1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Omaha, NE): Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #3 had great color and was charming on the nose. Developing, the fruit was beginning to show a slightly more desiccated profile. Relative to the others in the flight, this seems a bit more like a fastball right down the middle of the plate. I called Dunn Napa. A really nice wine that was just a little less interesting relative to the others in the flight. Drink now and through 2030.
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A particularly fine bottle. Beautifully perfumed nose of violets, red fruit, cherry, cassis and a hint of mint & green pepper. More red fruit, tobacco and pepper on a mid+ weight palate. Good balance and very long peppery finish. Mouth filling. Still a bit of tannin, I think this will still improve. And yes the cork fell apart and had to be surgically extracted.
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I’m enjoying this wine a good bit Beautiful garnet color. The nose bursts with cassis fruit that is slightly creamy. There is a bit of earthy elements but the pure fruit is prominent. Good weight on the palate with tobacco entering the equation on the finish. The red nature of the fruit leads a fine attack. Maybe falls off a bit quickly. Not complex. This certainly salutes Bordeaux but has some California sun to keep it real. I think the tobacco might take over if kept too much longer. I will drink the other bottle I have in the next year or two. Fine. (91)
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Still deep in color. Very nice nose of blackberries, black cherries, black raspberries, and blueberries along with licorice and chocolate. Rich, deep flavor, black currants, plums, and black cherries, and a touch of minerality. A big full bodied wine with nice complexity, very well balanced, and a long finish. Still performing well at 25 years old. While I'm not going to hold on to my remaining bottles for long, I am in no rush. Better now than our last bottle 10 years ago.
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1/18/2024 - thesternowl wrote: 92 Points
1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Omaha, NE): Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #3 had great color and was charming on the nose. Developing, the fruit was beginning to show a slightly more desiccated profile. Relative to the others in the flight, this seems a bit more like a fastball right down the middle of the plate. I called Dunn Napa. A really nice wine that was just a little less interesting relative to the others in the flight. Drink now and through 2030.
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8/20/2023 - aagrawal wrote: flawed
Corked.
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5/29/2022 - Richard P Howden wrote: 93 Points
A particularly fine bottle. Beautifully perfumed nose of violets, red fruit, cherry, cassis and a hint of mint & green pepper. More red fruit, tobacco and pepper on a mid+ weight palate. Good balance and very long peppery finish. Mouth filling. Still a bit of tannin, I think this will still improve. And yes the cork fell apart and had to be surgically extracted.
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4/16/2022 - dbkitc wrote: 91 Points
I’m enjoying this wine a good bit Beautiful garnet color. The nose bursts with cassis fruit that is slightly creamy. There is a bit of earthy elements but the pure fruit is prominent. Good weight on the palate with tobacco entering the equation on the finish. The red nature of the fruit leads a fine attack. Maybe falls off a bit quickly. Not complex. This certainly salutes Bordeaux but has some California sun to keep it real. I think the tobacco might take over if kept too much longer. I will drink the other bottle I have in the next year or two. Fine. (91)
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3/16/2022 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still deep in color. Very nice nose of blackberries, black cherries, black raspberries, and blueberries along with licorice and chocolate. Rich, deep flavor, black currants, plums, and black cherries, and a touch of minerality. A big full bodied wine with nice complexity, very well balanced, and a long finish. Still performing well at 25 years old. While I'm not going to hold on to my remaining bottles for long, I am in no rush. Better now than our last bottle 10 years ago.
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