Community Tasting Notes 3

• JJB007 Likes this wine: 96 points

  July 28, 2020 - perfect to drink now

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• Cailles wrote: 94 points

  June 17, 2019 - 22x Dana Estates 2013-2016: Once-in-a-lifetime tasting with winemaker Chris Cooney. We tasted the past 4 vintages (2013- 2016) of all their wines. Conclusions: 1) Incredibly high level: 93 as lowest score, many 95/96s and one 98 point wine (I rarely go so high in such broad tastings where you can't follow the wine over 5h). 2) Main reasons: weightless structure (not many Napa wines achieve that level), very elegant, high aromatic intensity, complexity and precision, perfect ripeness. 3) "Entry-level" wines (Vaso - great in 13/16, Onda - always a bit too fat) are very good but do not have the length or elegance (Onda) of the big 3, which each have a distinctive profile: Helms is probably the most purely perfumed (but overall a tad behind the others), Lotus is the most hedonistic and dense wine, Hershey the most complex, intellectual wine. 4) Wine of the Night? Probably the Lotus 2014. But others might likely surpass it one day (Hershey 13/16, Lotus 16). The 3 big wines got a 2-4 hour decant (which did good), all others PnPed.
  
  TN: Dana’s Lotus wines are the most outgoing, hedonistic and seductive wines of the three as it is the hottest of their vineyards. In the hands of such a gifted winemaker and team this leads to wonderful wines with the same very fine structure and the weightless frame hardly seen to that (consistent) degree in Napa Valley wines. Perfect ripeness, always marked by precision. For me one of the weakest wines of the big three that night but still a very good wine. The mix of the hottest vineyard and the hot and dry vintage produced for sure the most opulent wine of the night which is prefer less to cooler vintages without prolonged heat spikes. Lots of pure black fruit, herbs and some minerality. Good structure, balance and length. 94-95+ points.

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• sirpat00 Likes this wine: 98 points

  June 13, 2019 - Dana estate vertical and horizontal 2013-16 (Restaurant Löwen, Meilen): Dana Estates vertical / horizontal – I am trying to coin "vertizontal" – with 22 wines in Zurich. The line-up included all vintages 2013-16 for all estates (including Vaso) and two vintages of the Sauvignon Blanc. The consistency I encountered here was amazing. Powerful yet elegant and light on the palate is a description that worked for almost all vintages and estates (including the Vaso). Of these vintages the 2016 stood out as exceptional, but I was also quite fond of the (controversial) 2013. In terms of estates Lotus and Hershey are playing in a league of their own. The "budget" Vaso is punching on par with Onda and Helms and hence offers great value for money. See the tasting story for more background and winemaker comments.
  
  Tasting note:
  Sweetish fruit and singular with a peppery spiceyness to it. Incredibly beguiling palate with such a smooth texture that the juice just slides down your throat. You simply can't resist taking one sip after the other.

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Pro Reviews 5

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2015
• Type Red
• Producer Dana Estates
• Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard Lotus Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Napa Valley
• Appellation St. Helena

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 1 (0%)
• In Cellars 395 (75%)
• Consumed 129 (25%)

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