December 15, 2023 - Creamy, buttery and leathery to the taste. Hint of chocolate, vanilla and berry jam. A full bodied and well balanced Cab, definitely Napa style.
November 11, 2023 - Our good friends Leslie and Michael came for dinner. He was the gentlemen that so many years ago got me into wine. Not sure if I should thank him for that. Anyway I decided to open two nice bottles to go with our dinner of individual beef wellingtons. This and the 2012 Hillside Select. The wine with a nose of dark berries and chocolate, a palate of berries cassis, chocolate and hints of dried leaves. The finish is extremely long. It stole the show last night. I give out very few 97's but this bottle deserved it. It overshadowed the Hillside which was an excellent wine. To all the veterans out there in Trackerville. My family and I thank you for your service.
October 10, 2023 - Loads of dark fruit with it tilting more to the blue side of the spectrum. This started out really heavy, but after decanting it did lighten up. Like I said blue fruit notes with baking spices really made up the core of this and with decanting it did open up better than it started out although I would not call it structured. My only issue is I believe the current ask on these bottles have outrun the wine a little. This was good, but not great and I really don’t see the point in hanging on to this any longer as I don’t think it has the structure to age.
June 19, 2023 - Full throttle fruit forward Cabernet with notes of blackberry, chocolate, mocha, cassis and graphite with a finish that will not stop. Silky smooth on the palate with unbelievable complexity…this wine is near perfect. This is an amazing expression of Napa Valley cult cabernet.
May 30, 2023 - Drank from a magnum over two nights. Ready to go from the start. Chocolate covered cherry, mineral/iron and oak. Very luxurious and soft. Not a long haul wine.
May 10, 2023 - For context, I have been getting a little disturbed by the new oak showing on many of the Realm wines, especially after some age. It recently happened to me on a 2014 BTK, so I wanted to check in on the Crane and see if the issue is pervasive. Thankfully, that is not the case and this is stunning.
Coravin pour, no decant and the wine is crushing it right out of the gate. The aromas have developed away from the young crushed violet and blueberry pie notes of this vineyard to more complex aromas of truffles, mushroom, cedar, forest floor and dank earth. Still showing exceptional concentration, the palate has come together very nicely with well integrated (yet still strong) tannins, lovely purity and well rounded savory notes that I wasn't really sure Dr Crane could deliver. The locomotive starts moving mid palate and soars into a fantastically long finish. Evolving better than I would have ever expected.
March 21, 2023 - Showing some secondary notes.
August 25, 2022 - LOVED THIS WINE, DECANTED FOR 4.5 HOURS
December 23, 2021 - Dr Crane is my fav, decanted for 2 hours, decanting is a must
February 15, 2021 - Fabulous! Rich dark color, with cherry flavors predominating along with chocolate, very smooth, and seemed incredibly light on the palate, with a long finish.