Opened for a buddy’s birthday party. What a lovely surprise. Cork was a struggle, but hardly any seepage at all. On a table with a ridiculous amount of bottles, including standouts like ‘95 Opus, ‘85 Freemark Bosche, ‘74 Sterling Merlot, ‘13 Salon.
Pop and poured. Excellent youthful color! Deep ruby, hardly any bricking. Gorgeous aromatics of red and black berries, vanilla pipe tobacco, sweet spices. On the palate, it is wonderfully integrated and layered with stewed red and black fruits, fig, espresso, dusty coco (maybe fading signature Rutherford dust?), and a small bit of tannin at the finish keeping this buttoned-up and well structured. Excellent finish and balance. Held strong all evening. Seems as though this had a toe in the early ‘90s style of more bright Napa cabs and one toe in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s style of starting to increase ripeness…great marriage of the two. Pop and enjoy!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Omaha, NE): Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #4 had great color, had a gorgeous, slightly lifted nose. Developing, the fruit leaned a little more opulent, but only just. Some secondary characteristics beginning to emerge but no signs of fading. There was excellent structure with lovely acid. I called Staglin. A real beauty that’s ready to drink through 2037
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Surprisingly fresh for a wine this old (the deep ruby color made it look half its age) and was delicious even upon opening. Fully integrated tannins and well balanced overall. It's likely at its peak or slightly past now, but could develop more tertiary notes in the coming years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.
4/3/2024 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 94 Points
94-95
Opened for a buddy’s birthday party. What a lovely surprise. Cork was a struggle, but hardly any seepage at all. On a table with a ridiculous amount of bottles, including standouts like ‘95 Opus, ‘85 Freemark Bosche, ‘74 Sterling Merlot, ‘13 Salon.
Pop and poured. Excellent youthful color! Deep ruby, hardly any bricking. Gorgeous aromatics of red and black berries, vanilla pipe tobacco, sweet spices. On the palate, it is wonderfully integrated and layered with stewed red and black fruits, fig, espresso, dusty coco (maybe fading signature Rutherford dust?), and a small bit of tannin at the finish keeping this buttoned-up and well structured. Excellent finish and balance. Held strong all evening. Seems as though this had a toe in the early ‘90s style of more bright Napa cabs and one toe in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s style of starting to increase ripeness…great marriage of the two. Pop and enjoy!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2024 - thesternowl wrote: 94 Points
1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Omaha, NE): Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #4 had great color, had a gorgeous, slightly lifted nose. Developing, the fruit leaned a little more opulent, but only just. Some secondary characteristics beginning to emerge but no signs of fading. There was excellent structure with lovely acid. I called Staglin. A real beauty that’s ready to drink through 2037
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/27/2023 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Jammy blackberry and cherry; crunchy; layered; full finish.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/10/2023 - awitz78 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Could have been from a recent release. 375. Cork in great shape. Lots of sediment on neck. Fresh maybe but peppery. Good fruit. Medium finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/21/2023 - veraisondetre Likes this wine: 95 Points
Surprisingly fresh for a wine this old (the deep ruby color made it look half its age) and was delicious even upon opening. Fully integrated tannins and well balanced overall. It's likely at its peak or slightly past now, but could develop more tertiary notes in the coming years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment