I seem to side with the reviewers who found this wine just OK. Missing a bit on the mid palate, and a little short and sharp on the finish. Around the 2 hour mark was the high point - the fruit and finished seemed more round and complex. Last glass fell off a bit.
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One off auction purchase ($85) about 2 years ago. On the nose and palate, lots of dark fruit (dark berries and currants, cherries and cassis), leather, dark florals, spice, wet earth and oak. Deep purple, light to medium bodied out of the bottle but filling out after air to medium to full-bodied, thick legs. Medium tannins and acidity, no heat initially, but a bit of a boozy tail on night 3. Medium+ complexity, persistence and intensity. My fifth Mike Smith wine, with mixed experiences on the first 4. Unlike the prior 2 lower priced bottles (a '16 Scarlett NV and a '15 Becklyn NV), this was better balanced and mostly non-boozy, although this didn't have the concentration of either the '15 Quivet LPV or the '14 Myriad GIII. What it had that none of those 4 had was solid structure, with a bit of savoriness to go with non-overwhelming sweetness, with the tannins and acidity giving this wine notably better balance than any of the other 4 and better food-friendliness, both with a burger and sweet potato fries and spaghetti and meatballs. While no one is going to confuse this with a Montelena or a Blankiet, it fits more into the middle of the cab/CA Bordeaux spectrum, where I generally prefer my wines. Good drinking window with some air, but seems to have enough backbone to go another 5-10 in very good shape. Very solid effort, ok qpr. 92-93 NB: I like the 2014 vintage very much, even if it's a bit overshadowed by '12-13 and 15'-16!
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9/16/2022 - Tym4wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful big floral bouquet. Fantastic aromatics. Dark black fruit with nice acidity. Tannins are rounded and smooth. Medium+ finish. Quite nice.
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8/3/2022 - Mo Maher Likes this wine: 96 Points
Beautiful and robust. Full of dsrk fruits and good tannins. Perfect drinking window. Drink now if you like strong fruits!
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2/18/2022 - Cow Town Likes this wine: 91 Points
I seem to side with the reviewers who found this wine just OK. Missing a bit on the mid palate, and a little short and sharp on the finish. Around the 2 hour mark was the high point - the fruit and finished seemed more round and complex. Last glass fell off a bit.
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6/12/2021 - greedy wrote: 96 Points
Outstanding. Been a long time since I had a Napa can this good. Up there with aged beringer private reserve or Cade.
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3/22/2021 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
One off auction purchase ($85) about 2 years ago. On the nose and palate, lots of dark fruit (dark berries and currants, cherries and cassis), leather, dark florals, spice, wet earth and oak. Deep purple, light to medium bodied out of the bottle but filling out after air to medium to full-bodied, thick legs. Medium tannins and acidity, no heat initially, but a bit of a boozy tail on night 3. Medium+ complexity, persistence and intensity. My fifth Mike Smith wine, with mixed experiences on the first 4. Unlike the prior 2 lower priced bottles (a '16 Scarlett NV and a '15 Becklyn NV), this was better balanced and mostly non-boozy, although this didn't have the concentration of either the '15 Quivet LPV or the '14 Myriad GIII. What it had that none of those 4 had was solid structure, with a bit of savoriness to go with non-overwhelming sweetness, with the tannins and acidity giving this wine notably better balance than any of the other 4 and better food-friendliness, both with a burger and sweet potato fries and spaghetti and meatballs. While no one is going to confuse this with a Montelena or a Blankiet, it fits more into the middle of the cab/CA Bordeaux spectrum, where I generally prefer my wines. Good drinking window with some air, but seems to have enough backbone to go another 5-10 in very good shape. Very solid effort, ok qpr. 92-93 NB: I like the 2014 vintage very much, even if it's a bit overshadowed by '12-13 and 15'-16!
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