November 10, 2017 - Impressive wine, very surprised by vibrancy of the fruits given 20 years of age. Nice secondary complexity and a long finish. balanced and integrated. This should continue to drink well for a few more years but no reason to wait.
May 2, 2015 - Well integrated with dark red fruits and plum compote.
August 15, 2013 - Most of the fruit has softened and the wine shows great secondary flavors.
November 19, 2010 - I'm not rating this as it would be an injustice. The wine has past its prime for sure but still drinks OK. The fruit outlasted the tannin so what is left was pleasant, sort of brown sugar and berries, but definitely thin. It has been interesting to sample this one over the last 11 years or so. I second the kudos to the Karakasevics. Charbay finally released their brandy, check it out.
April 26, 2008 - Deep garnet color with slight brick/orange tinge, showing signs of aging. Decanted for 30 minutes. Bottle dropped a lot of sediment and really opened up after a short stint in the decanter. This wine showed classic California Cab characteristics...slight eucalyptus on the nose, integrated with decent oak and red cherry aromas. Tannins had really mellowed on this wine but still provided enough structure to frame the wonderful spice, cherry, cassis. I think we got this wine at the very end of it's peak as there was just a slight acidity that signaled a little weakening. Overall, this was outstanding. Kudos to Marko and the Karakasevic family for churning out great wines, vodkas, and spirits.
November 3, 2006 - Beauty. The Domain Charbay has aged wonderfully and is probably at its peak right now. Plummy nose, black fuit flavors, smooth from start to finish. Reminds me of an old Cos d'Estournel
September 22, 2004 - Been a while since I had tasted the 97 - deep cherry and raisin flavors with butterscotch nose. Little if any tannin at this point but still nicely structured. Great complement to grilled strip steak. Doesn't hold up to chocolate though.