No need to wait any longer. From cellar to glass, swirled and allowed to warm 10-15 minutes. Big nose, bold Cabernet with a hint of funk at the end. The latter soon dissipated, and the wine was wonderful with beef stroganoff. After 2 hours it got subdued, but don't let it go that long!
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I feel this wine's reviews here are a bit understated and modest - we love this wine! Great balance, encompassing first impression on the nose, deep color and classic varietal character with a lingering finish - just gets better every time we have it - glad to have another several bottles of the 2014. Even better 1-2 hours later.
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45 minute decant. Deep red/purple color, opaque. Nose: not giving anything away initially. Palate: big, lush fruit, black cherry, cocoa, coffee, leather. Not an oak bomb + nice acidity, aside from the powerful fruit it's pretty restrained. Best aMaurice i've ever had.
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Hommage a DryCab - Washington Wines release; 5/3/2018-5/5/2018 (Various spots in Walla Walla): My favorite of the reds in the tasting. This was lots of darker fruit profile with an almost sweetness to it that was balanced by more of a graphite, chocolate structure. A bit more intense, but also a new release so suspect it could use a few years of bottle age. Interesting wine.
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(aMaurice Owl and Crown Estate Cabernet Sauvignon) Hello friends. The wines of aMaurice tell many stories. Every bottle tells the story of Maurice Schafer—the winery’s namesake—a generous community member and businessman. The story of Tom Schafer drinking a 1962 Mouton Rothschild in Tahiti at the age of 19. The story of Anna Schafer and the two harvests she worked for Paul Hobbs's Viña Cobos in Mendoza, Argentina. But today’s story isn’t about a person, it’s about a place: the aMaurice Estate Vineyard. To find this vineyard, head east out of Walla Walla along Mill Creek Road. You’ll pass K Vintners and their estate Phil Lane Vineyard. Then you’ll pass Abeja, and their estate Mill Creek Vineyard. Further up the drainage, you’ll find Leonetti’s Mill Creek Upland Vineyard, Figgins Estate Vineyard, Tokar Vineyard, and finally, aMaurice Estate Vineyard. The vineyard, planted in 2006, sits 1475 ft. above sea level on a gradual southwest-facing slope in the MillCreek Valley. Shaped by the receding power of the Missoula floods, this vineyard, and the surrounding area, is made from thousand year old wind-deposited silt loam. This soil runs 10 feet thick at aMaurice vineyard, creating a well-drained bed that covers basalt on the upper half of the property and ancient Mill Creek flood plain gravel in the lower half. This entire subsection of the Walla Walla Valley is unlike anything else in the state. The silky texture of silt loam mixed with the increased elevation and rainfall of the area creates a consistent supply of moisture during the growing season. This allows growers to play around with dryland-farming their sites (no irrigation); aMaurice uses supplemental irrigation in the late summer, only if needed. This is indeed a frontier for Washington wine, beyond the usual hype of a buzzy winemaker or a newly planted vineyard. There is a different type of excitement in the air—a chance to taste a new piece of terroir within our state. Both wines today come from aMaurice’s Estate: one white and one red to showcase what this vineyard is capable of—and the frontier it’s helping to explore. A wine that’s only made in the best vintages, Owl and Crown may just be the crown-jewel of aMaurice’s lineup. At least Jeb Dunnuck seems to think so. He has reviewed this wine over the last two vintages, bestowing the 2013 94pts and 2014 96pts (review text below). In his 2013 review of Anna’s wines, Jeb wrote, “without a doubt, this is the finest lineup of wines I've tasted from her, and I still believe the best is yet to come from this estate.” And he was right, the best was yet to come, for in 2014 he wrote, “winemaker Anna Schafer continues to ratchet up the quality, and this is the finest set of wines I’ve tasted from her.” Through Owl and Crown, Anna is slowly building one of the best Cabernet track records in Washington state. It’s not hard to see what Jeb loves so much about this wine. The nose has a lovely, playful lift—full of dark cherry, leafy tobacco, leather, and toasted spice. The palate provides deep intensity of fruit, juicy acidity, and firm tannins that resolve into a lingering finish. Classy yet playful, elegant with plenty of personality. The listed alcohol is 14.7%. Wine Advocate: Copyrighted material withheld.
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2/28/2024 - NavyVet6874 wrote: 94 Points
No need to wait any longer. From cellar to glass, swirled and allowed to warm 10-15 minutes. Big nose, bold Cabernet with a hint of funk at the end. The latter soon dissipated, and the wine was wonderful with beef stroganoff. After 2 hours it got subdued, but don't let it go that long!
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12/2/2021 - otomgg Likes this wine: 94 Points
I feel this wine's reviews here are a bit understated and modest - we love this wine! Great balance, encompassing first impression on the nose, deep color and classic varietal character with a lingering finish - just gets better every time we have it - glad to have another several bottles of the 2014. Even better 1-2 hours later.
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12/11/2019 - alexfrank Likes this wine: 91 Points
45 minute decant. Deep red/purple color, opaque. Nose: not giving anything away initially. Palate: big, lush fruit, black cherry, cocoa, coffee, leather. Not an oak bomb + nice acidity, aside from the powerful fruit it's pretty restrained. Best aMaurice i've ever had.
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12/31/2018 - bugdoced wrote: 87 Points
somewhat disjointed though still quite drinkable
some cellar time would be helpful I think
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5/5/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Hommage a DryCab - Washington Wines release; 5/3/2018-5/5/2018 (Various spots in Walla Walla): My favorite of the reds in the tasting. This was lots of darker fruit profile with an almost sweetness to it that was balanced by more of a graphite, chocolate structure. A bit more intense, but also a new release so suspect it could use a few years of bottle age. Interesting wine.
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