March 7, 2024 - Very good, a classic from the old school Cali cab playbook. Shows overly dry on the midpalate at first before food, but smells terrific and could fool you into thinking it is a Bordeaux bouquet. The palate is linear and very minty with cassis and plum, its tannins are in a good place. It has some of that overt roundness that old New World cabs can get which leaves them a little limp, but the Dunn acids and structure are sufficient here to eschew the worst of those sins. Very good, does yeoman work with a ribeye.
May 25, 2023 - Surprised by the fruit still evident in bouquet and flavor —cherries and dark berries . No tannins . Short on any complexity
May 16, 2022 - Cork was very dry and crumbled during extraction. Wine was still nice but probably had faded some. A little brown tinge when pouring.
October 16, 2021 - I did a short pour Coravin out of a magnum. Not sure, a bit musty and tired. When I do open I need a short decant a then drink or maybe a dud but drink soon
September 14, 2019 - Much better than the 1986 we had at Anarki in August. Classic Cab with notes of tobacco, pencil, eucalyptus and sous bois. The fruit is dark but airy, still traces of blackcurrant. Great, unique wine.
December 16, 2018 - dark ruby with slight brick edges, cedar, mineral up front with core of currants and dark fruits, full mouth feel, good finish, lots of sediment, definitely decant, on a plateau which it should hold 5-10 more years.
Tasting next evening, even better, more complex with pencil lead notes, all the fruit still there, upgrade to 92
November 9, 2018 - Sherry on the nose. Sour dark wood on the palate. Cork was great so assuming this wine is over the hill.
July 24, 2017 - I was concerned that this wouldn't hold up against the '89 Howell that we tried a couple of months ago, but it was even better than my memory of that wine. To be fair, the Howell was part of a large tasting while this wine was enjoyed/appreciated by itself as part of a tenderloin dinner. Much younger looking than I expected. Drank well upon opening, but evolved nicely throughout dinner. Out of 750, not decanted.
December 25, 2016 - This was not good. Not sure if it was the wine or how it was stored but we did not drink it.
November 11, 2016 - Little tannin but gone quickly with air. Fruit was there but subtle. Cork was in great shape. Not going to get any better, drink up.