March 19, 2024 - Ultra sweet, readily identifiably Napa.
February 26, 2024 - Well, a "too special to drink" disappointment. Decanted two hours. On the nose dead ringer for stewed prunes. Elegant glycerin legs plus pruny-ness did decrease over time but throughout wished drinking an aged Bordeaux, experiencing memorable terroir totally missing here.
December 3, 2023 - Ripe, blowsy, slightly rubbery. Pencil, blackberry, big and broad. Not my cup of tea, though with a steak it has its own appeal.
December 2, 2023 - California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): Nose: Dark blackbery, plum, umami and saddle leather. A lofty nose of jammy berries, warm asphalt, cigar and stone. Perfumed and beautiful on the nose. Palate: Completely mouth filling yet spherical and together. Blueberry, coffee, cassis, mineral, sage and cocoa. A seductive and hedonistic wine. Finish: Comes through with a burst of blackberry liquor, graphite and hot stones. Lingers 60+ seconds and has such presence.
The 1997 flight was prepared as a slow ox for about an hour before the tasting began.
October 1, 2023 - Dark red blood on pouring. Decanted for 1.5 hours. Dark fruit, full body, umami on nose and palate. Paired with old school steakhouse dinnner and this was kind blowing. Continued to evolve over the next couple of hours - wave after wave of fruit and umami. Long, lingering finish. Easily one of the best wines I’ve ever had.
July 9, 2023 - deep color, little sediment, decanted 1 1/2 hr, smooth, even better as meal concluded 3 hrs later, maybe it is peaking, don't wait too long.
July 8, 2023 - Dark burgundy color - a bit lighter at the edge
Nose is rich black cherry with perhaps a hint of fig
The palate is potent black cherry and black raspberry with a peppery backbone that remains with you for at least 30 seconds. Despite the pepper and a lovely richness, the wine is elegant. There is nothing out of place
There is still tannin here and given the slightly spicy finish I think this wine may be better in 5 years - at least in our relatively cool cellar.
We have been drinking our 96s - which I love - and saving these. I have a slight preference for the 96 right now but this is just a 1/2 point behind.
There are a dozen or so pedigreed California cabernets in this lofty price range. We've had 4 different vintages of this wine and Bryant always delivers. I put them in the top echelon of this group
January 31, 2023 - Was expecting so much more...
December 3, 2022 - This wine was blind poured with 11 other wines at a tasting and won the wine of the night in a consensus vote. It was clear and a still incredibly youthful deep red in colour. With a nose and flavours of dark cherries, caramel and some dark chocolate. The tannins and acidity were at a perfect level and this wine had smoothed out to be almost Bordeaux like. Finally, the wine had a very long finish to it. Superb!
November 24, 2022 - Opened in the bottle a few hours. This is an amazing bottle and drinks like it’s ten years old. Eucalyptus, mixed berry, vanilla, leather, sage, earth…. Still incredibly structured. Great example of what Napa can/could be.