sweet or grapey. This is a solid but not outstanding Washington wine.
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6/17/2005 - Mark wrote: 85 Points
My, this wines seems to have taken a downward slope. I'm usually a big fan of Cadence wines, but the 2000 was not drinking well at all, very tannic and harsh. It was hard to get much fruit from it. There was some improvement on the second day, which gives me hope that it will improve somewhat over time. Not sure though.
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11/21/2003 - Eric wrote: 80 Points
Blind humiliation with Scott Thornber (Woodinville, WA, USA): I really didn't enjoy this wine which surprised me to no end. Was it an off bottle? I had another a few months ago and rated it 10 points higher. The nose shows a lot of bright, violet notes with some heat and a very off-putting VA thing. On the palate this is very primary and tannic, somewhat hot and grapey. On three prior occasions I have loved this. What happened this time?
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10/1/2003 - Eric wrote: 90 Points
Wow, this has a gorgeous nose that really shows off the Cab Franc in the blend. While this is 81% Merlot and 19% Cab Franc, it sure seems like there is more CF. On the singing nose there is pie spice and vanilla with a somewhat herbal, tobacco element. On the palate this has impressive acidity, a huge burst of plush and supple fruit, and a surprising amount of structure. The finish is pure and long with slightly dusty tannins and continued acidity lending some tartness. This is still drinking insanely young, but with just 30 minutes in the decanter it is already very enjoyable. Ben Smith is really turning out gorgeous juice, some of the most undersung stuff in WA!
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