2/6/2021 - Scooter wrote:

I usually don't add a tasting note for my wines but as someone who has been a Schrader member for years, I have to say this was the most disappointing bottle I have had from them. A lot of minerality and no depth. This was after a six hour decant. Everyone in our group have at least three bottles a year from this producer and agreed this was the most lacking we ever had.

5/11/2020 - Scooter wrote:

Two hour decant. Had this with ribs for Mother's Day. Actually went well with the food. Very subtle. Not the usual Schrader but still enjoyable. Ready to drink now.

12/25/2018 - Scooter wrote:

Tried it over two days. Really enjoyable on the second day with lots of fruit still showing. Should be good for the next year or so still.

11/19/2016 - Scooter wrote:

The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like alcohol/hot and black pepper. It tastes like blackberry, strong anise and raspberry. The body is light/medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
Four hour decant. Disappointed with this bottle. Everyone enjoyed it more than I did.

2/8/2011 - Scooter wrote:

Deep color and was really rich from the get go. Went well with everyone's steak dinner. This is ready now.

10/26/2009 - Scooter wrote:

Much better than the last bottle. Dark colored, tannins has settled down since the last tasting. I would recommend now .

3/1/2009 - Scooter wrote:

Popped and poured. Full with no bite to it at all. I don't use this term much with Pinots but this had a multi-layered elegance to me. Ready to drink now.

1/24/2009 - Scooter wrote:

This was the dinner red for the Annual Rotary Wine Dinner. Decanted eight hours prior. Very elegant with deep fruit flavors. This was my favorite this night opposite the 2001 Arrowood, David Arthur and 1999 Hartwell Cabs. For this price, you can't beat it.

1/24/2009 - Scooter wrote:

Decanted six hours ahead of time for Annual Rotary Wine Dinner. This really evolved during this time. Pretty subtle at opening but came out screaming during the tasting. Still plenty of tannins left in this. This was a lot more powerful than previous Arrowood's. Many in the group enjoyed this.

1/24/2009 - Scooter wrote:

First offering for our annual Rotary Wine Dinner. Vibrant with some caramel/apple tinge to it. I agree with an earlier note to try this just above room temperature.

5/30/2008 - Scooter wrote:

This is actually a nice little bottle of wine to drink. Had last night with a group who drink wine pretty regularly and all of us were shocked at how good this actually was. I'm practically got this for free and found this too be the surprise of the year so far.

5/30/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Had with a group in a dinner setting. Don't go by the timeframe others put in for this. Way to young yet to open. Was open for about 30 minutes before tasting and done so for over two hours. Opened up to a light berry taste to it which was really hindered by the tanins. We also had the 04 Beringer Reserve which was way better than this and half the price. Will wait a couple of years for trying some more.

5/30/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Had this in a group setting for dinner. This is ready to drink now with a chocolate-like taste to it with cherry undertone. No tanins to speak of and was better than the K Kennedy we had alongside it. Would definitely get more if I can find it.

3/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

They were selling this at Martin Family Winery at fire sale prices. Still good with a lot of life to it. I bought one case and probably should have bought another.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Very good classic Cab. Rich berry and cherry flavor and nose. Can't go wrong with this.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

I couldn't figure out what the nose was here and someone said ham, bingo. Very think and rich with little acidity. You can do this alone or like many in our group paired it with a duck entree. I still haven't decided if I like the style or not.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Decanted and strained six hours earlier because I know this has a lot of sediment. I just don't know what it is about this wine that really puts me off. Many in our group of 30 really enjoyed it so maybe I'm in the minority. Definite barnyard nose with toasted meat flavor to it. This is the second time I have tried this in the last three months and nothing has really changed.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Really dark and thick. We paired this with the 02 Ramey Jericho and found this much better. This actually got hotter as the night went on even into the second day which is unusual for me to encounter. Very enjoyable.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Wow what a monster this is. Out and back in the bottle seven hours earlier. Three of us who were doing the order for the annual wine dinner had a difficult time deciding whether to serve this before the 02 Ramey Jericho and the 04 L'Aventure Estate Cuvee. We decided to go with the Amon Ra first but doubted ourselves as this was clearly bigger than those bordeaux blend cabs. It really opened up and gave us different layers of rich fruit flavors. Can't wait for the 06.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

WOTN for the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. Everyone raved about this complex pure Calif Cab. This was poured in and back in the bottle seven hours earlier. Wonderful effort.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

In and out of the bottle six hours before drinking. I didn't think this was overpoweing at all. There is a complexity here that I liked. On the second day, there was the classic pinot qualities. Definitely enjoyed it.

2/2/2008 - Scooter wrote:

Purchased for the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. Nine bottles didn't last long for the 30 dinner guests. This is ready now folks! In and out of the bottle nine hours earlier. This was ready to go with a complex mix of cherry and the like fruit flavors. Excellent accompaniement for beef and pork entrees. Too bad none was left for the next day observation.

1/6/2008 - Scooter wrote:

I decanted this for an hour before tasting. Still disappointed. At first, it started to open up and was giving off cherry-like flavors. In a half hour, it turned back to an astringent tinge to it. Tried it the next day and there was still the alcohol taste to it. I have come to like the 04 Sonoma Coast more than this.

11/26/2007 - Scooter wrote:

I will give this the benefit of the doubt and call this flawed. Like an earlier note, this was very bitter and undrinkable (expensive cooking wine). It was stored properly so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope this was an exception.

5/4/2007 - Scooter wrote:

Everyone described this as "smooth". Very enjoyable with no bite. You can drink this with dinner or alone. If you don't like the sweetness of the Fiddletown, you may want to try this.

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

Served at our annual wine dinner. Very nice wine. It initially had a weird taste to it but opened up with the classic Cab qualities after a couple of hours. Not outstanding but definitely worth drinking at a nice dinner.

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

One of seven reds served at an annual wine dinner. The 24 of us knew the disparity in the ratings by Parker and Laube. If you want to see which of these raters this is a good wine to do it with. We all agreed this was very nice wine that is ready to drink now. We all agreed it wasn't a "classic" but definitely was not on the verge of being "average".

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

One of seven reds served at an annual wine dinner. This was the favorite Cab based on the opinion of the 24 attendees. Very smooth with loads of fruit coming out.

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

Served as our desert wine for a party of 24. Reminded me of a late harvest Reisling. Very refreshing and a pleasure to drink.

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

Served with six other reds for our annual wine dinner. This is a good dinner wine with its low alcohol content. Unfortunately, the rest of the wines were Californian and overpowered this one.

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

One of three Chardonnays served at our annual Rotary dinner. This was the overwhelming favorite (Kistler and Ramey were the others served and pretty good as well) of the 24 people attending. Thick, cloudy with evolving pineapple, heavy citrus and apple taste. This changed throughout the night and each phase was just as good as the previous ones. If you have any more of these, covet them for special occasions.

1/20/2007 - Scooter wrote:

One of ten wines served at our annual Rotary dinner. Quality tasted it an hour after opening and the heat almost took my breath away. After another hour this wine we were able to serve it. All 24 of us thought this was one of the best reds of the night. This is a massive wine with hints of cherry and roses. This is drinkable now but you may want to do what we did and open it a couple hours ahead of time.

7/10/2006 - Scooter wrote:

This was a wine WH Smith threw in with their Pinots, so I didn't know what to expect. Had this for dinner with a '99 Whitehall Lane Reserve and I thought this was better. It had deep, smooth and rich qualities. If you have this, drink it now because it is definitely ready.

7/9/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Had this last night for dinner with a '99 Silver Oak Alexander. This came out really well after opening it about an hour beforehand. Everyone enjoyed this just a little bit more than the SO. Drink it now.

7/9/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Drank two bottles of this the past couple of weeks. Last night we had this for dinner. Very enjoyable. We paired this with the '97 Flora Springs Cab which showed a little better.

6/26/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Decanted for about two hours. Way too hot from the get-go and it didn't get any better througout the night. Really couldn't get past this to enjoy the wine at all. Really disappointed. I will wait a little bit longer for the next bottle and maybe decant it for a longer period of time.

5/10/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Had this with dinner on Sat and another tonight. Most of the group thought this was an interesting wine and all enjoyed it. This had a lot of character after 45 minutes or so. If you have this, go for it now since it is ready.

4/8/2006 - Scooter wrote:

In the backyard with a cigar. I thought it was an above average zin. This would be perfect for a bbq or similar type of event. This was better than when I tasted it at ZAP.

3/20/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Still one of our favorite Zins. Good mixture of fruit and tinge of spiciness.

3/6/2006 - Scooter wrote:

This was okay. Thin at the beginning that opened up after about an hour. Not bad just not a lot of character.

3/4/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Second bottle consumed in two weeks. This is a very good dinner wine. Not a lot of complexity but very smooth. As 2000's go, I thought this was a little better than other Napa Cabs. If you drink this wine without any expectations, you won't be disappointed.

1/29/2006 - Scooter wrote:

This is the best of the Frank wines right now. The mixture of apple, citric fruits and slight butter. Refreshing. Personally, I like it a little colder than room temp.

1/29/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Tannic right off the bat. Smoothed out later on with moderate fruit coming out as it aired out. The dryness of the Syrah overpowered the Cab in this causing this to be a drier wine. Some in our group liked this better than I did so the rating may be lower than what others would put it at.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served for dessert at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. Gold in color with good fruit flavors such as peach and mango. Many in the group enjoyed this.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. I really liked the style of this wine. Thick, deep and rich. Not exactly buttery but has that texture. It was better than the 01 Leeuwin Artist Series which WS rated higher. Almost everyone agreed this was better than the Aussie but again it is a completely different style.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. The other Chards served were the 2003 Hestan and the 2002 Peter Michael Mon Plasir. No competition. The California chards were deeper, thicker and more flavorful. Most thought this wine was "acidic". This would be a good summer wine. Some people disagreed with me and thought this was a good effort.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. I put this in as a sleeper thinking that not many people have heard of this and I was right. The other cabs served were the 2002 Rudd Oakville, 2001 Beringer Reserve and the 2002 Phelps Insignia. This started off really thin and didn't really open up until two and a half hours after we opened it. I never used this word before but it really turned into an "elegant" wine. Different berry flavors and very smooth. People kept coming back to it and kept noticing the evolution of this wine. I still thought the other cabs were slightly but not by much.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. The only merlot served tonight. Right off the bat, you can smell Silver Oak. Good color and opened up after awhile. Many thought this was really tannic but I didn't notice it at all. Pretty enjoyable wine.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. The other cabs served this night were the 2002 Rudd Oakville, 2001 Beringer Private Reserve and the 2002 Frank Family Winston Hill. This was the last cab served due mainly to the WS rating. This was the only wine completely consumed throughout the night. I thought the Rudd and Beringer were slightly better. Many of the 30 attendees thought this was the WOTN. Good to go now. This obviously won't disappoint.

1/14/2006 - Scooter wrote:

Served at the annual Santa Clara Rotary Wine Dinner. The other cabs served alongside this were the 2001 Beringer Reserve, 2002 Frank Family Winston Hill and the 2002 Phelps Insignia. Compared to these other wines, this one was rated either one or two amongst the 30 attendees. I personally felt it was slightly overshadowed by the Beringer which was served just before it but this is still a great wine. I had this rated ahead of the Phelps and Frank Family. Upon auctioning off the unopened bottles of wine, this went for the highest prices.