Consumed over 2 days (vacuvined), note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, blue & black fruit - plum/black berry, Asian spice and eucalyptus. Palate: Medium-full bodied, spicy dark fruit attack, acid driven mid-palate lift,fruit and spice persists through the back-end where earthy characteristics join in. Finish: Medium-plus length dominated by blue and dark red fruit and spice. My last of 3 bottles consumed over 3 years, each drinking superbly. At less than $30 one of the best Napa Cabernet values around if you can find any.
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Blind Wine Tasting (Home): Well-liked among the crowd, but necessarily a consensus favorite. Black currant and blackberry, mildly earthy in the background, fruit forward, medium/full bodied. Finish a bit disjointed, might be in a dumb phase, but CA roots showed through nicely. Liked this more a few years ago as it was more silky, classic CA red.
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Pop and pour, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: Medium-plus expressiveness, fresh baked blueberry pie, lilac bush, and spearmint - very nice. Palate: Medium-full bodied, ripe blueberry, raspberry, and plum attack, enough mid-palate acid to balance the sweet up-front fruit, great mid-palate flavor persistence builds in intensity thru the back-end with the spearmint making a re-appearance and dominating a medium-plus length finish. This is drinking extraordinarily well right now, hard to believe I picked this up for $25 per - still have one left.
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Popped and poured, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, dark flowers, black raspberry, and saddle leather. Palate: Sweet plum and raspberry attack, spicy mid-palate lift, builds in intensity thru the back-end, everything is in balance and nicely integrated from from front to back. Finish: 30+ seconds of spicy dark red and black fruit. An excellent example of a well balanced Napa cabernet, great value also.
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Consumed over 2 days, note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, blue fruit - blueberry, dark red fruit - black cherry, violets, licorice, spice and earthy undertones. Palate: Medium-full bodied, spicy blue fruit attack, solid acidic backbone which makes it's presence known all the way thru to the finish, good mid-palate fruit presence, back-end shows licorice and hints of tobacco and earth. Finish: Medium plus length dominated by spicy dark fruit and tobacco. This wine has the stuffing to last another 5-10 years easily, a steal at $30.
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Plum, blackberry and cedar on the nose. Nice dusty finish with hints of cocoa. A little flat in the middle, but it might have needed longer in the decanter.
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Dark magenta with ruby edges. Violet, blueberry, black cherry candy, and oak nose. Medium bodied, cranberries, pepper, cherries, sweet tannins, chocolate, good acid, and a long fruity finish. Delicious.
Popped 1 hour before first pour, consumed over 3 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, dark fruit - black berry and cassis, with hints of licorice and peppermint. Palate: Medium bodied, great balance and structure, nice minty dark fruit with the mint turning up the volume through the mid-palate to back-end. Finish: Medium plus length of tasty dark fruit and mint. This is drinking wonderfully right now, great balance between the fruit and tannins, everything is clicking here.
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On the nose, cherry, plum, black pepper, and a hint of wet earth. Brighter red fruit on the palate, along with earth, hearty oak, and subtle baking spices. Big, full-bodied Cab. Moderate acidity. A little jammy.
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Ditto my March 2011 review and more. A stellar Napa Cab that is improving from bottle to bottle. A wonderful & luscious midpoint Cab. I plan on picking more up, if there's any left to be had. Received kudos from Cab fans & positive comments from non-wineaux when served with rib roast, medium rare of course!
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decanted 2.5 hours. really nice cab in classic napa style. it's smooth and rich, with cassis on the nose and palate. the oak/vanilla is there, but it's an undertone rather than the focus. the balance is just right. delicious.
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A very nice Napa Cab -- well balanced, great structure - nice on pop & pour, even better with an hour decant and poured with food (yay ribeyes!).
I picked up hints of vanilla -- maybe almond (good call previous reviewer!) -- from the toasted oak on the nose. Beyond that, a great dark fruit Cab nose -- no doubt as to the varietal on the nose or in the glass. Nice palate and smooth finish. Round berry notes with balanced tannins and enough acid to make it food-friendly (did I mention the ribeyes already?) without astringency or sharpness. Definitely a keeper -- DO NOT take to a party where it may get glugged by Philistines or topped off with Yellow Tail (no offense to Yellow Tail, but you know what I mean) in a plastic wine glass (or worse).
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Wow, this is delicious. The nose is intoxicating with a mix of black and red fruits, cedar and anise. Very juicy dark fruits on the attack with subtle integrated oak. Full bodied, soft texture. Not as extracted and astringent as most Cabs. Finishes clean and juicy. Fruit-forward. The structure here is subtle--this should continue to evolve, though I love it right now.
Partner Happy Hour Mini-tasting (McLean, VA): tasted on opening and then again after the bottle had been open (no decant, just open bottle) for about 5 hours. this is quite nice. a very intriguing coconut/almond blend on the nose, with beautifully subtle oak/vanilla notes on the very smooth palate. nicely balanced, with medium finish.
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Claret nose: Cab smell. Blackberry-boysenberry. At the start, oak, but not too much. Lively, with deeeep fruit. Som ered raspberry too. No huge tannins of overoak a la Napa, but instead with well-placed deep tannins underpin a fine stucture. Acid is nicely present. Finish has a medium weight, and is long-ish.
Not as lively on the palate as the 07 Esoterica CF, but had more power and weight, suggesting great great ageability.
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Delicious bottle of cab, overall so balanced and tons of flavor - as I decanted, it perfumed the room with berries and cassis. Good amount of oak but well integrated.
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4/29/2017 - prasm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consumed over 2 days (vacuvined), note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, blue & black fruit - plum/black berry, Asian spice and eucalyptus. Palate: Medium-full bodied, spicy dark fruit attack, acid driven mid-palate lift,fruit and spice persists through the back-end where earthy characteristics join in. Finish: Medium-plus length dominated by blue and dark red fruit and spice. My last of 3 bottles consumed over 3 years, each drinking superbly. At less than $30 one of the best Napa Cabernet values around if you can find any.
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2/20/2016 - Cabfrancophile wrote:
Blind Wine Tasting (Home): Well-liked among the crowd, but necessarily a consensus favorite. Black currant and blackberry, mildly earthy in the background, fruit forward, medium/full bodied. Finish a bit disjointed, might be in a dumb phase, but CA roots showed through nicely. Liked this more a few years ago as it was more silky, classic CA red.
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2/12/2015 - prasm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pop and pour, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: Medium-plus expressiveness, fresh baked blueberry pie, lilac bush, and spearmint - very nice. Palate: Medium-full bodied, ripe blueberry, raspberry, and plum attack, enough mid-palate acid to balance the sweet up-front fruit, great mid-palate flavor persistence builds in intensity thru the back-end with the spearmint making a re-appearance and dominating a medium-plus length finish. This is drinking extraordinarily well right now, hard to believe I picked this up for $25 per - still have one left.
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12/24/2014 - Clos Kitchen wrote: 92 Points
Excellent pop and pour. Great structure and balance. Ripe plum with a hint of tart and subtle earthiness to the finish. Need to find more of this.
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11/1/2014 - prasm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, dark flowers, black raspberry, and saddle leather. Palate: Sweet plum and raspberry attack, spicy mid-palate lift, builds in intensity thru the back-end, everything is in balance and nicely integrated from from front to back. Finish: 30+ seconds of spicy dark red and black fruit. An excellent example of a well balanced Napa cabernet, great value also.
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2/16/2014 - prasm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consumed over 2 days, note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, blue fruit - blueberry, dark red fruit - black cherry, violets, licorice, spice and earthy undertones. Palate: Medium-full bodied, spicy blue fruit attack, solid acidic backbone which makes it's presence known all the way thru to the finish, good mid-palate fruit presence, back-end shows licorice and hints of tobacco and earth. Finish: Medium plus length dominated by spicy dark fruit and tobacco. This wine has the stuffing to last another 5-10 years easily, a steal at $30.
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1/18/2014 - Wicked Panda wrote: 90 Points
Plum, blackberry and cedar on the nose. Nice dusty finish with hints of cocoa. A little flat in the middle, but it might have needed longer in the decanter.
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3/13/2013 - Colia wrote: 91 Points
This is a really well made wine in terms of technique. Everything is in excellent balance. Medium finish.
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9/29/2012 - merryberry wrote: 92 Points
Dark magenta with ruby edges. Violet, blueberry, black cherry candy, and oak nose. Medium bodied, cranberries, pepper, cherries, sweet tannins, chocolate, good acid, and a long fruity finish. Delicious.
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6/23/2012 - prasm wrote: 92 Points
Popped 1 hour before first pour, consumed over 3 hours. Nose: Medium expressiveness, dark fruit - black berry and cassis, with hints of licorice and peppermint. Palate: Medium bodied, great balance and structure, nice minty dark fruit with the mint turning up the volume through the mid-palate to back-end. Finish: Medium plus length of tasty dark fruit and mint. This is drinking wonderfully right now, great balance between the fruit and tannins, everything is clicking here.
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10/14/2011 - behm0027 wrote: 89 Points
On the nose, cherry, plum, black pepper, and a hint of wet earth. Brighter red fruit on the palate, along with earth, hearty oak, and subtle baking spices. Big, full-bodied Cab. Moderate acidity. A little jammy.
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7/17/2011 - StarM wrote: 93 Points
Ditto my March 2011 review and more. A stellar Napa Cab that is improving from bottle to bottle. A wonderful & luscious midpoint Cab. I plan on picking more up, if there's any left to be had. Received kudos from Cab fans & positive comments from non-wineaux when served with rib roast, medium rare of course!
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3/13/2011 - grayfont wrote: 91 Points
decanted 2.5 hours. really nice cab in classic napa style. it's smooth and rich, with cassis on the nose and palate. the oak/vanilla is there, but it's an undertone rather than the focus. the balance is just right. delicious.
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3/8/2011 - StarM wrote: 90 Points
A very nice Napa Cab -- well balanced, great structure - nice on pop & pour, even better with an hour decant and poured with food (yay ribeyes!).
I picked up hints of vanilla -- maybe almond (good call previous reviewer!) -- from the toasted oak on the nose. Beyond that, a great dark fruit Cab nose -- no doubt as to the varietal on the nose or in the glass. Nice palate and smooth finish. Round berry notes with balanced tannins and enough acid to make it food-friendly (did I mention the ribeyes already?) without astringency or sharpness. Definitely a keeper -- DO NOT take to a party where it may get glugged by Philistines or topped off with Yellow Tail (no offense to Yellow Tail, but you know what I mean) in a plastic wine glass (or worse).
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2/6/2011 - Cabfrancophile wrote: 92 Points
Wow, this is delicious. The nose is intoxicating with a mix of black and red fruits, cedar and anise. Very juicy dark fruits on the attack with subtle integrated oak. Full bodied, soft texture. Not as extracted and astringent as most Cabs. Finishes clean and juicy. Fruit-forward. The structure here is subtle--this should continue to evolve, though I love it right now.
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12/9/2010 - grayfont wrote: 90 Points
Partner Happy Hour Mini-tasting (McLean, VA): tasted on opening and then again after the bottle had been open (no decant, just open bottle) for about 5 hours. this is quite nice. a very intriguing coconut/almond blend on the nose, with beautifully subtle oak/vanilla notes on the very smooth palate. nicely balanced, with medium finish.
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11/17/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 95 Points
Claret nose: Cab smell. Blackberry-boysenberry. At the start, oak, but not too much. Lively, with deeeep fruit. Som ered raspberry too. No huge tannins of overoak a la Napa, but instead with well-placed deep tannins underpin a fine stucture. Acid is nicely present. Finish has a medium weight, and is long-ish.
Not as lively on the palate as the 07 Esoterica CF, but had more power and weight, suggesting great great ageability.
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10/31/2010 - wirelesswine wrote: 91 Points
Delicious bottle of cab, overall so balanced and tons of flavor - as I decanted, it perfumed the room with berries and cassis. Good amount of oak but well integrated.
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7/21/2010 - merryberry wrote: 92 Points
Dark inky red. Blackberry, cassis nose. Plums, blueberries, sturdy tannins, smooth long dark cherry finish. Delicious.
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