2005 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale

Community Tasting Notes (28) Avg Score: 92.7 points

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  11/2/2022 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points

  Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank a couple glasses over 4 hours. Great nose; perfumed, violets, high pitched, wood spice, cassis, forest floor, scorched earth, toasted barrel. The scorched earth aspect was a bit distracting at times, though as this sat in glass it would integrate more and by the time we were a good 90 minutes in this was really singing. The palate was a little slower to fully develop: creme de cassis, blackberry, wood, scorched earth, sappy cherry, full bodied, spicy, pepper, moderate round tannins. This peaked about 3 hours in and was going strong. No rush.

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  6/21/2020 - rocknroller wrote: 95 Points

  Very dark red color. PNP. Split bottle over 3 hours. Opened this for my Dad on Father's Day up at the Ranch. This was another exceptional example of this wine. The perfumed nose is a provocative mix of focused cassis and bright blackberries, ground pencil, earth and scorched earth with nuanced dried American oak. The palate shows impeccable balance and finesse, with the signature harmony of a Dick Arrowood wine. While this has a long life ahead of it, it is drinking beautifully now. The palate shows a purity and lift from the wild mountain fruits of black currants, blackberries and tart boysenberry. The tar and pencil is woven into the dark fruits in a seamless fashion with the dried wood notes forging the perfect accent. As good as this is, and it is very good; I find the '02 to be even slightly more compelling. Maybe a few more years will swing the pendulum. I'm happy to find out. This paired great with our pan seared Magret duck breast and morels. 95pts.

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  8/18/2019 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Started off the evening's wine retreat with this bottle and great friends who enjoy these wonderfully aged Cali Cabs. This wine never disappoints (unless you get a counterfeit one!). Just wonderfully aged red/black cab fruit. Still some oak and gentle acidity to back it up. Great with Medjool dates wrapped in bacon, stuffed with chorizo......

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  7/26/2019 - Mark1npt Does not like this wine:

  Wow! After probably 2000 bottles, my very first counterfeit bottle of wine!
  
  Had another '05 earlier this evening. A legit aged Dick Arrowood cab/wine. Coravined a glass of another bottle. Cork was depressed a good quarter inch. This wine is dark, reeking of American oak and is NOT a Dick Arrowood cab, let alone an '05 rendition. At most it is from 2014 and reeks of Alexander Valley Silver Oak. Or something similar. Wish I could remember where I got this from. I'd raise Holy Hell!
  
  Buyer beware out there!

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  7/26/2019 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Oh my......been a fan of Dick Arrowood for awhile now. My first '05 in nearly 2 years. Initial impression? Cork dried out, two thirds broke off. Couldn't remove the rest so pushed it down into the bottle and used a finer to pour into the decanter. Medium garnet red with slight bricking at the edges.
  
  Initial nose? Insecticide, wayyyy too much cork and wood. We actually thought it was bad at first!
  
  30 min later? Lead pencil and a light earth, mushroom, briar component.
  
  30 min later? Heaven in a glass......silky smooth medium weight mouth feel, perfectly aged red/black fruit. A hint of cedar, perfectly integrated tannins and acidity throughout. This is another great Arrowood cab from the legendary Dick Arrowood. If Millennials only knew what they were missing by not knowing or experiencing history.....

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