August 11, 2022 - Spectacular! Dark cerise in color. Blackberry and tobacco on the nose. Blackberry, raspberry, sour cherry, dust, clove and pencil lead on the palate. Exquisitely layered and complex. Nicely integrated tannins. Full bodied with a finish that won't quit. Admittedly this took about an hour to open but once it did it was exceptional. The highlight of 4 wines over a three hour dinner at Hall's Chop House in Charleston, SC. Wish I had more of this.
July 11, 2022 - two hour decant. Was hoping for more from the last bottle. Limited taste profile that was decent, but not for the price.
March 4, 2022 - A profound wine that has aged beautifully and could easily evolve for another dozen years. Pouring into the decanter the aromas of cassis, black and blue berries, cedar filled the kitchen. This wine just kept going and going with a depth of flavors that had us silently contemplating how good life was and how lucky we were. I want to say I detected cassis, blue berries, raspberry and classic middle aged Napa cab flavors. The finish went on for minutes. This was my last bottle and I am now hunting for more... what a beauty.
December 25, 2019 - Great drinking window. Bright cherry notes with cocoa nub. Surprisingly lighter wine than I would have expected.
March 27, 2017 - Too early to drink
January 28, 2017 - Uncorked and let sit in a wide bowl for 1 hour with intermittent swirling. Poured a rich and opaque purple. The nose showed prominent notes of maraschino cherry, tobacco leaf, menthol, blackberry paste, and a touch of clove. First impression was that this wine was painfully young but exuberant. Fine grained but mouthcoating tannin is still waiting to resolve. On the palate there was rich blackberry, earthy tones, Rutherford dust, and a pleasant bitterness on ending. I believe this wine would benefit from another 4-6 years in bottle to better integrate and smooth out. Still pleasurable today in an awkward sort of fashion; but probably a better showing in the next decade.
July 12, 2016 - A solid 96 rated wine... so smooth, not a rough edge in it, complex, a full mouth feel, long finish, delicious classic Cali cab flavors of dark crushed cherries, cassis, some dark chocolate, no hint of sweetness... just a beautiful Cali cab, complements steaks, chocolate deserts, hearty vegetables such as wild mushrooms.
August 10, 2014 - My bottled was not open up like the last time I tasted .
September 17, 2013 - Winorama with a surprise (engagement)!; 9/15/2013-9/18/2013 (Napa Valley California): Still so very young and that came through with a nose that started with a touch of alcohol mixed in with the fruits and cinnamon. This wine was just deep and dense and complex and it evolved quite a bit despite having been open for a full day before. After some time, started to detect a bit of pomegranate and a slight softening of some of the other flavors. Great wine, but made for 15 years from now.
April 13, 2013 - Medium-full bodied, big forward fruits, a symphony of deep complex concentrated flavors - black berry and black raspberry fruits, subtle floral tones, hints of cassis, lead pencil, espresso and cedar tones with a spicy silky smooth satin like long lingering finish.