4/28/2021 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

One of the best tasting bottles of wine we have opened in years. I’d drink it now, as it doesn’t seem to have enough tannins left to take it any further.

Smooth. Beautiful red fruit nose, detected immediately when uncorking and in first glass. Fragrance faded pretty fast - after about 45 minutes after our first glass we had our second, and the nose had faded quite a bit and some previously undetected bitterness started to appear. Delicious wine to open now, if you have any left.

4/10/2021 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Opened our last bottle alongside a 2010. Enjoyed the 2010 much more. This lacked body and interest.

4/28/2021 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Way past its prime.

8/16/2015 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Wonderful P&P - ran through the Venturi and was great out the bat. Soft tannins, super approachable leaning toward mountain fruit but not as prevalent as I had expected. Agree with other reviewers that this is probably at its prime.... Doubt it will improve much (if any) with cellar time.

10/11/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Opened for "New World Wine Tasting" - blind wine event with min $25/bottle. Decanted at 6:15pm and tasted 8:30-9:30. Group reaction was that we had picked a bottle too nice for the min :-).

I actually didn't enjoy it as much as I had previously- probably due to paring. Wine could easily benefit from aging for 2-5 yrs.

10/8/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Very similar to July 2014 notes - enjoyed it even more. Loads of cherry

8/26/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Young and with potential to develop nicely for at least 5-7 years. Still approachable and enjoyable after a ~45 min decant. Strong mountain fruit profile, blackberry being the strongest note but balanced with medium-full texture and long, soft yet complex, herbal finish

8/2/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

4 hrs decanting didn't do it justice. Wound up very tight with fairly high level of acidity. 2nd and third sips were delicious, after the first impression faded and the finish could be enjoyed.

7/20/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Very nice New World Cab showed after 60min decanting, drinking better and better throughout the night. Off the gate I'd give it an 88 - still a wound up and fruit forward. After 30 min this really became approachable. 60 min later I was a converted fan! Drinking well now, but 1-3 yrs likely rewarding

7/19/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Strong tannins out the gate were sufficiently dissipated to show a beautiful wine after about 40 min. Wine drank better and better throughout dinner at a French style steakhouse.

5/9/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Decanted for an hour after pouring first through a Venturi. DW and I were very happy with this wine, stand-alone for an at-home movie night. Nothing out of this world, but easily 2 steps above our every-day type wine.

Aging ability probably is 1-2 years, and without a lot of tannin structure I wouldn't expect this to develop too much. Dark berry fruit comes out at once, it is medium fullness, and drinks well. At $40 I agree not good qpr, but at ~$25/bottle I am very happy with how it drinks

1/27/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Wish it were a little more full-bodied. Has aged rather well, though I think the window here is closing within next 18 months or so. Have lined up remaining bottles to drink accordingly.

1/26/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Drank very well, though the food pairing with an eggplant lasagna wasn't the best. No need to hurry with other bottles on shelf, though it is drinking well at the moment.

1/25/2014 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Drinking nice now, but no hurry on this one. Probably doesn't have much room for improvement, but it's holding together very nicely.

12/16/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Nice '07 cab-based napa blend enjoyed with friends.

12/14/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Opened within days of other bottle but nowhere as complex. Drank within 3-4 hrs of opening so that may have just not been enough time to open up

12/11/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Just like past bottles, on first opening I suspected the bottle was flawed. I poured it through the Venturi into a decanter and let it sit. 3 hrs later the foul notes disappeared and the wine showed potential. 4-5 hrs later and silky blueberry notes came forward strongly and I was wishing I had more than one bottle left. Not seeing this getting any better - lots of sediment deposited and tannin structure completely undetectable. Drink up - but decant first!!!

12/1/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Undrinkable. Nose wasn't too bad, but rotten onion was closest identifiable note we picked up. Dumped the glass and put bottle aside for cooking.

11/30/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Blah.... My impression on the nose was that this was still worth drinking, however, tasting it resulting in a double take where I had to make sure I has the wine glass in my hand. Taste was dull, as if water-downed 2:1. Drink soon (not expecting much) or pour is my recommendation at this point.

11/28/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Picked up this bottle in 2007 from the winery. Jordan's website suggested to decant 30-60 minutes. We did ~90 and I would suggest the same as the wine is still showing a lot of youth.

Went very well with Italian-themed Thanksgiving dinner. As others had noted, I too was a bit surprised by the deep purple color. There was zero sediment in the bottle, however, and the cork looked as if it came from a 1 year old wine.

11/27/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Give it an hour to sit in the glass before taking your first sip. Amazing how much this wine transforms from the time it is opened... just don't leave it out for more then 4-5 hrs and you'll be very pleased with how far your sub-$20.00 bottle showed for its price

11/27/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Jammy. Started off rather well but then never really mellowed. Tried a pop-and-poor sip and then decided to throw the rest through a venturi. Drank over several hours with no major changes to note. Decent amount of tannins remain - not a lot, but more than I had expected given last public reviews. This could go another year - I don't see any downside, but I don't imagine this transforming into something that I would really enjoy. Way too jammy for our tastes.

2/18/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Wine was great with coq a vin. Tasted before reading other recent reviews and I think this is under-rated. Maybe bottle age has helped since last tasting. Will hold off on my other 2 bottles for at least another year as this still has sufficient tannins for another few years in the cellar.

1/12/2013 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Great stags leap cab. Love the mountain fruit and love Cliff Lede's cabs. Opened 1 of 2 bottles purchased after reading recent reviews about wine having likely hit its peak. I disagree and will save the other bottle for at least 1-3 more years. It's likely nearing its prime, but I think it has some developing left in it.

10/17/2012 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Opened this with a few friends and wasn't very impressed. Wine may have been corked. Was rather dull and, if not corked, definitely past it's prime. Recommend drinking soon if you have this sitting in your cellar.

8/12/2012 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Wow - loved it, as usual. Great cab from a great producer!

8/12/2012 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Opened at "Open that Bottle Event" and loved it... One of the night's favorites! Good example of quality mountain fruit cab aged ~5 years from release date. Wonderful. Was a Christmas present from L&J in 2007

2/25/2012 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

Love this wine. Wasn't going to open up my 2007's for a few years after the experience in aging my 2003 until 2011. Will improve with a few more years in the cellar but drinking very well right now.

2/19/2012 - spencermerrell@gmail.com wrote:

First impression wasn't great. No body or nose but it had a beautifuly deep purple color. 1 hour decanting and wine opened up. Nose is great but wine is still quite tight. 2 hours later and the wine began to shine. Glad we have 5 more to over the next 2-4 years.