January 1, 2023 - deep garnet; black cherry and forest floor in the nose; loads of jammy black fruit, notably black currant and blackberries, soft tannins and decently long aftertaste. Still drinking strong!
May 31, 2020 - nice example of a 14 yo cab at a reasonable pirce
September 4, 2019 - dark garnet hue; pepper comes through on the nose; moderate tannins in a fairly closed black currant black cherry ganache. Needs awhile to open. Good acidic structure with plenty of fruit and a long black fruit / black pepper spice aftertaste. Of course, some of the pepper may be due to the liberally peppered steak I consumed with the wine. :-)
March 9, 2019 - Earthy, mushroom smell. Vanilla and sweet up front on the taste Still quite tannic for a 13 year-old wine. Not much of a finish though.
May 4, 2015 - pretty straight forward, napa cab. fine for the price.
April 9, 2015 - Full, ruby appearance. Lovely bouquet of cherries, raspberries, and cedar over notes of leather, conifer, and mountain air. Tightly wound but resolves itself after an hour in the glass, offering a full body, plenty of red fruit, and flavors that toggle between youth and maturity. Exhibits grip and length on the green peppercorn finish. This is a serious effort. Decant or let it slumber a few more years.
July 2, 2014 - Just a really, really solid bottle of $20 cab. You can't go wrong with this one. Cork was saturated only up to 1/8 of an inch, with moisture up to 25% of the cork. I think this is good for a while. See previous notes.
March 6, 2014 - Excellently balanced, understated cab with wonderful black fruit tones, and a luscious palate of cassis, blackberry and a bit of vanilla. Nothing truly unusual, just a quite solid and well made Napa cab. Unlike other reviewers, my bottle had very soft tannins that suggested it was ready to drink, though I'm sure it will also hold up for several more years. Salud!
September 28, 2013 - Tasting 9/28/13: Color: purple/red, plum
Nose: sweet, cherry, strawberry, oak, nutmeg
Palate: full-bodied, strawberry, fruit forward
June 12, 2013 - 2006 Ardente Cab
Way too damned young!!!
Like licking a cherry flavored slab of slate, texture and all!
It is still quite good but WOW infanticide.