January 10, 2022 - This benefitted from a bunch of air, as it seemed out of balance and overly sweet on opening. After an hour, it was in better shape. Ultimately, it was good but not up to some previous vintages, and was easily outshone by the 2013 Quivet ‘Kenefick Ranch’ cab we opened two weeks ago.
February 18, 2021 - Was on the fence about giving it a 94, and actually think this has plenty of life left there, and might even bump a point. Without being redundant, YM description is pretty spot on, mostly black fruit with a bit of red on the edges and finish, amazing flavors of cassis, dark chocolate, and coffee / espresso.
Popped this and drank next to a bottle of the new Bevan project, and was the WOTN... however to be fair, not a fair comparison on a newly bottled 2019 Bevan "Adversity" Melanson cab. Got in on a Grand Reserve Wine MasterCard in conjunction with ProofLoyalty online tasting with both Russel and Tor Kenward... and man....even though that bottle was a bit disjointed (probably still in bottle shock), its is going to be a monster!! Tons of Blue and Black Fruit with a huge coffee theme.. another winner from Mr. Bevan!! But for the Basic Quivet Napa Cab at $50-60 holding its own next to that behemoth, says a ton about Mike Smiths winemaking!!
July 15, 2020 - Digging around in the wine cellar, I discovered this bottle. The last time I opened a bottle was in May of 2016 and it was fantastic, a monster value too. I cracked the cork and I will admit, I didn't expect anything like the wine I enjoyed four years ago. This wine was powerful and very energetic, with a dark purple beet red color, nice dark berry fruit extraction, currants, some tobacco with smooth tannins. This bottle was a surprise, although as dominate in flavors and energy, this bottle has held up really well. There was some acidity that could have smoothed out (with half a bottle remaining we'll see tonight) with some air, but the wine was pretty good. 92+ 93 Points.
July 4, 2018 - Huge concentrated wine that was surprisingly expressive for ‘13. Big liquor driven nose of mostly black currants, with vanilla and spice notes. Plush palate, tannins pretty soft and in the background. Seems like a wine to enjoy now and over the next 5yrs or so while the palate/acidity is fresh.
February 16, 2018 - Very Good. Big, heavy cassis, dense, fat, and a touch of oak. I like this wine but its not worth $50 a bottle by comparison to Chappellet or other vineyards....
October 21, 2017 - Really interesting. First night I couldn’t drink it. Second it was too sweet in the TRB way that many folks like. Third night? Fantastic. I’ll open another in 2022.
April 17, 2017 - On night 2 this was a great Napa cab in a polished ripe style. Large scaled, showing hints of heat, with dark fruit liquor and sweet vanilla notes(this is a far cry from Camus vanilla milk shake). Quite aromatically expressive at this stage. Palate is quite polished, fine tannins and a lengthy finish. Really nice. Surprisingly expressive for a '13.
March 8, 2017 - Dark fruit, blue and black, cloves, tar, squid ink, some salty minerality, silky smooth body nice balance and length. Medium + body and acidity. Really nice!
October 15, 2016 - Extracted dark red fruits sweet tannins and a smooth velvety balanced finish. Great stuff!!
August 20, 2016 - Slow ox for 6 hours. Tasted blind with 2013 Myriad NV and 2013 Swagger.
Minimal legs in the glass. Pretty much same color as Myriad - nice and dark, but not as dark as Swagger. Nose is more astringent. Red plum. Cocoa powder. Lithe palate. Same fruit and astringency. Some bite on the finish.
I scored this #3 and it wasn't really very close. Guessed correctly that it was Quivet. Amongst the 3 of us tasting blind, results were varied. We literally all scored them in different orders.
I have had this several times now with disappointing results (although the bar was set pretty high for this price point). As always, I trust Mike and his labels, and gladly went deep on the 2014s, but this one is just not in my wheelhouse for some reason.