Community Tasting Note

• Yack Man wrote: 93 points

  June 11, 2018 - Not much has changed with this wine from last time we sampled it, but it's tasty. 92-93 Points

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5 Comments

• Badmonkey commented:

  6/12/18, 7:59 AM - Nice notes on the 2016 Alpha Omega single vineyard cabs. From your experiences do you think their single vineyard cabs just need a fair amount of time to develop? I've always thought they were good but never great but I don't believe I've ever had a bottle at a prime drinking point. Still trying to be patient with a bunch of the 2013 Alpha Omega Era but I haven't bought anymore since that vintage.

• Yack Man commented:

  6/12/18, 12:02 PM - These wines are well made but they do take a long time to come around. My experience with A/O wines for 2016 I would call good, but not great in my opinion. I enjoyed the 2014 Dr. Crane, the 2014 Missouri Hopper, the 2015 Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard, the Stagecoach, and just about all of the vintages of Era. The jury is out on the 2016's. I enjoyed and purchased Thomas vineyard so far and that may be the only one for me this year. Unless I note considerable development when I taste them later on down the road, that may be the only purchase for me this year. My 2 cents.

• Badmonkey commented:

  6/12/18, 12:34 PM - Thanks for your thoughts - greatly appreciated. I did a tasting at Alpha Omega a couple years with some friends and I thought the bottled 2013 single vineyard cabs were quite good for the money but not great - although we didn't get a chance to taste the Dr Crane, To-Kalon, and Era. However, we did barrel taste the 2014 Era and 2014 To-Kalon and I was quite impressed with those wines. I have a friend of mine that usually buys a 3-pack each of the Alpha Omega Dr Crane, To-Kalon, and Era. I usually share some Carter cabs with him and he does the same with Alpha Omega. Maybe I'll just keep the Carters to myself with the 2016 vintage - just kidding. Do you happen to know how long they typically recommend laying down their single vineyard cabs? I had a bottle of the 2014 AO Dr Crane last Fall and I thought it was quite good - more or less in line with Parker's 96+ rating in my opinion. Although I also thought that vintage should benefit from another year or two for the fruit to soften/open-up a little more. Thanks again.

• Yack Man commented:

  6/13/18, 8:05 AM - KEEP ALL THE 2016 CARTERS...... Love that label and the vintage, that said Robert Parker has recommended (2014 Dr. Crane) at 30 years. Personally, I enjoy drinking Cabs early, especially when they show nicely and probably within a 4-7 year window. In my experience, I have found that many Napa Cabs have about a 8-15 year window, clearly there are exceptions. I find that many of them start to decline after about 10 ot 15 years out.

• Badmonkey commented:

  6/13/18, 8:56 AM - I feel the same - fairly young with big/bold fruit and full/vibrant flavors as long as the fruit is open for business. The reason why I continue to buy Mike Smith's cabs both direct and in the secondary market since they tend to be so approachable young. I'm having a hard time finding anything that compares well to his cabs - both the entry level cabs and higher end cabs. Take care.

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