September 5, 2023 - One hour decant. Very deep dark electric magenta color. Black cherry, dark raspberry jam, mocha, crushed pecans, and subtle charred graham cracker. Smooth, tongue drying, somewhat tart palate, with satiny, lingering acidity. Firm tannins on the longish finish.
This is still in some sort of transition. It was terrific two years ago, but has been a noticeable step down over the past year. Not sure if it will come back better in another year.
February 19, 2023 - Late decision to pour this one at the end of our dinner and into our card playing/dessert time. This wine is consistently good across bottles. Dark red/black fruit to start...really opens up over 60-90 minutes. Smooth and quite integrated. Enjoyed by all 4 of us and still about one third of the bottle under a Repour stopper that I am trying out for purely scientific reasons, on a 2nd bottle for a 2nd night. I can't imagine it has anything left to give, but I have to try! The only thing that stops this wine from scoring higher is the limitations of the vineyard itself. These are very fine grapes and this wine is superbly made but it just feels like it's limited at this point. Not enough complexity? Not enough layers? I don't know. Hard to argue with scores of 94-96, isn't it? I'm splitting hairs, I know. Recent library sales have offered these at basically twice the original price and in my estimation that would not be good qpr. At their original selling price you are handsomely rewarded.
February 3, 2023 - Agree with AGELVIS notes on this wine. Drank really well with a short decant and developed more flavors with air. Another really nice cab from the 2016 vintage.
November 5, 2022 - One hour decant. Nearly opaque magenta core. Blackberry, plum, cocoa, dark raspberry jelly, and burnt toffee shortbread on the nose. Very dry, smooth palate, with chalky acidity. Firm, lower intensity tannins on the longish finish.
The nose is pretty great (confectionery/fruit forward, but not extracted), but the palate is more tart/sour than it used to be. This is my second bottle with this palate, so this must be a phase (I hope). I’ll try to wait a year to see if this rebounds.
October 13, 2022 - Been almost 2 years since I last opened one of these. Pnp'd into a decanter at HMCs and enjoyed before and after dinner. Same score as the bottle from 2 years ago but for different reasons. This still can be drunk from the pnp but deepens and improves over 2+ hours of air. It adds weight and depth all around. Tannins are softer, smoother but the fruit (dark red/black) is still quite powerful. I wonder now if a much longer decant at this stage would have upped it even another point or two? Only one bottle of the '16 left in the cellar to play with....do I dare risk it?
September 23, 2022 - 90 min decant. Deep dark electric magenta color. Black cherry, blackberry, raspberry compote, chocolate malt, juniper, primrose, chestnut, and cornmeal on the nose. Smooth, dry, somewhat sour palate. Zesty, mouth coating acidity. Firm tannins. Longish finish.
I’ll likely PNP or slow ox the next bottle, although that’s probably not the problem. Something was out of character here. This had great complexity, but missing its normal fruit forward decadence. I’m hoping/thinking this was an off bottle.
March 29, 2022 - Two hour decant. Nearly opaque electric purplish magenta color (with black core). Blackberry jam, fresh blueberries, vanilla buttercream frosting, pistachio, chocolate graham cracker, and subtle toasted radish on the nose. Velvety, tongue drying, full bodied palate, with chalky acidity. Plush tannins on the longish finish.
This continues to hit on all cylinders. It’s decadent, but not as sweet nosed as it sounds. Awesome bottle for $100.
March 20, 2022 - PNP. Nearly opaque magenta color. Black cherry, dark chocolate, walnut, blackberry, and cinnamon graham cracker on the nose. Smooth, dry palate, with good acidity. Firm, full tannins on the longish finish.
I was surprised how ready to go this was without a decant. An hour of air would make it even better. Held its own against Abreu, Tesseron Pym-Rae, and Kapcsandy Roberta’s.
February 12, 2022 - 90 minute double decant. Very deep dark purple magenta color. Boysenberry jam, fudge frosting, straw, and pound cake on the nose. Smooth, dry palate, with fine, lingering acidity. Firm, full tannins on the longish finish.
This really benefits from a shorter decant (1-2 hours). I had been doing 3+ hours and that’s too much at this stage.
January 9, 2022 - Four hour decant. Opaque purple magenta color. Chocolate, potting soil, ripe plum, marshmallow, damp stone, and date on the nose. Smooth, dry, slightly tart palate, with vibrant acidity. Firm, satiny tannins on the longish finish.
This bottle is transitioning to a more “mature” state and is at a low point for the moment. Keep in mind that this low point is higher than the high point for most bottles. Looking forward to more development with this beautiful Cab.