July 12, 2021 - #vinnørd
September 4, 2015 - Nose: Heavy alcohol until it settled down and then a nice cassis, blackberry, blueberry, combo. Very nice.
Taste: light tannins, blackberry, tobacco long finish. Worth the wait.
April 1, 2013 - Big full, highly extracted. Lots of fruit super ripe but really well made. Decanted for 2 hours alongside a Larkmead 2005 Cabernet. Idea was to compare 2 Cabs - one from an Americcan winemaker in Argentina and another pure Napa tradition. Larkmead won it by a notch.
October 4, 2012 - Unique blend of of france and CA fruit. Lots of menthol and eucalyptus with hints of cigar and dark berry. Well integrated tannin and great balance. Great harmony and a generous finish.
May 12, 2012 - Decanted for 2 hours.
This is very prominent on the nose with lots of sweet ripe fruits, lots of oak, vanilla, tobacco, ripe gooseberries....I could smell it for hours. Actually, you can sense the aromas 20-30 cm far from the glass. On the palate, this is full bodied, big, mouthcoating with massive fruit extraction and very ripe....almost sweet. The tannins are surprisingly refined and the alcohol doesn't dominate the palate in spite of the 14,9% alc. This is superlative and big wine in all senses....there's a lot going on the nose and it's massive on the palate. However, it lacks finesse and the main characteristics of the cabernet. This is excellent wine, but I'm not sure I will buy it again as this is a little over the top for me. 91+
March 19, 2012 - consistent tn's. My last bottle of 6, and, perhaps the most polished of the bunch. Best served at cellar temp, this needed a minimal amount of air to shine. Ageing gracefully, with a few solid years ahead of it. Drink thru 2014, 14,9% abv (well integrated), score: B+/A-
August 1, 2011 - Slow O for 3 hours, consumed over the next 3 hours with a few Prides for comparison. I specifically brought this bottle with me for my/our San Diego friends, knowing how much they like the style of Paul Hobbs - it didn't disappoint and proved a solid pairing with a beef risotto dish at Yanni's in Poway. Ripe, textured and creamy, this isn't my style, per se, but it's hard not to love it for what it is. The wine loses focus at times, but climbs back up and manages to deliver one knockout punch after another. Drinking well now, but still requires some air for the alcohol and funk to blow off. Drink thru 2016, 14,9% abv (mostly well integrated at this point, as are the tannins), approx $35.
August 28, 2010 - Big explosive body packed with big fruit.
June 14, 2010 - Something was way off. Had to dump the bottle.
June 6, 2010 - Deep, dense, rich, full-bodied and velvety with flavors of ripe dark berries, currant, dark licorice and chocolate. This wine has great balance and good potential to last until 2015.