• affordableCollector wrote: 93 points

    March 22, 2023 - blend: 67% Cabernet Franc, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon

    opaque, dark red, in color. black cherry, raspberry, blackberry, damp earth, pine needles, smoke, dark chocolate, graphite, spices. bold dark fruit, pepper, chewy tannins, on the finish.

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  • Teaky Likes this wine:

    December 31, 2020 - Dark fruited nose of blackberry and cassis, very “Napa” nose, flavors of blackberry and cassis with some vanilla, mildly tannic, low acid, very long finish does evolve a bit into some black cherry, very nice.

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  • MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 points

    January 12, 2020 - Like the 2012 there’s a lot of sweet oak imparted on this wine. Still it’s nice for entry level with plenty or herbal and dark fruited elements to offset. Low tannin and low acidity. Drink this now or in the next few (though holds strong with an overnight pump).

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  • mckillop Likes this wine: 91 points

    December 22, 2018 - Drinking very well now.

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  • The Vinsider wrote: 94 points

    December 4, 2018 - This was a lovely young wine, with luxurious layers of black cherry and blackberry, graphite, hints of violets and good underlying acidity to frame the lush fruit. The tannins were smooth and flowing, adding to the wine's overall richness. Great for near- and mid-term drinking.

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  • msuwine wrote: 91 points

    November 9, 2018 - This herbal and gravelly Cab Franc blend is drinking fine right now, though I hoped for a bit more brightness and energy. Dark red in color and full in body, the wine offers aromas of pencil lead, black cherry, and gravel. Tastes of boysenberry, green pepper, pepper, and pine needles, with an integrated and lingering finish. 14.2% alcohol. Blend of 67% Cabernet Franc, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petit Verdot. This fell behind several cheaper 2014 Cabernets tasted at the same time.

    Fans of the Cab Franc blend should probably check this out, but it just seemed to be a bit of a downer to me. The fruit seems a bit tart, the herbs a bit prominent, the package a bit backward, for my particular taste. Maybe this is the mythical, mystical, perfect, classical wine of old (like the genuine wine true virtue-seekers used to drink in the authentic, long lost time of the 70s and 80s when CA wine - and the people who drank it - were honest and real and angelic (or cough, maybe just young). OK, sorry, I am a skeptic of the nostalgic theory of CA wine). Enough ranting, this wine is decent, but not very exciting.

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  • soyhead wrote:

    September 24, 2018 - Nose - brambleberry, heat
    Mouth - a very lush and youthful fruitiness that recalls Napa in a quite positive light. I see the Yumminess factor here if not terribly complex. Next bottle in a decade.

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  • Yagil wrote: 94 points

    August 6, 2018 - Napa Wines Tasting - led by Maayan Koschitzky (IWSI - Israel Wine & Spirit Institute): clear, deep purple
    clean, profound aromas of dark roasted fruits
    dry, medium acidity, high tannins, full body, well balanced & harmonised, excellent structure, very good complexity, rich roasted dark fruits flavours, oak vanilla, excellent long alcoholic finish

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  • BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 93 points

    July 13, 2018 - Black fruit, blue berries, hints of plum, chocolate, hints of vanilla, spice, Asian tea, finishes with balanced tannins. A-/A

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  • Eric Guido Likes this wine: 93 points

    April 5, 2018 - The Collina opened up with a gorgeously perfumed and spicy bouquet of red berries, currants, sweet dusty florals, and minerals. It’s aromas wafted up effortlessly from the glass, without any need of coaxing. On the palate, it was cool-toned and creamy with ripe red and black fruits, yet balanced while enveloping the senses with violet floral tones. The finish was long and caressing to the senses with saturating minerals and hints of fine tannin.

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