February 15, 2023 - Quite tannic at first taste but softened nicely; no oxidation visible or apparent to the taste - should be okay for another couple of years; neither harsh, bland nor complex. Good choice for a simple meal.
September 20, 2022 - Sale bin find for $5. Thought why not. Pretty much a classic cab. Black cherry, new leather, a touch of anise, tobacco. An oak influence throughout, my bet is American oak based on the bourbon like smokiness. The wine feels like it could go 5-10 years easily. Drinks like a $25-$30 wine. So for $5, nice QPR.
November 8, 2019 - Surprised us. Very drinkable now. No tannins. Not long lasting but still good.
November 2, 2018 - La robe du vin est violette et intense. Il dégage des arômes de fruits noirs mûres, de cassis, de réglisse et de noix de coco. La bouche est assez corsée et corpulente, sur des tanins semi-fermes et un boisé affirmé, mais le tout reste bien intégré et l'acidité garde une certaine fraicheur. Rétro-olfaction réglissé et mentholé. Un peu chaud avec ses 14.5% mais très acceptable. Bon Calicab, un peu cher pour le rendu.
October 27, 2018 - Slick, light-bodied wine, with focused acidity and moderate, woody tannin. Bright, fruity, almost floral flavours: blackcurrant and blueberry, with hints of cola, violet, and cinnamon.
August 10, 2018 - {cork, 14.5} Big, ripe, malty, licorice-infused, vanilla & coconut-tinged black wine. Has marked - but fine - powdery tannins which have a not-quite-natural feel to them. Like a Penfolds winemaker was doing a master-class here and the students followed-on. It has rich jammy fruit, seems very low in acid, so the finish, although fairly impressive for size and length, isn't quite balanced enough. Mostly this just lacks freshness; it was in a lot of ways a very near miss. But still a miss...! Cellaring is unlikely to help.
February 20, 2018 - PnP at 213 Restaurant in Salisbury MD. This "house wine" is a jammy, slightly sweet, and otherwise typical CA cab. Fermented fruit juice.
January 15, 2018 - Good and a lot of flavor without being dry. Tastes more like a Syrah
November 27, 2017 - Saved for cooking
October 10, 2017 - Hint of pyrazines, slightly better the next day