Does not say diamond mountain on the label but yes it tastes like it. Smooth tannins, fruity and chocolate tonight. A bigger wine than it looks at first glance. I was down on the 2009s in general but this one restores my confidence!
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Very pretty wine, probably at the peak of its drinking window. Very soft and full in the mouth. If it didn't say Napa Cabernet on the label, I would have thought that Merlot was the dominant grape here. Soft and lush and pretty. We can't have wine attacking our palates every night so this was a welcome change of pace.
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I coravined a taste of this last night. As I was sipping it, I was thinking that if you didn’t have a trained, sharp palate, many would call this Napa or Mendoza Malbec. Largely because of its bountiful milk chocolate/Mocha qualities with bright blue-purple florals.
The nose is beautiful, deep, dark, ripe, currants/cassis, dark cherries, blackberries, blue & purple fruit mix, pomegranate with baked, strawberries on the glass edges. Sweet berry cola to light fruit liqueur, vanilla, alluvial soils, clay, dry crushed rocks, notes of root beer, malted milk balls, light caramel, mocha, milk chocolate, soft dry herbs, black licorice to the core of anise, underbrush, slightly used leather, dry tobacco, some dark spice, with fresh, bright dark & red florals.
The body is full and lush. Mouthfeel gorgeous. The tannins are round but, still have some tarry teethiness. The structure, tension are still sizable. The length and balance have hit a nice groove. Still 10-15 years of good drink ahead. Deep, dark, ripe, currants/cassis, dark cherries, blackberries, blue & purple fruit mix, pomegranate with baked, strawberries on the glass edges. Sweet berry cola to cherry kirsch fruit liqueur, vanilla, black licorice to anise, alluvial soils, clay, dark, rich, turned earth, dry crushed rocks, graphite, dry tobacco, underbrush, notes of root beer, malted milk balls, light caramel, mocha, milk chocolate, soft dry herbs, black licorice to the core of anise, underbrush, slightly used leather, dry tobacco, dark spice with rising palate heat, with fresh, bright dark, red florals with violets. The acidity is near perfect. The long, rich, lush, ripe well balanced, finish persists endlessly.
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Initially thought this might be flawed, but showed hints of promise. Blue/purple fruit with bramble green notes, awful sour acidic back end. Did not improve with time, nor did it fall off a cliff. Bottle 1 was great, this one was not. Better than a 2016 Mount Veeder served along with it. Calendar says this was a leaf day, so maybe there’s something to the lunar calendar and tasting effects.
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3/6/2024 - Mapleglo330 wrote: 94 Points
Does not say diamond mountain on the label but yes it tastes like it. Smooth tannins, fruity and chocolate tonight. A bigger wine than it looks at first glance. I was down on the 2009s in general but this one restores my confidence!
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11/23/2020 - Topper wrote: 92 Points
Very pretty wine, probably at the peak of its drinking window. Very soft and full in the mouth. If it didn't say Napa Cabernet on the label, I would have thought that Merlot was the dominant grape here. Soft and lush and pretty. We can't have wine attacking our palates every night so this was a welcome change of pace.
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2/17/2020 - pogreb Likes this wine: 94 Points
Big but very balanced Napa Cab. Expertly done.
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7/21/2019 - Somm David T Likes this wine: 94 Points
I coravined a taste of this last night. As I was sipping it, I was thinking that if you didn’t have a trained, sharp palate, many would call this Napa or Mendoza Malbec. Largely because of its bountiful milk chocolate/Mocha qualities with bright blue-purple florals.
The nose is beautiful, deep, dark, ripe, currants/cassis, dark cherries, blackberries, blue & purple fruit mix, pomegranate with baked, strawberries on the glass edges. Sweet berry cola to light fruit liqueur, vanilla, alluvial soils, clay, dry crushed rocks, notes of root beer, malted milk balls, light caramel, mocha, milk chocolate, soft dry herbs, black licorice to the core of anise, underbrush, slightly used leather, dry tobacco, some dark spice, with fresh, bright dark & red florals.
The body is full and lush. Mouthfeel gorgeous. The tannins are round but, still have some tarry teethiness. The structure, tension are still sizable. The length and balance have hit a nice groove. Still 10-15 years of good drink ahead. Deep, dark, ripe, currants/cassis, dark cherries, blackberries, blue & purple fruit mix, pomegranate with baked, strawberries on the glass edges. Sweet berry cola to cherry kirsch fruit liqueur, vanilla, black licorice to anise, alluvial soils, clay, dark, rich, turned earth, dry crushed rocks, graphite, dry tobacco, underbrush, notes of root beer, malted milk balls, light caramel, mocha, milk chocolate, soft dry herbs, black licorice to the core of anise, underbrush, slightly used leather, dry tobacco, dark spice with rising palate heat, with fresh, bright dark, red florals with violets. The acidity is near perfect. The long, rich, lush, ripe well balanced, finish persists endlessly.
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2/8/2019 - Geaux Tigers Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Initially thought this might be flawed, but showed hints of promise. Blue/purple fruit with bramble green notes, awful sour acidic back end. Did not improve with time, nor did it fall off a cliff. Bottle 1 was great, this one was not. Better than a 2016 Mount Veeder served along with it. Calendar says this was a leaf day, so maybe there’s something to the lunar calendar and tasting effects.
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