August 14, 2023 - Dried cherries and cocoa, some leather and something else I couldn't quite place. Still some tannin - not fully integrated. Lovely wine, drink now or in the next year or two.
Update: day 3 was okay, day 4 its pretty dead. Didn't try on day 2, but can't imagine it was much better than the first day.
May 27, 2023 - Pine and fig newton aromas. Tawny color, with soft tannins, and super dry. No decanting. Flavors of cassis, dried current, cocoa, and leather. Finish of clove and white pepper.
This is our last bottle of the Neal 2001 Cab. the 2001 was also our first introduction to Neal, @ 19 years ago.They continue to be a great producer, with 'value' Cabs under $100/bottle.
Last sip is chewy with wonderful black currant!
July 24, 2022 - WOTD in a double blind tasting!! I always love when a favorite of mine which is also the lowest price bottle beats out a strong field!! Thought this was Bordeaux. Cherries, cedar, earth, and nice depth. Lively for a 2001.
November 25, 2020 - Decanted for 1 hour and drank over the next hour. Wine is drinking nicely and is still in a good place. Not sure if this might have been a little better a few years ago, but still enjoyable.
September 5, 2019 - Whoa...gotta be honest, this is damn good right now if you liked aged wine. Muted fruit profile of black cherry, currant, and dried plums. Still a wonderful balanced wine with notes of earth, forest floor, pencil shavings, black licorice, savory herbs, and some mocha. Very soft tannins at this point but a long elegant finish.
December 12, 2017 - Opened by Otis at our holiday party. 8th time I have had this wine over the last 14 years. Similar notes as before but it seems to be slowly declining. 88 points
November 3, 2017 - Rich, smooth and tasty, with dark fruit, spice and sweet earthy flavors. Nice long finish.
May 27, 2017 - Great wine and ready to drink. True joy!
March 26, 2017 - I had this same bottle about 5 years back and it was excellent with a lot of fruit. This bottle has definitely evolved into something different. Extremely funky nose for the first 30 min, but then it blew off. I think it's just how the wine presents itself when aged this long (~16 years). I'll chalk it up as an experiment. Don't recommend holding longer than 10 years. NR since I'm not good enough to give it a valid score, but definitely tastes of tobacco and currant.
June 4, 2016 - This wine is in a great place right now. Bold fruit but not over the top - nice long finish. May still have a few years but drink now if you like the fruit