Still in its prime drinking window. An noir decant and this Washington cab was singing. Plum, tapenade and softening tannins made for a delicious wine at a good QPR.
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Black cherry, crushed stone and exotic spice aromas that open to densely layered plum, tobacco and olive flavors, finishing with big but refined tannins. 5 Star QPR.
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Delicious Washington cab. One hour decant. It is nicely balanced with dark purple fruit, not overly extracted but keeps a solid framework throughout the night. Ready to drink now.
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(Sparkman Cellars Holler Cabernet Sauvignon) Hello friends. Very pleased today that we can offer Chris Sparkman’s outstanding Holler Cabernet Sauvignon for only the second time in this wine’s existence. It wasn’t easy either; it required pre-buying the entire remaining stash in western Washington. This wine is essentially sold out everywhere else west of the mountains.We went a little long (read: 56 bottles) on this wine because it has been incredibly difficult to source since 2013, when it scored 94pts and a coveted place on Spectator’s year-end Top 100 list. This year, we wanted to make sure we had enough. This clocks in at 14.5% listed alc and kicks off with an attractive Cabernet nose: black plum, dark chocolate, dark soil; there’s something wonderfully loamy and earthy here, offering a beautiful counterpoint to the deep dark fruit and smoky barrel tones. Palate-wise, this is the classic reverse mullet: party in the front, business in the back. The attack is all richness and plush fruit, and then somewhere around the mid-palate, the tannins pick up and carry this all the way through a lengthy, chewy finish. You can taste the classy vineyards here; so too the classy winemaking. This is a bottling that offers polish and intensity and complexity more often seen in Cabernets that command twice its price.
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1/19/2024 - Dine&Vine wrote: 92 Points
Still in its prime drinking window. An noir decant and this Washington cab was singing. Plum, tapenade and softening tannins made for a delicious wine at a good QPR.
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11/10/2022 - ibglowin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black cherry, crushed stone and exotic spice aromas that open to densely layered plum, tobacco and olive flavors, finishing with big but refined tannins. 5 Star QPR.
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3/24/2022 - Dine&Vine wrote: 90 Points
Delicious Washington cab. One hour decant. It is nicely balanced with dark purple fruit, not overly extracted but keeps a solid framework throughout the night. Ready to drink now.
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12/19/2020 - stevemar Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted 1 hr. Dark purple, long legs. Dark fruits, cocoa, smoke, soft to medium tannins. Balanced.
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11/14/2020 - ddemetri Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fantastic value for price ($35). Pleasant nose and balanced palate. Good structure and finish.
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