December 27, 2022 - Phenomenal, third night open and this is such a beautiful, wonderfully balanced wine. Can easily go for many more years.
Note, starting to throw a good amount of sediment so make sure to decant, it also thrives with a couple hours of air, or drank slowly over a few days. Will continue to buy and hide away.
December 26, 2022 - Very surprised by this wine. Rich, blue and red fluids. Oh he’s turning out to be a great year for Napa. Medium to long finish. Nice notes on the nose of cigar and dust and red earth.
December 25, 2021 - Excellent depth and body. Improved with decanting. Light sediment.
October 28, 2021 - Delightful wine. The nose is amazing…Sweet, powerful and boozy with brown sugar, molasses, some cola a little menthol and hoisin. Big chalky tannins and peppery. But strangely thin despite its palate presence
October 9, 2021 - Amazing nose of peppercorn, eucalyptus, sundried tomato, smoked meats. Hits the palate with blackcurrants, dark chocolate, black olives, crushed rocks, and mint. Full-bodied and dense, with smooth, rounded tannins and good supporting acidity. Finishes long and dry. Decanted for 1 hour at Huntress Steakhouse in San Diego, but could have used more. This has shed any baby fat it might have had in its youth and has transitioned into a mature, elegant cabernet. Can easily go for a few more years in its current form.
January 5, 2021 - Drinking beautifully at the moment. Opened directly from cellar so it was a bit cold and primarily showing a “dusty” quality at first, which gave way to dark fruit after breathing for an hour. Once it opened and warmed there were layers of red, blue and black fruit, with very polished tannins that make for a food friendly wine as well as an enjoyable wine to sip on its own. O’Shaughnessy seems to over perform when young and steadily improves (and impresses) with time, something that is rare in Napa.
January 4, 2021 - Last bottle of this well aged cab with Jaime and Melissa at our new fav Italian steakhouse. It is drinking exceptionally well with all components well integrated, playing nicely off eachother. Strong yet soft and supple Mt. Veeder fruit. No formal tasting notes that I can draw from....or remember?
October 3, 2020 - An impeccable bottle of wine. Opened 4 hours before dinner. Loads of cassis on the pnp. Cedar, too. Over the 4 hours of air, this wine moved into perfect balance with loads of class, beautiful dark fruit, and perfect acidity. I love wines with great structure and balance, this one does not disappoint. This is the best of the last few bottles, maybe because of the 4 hour decant? Only one bottle left.....rats.
July 17, 2020 - My last bottle of the 2008s, so I’ll be looking to buy more. Beautiful aromas of blackberry and black cherry with crushed rocks and a hint of licorice. Flavors are complex and layered with black fruit, cherry pie and firm tannins typical of wines from O’Shaughnessy. Drink it now or 10 years from now.
July 7, 2020 - This was drinking so well and more youthfully than the vintage would suggest.
It wins the ‘More Markey’ award of the night, as it was opened late in the evening after many excellent Bordeaux wines. It was that point in the evening when you don’t want to try anything new, especially with a 1998 Angelus still in the glass. But then, there it was and it was so full of fruit and flavor, it really was fantastic.