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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 96.7 pts. and median of 97 pts. in 158 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by prelypchan on 3/2/2024 & rated 97 points: Lives up to the hype. Seductive, graphite, opulent Napa nose right out of the bottle. First sips however could have been confused for Left Bank given the restraint. Started to put on weight and extend the finish after about an hour. Was still going strong after several hours. The only thing about this bottle that kept it back from the 100 pts that multiple folks have awarded was a slightly shorter finish. Expected a bit longer finish to have given it a perfect score. Nevertheless a serious bottle of New World Cabernet. (660 views) | | | Tasted by Bcw1989 on 2/27/2024 & rated 99 points: Classic Cabernet from Napa. Drank over a two hour period. Really muscular but still has the velvety touches that makes it so unique. Lots of ripe fruits and still possessed tannins making this vintage one for the ages and still has long life ahead in the cellar (625 views) | | | Tasted by Baxterna on 2/18/2024 & rated 100 points: What can I say. Perfection. I don’t like any wine I’ve ever tasted more than this bottle. We poured it into a decantur, and it lasted a solid hour sipping this velvety masterpiece with 2 of our closest friends. Incidentally, the same friend that initially introduced us to scarecrow wines a few years back. What a joy. Maybe it gets better with time or maybe it’s at an apex of divinity? The perfect balance of fruit, acidity, and tannins. Deep red, full-bodied, velvety-smooth, mouthful of California deliciousness. (729 views) | | | Tasted by A&C on 2/17/2024 & rated 100 points: Patience pays off. This is an incredible wine. We had it with friends and paired it with a 2004 Quilceda Creek. They were both fabulous wines, but this Scarecrow was incredibly memorable and a perfect wine. Wow. Winemaking at its finest. A rare treat. Glad I have one more in the cellar to look forward to drinking. (656 views) | | | Tasted by Michael Moore on 8/5/2023 & rated 99 points: Perfect. Drank side by side with a 2001 Ridge Monte Bello. No Decant. Developed beautifully in our glasses over a two hour dinner at Mission Ranch in Carmel. Toss up for WOTN. (1990 views) | | | Tasted by D.Callahan on 6/17/2023 & rated 98 points: Absolutely delicious! Decanted at the start of dinner at Fleming's Steak House. The nose developed slowly until the steaks arrived when it seemed fully developed with rich but structured notes. The wine's structural bones and perfect acidity came alive paired with a rich juicy ribeye. Multiple notes of dark fruit and spices added interest on an almost weightless body followed by a nice long finish. This wine should only be enjoyed with rich meat to maximize your enjoyment. No sign of fading so count on years of life for any remaining bottles. (1787 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 12/10/2022 & rated 91 points: Still inky and very tannic. There’s a core of intense black fruit surrounded by acid, oak and structure. It seems hardly to have evolved. It did soften some in the glass, though so maybe more time will help sort things out. But no one will accuse it of being a fruit bomb like some California cults. (3181 views) | | | Tasted by ScottDKahn on 10/25/2022: 19th anniversary (3019 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 5/19/2022 & rated 96 points: Scarecrow - Complete Vertical 2003-2019 + 2x PNV: Non blind. Not decanted. It is obvious, why Scarecrow has the status it has. This is truly one of the very best Napa wines. A few observations: 1) The absolute highlight in almost all vintages is Scarecrow’s ability to combine aromatic density and intensity with absolute weightlessness. Very, very few Napa Valley wines achieve that kind of weightlessness - other than Harlan, probably no other wine that consistently over the vintages. More recent vintages are of course a touch less weightless (due to their youth) but are as light and airy as any wine in the respective vintage. 2) The wines have a lot of substance with a flavor profile with lots of red berries and floral notes complementing the dark Cabernet fruits, always lots of earthy minerality and some herbs and sensuous, luxurious oaky notes reminding me of Cheval Blanc. 3) While probably Bordeaux-esque for Napa standards in its appearance, it is still distinctively a Napa wine. In the early years, I even found a touch too much ripeness and some alcohol heat in the wines which doesn’t seem to be an issue in the vintages of this decade. 4) These wines all are great to drink, only the structured vintages of 2010, 2013 as well as the 2016 were not really open for business and would have needed decanting. All others showed great right out of the bottle.
TN: Very intense nose full of ripe dark fruit, cassis, lots of minerality and earthy aromas. Quite ripe and layered and very precise. On the palate this is much less ripe, much more red fruits and floral aromas, violets, minerality, earthy notes and herbs. Light as a feather, absolutely weightless, ultra fine tannins, high and perfectly integrated acidity, good length but not a really expanding finish. A great wine with some points deducted for the slightly too ripe nose and rather unspectacular finish. But easily 95/96 pts and the best vintage since the inaugural 2003 vintage.
Decanting: Not decanted. Does not seem in need of lots of air, good from the go. (4998 views) | | | Tasted by G_H on 5/12/2022 & rated 96 points: A complete Scarecrow vertical: Red berries, chocolate, some cassis, dense and opulent in the nose with a great elegant body, this was incredibly long. Unfortunately, the nose had a slightly overripe touch. That overripe touch is also a factor that makes me a bit weary of the aging potential, as in similar wines, I have experienced this to intensify with age. (3435 views) | | | Tasted by R&R on 4/23/2022 & rated 97 points: Still absolutely amazing. Was backwards, but after 30 minutes became so perfectly integrated! Very classic Rutherford dark fruit, cedar, and "dust". More complex and sexy than a powerhouse. Really floored everyone. (3163 views) | | | Tasted by Labrador on 3/4/2022 & rated 96 points: Yes, this was the WOTN - but that is just the beginning.
It was beautifully elegance, incredibly balanced, predominantly red fruit with a bit of dark fruit, so very smooth on the palate, and with a wonderful long finish. Yet, with all of this elegance, beauty and lightness there was a power in this wine - like the best of Chateau Margaux. It still has a long life ahead of it.
To add to the experience of outstanding wine, wonderful food and great friends, we also enjoyed many lovely wines one of which was a beautiful 2007 Cornerstone Howell Mountain Cab. Both wines were made by Celia Welch. (2529 views) | | | Tasted by cch1966 on 1/29/2022 & rated 97 points: Decanted 4 hours. Powerful wine with notes of black currant, pepper and cedar. Complex with a loooong finish. Great wine that will improve over the next decade. (2506 views) | | | Tasted by A&C on 10/15/2021 & rated 99 points: To be honest, this wine blew me away. Elegant, refined, structured, deep in flavor, with a lovely nose, and rich ripe fruit. I kept thinking to myself, "holy shit, this is really, really good." I would characterize this wine as memorable and one of the finest examples of a California Cab I've ever been lucky enough to consume. I will treasure my last two bottles. (2769 views) | | | Tasted by Brett on 8/19/2021 & rated 98 points: Unreal wine! As close to perfect as you can get. (2917 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 7/16/2021 & rated 97 points: Annual gathering with Chicago winos in Chicago (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Explosive nose displaying classic Napa cult cab nose, crème de cassis, blackberry jam, Cabernet mineral dust, cedar, vanilla/oak, rose, lead pencil, dark spices and crushed rocks. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of unbelievably concentrated black and blue fruit, unctuous and rich, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and a long concerted black and blue fruit driven mineral finish with a hint of caramel at the end. This is moving at a glacial speed. This is a quintessential Napa Cult cab from the ear where bigger was better. Not sure how this will evolve. (3405 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 7/16/2021 & rated 87 points: DC/Chicago Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Massive but one dimensional for me. Ripe fruit makes this finish too warm, and as a result this isn't aging gracefully. I liked this years ago when very fresh, not at all tonight. But this isn't the style of Cabernet I prefer. (3465 views) | | | Tasted by eschuldt on 5/3/2021 & rated 96 points: A little closed to start but opened up and drank nicely with filet mignon. Open 1hr before consumption. (3076 views) | | | Tasted by HoostineFL on 2/12/2021 & rated 93 points: Was this wine good to great? Yes. Is it a borderline 4 digit bottle? Not unless I’m /really/ missing something. Opened and cork was in great shape ... upon opening the nose was giving almost nothing (to the point I was worried about the wine being sound) ... decanted, aerated, and decanted back into the bottle 3 hours later before taking it to the restaurant. Typical valley floor flavor profile of black fruit, soft round tannins, nice balance and as expected very respectable length. Hint of Rutherford dust. Otherwise kind of a pretty unremarkable bottle of Napa cab for which I wouldn’t expect to pay more than $100-150. (2976 views) | | | Tasted by Fid on 1/3/2021: Very disappointing. A bit astringent and not much fruit. Must be an off bottle. (3085 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 10/8/2020 & rated 97 points: Jailbreak Wine Dinner - Krug 168, Ultramarine, MacDonald and etc. (Jailbreak Brewery, Laurel, MD): Expressive nose displaying ripe cult Cabernet driven nose displaying crème de cassis, blackberry concentrate, a hint of green, cedar, vanilla, rose, lead pencil and limestone dust. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of perfectly ripe black fruit, opulent yet polished and precise, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, noticeable fine tannins, and a long concentrated black fruit driven finish. There is a singular expression of Cabernet with Cabernet floral dust. This is a very structured Cab. Drinking beautifully and impressively in a youthful way. (4390 views) | | | Tasted by MJMorris55 on 8/1/2020 & rated 97 points: Beautiful inky color, nose of blueberries, dark cherries, rich flavors of ripe plum, dark fruit and hints of oak and tobacco. (3299 views) | | | Tasted by Cow Town on 1/19/2020 & rated 95 points: My first Scarecrow, and it was really good. Excellent. But, I am a bit surprised by the super high scores out there. It seemed very similar to what Greer is producing, but Greer (to me) has more balance, both on the nose and finish. I am really please at how well the Scarecrow has aged - seems like an infant, with years to go. Maybe this turns into a 100 point wine for me in 10-20 years. But, either way, glad to have had it. (4300 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 11/25/2019 & rated 95 points: This is a pretty epic Cali Cab, even to my old world biased palate. Rich and pure fruit with very suave, fine structure. Great concentration in an ethereal package. Worthy of its reputation. (4061 views) | | | Tasted by Mike V on 3/8/2019 & rated 95 points: Ok, so this is a terrific Cab. Nice dark fruit nose. Not too sweet, great with Bryan’s American Wagyu strip. (5175 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Up From The Cellar No. 15 and Miscellaneous New Releases (8/17/2021)
(Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vintage Retrospective: The 2007 Napa Valley Cabernets (May 2017) (5/17/2017)
(Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon (rutherford) Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (7/24/2014)
(Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/3/2013)
(Scarecrow Rutherford Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2009, IWC Issue #144
(Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (4/6/2013)
(Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon) Dark red violet color; deep, focused, ripe black fruit, pencil lead, tart black currant nose; rich, ripe black currant, ripe blackberry, pencil lead, ripe blueberry, tarragon palate with good structure and firm sweet tannins; needs 2-3 years; long finish (14.6% alcohol) 97 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and Vinous and WineAlign and JancisRobinson.com and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Scarecrow Producer websiteCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Rutherford Rutherford,
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