1986 Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series

Community Tasting Notes (22) Avg Score: 89.7 points

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  6/30/2023 - JRockEsq Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Method: great cork; 20 minute decant; Grasse 1855; 66 degrees
  
  Look: medium- brick garnet (orange tint)
  
  Nose: dried cherry, mint, clove, leather, dry tobacco, licorice, dried herbs; long finish of mint, black pepper, leather, licorice; dry; medium- body; high- very fine, chalky tannin (maybe some sediment in here); medium+ sharp acidity
  
  Overall thoughts: Excellent nose and great complexity, but the acidity is sharp and there is still a lot of tannins. Very good wine.

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  6/30/2023 - AlyssaRock12 wrote: 88 Points

  Nose: cigar box, leather, dried cherry, mint, dried herbs, dried tobacco, tree bark, plum sauce, cedar
  
  Palate: gun smoke, flint, cedar, dried leather, dried herbs, cherry, blood orange; long finish of leather, gun smoke and flint; high- chalky tannins; med acidity; med body
  
  Overall: still has some great notes and is thought provoking. The structure is a little off, will be great with a fatty steak!

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  4/21/2022 - GrapeScott wrote: 88 Points

  From a pristine lot, still wrapped in the original tissue, with fills high into the neck and wine staining only the very base of the cork. This is my second bottle and I must say, this is an odd wine. Neither BDX nor Napa cab, which is not only metaphorically appropriate but also factually accurate since this hails form Sonoma. On day 1, coffee notes dominated the nose, overpowering whatever fruit and nuance lay underneath. I suspect the oak regimen was poorly executed, and even at age 36, this took a lot of air, pours through the Vinturi, decanting and time to come around. But by day 3, the coffee and vanillin notes had subsided a bit, giving way to a pleasant herbal spiciness on the nose (pink peppercorn?), grilled lamb and currant flavors. The palate is a bit green and lean, with massive tannins that linger on the smoke-tinged finish. This is a wine that needs serious time in the decanter to show its best.

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  1/23/2022 - GrapeScott wrote: 87 Points

  Fill into neck with a perfect cork, with only the smallest amount of wine creeping up the edges. Deep purple color with no signs of bricking. There seemed to be a bit of reduction on the nose, with some cabbage aromas that blew off quickly, leaving cassis, espresso and savory herbal notes. A rather stern, lean and unforgiving wine, that is all structure right now. Old school, with a wall of tannin, chewy dry midpalate and plenty of acidity. Did not really budge after being open for three evenings, so I would disagree with those who call this over the hill. That said, I'm not really sure what lies ahead, and if the fruit will every win out over the structure. A wine that needs food. This made Wine Spectator's Top 100 in 1989 at #21 with a 95 rating, but dropped to a 91 in a '96 retrospective of '86 cabs.

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  7/28/2018 - mflesh wrote:

  There were two aged Napa cabs opened up tonight. This wine outdid the 84 Mondavi Reserve without much deliberation from the crew of 20+. It was a bit surprising as it is common for most 80's Napa to start losing their fruit. But this one...wow. Definitely had a more supple aged berry note although this wine is most assuredly on the decline. No need to decant at this age. Pop the cork and pass it around before it crashes!
  Impressive at its age without a doubt.

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