March 28, 2024 - 2018 Fantastic blend. Paso Robles sunshine coming through. This is a rich, fruit forward blend. Luscious now. I think it will be 10x better with some age. The blend is seamless bringing out the greatness of both grapes. 2020- 2nd bottle. 2 years later. This is a really good cab franc and merlot. Very strong and elegant
December 4, 2021 - Upon opening, beautiful bouquet with notes of dark blue berries. Some subtle bramble and smokiness as well. Very little cork penetration, but a surprising amount of sediment. Best to pour into the decanter carefully. Decanting is still a must with this one. Decanted for one hour and it really started to open up and show some refinement. Continued to get better as the evening went on, so don't open if you are rushed. Paired very well with a prime steak and mushrooms.
November 2, 2021 - Notes remarkably consistent with my 2019 note: red currant and then really pretty blueberry fruit, bright and plush. The only thing that I got wrong was that it doesn’t seem a short-term pleasure, it has some staying power. No need to age it though, enjoy it whenever.
October 15, 2021 - Wow still rocking
September 22, 2021 - Tasting great! Only two left
July 21, 2021 - 1 hour decant and a great steak pairing, Cabernet franc and Merlot blend, will buy more
June 5, 2021 - Amazing nose with softness on the finish for the price
May 22, 2021 - Made the mistake of serving this as a PNP at the end of the night and will learn on my other bottle, as this was "hot" on the initial pour and only just started to show on the last sip on each of our 4 glasses. Looking forward to really seeing how this wine shines on a very long decant or as most others say, day 2.
May 15, 2021 - Decanted 2 hours. Opaque reddish purple core with garnet rim. No sediment. Nose is sound and clean. Bright red fruit and tobacco over vanilla, dark chocolate, clean earth, cinnamon, purple flowers and pepper. Palate confirming nose and adding stewed plum, blueberry with balanced acidity. Soft fine grained tannins and lingering finish. Outstanding and drinking very well. Some gas still in the tank, so no real rush.
FYI - Super hot on pnp taste. VA much better with some air.
Delicious.
November 15, 2020 - Agree with others: this wine was singing on night #2. Deep, dark fruit, velvety full mouthfeel, medium to long finish; the bite from night #1 was gone; On a night when I just didn't want a cab, this fit the bill perfectly. It may last to 2027 but why wait? This wine is in its prime.