Tasting with old (and one new) friends (Kitchener, Ontario): This pours medium garnet. The nose is evolved and complex showing old leather, dark dried cherry, old cedar, old furniture, a slight raisin note, a touch of coffee, and a slight nutty character. The palate is very silky in texture, no tannin remains with medium acid and much of the nose replayed on the finish. Great bottle if perhaps the ripeness a little high. The finish is very long, leathery and nutty.
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One of the finest wines I've ever enjoyed. This was purchased from the producer by a member a few years back and opened on the 11th with a 1991 counterpart of identical provenance.
Cork in good shape, saturation up about halfway. Bottom of cork separated as it was coming out but retrieved with no disintegration.
On the nose this is still vibrant and showing the old school red fruit Napa Valley style with just a hint of cherry tomato and aging oak dust hinting at its seniority.
On the palate this is an ethereal wine, just a little more than light + body as this point but bringing a just barely still tart strawberry acid but showing all kinds of unique leather and toast notes.
This is peaking right now and after 2 hours open started to round into a less concentrated version. Flirting with perfection and needs to be drunk within 3-5 years to see best results.
N: FRAGRANT cherries, prob flowers, with hints of pyrazines
P: Med body; RNDISH entry with very NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by just a TAD of astringency which stays in contact with the init frt as it SEAMLESSLY morphs into a VERY LONG finish with an enticing, bitter/swt choc aspect. Not even remotely tired (there was speculation it could have used > of a decant), I'd definitely want to put it with food as it showed quite well with Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms, & particularly the Sauteed Spinach. 12% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional- (94-97/100, using that metric), & could well go another 6 or 7 yrs. 🙂
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Medium garnet and brick red. Lush and layered nose with cedar, leather, animal nuances, and dried cherries. So well rounded and integrated tannins (6/10). Medium plus to full bodied. Killer palate with tons of leather, wood chips, cherries and some plums. Long and lingering finish with great acidity.
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Browning edge, brick core. Still some beautiful red fruit on the nose. A touch of cassis/cherry liquer. Old leather and touch of veggie earthiness. Seamless on the palate, although lacking some body. Really not anything negative about this. It’s drinking incredibly well for its age. Delicious.
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Read tasting notes below from @Nanda, who was spot-on! The flavors of cedar cigar box, red fruit and a little spice with a soft texture which rolled end-to-end without any hard-edges or sour notes. This is textbook classic CA cab.
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Tasted double blind. Most of the group thought this was Bordeaux and while I found it to be very BDX-like in character there was a mature sweetness to the fruit that took me to Classic Cali Cab. Aromas are tertiary and complex with lots of dry fruit, leather, cedar and cigar box. Palate is light bodied but with a good core of mature sweet fruit. Long, flavorful finish. A bygone classic. Always a treat to encounter and enjoy a birth year wine.
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BYO Blind Tasting and Dinner (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Seemed like a fine old Bordeaux to me. Ripe fruit, perfectly mature with spice hints and wonderfully softened tannins. Great balance and nuance, moderate weight and length.
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Monday California Tasting: Mature, clear garnet color. Nose of barn, tar and herbal notes. There is still some sweetness around with hints of red berries and again the barn notes. Acidity is present but not disturbing (yet). This wine is already past its peak
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With a low/mid shoulder fill, and given its age, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. WRONG! A lovely, albeit low-key subdued bouquet of dark cherry, eucalyptus, and herbal elements, balances the acidity and minerality on the palate. Very Bordeaux-like, yet with that tell-tale California element of herbacity in a good way. They just don't make them like this anymore. This is not only elegant, but is complex in a subtle yet profound way. A POX on the cult wines!
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Starts out with a beautiful, old Pauillac-like scent of cassis, leather, cigar smoke and graphite; gentle and fully mature in the mouth with structure fully integrated, lovely to sit down and explore with some air.
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Lot F1 comes from the legendary Fay Vineyard. Garnet in Color. Smelled of earthy and mushrooms, with some leather. The taste was dark fruit, tobacco, and smokey oak. It had a nice acidic balancing the wine. The finish was long and it left a little sweet cherry on the palate. I had tastes from two bottles, the first one had a less intense smell and the fruit was a little subdued. The second one had a more intense smell earthy smell and the fruit was big and bold. This is an A/A+ wine. It was tremendous for it's age.
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Celebrating Repeal Day with Twelve California Wines (1968-2005) (Acme Chophouse, San Francisco, CA): Wow, another example of what a superb year 1974 was for California Cabernet. This wine smelled and tasted remarkably youthful. There was great fruit with a wonderful blueberry and bittersweet chocolate core. The body was medium plus. rich and mouth coating with a chewy texture. There was great balance between the fruit, acid, and tannins. and the wine had a lingering sweet finish. A wonderful mouthful of wine. Close to unanimous WOTN.
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1/22/2022 - Wine Canuck wrote: 93 Points
Tasting with old (and one new) friends (Kitchener, Ontario): This pours medium garnet. The nose is evolved and complex showing old leather, dark dried cherry, old cedar, old furniture, a slight raisin note, a touch of coffee, and a slight nutty character. The palate is very silky in texture, no tannin remains with medium acid and much of the nose replayed on the finish. Great bottle if perhaps the ripeness a little high. The finish is very long, leathery and nutty.
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5/17/2021 - surfnturf Likes this wine: 98 Points
One of the finest wines I've ever enjoyed. This was purchased from the producer by a member a few years back and opened on the 11th with a 1991 counterpart of identical provenance.
Cork in good shape, saturation up about halfway. Bottom of cork separated as it was coming out but retrieved with no disintegration.
On the nose this is still vibrant and showing the old school red fruit Napa Valley style with just a hint of cherry tomato and aging oak dust hinting at its seniority.
On the palate this is an ethereal wine, just a little more than light + body as this point but bringing a just barely still tart strawberry acid but showing all kinds of unique leather and toast notes.
This is peaking right now and after 2 hours open started to round into a less concentrated version. Flirting with perfection and needs to be drunk within 3-5 years to see best results.
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1/17/2021 - srh Likes this wine:
Wines GRACIOUSLY Shared by Friends (San Diego, CA): Cf. the CellarTracker Article link [lower lft] to get specific info for this vintage.
Carefully decanted by the host
N: FRAGRANT cherries, prob flowers, with hints of pyrazines
P: Med body; RNDISH entry with very NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by just a TAD of astringency which stays in contact with the init frt as it SEAMLESSLY morphs into a VERY LONG finish with an enticing, bitter/swt choc aspect. Not even remotely tired (there was speculation it could have used > of a decant), I'd definitely want to put it with food as it showed quite well with Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms, & particularly the Sauteed Spinach. 12% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional- (94-97/100, using that metric), & could well go another 6 or 7 yrs. 🙂
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12/1/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 96 Points
Drank from a magnum, thank you David!
Medium garnet and brick red. Lush and layered nose with cedar, leather, animal nuances, and dried cherries. So well rounded and integrated tannins (6/10). Medium plus to full bodied. Killer palate with tons of leather, wood chips, cherries and some plums. Long and lingering finish with great acidity.
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4/24/2018 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:
Browning edge, brick core.
Still some beautiful red fruit on the nose. A touch of cassis/cherry liquer. Old leather and touch of veggie earthiness.
Seamless on the palate, although lacking some body. Really not anything negative about this. It’s drinking incredibly well for its age. Delicious.
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3/30/2017 - JEP007 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Read tasting notes below from @Nanda, who was spot-on! The flavors of cedar cigar box, red fruit and a little spice with a soft texture which rolled end-to-end without any hard-edges or sour notes. This is textbook classic CA cab.
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3/4/2017 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Tasted double blind. Most of the group thought this was Bordeaux and while I found it to be very BDX-like in character there was a mature sweetness to the fruit that took me to Classic Cali Cab. Aromas are tertiary and complex with lots of dry fruit, leather, cedar and cigar box. Palate is light bodied but with a good core of mature sweet fruit. Long, flavorful finish. A bygone classic. Always a treat to encounter and enjoy a birth year wine.
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3/4/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
BYO Blind Tasting and Dinner (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Seemed like a fine old Bordeaux to me. Ripe fruit, perfectly mature with spice hints and wonderfully softened tannins. Great balance and nuance, moderate weight and length.
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6/25/2013 - Wine_lvr wrote: 88 Points
Monday California Tasting: Mature, clear garnet color. Nose of barn, tar and herbal notes. There is still some sweetness around with hints of red berries and again the barn notes. Acidity is present but not disturbing (yet). This wine is already past its peak
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12/31/2012 - essconsults Likes this wine: 93 Points
With a low/mid shoulder fill, and given its age, I wasn't expecting a whole lot. WRONG! A lovely, albeit low-key subdued bouquet of dark cherry, eucalyptus, and herbal elements, balances the acidity and minerality on the palate. Very Bordeaux-like, yet with that tell-tale California element of herbacity in a good way. They just don't make them like this anymore. This is not only elegant, but is complex in a subtle yet profound way. A POX on the cult wines!
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8/15/2012 - pcbling wrote: 92 Points
Great showing. Strong earth tones, coffee, dark fruit. Surprisingly good nose with only a slight old wine hint.
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8/15/2012 - 82Latour wrote: 94 Points
Matt's a bachelor again: Plum casis nose; mushroom blackberries palate; huge finish. Beautiful wine aged gracefully
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11/24/2011 - c17matt wrote: 79 Points
May not have been stored right. Not sure because I have not had a wine this old before.
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5/1/2011 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Starts out with a beautiful, old Pauillac-like scent of cassis, leather, cigar smoke and graphite; gentle and fully mature in the mouth with structure fully integrated, lovely to sit down and explore with some air.
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10/6/2010 - LoireFan wrote: 93 Points
Final bottle - just excellent!
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8/14/2010 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 97 Points
Lot F1 comes from the legendary Fay Vineyard.
Garnet in Color. Smelled of earthy and mushrooms, with some leather. The taste was dark fruit, tobacco, and smokey oak. It had a nice acidic balancing the wine. The finish was long and it left a little sweet cherry on the palate. I had tastes from two bottles, the first one had a less intense smell and the fruit was a little subdued. The second one had a more intense smell earthy smell and the fruit was big and bold. This is an A/A+ wine. It was tremendous for it's age.
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6/26/2010 - DaleW wrote:
All Fay fruit. Herb, dill, a bit blocky. Still some dense fruit, I liked but thought next to the 71 VS it showed a touch clumsy. B+/B
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6/18/2009 - LoireFan wrote: 93 Points
Maybe a 94. Wow!!!
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1/26/2008 - LoireFan wrote: 92 Points
Shining, so good. Drink sooner than later.
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12/5/2007 - PaulH wrote: 95 Points
Celebrating Repeal Day with Twelve California Wines (1968-2005) (Acme Chophouse, San Francisco, CA): Wow, another example of what a superb year 1974 was for California Cabernet. This wine smelled and tasted remarkably youthful. There was great fruit with a wonderful blueberry and bittersweet chocolate core. The body was medium plus. rich and mouth coating with a chewy texture. There was great balance between the fruit, acid, and tannins. and the wine had a lingering sweet finish. A wonderful mouthful of wine. Close to unanimous WOTN.
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6/19/2007 - LoireFan wrote: 93 Points
In perfect condition - thank you Benchmark!
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