May 27, 2023 - Drank with mini vertical including the 2013 vintage.
Interesting comparison, my '12 was fading, not nearly the depth of tannins, and the overall taste profile was more subdued.
Glad that I opened and drank both as was clearly time for the 2012.
October 30, 2021 - My lone bottle of the 2012 vintage. This was marvelous and opened up to be even better over the evening. The last sips kept pace with some absolutely incredible Cabernets opened for our Halloween party. Really loved this bottling as I have many of the other recent vintages I have had the pleasure to taste. Have some 13, 14, and 16’s of these that I hope to visit with soon.
February 14, 2021 - Similar to last notes. Decanted one hour. Classic Cab nose. Very smooth now. No reason to wait for this to improve as it won’t improve much from here. Tannins are soft and fruit muted. Lots of niceblack fruit with chocolate notes.
December 18, 2020 - The best bottle so far. I’m wondering if my last bottle was just a casualty of bottle variation? Dark, black color. Maybe this Wine just needed bottle time because it has really come around and put on some weight. Great extraction and black fruits jump out of the glass. Very full and rounded now. I think the wine will continue to improve. Nice chocolate, cassis and earth notes. Excited about my last three bottles.
August 31, 2020 - Great full bodied Cab
August 28, 2020 - A bold, punchy Napa. Deep purple color. Strong oak on the nose. Stewed black cherry, cedar and chocolate on palate. Powerful, not so much of that American in-your-face brashness, but could do with some more nuance.
April 26, 2020 - What happened to this Wine since last year? This has become a big fruit bomb Cab now. Way too sweet. Not as bad as Caymus but Cabs should not have ANY sweetness like this. I just can’t get over this to comment on any positives of this Wine. This is just not for me.
July 4, 2019 - Decanted two hours. Nice Cab nose, medium weight and good flavor profile but I found the finish a bit short and lacking the complexity and flavor layers of great Cabs. Splitting hairs here. The wine is very good and enjoyable but it isn’t great. Looking forward to my other 5 bottles to see if it develops more weight/complexity.
January 2, 2019 - Brought by a dear friend for dinner so even though it was young I decanted it for a couple of hours and served it thru apps and dinner and it needed the air time. Very reticent on opening, not much of a nose as I poured into the decanter. It finally settled down during dinner and the nose of dark fruits and cassis appeared. Nice finish and mouthfeel but if I had these would hold 3-5 more years.
November 23, 2017 - Thanksgiving Dinner: Ripe, alcoholic, good black fruits but too much heat on the nose and palate. 82