2012 The Grade Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Kingly Project Winfield Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 95.8 points

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  5/30/2022 - mdvillaverde wrote: flawed

  No notes or score bc bottle seemed not to have been properly stored.

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  3/8/2020 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Initially quite closed and tight with big chewy tannins. After 20-30 minutes it started to open up nicely though. This is a very big and full bodied wine, huge structure... fruit is concentrated but restrained. I would have probably guessed Italy if this was served to me blind -- makes me think of Tuscany more so than Napa. Reminded me of a younger vintage of Ornellaia, actually. Very classy stuff. It's certainly approachable and enjoyable now with air, but there's a lot of room for improvement here. Would like to try again in 5 years.

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  2/27/2019 - csimm wrote: 95 Points

  Previous notes apply in terms of this wine’s specific flavor profile, except the intensity of this is starting to down-shift as it continues to age in bottle. For some, this is welcomed news, as certain palates prefer a more medium-bodied animal. I am personally drawn to the stronger push this displayed before, as it equates to speed and verve, to which a big-fruited wine such as the Kingly certainly needs. I don’t care for power just for the sake of power. But here, power serves the purpose of carrying the hefty fruit and chocolate notes through the entire delivery without stalling out or being too weighty.
  
  For my palate, this is a drink now and over the next few years kind of wine. This is still a decent sized specimen, but it has pulled back on the throttle some. The mid-palate hits with intent, but it lifts off on to the finish with a more medium, sauntering style at this point. Flavor concentration is notable and still makes for a saturated mouthfeel. Essentially this transitioned from compelling to simply yummy.

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  6/17/2017 - csimm wrote: 98 Points

  Same as my note from 2 months ago. The best of all The Grade 2012/2013/2014 wines (standard and Kingly). The 2012 Kingly truly has that opulent, concentrated, and rich display of dark fruit, earth, and spice that I love. Silky but intense mocha-laced tannins roll up on the back end.
  
  97-98 points this go-around (It was a hot day and I had just tasted through the amazing 2015 Carter Cabernets earlier, so that likely kept this from being a 99 point showing again).

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  4/22/2017 - csimm wrote: 99 Points

  An unbelievable showing this go-around. My previous notes apply from last year, except that an extra year in bottle has certainly done wonders for this wine.
  
  PnP was a Cary Grant/Humphrey Bogart old school open-palm slap in the face with a whole array of wildly dark black fruit flavors and tannins fighting for air. My girl took and sip, calmly put the glass down, and politely said, "Jeezus that's a big friggin' wine!" Then she took another sip, and another...
  
  Decanted for about an hour at 54 degrees (though it found its glide even before that - by 15 minutes of air it was already on its way to excellence). But after an hour, the rest, as they say, is history. All it needed was a little air and it was singing throughout the rest of consumption.
  
  My favorite kind of DARK fruit; my favorite kind of subtle chocolate and spice notes; my favorite kind of inky, viscous concentration. Mid-palate was deep, unctuous, and at the same time, completely smooth and silky. An incredible overall palate and mouth-coating experience.
  
  If you got 'em, drink 'em. Open for business with just a bit of air. After a total of 3 hours of open air it mellowed out some, but never lost traction or depth. This reminded me of a "thicker" version of a 2012 Tor Cimarossa I had fairly recently (which was also epic). Big, dark, dark, fruit. Wet road tar, pen ink, and cacao, all circling perfectly around pure black fruit flavors. Has the spine to go a number of years, but why wait?!
  
  98-99 points.

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