This bottle was a great bottle. Rest and provenance were key. From a good cellar. Bottle hasn't been moved in many a year and that helped it show better than the 1986 right along side it. Which was just monolithical ('86) More complete, integrate, venturing into tertiary, but hanging on to some red fruits just barely. Very well made. Unfair to just give it an arbitrary number rating. It was a very pleasant experience.
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We let it open around an hour but alas it was not good. As it was New Years Eve I was looking forward to a good bottle. Ended up dumping it down the drain and had a Chappellet Pritchard Hill. Excellent bottle.
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Bought 24b for 22/b (including all taxes) from Sam's 24 years ago; this is #10 or so. Decanted with normal sediment for its age. Dark purple with bit of amber edge; fragrant Left Bank Bdx nose, hint of old leather; reticent Left Bank cassis, some leather, very good mouthfeel, held well over 90 minutes; some persistence. Almost delicious but not quite the '89 tasted a few days ago (neither vintage was tops, but '89 was better). Glad I have more. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: For me, scores on a "100-point scale" are misleading. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. This is notable+ when considering quality, age, and price.
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Blind Wine Industry Guys (Eric's House, Hong Kong): Served blind. Opaque red/black colour; semi-transparent at the edges. Nose is wow... blast of pencil lead, sharpened pencils and deep earthy cedar... tertiary but still with great confit black and red jellied fruit reduction. Palate is earth and deep black cherry. Wonderful depth and resonance on a very rich finish. This is like a 1989 Pauillac. Just lovely. So young. This could last forever in a good cellar. 93+
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Deep garnet in the glass, showing a strong chunk of sediment. Dead & gone both on the nose and palate. Notes of dried leaves, tobacco, wet cedar, mushrooms, must. Tannins are non-existent, acidity is non-existent, fruit concentration is non-existent. This is 10 years well past its prime. A shame.
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Not bad for 31 years old. Decanted half the bottle. Little fruit. Just tasted like a very old bottle. Poured a glass direct from bottle after an hour. Delightful. Wife asked why we held it so long...no idea. At the time possibly most expensive bottle I had ever purchased, but that was then.
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Cork was in bad shape on this bottle, so I ended up decanting the wine.
Ripe blackberry fruit on the nose. There is an astringent note on the finish here - given the cork, hard to say if this bottle is 100% sound. Interesting more than enjoyable.
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Much more developed than all the other bottles. Oxidative nose with brown sugar, mushrooms, blackberry, chocolate, coffee and cherry liqueur. Less fruit on the palate but smooth and loads of maturity notes. A wine for those who prefer overdeveloped wines. More interesting than tasty in my book. 89p
BV=1, WV=11
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I took this to share at a Premium wine event with 50 other winos each who had brought wonderful premium wines to share This was a definite favorite with all who got a sip. It held up beautifully with a gorgeous nose, great acidity, still nice fruit and an enjoyable finish. In it's prime.
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This bottle had a strong soy-sauce flavor that largely dissipated after three hours in the decanter, leaving a rather flat but pure backbone. The cork was pristine, so I don't know if this was some kind of flaw or the wine is just over the hill.
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Opened on my 29th birthday (birth year). It's remarkable how great this wine is! It's tasting it's best at the 2 hour decant mark which is crazy for a wine this old...a truly special wine!
Probably drinking close to the end of its drinking plateau. A good wine though. It still has a fair amount of richness and intensity in the fruit. Blackberry, black currant, tobacco, forest floor and hints of cocoa. Soft and velvety. Not a whole lot of acid left.
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Color: medium ruby -> medium/light ruby rim. Bouquet immediately showed as off; wine was maderized. Seemed like some nice elements underneath on both nose and palate but couldn't get past the madeira notes.
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Some old stuffs on a casual friday: Alcohol :: 13% The color is still a youthful dark ruby core with light brownish rim. Very expressive with strong secondary aromas from an old wine. Similar to the 1994 Dominus, this too show heavy barnyard aromas core surrounded by leafy, tobacco, blackcurrant, plummy fruits intermixed with touch of red cherry fruits and old saddle leather. The barnyard flavor is present on the palate too, just not as heavy as the 1994 Dominus. Lovely on the richly crafted palate, showing good purity of concentrated sweet currant fruits, dark fruits with touch of dried fig paste and slightly more depth with tobacco, sweet tar. Low-Med level of fine, silky tannin present that form that silky, velvety mouth feel that leads to long finish with touch of spice, plummy and dried fig aftertaste. 2hrs later, more sweet fruits evolved that showed sweet plum and currant. Very enjoyable and quite classy. Again, I'm pretty much concern on the barnyard...... Buy - No.
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Boy. Better than expected. Last guy (hazeo) got it right. "Very old world, with tons of leather, earth, dusty black cherry. The texture is very smooth, with a weighty finish that's long and lifted by balanced acidity."
Surprising, in I wasn't expecting this. It was a touch thin, and maybe a bit faded fruit, but still really good. Open and got better over dinner, still time to store this, I am sorry mine is gone
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Cork came out in one piece, with the bottom soaked a quarter of the way up. A quick sniff to make sure everything is in good shape ... this bottle has been stored well.
Very old world, with tons of leather, earth, dusty black cherry. The texture is very smooth, with a weighty finish that's long and lifted by balanced acidity. The fruit does seem faded, but by all means still alive. All the rustic nuances really makes up for a lack of explosiveness, though its an excellent and well-made wine rather than a Wow wine. It is always a pleasure to taste lovely old Dominus.
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I tasted this wine with some trepidation as I had purchased it on a whim several years previously and although fairly sure of its provenance, well you can never tell. In any case the wine was opened and decanted, no faults and the cork was as you would expect after twenty plus years. The colour was brick with a faint tawny tint detectable on the rim, the aroma was initially quite dumb, no faults but not giving much away either. Upon tasting the palate was quite four square with angular tannins and muted fruit, surprisingly light in fact. I left the wine for around two hours which, as it turned out, made all the difference. The wine had packed on some seriously powerful fruit and the tannins and overall structure became more harmonious with a long finish. Overall a pleasurable surprise and a testament to the potential staying power of quality Californian Cabernet based wines.
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Dominus Vertical plus some white Burgs and a couple of Ports: Purple with some crimson. The oldest tasting wine on the table. Dusty nose with leather, old dry barn, and just some remnants of cassis. On the palate, this started with nothing, but showed more and more over an hour and then kind of plateaued. Once open, this is old with just hints of cranberry, but lots of interesting nooks and crannies to make it fun. Again, I liked it more than the group though. Also needs to be drunk soon.
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20 Years of Dominus - Part 2 - The Teaser Flight: Not nearly as good as the 1983. Shockingly unevolved tannins. Very earthy with extremely pronounced tobacco leaf notes. Black currant fruit that's fading faster than the tannins and wine is feeling a little lean.
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Dominus Vertical Dinner (onesixtyblue): Full deep purple color with crimson edges. Dustry black fruit on the palate with some licorice notes, but not at the level of the better examples.
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DOMINUS VERTICAL DINNER (160 Blue - Chicago, IL): Nose has black currants, cedar and balsam. Earth and woodsy palate with firm tannins. Don't think this has sufficient fruit to support the structure at this stage. Still nice for the complexity of flavors. (4+12+16+7=89).
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Annual holiday event (Columbus, OH): Tobacco and blackberry notes. Lighter palate with a green, raw structure. Enjoyable, but fruit will never outlast the tannins here.
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drinking this right now and it is gone. First sip impressions: still qualifies as a wine and I will drink this, but zero fruit left. This is probably the most over the hill wine I have tasted. Still has structure to it, but has no fruit quality in it. After one hour: slightly better but still awfully flat, it has very little nose, and I don't think I will coax anything out of this bottle.
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Was dissapointed in this wine, partly my fault for not drinking sooner. Wine was nice but flat and lacked polish, all flavors seemed muted nothing really stood out other than it had a velvety smooth texture and that made the lack of layered flavor atand out more
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Tasted at an "Older California Cabernets" class at Chicago Wine School. Release price $55. 86% Cab Sauv, 11% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot. Aged in 15% new French oak for 12 months. Under the "things that make you go uh-oh" column, the winery said: "The 1988 growing season was affected by rain during bloom, which affected the evenness of maturity. It was necessary to make severe selections both in the vineyard and in the cellar to produce a wine of Dominus quality". Very reticent nose, even with vigorous swirling. I think I eventually coaxed out some Band-Aid smell. Slightly oxidized, with port-like raisin flavors. Rich, but heavy and flat. Drink up.
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ORANGE RED ON THE RIM. BLACKCURRENT, BLACK CHERRIES & LEATHER IN THE AROMA WITH TOBACCO AND CHOCOLATE. DEEP FRUIT IN THE FLAVOR. JAMMY BERRY FRUIT. LONG FINISH.
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12/4/2022 - TXRhoneRanger wrote:
This bottle was a great bottle. Rest and provenance were key. From a good cellar. Bottle hasn't been moved in many a year and that helped it show better than the 1986 right along side it. Which was just monolithical ('86) More complete, integrate, venturing into tertiary, but hanging on to some red fruits just barely. Very well made. Unfair to just give it an arbitrary number rating. It was a very pleasant experience.
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1/1/2022 - Fred and Lee Wine Does not like this wine:
We let it open around an hour but alas it was not good. As it was New Years Eve I was looking forward to a good bottle. Ended up dumping it down the drain and had a Chappellet Pritchard Hill. Excellent bottle.
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6/13/2020 - Oenecnist wrote:
Bought 24b for 22/b (including all taxes) from Sam's 24 years ago; this is #10 or so. Decanted with normal sediment for its age. Dark purple with bit of amber edge; fragrant Left Bank Bdx nose, hint of old leather; reticent Left Bank cassis, some leather, very good mouthfeel, held well over 90 minutes; some persistence. Almost delicious but not quite the '89 tasted a few days ago (neither vintage was tops, but '89 was better). Glad I have more. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: For me, scores on a "100-point scale" are misleading. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. This is notable+ when considering quality, age, and price.
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5/18/2020 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 93 Points
Blind Wine Industry Guys (Eric's House, Hong Kong): Served blind. Opaque red/black colour; semi-transparent at the edges. Nose is wow... blast of pencil lead, sharpened pencils and deep earthy cedar... tertiary but still with great confit black and red jellied fruit reduction. Palate is earth and deep black cherry. Wonderful depth and resonance on a very rich finish. This is like a 1989 Pauillac. Just lovely. So young. This could last forever in a good cellar. 93+
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2/24/2020 - grapenomad wrote: 79 Points
Deep garnet in the glass, showing a strong chunk of sediment. Dead & gone both on the nose and palate. Notes of dried leaves, tobacco, wet cedar, mushrooms, must. Tannins are non-existent, acidity is non-existent, fruit concentration is non-existent. This is 10 years well past its prime. A shame.
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12/22/2019 - FozMonster wrote: 89 Points
Not bad for 31 years old. Decanted half the bottle. Little fruit. Just tasted like a very old bottle. Poured a glass direct from bottle after an hour. Delightful. Wife asked why we held it so long...no idea. At the time possibly most expensive bottle I had ever purchased, but that was then.
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12/3/2019 - SoundinBetween wrote:
Dominus Estate 1983-1995 Vertical (RPM Steak): Full of VA, high toned fruit with no character, sadly. Dumped it.
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12/3/2019 - Nanda wrote: flawed
Dominus: 1983-1994 (RPM Steak): 86/87/88: Seems off. High toned fruit and nail polish VA.
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11/3/2019 - Bob H wrote:
Cork was in bad shape on this bottle, so I ended up decanting the wine.
Ripe blackberry fruit on the nose. There is an astringent note on the finish here - given the cork, hard to say if this bottle is 100% sound. Interesting more than enjoyable.
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10/27/2018 - Lipsman wrote: flawed
Corked.
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8/17/2018 - Markus IWC wrote: 87 Points
Much more developed than all the other bottles. Oxidative nose with brown sugar, mushrooms, blackberry, chocolate, coffee and cherry liqueur. Less fruit on the palate but smooth and loads of maturity notes. A wine for those who prefer overdeveloped wines. More interesting than tasty in my book. 89p
BV=1, WV=11
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9/9/2017 - RBwineo Likes this wine: 98 Points
I took this to share at a Premium wine event with 50 other winos each who had brought wonderful premium wines to share This was a definite favorite with all who got a sip. It held up beautifully with a gorgeous nose, great acidity, still nice fruit and an enjoyable finish. In it's prime.
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9/5/2017 - Quiet Lion wrote:
This bottle had a strong soy-sauce flavor that largely dissipated after three hours in the decanter, leaving a rather flat but pure backbone. The cork was pristine, so I don't know if this was some kind of flaw or the wine is just over the hill.
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3/7/2017 - zack.wygant Likes this wine: 96 Points
Opened on my 29th birthday (birth year). It's remarkable how great this wine is! It's tasting it's best at the 2 hour decant mark which is crazy for a wine this old...a truly special wine!
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11/30/2016 - jsebiri wrote:
Cabernet dinner , this was my WOTN . Hitting on all cylinders.
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2/1/2016 - Chainthroer wrote: 92 Points
Probably drinking close to the end of its drinking plateau. A good wine though. It still has a fair amount of richness and intensity in the fruit. Blackberry, black currant, tobacco, forest floor and hints of cocoa. Soft and velvety. Not a whole lot of acid left.
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11/1/2014 - acyso wrote: flawed
HDH Bordeaux Auction; 10/31/2014-11/1/2014 (Chicago, IL): Bretted up the wazoo.
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11/1/2014 - tooch wrote: flawed
HDH Auction (Tru - Chicago, IL): infected with too much brett.
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12/10/2012 - BVal wrote: flawed
Color: medium ruby -> medium/light ruby rim. Bouquet immediately showed as off; wine was maderized. Seemed like some nice elements underneath on both nose and palate but couldn't get past the madeira notes.
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7/5/2012 - mwanasheria wrote: 93 Points
Friends and family ad hoc tasting (Frankfurt, Divino): Showing stronger than the 84 tonight, a very elegant wine, also fully mature but has quite some life left. Cassis, cedar, underwood, herbs, leather.
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2/18/2012 - 911henrik wrote: 76 Points
Clearly over the top. Subtle smell of earth and after a while caramel. All fruit gone. All power left.
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1/1/2011 - mwanasheria wrote: 91 Points
Nice ruby, no brown edge. Nose of blackcurrant, earth. On the palate blackcurrant, tobacco. Outstanding and still lots of life.
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12/10/2010 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
Some old stuffs on a casual friday: Alcohol :: 13%
The color is still a youthful dark ruby core with light brownish rim. Very expressive with strong secondary aromas from an old wine. Similar to the 1994 Dominus, this too show heavy barnyard aromas core surrounded by leafy, tobacco, blackcurrant, plummy fruits intermixed with touch of red cherry fruits and old saddle leather. The barnyard flavor is present on the palate too, just not as heavy as the 1994 Dominus. Lovely on the richly crafted palate, showing good purity of concentrated sweet currant fruits, dark fruits with touch of dried fig paste and slightly more depth with tobacco, sweet tar. Low-Med level of fine, silky tannin present that form that silky, velvety mouth feel that leads to long finish with touch of spice, plummy and dried fig aftertaste. 2hrs later, more sweet fruits evolved that showed sweet plum and currant. Very enjoyable and quite classy. Again, I'm pretty much concern on the barnyard...... Buy - No.
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11/22/2010 - Margauxguy wrote: 92 Points
Boy. Better than expected.
Last guy (hazeo) got it right. "Very old world, with tons of leather, earth, dusty black cherry. The texture is very smooth, with a weighty finish that's long and lifted by balanced acidity."
Surprising, in I wasn't expecting this. It was a touch thin, and maybe a bit faded fruit, but still really good. Open and got better over dinner, still time to store this, I am sorry mine is gone
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7/11/2010 - Hazeo wrote: 91 Points
Cork came out in one piece, with the bottom soaked a quarter of the way up. A quick sniff to make sure everything is in good shape ... this bottle has been stored well.
Very old world, with tons of leather, earth, dusty black cherry. The texture is very smooth, with a weighty finish that's long and lifted by balanced acidity. The fruit does seem faded, but by all means still alive. All the rustic nuances really makes up for a lack of explosiveness, though its an excellent and well-made wine rather than a Wow wine. It is always a pleasure to taste lovely old Dominus.
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5/12/2010 - DCMann wrote: 89 Points
I tasted this wine with some trepidation as I had purchased it on a whim several years previously and although fairly sure of its provenance, well you can never tell. In any case the wine was opened and decanted, no faults and the cork was as you would expect after twenty plus years. The colour was brick with a faint tawny tint detectable on the rim, the aroma was initially quite dumb, no faults but not giving much away either. Upon tasting the palate was quite four square with angular tannins and muted fruit, surprisingly light in fact. I left the wine for around two hours which, as it turned out, made all the difference. The wine had packed on some seriously powerful fruit and the tannins and overall structure became more harmonious with a long finish. Overall a pleasurable surprise and a testament to the potential staying power of quality Californian Cabernet based wines.
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4/2/2010 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 91 Points
Dominus Vertical plus some white Burgs and a couple of Ports: Purple with some crimson. The oldest tasting wine on the table. Dusty nose with leather, old dry barn, and just some remnants of cassis. On the palate, this started with nothing, but showed more and more over an hour and then kind of plateaued. Once open, this is old with just hints of cranberry, but lots of interesting nooks and crannies to make it fun. Again, I liked it more than the group though. Also needs to be drunk soon.
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12/6/2009 - steffenpelz wrote:
20 Years of Dominus - Part 2 - The Teaser Flight: Not nearly as good as the 1983. Shockingly unevolved tannins. Very earthy with extremely pronounced tobacco leaf notes. Black currant fruit that's fading faster than the tannins and wine is feeling a little lean.
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9/11/2009 - jlgnml wrote:
HDH BYOB at Dave's Primehouse (Dave's Primehouse, Chicago Il): The good Dr. from New York brought this and it had a nice meaty flavor and a strong nose.
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3/16/2009 - naimthattune wrote: 77 Points
Over the hill, tired, fruit almost non-existent. Disappointing. Bought on release and stored at 58F snd humidity controlled.
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2/26/2009 - naimthattune wrote: flawed
Just awful. Over the hill oxidized and tired. I'll try another soon.
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3/22/2007 - winefool wrote: 88 Points
Dominus Vertical Dinner (onesixtyblue): Full deep purple color with crimson edges. Dustry black fruit on the palate with some licorice notes, but not at the level of the better examples.
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3/22/2007 - Nanda wrote: 89 Points
DOMINUS VERTICAL DINNER (160 Blue - Chicago, IL): Nose has black currants, cedar and balsam. Earth and woodsy palate with firm tannins. Don't think this has sufficient fruit to support the structure at this stage. Still nice for the complexity of flavors. (4+12+16+7=89).
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1/13/2007 - psmith wrote:
Annual holiday event (Columbus, OH): Tobacco and blackberry notes. Lighter palate with a green, raw structure. Enjoyable, but fruit will never outlast the tannins here.
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7/14/2006 - nob8dnkr wrote: 75 Points
drinking this right now and it is gone. First sip impressions: still qualifies as a wine and I will drink this, but zero fruit left. This is probably the most over the hill wine I have tasted. Still has structure to it, but has no fruit quality in it. After one hour: slightly better but still awfully flat, it has very little nose, and I don't think I will coax anything out of this bottle.
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3/16/2006 - pcchapman wrote:
A little flat, past its prime. This bottle was not stored properly and that may have affected it aging.
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7/15/2005 - mraabpfg wrote: 82 Points
Was dissapointed in this wine, partly my fault for not drinking sooner. Wine was nice but flat and lacked polish, all flavors seemed muted nothing really stood out other than it had a velvety smooth texture and that made the lack of layered flavor atand out more
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2/21/2005 - otisabdul wrote: 86 Points
Tasted at an "Older California Cabernets" class at Chicago Wine School. Release price $55. 86% Cab Sauv, 11% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot. Aged in 15% new French oak for 12 months. Under the "things that make you go uh-oh" column, the winery said: "The 1988 growing season was affected by rain during bloom, which affected the evenness of maturity. It was necessary to make severe selections both in the vineyard and in the cellar to produce a wine of Dominus quality". Very reticent nose, even with vigorous swirling. I think I eventually coaxed out some Band-Aid smell. Slightly oxidized, with port-like raisin flavors. Rich, but heavy and flat. Drink up.
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4/13/2002 - buckeye76 wrote: 92 Points
ORANGE RED ON THE RIM. BLACKCURRENT, BLACK CHERRIES & LEATHER IN THE AROMA WITH TOBACCO AND CHOCOLATE. DEEP FRUIT IN THE FLAVOR. JAMMY BERRY FRUIT. LONG FINISH.
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