August 18, 2023 - Held for a decade, received as a gift and opened for 3 hours before pouring. Deep in color, medium bodied and decent finish. Honestly, you can do better at this price point but it is such a legendary and historic winery.
April 30, 2023 - Was drinking good but not very complex.
October 9, 2021 - Excellent wine. Drinking great now!
July 7, 2021 - It's been four years since we last had this so it seemed like a god time to check in. The result- it's coming along quite nicely. Still a youthful dark crimson red color, we decanted this off its sediment and followed it over the next 90 minutes during dinner. An initial bouquet of black currants, eucalyptus and herbs, along with rose petal, cherry and chocolate/mocha. The tannins have softened quite nicely and the oak, once dominant, has faded. Flavors of chocolate, currants and red plum. This is turning into a very nice little weeknight cabernet.
February 22, 2021 - Nose: 89 Palate: 88 Tasted blind.
November 16, 2020 - Dark garnet turning brown. Medium bodied. Classic cab nose. Soft tannins well integrated. Layered palate with blank current flavors dominant.
May 18, 2020 - Super impressive.
December 20, 2019 - Needed a long decant. Might be on the edge of its prime. Went nicely with grilled steak
December 15, 2019 - Leans a bit more toward acidity over fruitiness (tart cherry and pomegranate), but overall pretty smooth Cabernet with modest oak and fully integrated tannins. Two hour decant.
June 19, 2019 - John Wick evening with Randy and Rob
Cracked this MAGNUM and was severely disappointed at first. (we opened another bottle while the Montelena got some air)
Two hours later and the wine had lost its funkiness. Ended up being smooth, with some fruit showing and a medium (-) finish.
Some meaty characteristics persisted as did the stewed prunes. It was dusty, and smelled of wet wool.
Not a bad bottle by the end. I would be drinking this now if I had any. It's peaked.