Opened at a restaurant- Cork crumbled - needed to decant and filter out cork pieces. It is clearly an old cab and should be drank now. I enjoyed it and thought it was very good. I shared it with friends who are not familiar wirh older wines and they also appreciated it.
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PNP. Crumbled cork but solid fill. Drinks well right out of the bottle with dark, fully mature fruit and a long, smooth finish. Very nice mature cab that still shows plenty of ripe, concentrated fruit. Good with and without food, although the finish got a little bit short after an hour so would be drinking this up now. A-
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Another outstanding Dalla Valle cab, made in a very Bordeaux-like style. The nose explodes with cassis, violets, cigar spice, black licorice, forest floor and a hint of eucalyptus. Rich and full-bodied yet lithe and elegant, brimming with currant, plum, black cherry and espresso notes. Good levels of acidity give it freshness and the tannins are strong but fine-grained. Gorgeous and at its peak, exceeding the excellent '96 and '99 I've tried recently.
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From Magnum. No decant and it opened over the course of an hour or two. Very Bordeaux-like ripe black and some red fruits, except that the touch of Eucalyptus which gave away the Cali origin. Some sweet Oak Fully mature, near silky smooth. Color finally starting to show a touch of age in this format.
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Jim’s contribution for Old Cab night. Really opened up over the evening to reveal some delicious Cabernet fruit. Great example of a well-aged Napa Cab. Good steak wine but continued to drink well on its own. Had a $37.50 price sticker…
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It took some time to open up, but once it did, it was a great bottle. Tones of tobacco and cherry. Thinking we might have waited a bit long to open this one, but as usual, Dalla Valle did not disappoint.
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Everyone was guessing Bordeaux here, quite understandable; it has dry matter, a very vertical, notes of tobacco and chocolate, at great Nape wine in til Old Worls style - a point right now, I think. #Enomania#Henrik&Musse
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Dallas CTers visit NYC offline: Dark fruits, some barnyard and a bit of mustiness on the nose here. Another nice mature Napa Cab - darker fruited than the Diamond Creek, some earthiness with black licorice notes on the finish. Fun to try!
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What a beautiful wine. The nose showed florals, and the palate showed dark fruit, tobacco, mushrooms, and florals, with soft tannins. They don't make them like this anymore.
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Pnp. Alive and well. Black olive, then cedar, then anise over the first hour. Sweet purple fruit liquor. Almost fully mature with some dry tart tannin remaining. Found the bottom of the bottle too soon on this one!
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Great nose of ripe jammy red fruits and sous bois / mushrooms. Overall very elegant with well integrated soft tannins and a good acidity. Relatively complex but would have expected a longer finish. Pleasant food wine.
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Had 2 bottles, second better than first! Both drinking really well. Nice nose, opened nicely in the glass. Soft tannins and balanced fruit. Still has some time left!
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So sad, my last bottle of any vintage of Dalla Valle. Used to buy this a lot at $25/btl. But agree with earlier notes. Still going strong, and best to let this sit in the glass or decant for a couple hours. This was actually better second day under pump. Lots of deep fruit flavors, thick, long finish and good balance. Wish I could buy more.
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Double decanted 2 hours before consuming. Deep brownish red color . Nose shows soy sauce, menthol, cedar and a very floral violet note. The palate is young with good acidity, a lean tight structure and a core of crunchy berry fruit. Very lively, slightly tannic and showing very little age at 23 years from vintage. A good food wine, this was wonderful with a wagyu strip loin.
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Only bottle in the chiller.....sampled with the coravin.....minimal bricking at the edges, still good dark fruit color and flavor. Not much nose left. Tart cherry right from the bottle. Refined, smooth aged tannin almost completely resolved by this point. Slightly beter with 20-30 min of air. This is clearly still good but I wouldn't hold it to much longer. Next step may be raisins?
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EMZEE.MC's notes describe this perfectly. These wines age so well and really develop pleasurable secondary characteristics to compliment the dark, ripe fruit. Extremely pleasurable on its own or with food. Drink now-2020. Don't decant. Will not improve with further aging. Second consistent bottle in recent years.
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Popped, decanted and enjoyed. Great wine with many good years ahead. Drinkable now for sure but may improve. Medium tanins, medium bodied. Earth, cherry cola, a little mint.
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Popped and decanted for half a day before drinking. The wine pours an inky purple color with minimal bricking at the edges. Thick long legs. On the nose, the concentration is just so compelling with strong notes of currants, cherries, leather, boysenberries, truffles and a hint of smoke. The wine exhibits a well-defined structure and glides effortlessly down the tongue and into the back of the throat. There are notes of cassis, kirsch, menthol and an abundance of earth and truffles to boast. Finish is super long and it just lingers on the tongue for close to a minute. A spellbinding wine that just shows the pedigree of this winery. Incredible.
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Knockout nose of plum, prune, and sweet soil just jumps out of the glass. A lot of secondary, tertiary Bordeaux flavors on the palate with wet earth, dried red fruits, wood tannins, and still lively acids. Finish coasts on for a while, but slightly out of balance favoring the oak.
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-- popped and poured -- -- tasted a couple pours, blind, over a couple hours --
Tawny color at edges. Nose on this indicated a wine with “some” age (prob. 15 – 20 yrs): Bdx. mint, cigarette ash, black cherry, and celery seed. Medium-light to light bodied. Hint of tawny taste; a bit funky; medium-fine tannin; good acidity; well-balanced; excellent; drink now. Was surprised to see this as Napa instead of Bdx..
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95 points, but maybe more. The Cellartracker notes make me wonder if they're storing their bottles in the window of their kitchen. Mine was purchased on release from retail and stored it 57 degrees and 60-70 percent humidity. Cork showed wine barely touching. Nose, taste, balance, finish,etc. we're excellent, this is mid-90s stuff. By today's standards, 91 points is plonk. This is great stuff. I'll buy if you're selling.
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New Year's Eve (In memory of Charlie Trotter) (Eketahuna, New Zealand): Rich black plums, classy oak - rich complete black olive. Sweet entry, a point - great acid balance vibrant complex. Very tannic. Dried flowers in the manner of Barolo in the end. An excellent Californian with superb fruit ripeness - drinking well and very concentrated and focused.
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At 20 years of age, this is showing perfectly. Truffle, tobacco, earth and fresh black cherries open with no effort. Soft in texture, medium bodied and open, this is probably drinking at its peak.
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BYO - Erik (Frederiksberg): Dense black currant nose. Juicy blackberry flavors that are clean and pure and overall a very balanced wine. Lovely long and fruity aftertaste.
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taste: Medium/full bodied with good tannins that are more in a supporting role. Well balanced with good depth and tones of dark red cherries, cassis, herbs, cedar and spice tones.
overall: This is a wonderful mature California Cabernet. There is very good balance to it and a good amount of depth on both the nose and palate.
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Opened this with a few friends and wasn't very impressed. Wine may have been corked. Was rather dull and, if not corked, definitely past it's prime. Recommend drinking soon if you have this sitting in your cellar.
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Sampled 5/27/12. Very solid cork and soaked only about 1/3 of the way up. This was the best of the three bottles I've consumed in the past year. Color showed a little age but no bricking or orange. The wine took about 30 minutes to fully open in the glass. On the palate red and black currant with cassis comes through. Hints of spice, herbs and Oak. Silky. The wine went on all night and this particular bottle clearly had at least another 3 years of peak performance. As usual with older wines, it's all about storage temperature and cork integrity. In this case both were perfect, and the wine gets an extra point for its longevity and quality in not the best of vintages.
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Sampled 4/14/12. The cork was slightly depressed and came out very easily. This bottle definitely had a slightly more orange hue to it than my last and the nose gave off signs of being just past peak. On the palate the was was indeed just past peak, but it nonetheless held up for a 2 hour dinner. Same notes as always, red and black layers of ripe fruit, some dried herbs, faded spices, vanilla Oak and a modest finish of about 20+ seconds. The advanced maturity of the wine did not, however, leave an acidic element and this wine was pure silk on the palate. Check your corks. Easy depression means drink up. More solid ones are still best to drink now, but could last a couple more years.
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The wine started out a little flat with a sherry-like nose. Over a couple of hours, however, the fruit and emerged and by the end of the bottle it was as fully integrated as this wine from a mid-range vintage was going to get. Purchased directly from the winery last year.
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Sampled 5/21/11. Opened in short order. A very nice Dalla Valle in what many found to be a tough year in Napa. Typical Dalla Valle layering of red and black fruits. Smooth, if not quite silky. A nice 20+ second finish.
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Lovely bottle of benchmark, mature, CA Cab. A little dumb on the nose at first, but with swirling the vegetal smell (not a bad thing for me) started to coming out. Big structured mouthfeel - definitely chewy. Fruit was in the background at this maturity, but sill full, and dark red fruit. Drinking beautifully now, but still has legs for at least another 8 years.
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Bought on Winebid, bottle looked perfect. Opened for a hour or so and then just poured. What a delight! Nice ripe fruit but toned down with the years. The Herbes de Provence spice components jump out at you. Medium to full bodied. Great aftertaste of tar and mint. Some said chocolate but I didn't get any. Beautiful earthiness -- mushrooms and leather. Top notch and will be fine for 5 years at least. The last drop was delicious the next day. 13.5 percent alcohol.
(Tasted May, 2009)
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Medium-dark cherry to garnet. Interesting nose of leather, mint, lead pencil, modeling clay, grass clippings. More fruit forward on the palate. Nice tannins and a slightly hot alcohol edge persist through the medium finish. Generally a pleasing showing for this wine, just lacking any real elegance. This could potentially develop favorably for another 5 to 10 years.
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Nose started out reserved, but after an hour or so opened up to reveal cherries, and hints of graphite and something more elusive that I can only describe as rocks in a stream. The palate is more impressive and expressive. Initially, zingy cherry flavors dominate. Then the flavors get darker and deeper. Even though the tannins have become quite smooth, the overall impression is one of youthful vigor. Very nice.
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Disappointing effort. Nose was overpowered by Green Peppers with a little bit on Anise. Flavors of Green Pepper carried onto the Palatte but very little else. Weak finish.
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Greatly enjoyed this wine last night at the monthly meeting of the Hickory Wine Club at Lake Hickory CC as part of a '92 - '97 vertical tasting, what a flight. Unbelievably good, my wine of the flight - this is what high end cult Napa cabs are all about. Somewhat muted and surprisingly sweet bouquet of oak, dark fruit and soft cloves and cinamon. Inky black, very well balanced, very full bodied and complex with years of cellaring potential. Primary flavors included cassis, strong dark fruit, well balanced oak with development of some earth, smoke, white pepper and herbs on a long aftertaste. Unreal, highly recommend this wine.
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Part of a blind tasting. Seemed much younger, most thought it was 3 - 5 year old cab. Chocolate, Cherries and plums on the nose, with taste of chocolate and cherries. Softer tannins with a nice mouthfeel and finish.
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Dark ruby red, not much of a nose, a good wine that might have been a bit flabby on opening but got better and more backbone after several hours...great depth and intensity after a couple of hours...next time decant an hour or two...
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Drank over 2 days. 1st night aromas of spice, smoke, cedar which softened with the spice not being as powerful on the 2nd night. Palate has rich, contrated fruit with a nice mix of red and black berries (concentration eased on day 2). Full round mouthfeel with fine tannins. Long, broad finish.
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Part of a family reunion dinner at Aureole in NYC. Pop and pour. Nice coloring, no bricking. Mature red fruit flavors. Definately shows as a cab, but its age gives it a nice elegance that really shows in its weight and wonderful mouthfeel. While I certainly enjoy younger fruit-forward calicabs, this is a nice treat. I'll down the final bottle within 3-5 years.
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High-end Cali Cabs with Bryan's Steaks (The Shaffer's): Beautiful provocative aromas of herbs, smoke, cedar and tobacco. Palate has rich, sweet cedary fruit. Full round mouthfeel with fine tannins. Long, broad finish. Awesome.
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This wine has aged very well. Color is a brilliant plum. The nose is a signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The finish is wonderful. This is a great wine, and has aged wonderfully.
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This is the third bottle of this I've recently had. Given my exhaustion from the late night before, the wine did not seem up to the same quality as the other bottles I've had. Still quite well structured, with depth and flavor, but a little lighter than the other bottles I've had. My brother and his wife enjoyed it, however, so it might have been my physical condition and exhaustion that resulted in a slightly different judgment of this wine upon sampling. Next time, I'll be more well rested.
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Like the first bottle I had, this second bottle was fantastic. A very complex wine with a big finish. Forward fruit -- simply put -- wonderful. Everyone develops a certain taste in the wine that they most enjoy -- I very much enjoy this wine, and cannot get enough of it.
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This wine amazed me. Despite the fact that it had been in the bottle for 13 years, it tasted like a 2001 or 2002. Great fruit -- very well structured -- cassis, hint of raspberry. No signs of age. I need to buy more.
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Tasted July 15, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Titan Cabernet glass. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of cedar, mineral, kirsch and blackberries. Flavors of blackberries, black cherries, red licorice and red cherries. Medium acidity, silky to integrated tannins. Full bodied. Can be drank now with a little decanter time or held. No value recommendation.
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Just in the early stages of its peak drinking window, my tasting notes today were identical to another bottle from same case opened early last year. Great with food.
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Unlike others, I have been consistently disappointed with 5/6 bottles. I'm wondering if provenance was a problem. It was never a full, rich CS, either on the nose or in the mouth. Consistently seemed a little thin. Very disappointing, but based on others, perhaps my bottles.
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Part of our 9th Anniversary dinner at La Toque in Napa. Decanted and allowed to sit about 1hr before consuming. Nice fruit with good structure, and no single feature overpowering the others. Tanins indicate this can still last a good 5-10+ years, and possibly just beginning to enter its prime.
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Now opened for over 2 hours and it continues to improve. This wine has a big tannic backbone with plenty of fruit to support it. Second day not quite as rich. Weak in the middle.
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Black fruit aromas with hints of some cedar and tobacco. Good spice aromas and flavors. At its peak now. Long powerful black fruit in perfect balance with good structure. Absolute pleasure, particularly with steak off the grill.
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Opened this tonight with pizza and friends (along with a '98 Thevenet - Bongrand Macon Clesse, Cuvee Tradition). The Dalla Valle was decanted off its bottle sediment, and immediately the decanter threw for some distance an intense perfume of ripe cabernet fruit. In the glass, the nose was very intense, with no coaxing necessary for the fruity perfume escaping the glass. Besides the pure intensity, my favorite aspect of the complex nose was a very noticeable sweet leafy tobacco element for most of the night. The wine is really firing on all cylinders right now, both in the nose and mouth. Everyone commented that it was incredibly smooth and that the cabernet sauvignon fruit, the tannin, and the wood all seemed in perfect balance. This wine is extremely satisfying. As I have only one more of these left, I expect I will let it go another year or so just to experiment and see if it picks up even more complexity. Worth buying by the case at the original price (however, I'm sure by now prices are obscene).
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Dan's Dalla Valle Vertical @ XXXX: Medium purple in color; the lightest wine in the flight - but not by much. Compared to the 1992, this wine appeared a bit lean in fruit. Low in structure, with a soft powdery finish. A hint of a metallic element kept creeping in, which detracted. It was hard to judge this wine after the delicious 1992. My description might sound worse than how I really felt about it, which was that is was GOOD.
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4/28/2024 - Grangelady Likes this wine: 89 Points
Opened at a restaurant- Cork crumbled - needed to decant and filter out cork pieces. It is clearly an old cab and should be drank now. I enjoyed it and thought it was very good. I shared it with friends who are not familiar wirh older wines and they also appreciated it.
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12/18/2022 - blanquito wrote:
Another great bottle, going strong. Smooth, resolved, minty, spicy, bright. Effortlessly delicious. 92-93 pts.
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6/17/2022 - MC wrote:
PNP. Crumbled cork but solid fill. Drinks well right out of the bottle with dark, fully mature fruit and a long, smooth finish. Very nice mature cab that still shows plenty of ripe, concentrated fruit. Good with and without food, although the finish got a little bit short after an hour so would be drinking this up now. A-
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1/20/2022 - GrapeScott wrote: 93 Points
Another outstanding Dalla Valle cab, made in a very Bordeaux-like style. The nose explodes with cassis, violets, cigar spice, black licorice, forest floor and a hint of eucalyptus. Rich and full-bodied yet lithe and elegant, brimming with currant, plum, black cherry and espresso notes. Good levels of acidity give it freshness and the tannins are strong but fine-grained. Gorgeous and at its peak, exceeding the excellent '96 and '99 I've tried recently.
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12/11/2021 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 93 Points
From Magnum. No decant and it opened over the course of an hour or two. Very Bordeaux-like ripe black and some red fruits, except that the touch of Eucalyptus which gave away the Cali origin. Some sweet Oak Fully mature, near silky smooth. Color finally starting to show a touch of age in this format.
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10/29/2021 - MSM133 Likes this wine:
Excellent 5 of 5
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7/14/2021 - BoulderWine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Jim’s contribution for Old Cab night. Really opened up over the evening to reveal some delicious Cabernet fruit. Great example of a well-aged Napa Cab. Good steak wine but continued to drink well on its own. Had a $37.50 price sticker…
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12/27/2019 - srh wrote: flawed
Friday Tasting Group: "Killer Bar" (#06 for me) (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): TCA :(
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11/29/2019 - FinDaxstic Likes this wine: 90 Points
It took some time to open up, but once it did, it was a great bottle. Tones of tobacco and cherry. Thinking we might have waited a bit long to open this one, but as usual, Dalla Valle did not disappoint.
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11/27/2019 - Old Joe Likes this wine: 93 Points
Full bodied, robust wine.Great tannin balance and flavor. Damn good for twenty-six (26) years old.
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8/25/2019 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 94 Points
Perfect now, mature, refreshing and full body, concentrated black fruits, herbaceous, well integrated oak, leathery, earthy. So enjoyable.
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6/28/2019 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Everyone was guessing Bordeaux here, quite understandable; it has dry matter, a very vertical, notes of tobacco and chocolate, at great Nape wine in til Old Worls style - a point right now, I think.
#Enomania#Henrik&Musse
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5/4/2019 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Dallas CTers visit NYC offline: Dark fruits, some barnyard and a bit of mustiness on the nose here. Another nice mature Napa Cab - darker fruited than the Diamond Creek, some earthiness with black licorice notes on the finish. Fun to try!
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3/19/2019 - Fftjr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent. Beautiful color. Fruitful nose. Great body. Plenty of fruit blended tannins. Beautiful wine. Wish I had more
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6/16/2018 - Diane (LI) wrote:
What a beautiful wine. The nose showed florals, and the palate showed dark fruit, tobacco, mushrooms, and florals, with soft tannins. They don't make them like this anymore.
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6/13/2018 - Krasaki Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pnp. Alive and well. Black olive, then cedar, then anise over the first hour. Sweet purple fruit liquor. Almost fully mature with some dry tart tannin remaining. Found the bottom of the bottle too soon on this one!
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6/3/2018 - faivre_eric wrote:
Great nose of ripe jammy red fruits and sous bois / mushrooms.
Overall very elegant with well integrated soft tannins and a good acidity.
Relatively complex but would have expected a longer finish.
Pleasant food wine.
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4/16/2017 - mnh wrote: 95 Points
Surprisingly good for its age.
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2/25/2017 - Fftjr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had 2 bottles, second better than first! Both drinking really well. Nice nose, opened nicely in the glass. Soft tannins and balanced fruit. Still has some time left!
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2/12/2017 - plitton wrote: 93 Points
Still drinking great. PnP at room temp. Leather, fine tannins.
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9/16/2016 - levinml wrote: 94 Points
So sad, my last bottle of any vintage of Dalla Valle. Used to buy this a lot at $25/btl. But agree with earlier notes. Still going strong, and best to let this sit in the glass or decant for a couple hours. This was actually better second day under pump. Lots of deep fruit flavors, thick, long finish and good balance. Wish I could buy more.
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9/11/2016 - llink wrote: 92 Points
Double decanted 2 hours before consuming. Deep brownish red color . Nose shows soy sauce, menthol, cedar and a very floral violet note. The palate is young with good acidity, a lean tight structure and a core of crunchy berry fruit. Very lively, slightly tannic and showing very little age at 23 years from vintage. A good food wine, this was wonderful with a wagyu strip loin.
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2/13/2016 - Tom Myers wrote: 93 Points
Needed lots of time in the decanter...needs a minimum of 2-3 hours.
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12/24/2015 - DarinC Likes this wine: 94 Points
A step behind the previous bottle opened a year ago, but still a fantastic aged Napa Cab with plenty of pleasurable secondary characteristics.
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9/29/2015 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 91 Points
Only bottle in the chiller.....sampled with the coravin.....minimal bricking at the edges, still good dark fruit color and flavor. Not much nose left. Tart cherry right from the bottle. Refined, smooth aged tannin almost completely resolved by this point. Slightly beter with 20-30 min of air. This is clearly still good but I wouldn't hold it to much longer. Next step may be raisins?
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5/22/2015 - willthethrill Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really impressive cab with terrific old world/new world balance. Super elegant. Good rec from Somm at Casa Lever.
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1/3/2015 - DarinC Likes this wine: 95 Points
EMZEE.MC's notes describe this perfectly. These wines age so well and really develop pleasurable secondary characteristics to compliment the dark, ripe fruit. Extremely pleasurable on its own or with food. Drink now-2020. Don't decant. Will not improve with further aging. Second consistent bottle in recent years.
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12/6/2014 - plitton wrote: 93 Points
Popped, decanted and enjoyed. Great wine with many good years ahead. Drinkable now for sure but may improve. Medium tanins, medium bodied. Earth, cherry cola, a little mint.
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11/27/2014 - emzee.mc wrote: 95 Points
Popped and decanted for half a day before drinking. The wine pours an inky purple color with minimal bricking at the edges. Thick long legs. On the nose, the concentration is just so compelling with strong notes of currants, cherries, leather, boysenberries, truffles and a hint of smoke. The wine exhibits a well-defined structure and glides effortlessly down the tongue and into the back of the throat. There are notes of cassis, kirsch, menthol and an abundance of earth and truffles to boast. Finish is super long and it just lingers on the tongue for close to a minute. A spellbinding wine that just shows the pedigree of this winery. Incredible.
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7/1/2014 - dtirsell Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 1 hr, very refined, smooth, tannins leveled out, still plenty of complex earth, red fruit. Long, slightly acidic finish.
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6/22/2014 - Knicksfan wrote: 94 Points
Wonderful Cali Cab, don't think its improving but there is a lot still here; great fruit and mellow tannin
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4/4/2014 - Robert Pavlovich wrote:
Knockout nose of plum, prune, and sweet soil just jumps out of the glass. A lot of secondary, tertiary Bordeaux flavors on the palate with wet earth, dried red fruits, wood tannins, and still lively acids. Finish coasts on for a while, but slightly out of balance favoring the oak.
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3/29/2014 - grafstrb wrote:
-- popped and poured --
-- tasted a couple pours, blind, over a couple hours --
Tawny color at edges. Nose on this indicated a wine with “some” age (prob. 15 – 20 yrs): Bdx. mint, cigarette ash, black cherry, and celery seed. Medium-light to light bodied. Hint of tawny taste; a bit funky; medium-fine tannin; good acidity; well-balanced; excellent; drink now. Was surprised to see this as Napa instead of Bdx..
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3/1/2014 - levinml wrote: 95 Points
95 points, but maybe more. The Cellartracker notes make me wonder if they're storing their bottles in the window of their kitchen. Mine was purchased on release from retail and stored it 57 degrees and 60-70 percent humidity. Cork showed wine barely touching. Nose, taste, balance, finish,etc. we're excellent, this is mid-90s stuff. By today's standards, 91 points is plonk. This is great stuff. I'll buy if you're selling.
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12/31/2013 - Marc wrote: 92 Points
New Year's Eve (In memory of Charlie Trotter) (Eketahuna, New Zealand): Rich black plums, classy oak - rich complete black olive.
Sweet entry, a point - great acid balance vibrant complex. Very
tannic. Dried flowers in the manner of Barolo in the end. An excellent Californian with superb fruit ripeness - drinking well and very concentrated and focused.
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9/7/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
At 20 years of age, this is showing perfectly. Truffle, tobacco, earth and fresh black cherries open with no effort. Soft in texture, medium bodied and open, this is probably drinking at its peak.
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8/16/2013 - canan wrote: 95 Points
BYO - Erik (Frederiksberg): Dense black currant nose.
Juicy blackberry flavors that are clean and pure and overall a very balanced wine.
Lovely long and fruity aftertaste.
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12/2/2012 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Second Annual Butcher&Larder dinner (Butcher&Larder, Chicago IL): nose: Very pretty and balanced nose filled with tones of herbs, spices, cedar and dark red fruits. There is some real nice depth to the nose as well.
taste: Medium/full bodied with good tannins that are more in a supporting role. Well balanced with good depth and tones of dark red cherries, cassis, herbs, cedar and spice tones.
overall: This is a wonderful mature California Cabernet. There is very good balance to it and a good amount of depth on both the nose and palate.
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10/17/2012 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote: 89 Points
Opened this with a few friends and wasn't very impressed. Wine may have been corked. Was rather dull and, if not corked, definitely past it's prime. Recommend drinking soon if you have this sitting in your cellar.
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6/18/2012 - MikeZ wrote:
great stuff again--give it 30-45 minutes in the decanter and enjoy
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5/28/2012 - mxpbuy wrote: 94 Points
Sampled 5/27/12. Very solid cork and soaked only about 1/3 of the way up. This was the best of the three bottles I've consumed in the past year. Color showed a little age but no bricking or orange. The wine took about 30 minutes to fully open in the glass. On the palate red and black currant with cassis comes through. Hints of spice, herbs and Oak. Silky. The wine went on all night and this particular bottle clearly had at least another 3 years of peak performance. As usual with older wines, it's all about storage temperature and cork integrity. In this case both were perfect, and the wine gets an extra point for its longevity and quality in not the best of vintages.
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4/15/2012 - mxpbuy wrote: 91 Points
Sampled 4/14/12. The cork was slightly depressed and came out very easily. This bottle definitely had a slightly more orange hue to it than my last and the nose gave off signs of being just past peak. On the palate the was was indeed just past peak, but it nonetheless held up for a 2 hour dinner. Same notes as always, red and black layers of ripe fruit, some dried herbs, faded spices, vanilla Oak and a modest finish of about 20+ seconds. The advanced maturity of the wine did not, however, leave an acidic element and this wine was pure silk on the palate. Check your corks. Easy depression means drink up. More solid ones are still best to drink now, but could last a couple more years.
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3/24/2012 - OakvilleGrade Likes this wine: 89 Points
The wine started out a little flat with a sherry-like nose. Over a couple of hours, however, the fruit and emerged and by the end of the bottle it was as fully integrated as this wine from a mid-range vintage was going to get. Purchased directly from the winery last year.
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3/2/2012 - Jack wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful again tonight. Drink up.
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6/9/2011 - lee.reiswig wrote: 93 Points
Wonderfully mature. Excellent balance of tannins and fruit.
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5/28/2011 - mxpbuy wrote: 93 Points
Sampled 5/21/11. Opened in short order. A very nice Dalla Valle in what many found to be a tough year in Napa. Typical Dalla Valle layering of red and black fruits. Smooth, if not quite silky. A nice 20+ second finish.
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5/27/2011 - Winevestor wrote: 93 Points
Lovely bottle of benchmark, mature, CA Cab. A little dumb on the nose at first, but with swirling the vegetal smell (not a bad thing for me) started to coming out. Big structured mouthfeel - definitely chewy. Fruit was in the background at this maturity, but sill full, and dark red fruit. Drinking beautifully now, but still has legs for at least another 8 years.
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1/1/2011 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 91 Points
light, no tannin. soft plum nose. drink up
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7/6/2010 - ChrisBeacham wrote: 93 Points
Bought on Winebid, bottle looked perfect. Opened for a hour or so and then just poured. What a delight! Nice ripe fruit but toned down with the years. The Herbes de Provence spice components jump out at you. Medium to full bodied. Great aftertaste of tar and mint. Some said chocolate but I didn't get any. Beautiful earthiness -- mushrooms and leather. Top notch and will be fine for 5 years at least. The last drop was delicious the next day. 13.5 percent alcohol.
(Tasted May, 2009)
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5/14/2010 - petitblanc wrote: 90 Points
Medium-dark cherry to garnet. Interesting nose of leather, mint, lead pencil, modeling clay, grass clippings. More fruit forward on the palate. Nice tannins and a slightly hot alcohol edge persist through the medium finish. Generally a pleasing showing for this wine, just lacking any real elegance. This could potentially develop favorably for another 5 to 10 years.
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1/29/2010 - HenryW wrote: 94 Points
Nose started out reserved, but after an hour or so opened up to reveal cherries, and hints of graphite and something more elusive that I can only describe as rocks in a stream. The palate is more impressive and expressive. Initially, zingy cherry flavors dominate. Then the flavors get darker and deeper. Even though the tannins have become quite smooth, the overall impression is one of youthful vigor. Very nice.
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1/19/2010 - michal wrote: 92 Points
Very beautiful napa cab. Enjoyed very much. Decanted for 60 minutes before drinking.
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11/26/2009 - davidandrose wrote:
Dead bottle. Bought on secondary market.
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10/26/2009 - kscopela wrote: 85 Points
Disappointing effort. Nose was overpowered by Green Peppers with a little bit on Anise. Flavors of Green Pepper carried onto the Palatte but very little else. Weak finish.
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4/14/2009 - ikkaariainen wrote: 95 Points
Greatly enjoyed this wine last night at the monthly meeting of the Hickory Wine Club at Lake Hickory CC as part of a '92 - '97 vertical tasting, what a flight. Unbelievably good, my wine of the flight - this is what high end cult Napa cabs are all about. Somewhat muted and surprisingly sweet bouquet of oak, dark fruit and soft cloves and cinamon. Inky black, very well balanced, very full bodied and complex with years of cellaring potential. Primary flavors included cassis, strong dark fruit, well balanced oak with development of some earth, smoke, white pepper and herbs on a long aftertaste. Unreal, highly recommend this wine.
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8/30/2008 - Jack wrote: 94 Points
With an hour of air this opened up and was excellent.
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6/14/2008 - JWA wrote: 93 Points
Part of a blind tasting. Seemed much younger, most thought it was 3 - 5 year old cab. Chocolate, Cherries and plums on the nose, with taste of chocolate and cherries. Softer tannins with a nice mouthfeel and finish.
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10/24/2007 - jmd60611 wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby red, not much of a nose, a good wine that might have been a bit flabby on opening but got better and more backbone after several hours...great depth and intensity after a couple of hours...next time decant an hour or two...
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8/16/2007 - chrisraub wrote: 93 Points
Drank over 2 days. 1st night aromas of spice, smoke, cedar which softened with the spice not being as powerful on the 2nd night. Palate has rich, contrated fruit with a nice mix of red and black berries (concentration eased on day 2). Full round mouthfeel with fine tannins. Long, broad finish.
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6/2/2007 - davidandrose wrote: 91 Points
Part of a family reunion dinner at Aureole in NYC. Pop and pour. Nice coloring, no bricking. Mature red fruit flavors. Definately shows as a cab, but its age gives it a nice elegance that really shows in its weight and wonderful mouthfeel. While I certainly enjoy younger fruit-forward calicabs, this is a nice treat. I'll down the final bottle within 3-5 years.
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4/14/2007 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Cali Cabs w/Bryans Steaks (The Shaffers): Full black red color. Medium clean red fruit with spice on the nose. Big bold black fruit on the palate. Rich.
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4/14/2007 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
High-end Cali Cabs with Bryan's Steaks (The Shaffer's): Beautiful provocative aromas of herbs, smoke, cedar and tobacco. Palate has rich, sweet cedary fruit. Full round mouthfeel with fine tannins. Long, broad finish. Awesome.
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4/1/2007 - A&C wrote: 91 Points
Yummy once again. Pure Cabernet grape. Ageless.
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12/23/2006 - A&C wrote: 92 Points
This wine has aged very well. Color is a brilliant plum. The nose is a signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The finish is wonderful. This is a great wine, and has aged wonderfully.
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9/24/2006 - A&C wrote: 92 Points
This is the third bottle of this I've recently had. Given my exhaustion from the late night before, the wine did not seem up to the same quality as the other bottles I've had. Still quite well structured, with depth and flavor, but a little lighter than the other bottles I've had. My brother and his wife enjoyed it, however, so it might have been my physical condition and exhaustion that resulted in a slightly different judgment of this wine upon sampling. Next time, I'll be more well rested.
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9/21/2006 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
Like the first bottle I had, this second bottle was fantastic. A very complex wine with a big finish. Forward fruit -- simply put -- wonderful. Everyone develops a certain taste in the wine that they most enjoy -- I very much enjoy this wine, and cannot get enough of it.
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9/3/2006 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
This wine amazed me. Despite the fact that it had been in the bottle for 13 years, it tasted like a 2001 or 2002. Great fruit -- very well structured -- cassis, hint of raspberry. No signs of age. I need to buy more.
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9/1/2006 - budman wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic dark fruit nose and palate. No bricking.
If 93 is a bad vintage, this is an exception!!!
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7/26/2006 - M DU VIN wrote: 92 Points
Deep garnet color without a hint of orange at the edges. Nice fruit with hints of ecualytpus. Tannins are well balanced and balanced with the fruit.
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7/15/2006 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
anthonyiezzi Birthday Dinnner (Tre Vigne, Basking Ridge, NJ): WIML92,WA93,WS91
Tasted July 15, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Titan Cabernet glass. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of cedar, mineral, kirsch and blackberries. Flavors of blackberries, black cherries, red licorice and red cherries. Medium acidity, silky to integrated tannins. Full bodied. Can be drank now with a little decanter time or held. No value recommendation.
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10/7/2005 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Just in the early stages of its peak drinking window, my tasting notes today were identical to another bottle from same case opened early last year. Great with food.
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9/19/2005 - amred wrote: 87 Points
Unlike others, I have been consistently disappointed with 5/6 bottles. I'm wondering if provenance was a problem. It was never a full, rich CS, either on the nose or in the mouth. Consistently seemed a little thin. Very disappointing, but based on others, perhaps my bottles.
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8/9/2005 - mnh wrote:
This is still outstanding.
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7/21/2005 - davidandrose wrote: 93 Points
Part of our 9th Anniversary dinner at La Toque in Napa. Decanted and allowed to sit about 1hr before consuming. Nice fruit with good structure, and no single feature overpowering the others. Tanins indicate this can still last a good 5-10+ years, and possibly just beginning to enter its prime.
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5/27/2005 - Jack wrote: 92 Points
Now opened for over 2 hours and it continues to improve. This wine has a big tannic backbone with plenty of fruit to support it. Second day not quite as rich. Weak in the middle.
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5/6/2005 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Black fruit aromas with hints of some cedar and tobacco. Good spice aromas and flavors. At its peak now. Long powerful black fruit in perfect balance with good structure. Absolute pleasure, particularly with steak off the grill.
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3/5/2004 - Terry wrote:
Opened this tonight with pizza and friends (along with a '98 Thevenet - Bongrand Macon Clesse, Cuvee Tradition). The Dalla Valle was decanted off its bottle sediment, and immediately the decanter threw for some distance an intense perfume of ripe cabernet fruit. In the glass, the nose was very intense, with no coaxing necessary for the fruity perfume escaping the glass. Besides the pure intensity, my favorite aspect of the complex nose was a very noticeable sweet leafy tobacco element for most of the night. The wine is really firing on all cylinders right now, both in the nose and mouth. Everyone commented that it was incredibly smooth and that the cabernet sauvignon fruit, the tannin, and the wood all seemed in perfect balance. This wine is extremely satisfying. As I have only one more of these left, I expect I will let it go another year or so just to experiment and see if it picks up even more complexity. Worth buying by the case at the original price (however, I'm sure by now prices are obscene).
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8/18/2002 - mnh wrote:
deep ruby, complex nose, great multilayered cab. Really holding well.
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5/4/2001 - mdefreitas wrote: 86 Points
Dan's Dalla Valle Vertical @ XXXX: Medium purple in color; the lightest wine in the flight - but not by much. Compared to the 1992, this wine appeared a bit lean in fruit. Low in structure, with a soft powdery finish. A hint of a metallic element kept creeping in, which detracted. It was hard to judge this wine after the delicious 1992. My description might sound worse than how I really felt about it, which was that is was GOOD.
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3/1/2001 - winefool wrote: 91 Points
Full bodied purple/red wine with aromas of sweet licorice. Puckering fruit with soft tannic shell on the palette. 3/01
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7/1/1999 - mnh wrote:
Outstanding complexity
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9/1/1998 - mnh wrote:
Very youthful, lush
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4/1/1997 - mnh wrote:
Great extraction, a ringer for L’Angelus
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