2005 August Briggs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 88.9 points

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  12/20/2016 - Jay Win Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Nice nose with medium body and good fruit profile. I don't see much improvement but will hold a few years. Grade of B+.
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  11/6/2016 - Magnum PI Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Had this bottle without decanting with baked potato, cooked carrots, and vegetarian Fri-Chik. I thought the alcohol (13.8) was fairly apparent on the nose at first, but subsided quickly. Good color, secondary flavors, tannins integrated. I have been drinking this wine in several vintages for the past 7-8 years, and am a big fan. I highly recommend this label. The '05 does not disappoint. Very solid vintage, probably close to, or in it's prime. Will go another 5 years before declining, maybe longer.
  
  Initially I found melted licorice, currants, cigar, leather. With time, maybe an hour, again, without decanting, green olive began to develop, and the leather aspect became more pronounced. Brookie felt the finish was a bit . . . sloppy and less precise. Honestly, she can be such a snob sometimes.
  
  Last night we drank an '04 Darioush, decanted, and in my opinion, this was the superior bottle in many respects, although I will concede the Darioush was a bit prettier and more restrained. This bottle should be decanted for probably a good hour, and can certainly be stored in a cool cellar for another 3-5 years. These grapes were sourced from mountain vineyards, so probably this will go longer than that. (Think Mayacamas, but not to THAT extent.)
  
  When I first started drinking wine a dozen years ago, I was mostly a Napa cab guy. So, over the years, I have drank many, many Napa cab bottles from 2001 on and am particularly familiar with bottles from '04-'07. This is very good juice. I cannot recommend it enough. Even though Napa is not really my priority these days, I will buy a case of the '13. I feel pretty comfortable saying that this is a 91-93 point bottle . . . the high end of the scale being partially earned on the potential for even MORE development a decade down the road.
  
  Okay, now for the punch line. I paid $50 for this bottle.

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  11/24/2013 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:

  Medium bodied, dark color, lots of fruit, but not a fruit bomb. Spiciness from the tannins. Excellent!

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  5/10/2012 - ldluttrell wrote: 91 Points

  Excellent wine, deep rich color, nice fruit, soft tanners, velvet, great on the finish

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  11/12/2011 - Mike Kopanski wrote: 91 Points

  Rodney and Linda Abee's Almost Annual Wino's Appreciation Party (Chateau Abee, Bakersfield Road, Columbia, SC): We are lucky that one of our friends is a member of their wine club who has held back several of the member only wines. This one is another gem in their repertoire of stylish, fruit forward, full bodied red wines. Their style of rich, luscious, but still elegant wines really matches my palate. They combined two distinctive, well know vineyard sources, Atlas Peak and Spring Mountain. You have some of that rounded, open, ripe Stagecoach Vineyard Atlas Peak fruit, combined with the sharp, structured, and tighter Spring Mountain fruit. Lots of dark purple color. Interesting deep nose with violets, cherries and some earthy components. All kinds of red and black fruit, especially bright blueberry and dark cherry. No question that the extra bottle age has improved the harmony and integration of this wine. Many of those non fruit secondary enhancing flavors, like cigar, tar, and licorice have emerged. 20 months in oak has rounded everything out, and brought us some of that chocolate on the finish. Very soft and fruity finish for a Cabernet.

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