We had this lovely wine at the tasting room yesterday. Not past its prime at all. Drink now and should be a great wine for the holidays The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry and black currant (cassis). It tastes like violet. The body is medium/full. The wine has polished texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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Still had some good stuff going on. Best during the first two hours of it being open showing dark dried fruits and a light pencil lead aroma. The final half glass, tasted over 4 hours after the bottle was decanted, was showing very sweet tannins and was showing a little oxidation. The final sips remined me of very young tawny port. Not unpleasant, but unusual.
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This is not a big cabernet, but it has solid varietal character. The oak and tannins were pretty well in balance with the fruit, and this was enjoyable overall. Not sure this would gain much from additional cellar time. A relatively simple and straightforward wine, but quite pleasant to drink with a steak.
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Cherries / kirsch on the nose with leather and peppery undertones. Taste of cherry, blackberries plum and leather with some maturity. Velvety tannins and a long finish smacking of fruit and faint vanilla oak strangely enough reminding me of the aftertaste of coca cola somehow. I'm glad I let this one rest until now, but I think it might have a year or two until it peaks.
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Consommée avec côtes de porc, poulet à la bière et frites maison au beurre à l'ail et fromage parmesan, trois recettes décadentes qui n'avaient pas pour mission de mettre ce vin en valeur ...
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Relatively faint nose of dark fruits. On the palate, still very fruit forward, mixed with creamy vanilla oak, but getting tobacco and earthy notes now. Reminds me a bit of one of those strawberry and creme "creme saver" hard candies. Some will find it too sweet...it is getting close for me. Tannins there but in the background and very smooth. Smooth finish. In my opinion this one has improved significantly over the last 2 years.
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Carafée +- 20 minutes, cette seconde bouteille servie lors du même dîner a accompagné les fromages à la fin ... J'aime beaucoup de vin et vais renouveler l'achat à la première occasion ...
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Carafée +- 20 minutes, avons terminé le repas de filet de porc braisé après préparation moutarde de dijon et sauge ... Excellent vin qui était tout à fait à point ... Je rachète ce produit à la première occasion ...
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Typical clear deep dark color. Soft nose of dark fruit and nice oak. Mouth feel to boot with medium tannins with flavors of blackberry, plum and spice. Finish is inline with the rest - nice but not overtly memorable. Had it with curried oxtail (mild) - it was a very good match.
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Best bottle of my stock, and the last. Too bad, as drinking the best of any bottle. Very smooth tannins, but still with nice fruit. Could drink it all night. Just not quite outstanding.
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Great wine for the $$. Nice balance, great with dinner, and nice after dinner. Lacked depth to give it better score, and not as good as past vintages, but still excellent QPR.
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Less impressed this time than with previous bottles from the same vintage. The overall nose as well as taste was rather bland and pedestrian. Gave it a day to see if the wine might have evolved with some air but had the same experience, had my son taste as well without any preview from me, he felt the same.
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nose -sour cherry, ham. mouth - dark fruits, chocolate medium bodied. good fruit. my dad, however, didn't like it - said it smells like 'an oil slick' and as a wine 'fails'
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Deep dark traditional color with great clarity that is crisp to the rim, soft nose of dark berries and oak, nice mouth feel with a little acid at the tip of the tongue and medium tannins with flavors of black berry, plumb, cassis, woodsy vanilla and spice, heat past mid palate; medium finish, but with a tease to take another sip! I agree, great QPR at $12.99/bottle (on sale)
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I found it delicious. Had it with X-Mas dinner (filet mignon) ... nice long finish. rich dark berries, hint of cherry, leather. Great bottle of wine for me.
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nice aroma, some dark fruit flavors and overall not bad, low score may reflect that i'm not that into this varietal. Kevan thought it tasty woody as in old furniture
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The best of three bottles of wine for the evening, all higher priced than the Sebastiani. Fruity, smooth, lingering finish. At this price, I could drink it every day!
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Plums, buttered toast, and alcohol on the nose. A little sweet and fruity on the palate. Finish is tannic and has too much alcohol. A drinkable wine but the alcohol overpowers it. Decanted for 20 minutes.
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Nose of leather and black currants. Flavors of leather, pencil shavings and currants. Less sweet than prior bottles of this wine (this vintage and prior vintages), which is generally preferable; however, the richness is also gone.
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Full-bodied. Chewy Cabernet that has a great texture for a steak dinner. Really dark fruits and barrel taste that is reminiscent of what makes a good California Cabernet great. Sweet aftertaste of toasted oak and cocoa.
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Day 1 - Nose not that expressive, faint hints of oak and vanilla. Some tannins, No finish to speak of.
Day 2 - A little more nose. Still no finish, completely smooth. Oaky sweetness. Pretty one dimensional IMHO. Pales in comparison to the 2001 and 2002 bottlings.
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Color of dark plum. Oak on the nose, with dark berries. Taste had oak notes throughout with more of the dark berries across the middle of the tounge. Velvety tannins with a respectable finish.
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Opened and tasted. Cassis and cigarettes on the nose. Palate flavors of oak, rhubarb and a slight coffee biscuit note on the finish. Not as sweet as prior bottles (an improvement), but also lacking a little flavor richness. Very good.
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The last bottle I had of this wine seemed a lot more complex and showed more Cab qualities. This one was still drinkable, just not exciting. I will likely give this another shot later because of my past positive experience.
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Nice dark color. Had some alcohol on the nose, which I think will mellow with some age. Some sweet cherries followed by some coffee. A solid bottle for the price.
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Solid wine. Notes of sweet black cherry, vanilla, bacon/maple bacon and mocha. Very enjoyable, but a short finish. Still, for $14, it's a heck of a deal. 89-91 points.
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Very good. Needed time to open up and actually got better on day 2. Some sour cherry fruit and vanilla. Slight bitter finish on day 1 which went away on day 2.
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Nose of raspberry, strawberry and cherry. Not a very intense nose, all very subtle. On the palate a get some chocolate and coco-powder, cherry and red currant. More tannins then the '03 with more structure and complexity, but it lost some of the velvity texture.
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Second time I've had this, the first was brought to a party by a guest, and I liked it so much that I thought that I should try it again. This is a very well made Cab, especially for the price point. While it is by no means the most complex I have ever had, there is more complexity than you will usually find under $20. Appearance was dark purple with a hint of magenta and excellent clarity. A little oak on the nose, berry and cassis on the palate with a little pucker from the tannins. It drinks fairly smooth with a medium finish and just a little bit of heat on the back of the throat. I would buy this again.
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Excellent QPR. Popped and poured. Kath found it very chewy. Lots of berries on the nose. Bottle says blackberries, but I'm not sure I agree. Definite cherries in the mouth. Glad we have a few more bottles.
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Opened and poured. Mostly leather on the understated nose but a hint of black currant. Dark cherry, brown sugar and a weird sediment texture (no visible sediment in the glass). The finish turns charcoaly. We'll see how it opens up.
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OK, but the nose and finish of the 2001 and 2002 is not there yet. Decanted but drank fairly quickly after going in. I think this one will improve over the next year or two.
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Bring on the chocolate and mocha. This wine is dripping with it. Unfortunately, that means oak, and maybe its because of the young age of this wine, but I found the finish bitter with that wood. In fact, the drak fruit is hiding behind all the cady bar/malt elements of this wine. The body is medium, with a full lush mouthfeel. And the finish, while not particuarly pleasant, lasts. This is a created wine, but if its what you like, its hard to beat the price. I found the '03 Alex Valley a lot more pleasant. 87-89, depending on your chocolate lover score.
Day 2: I know what's bothering me about this wine. There is no acidity. It just weighs on you, and isn't refreshing at all. Also, after reading other reviews, I concur, this wine has nothing to with terroir. But it's still chocolately goodness.
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Drank @ Kirby's Steakhouse, Goldman Sachs sponsored dinner, we had 3 bottle and all were consistant: Drank this wine with several people who know very little about wine, and it was a big hit. This cab has a really nice garnet color, med-full bodied and the nose has a nice balance of sweet oak, cherry, plums, and towards the end of the night I started to get hints of chocolate and licorice. It had a really nice mouth feel on the palate with a lengthy, round, fruity finish. This wine has a great QPR and would highly recommend.
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Very nice, they dialed back the Oak from the 03 so it's much more balanced. Still wonderful fruit on the nose and palate. The first night I found the tannins a tad strong but on the second everything was good.
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This wine is THE BENCHMARK for value. It has that big CA cab taste, but the price is so nice. Try tasting it blind against some of your favorite $75-$100+ cabs and you might be real surprised. We regularly pit this wine blind against some very highly rated wines and it is always close to or on top. We all bought cases of it. PS - It is better than 01 and 02 and 03 (which I also bought cases of).
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Just below prior vintages. Tastes more processed than natural. Good, but not great, and there are probably better, more distinctive QPRs than this currently available.
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My senses are still suspect while continuing to recover from sinusitis, but this strikes me as somewhat of a departure for their usual Sonoma County cab. The presense of oak seems diminished while tones of tobacco and camp fire smoke along with the red fruits and toasty oak and white pepper. Possessing strong tannin on the finish with a mouth coating silkiness, this wine may still need a couple of years to taste at it's best. This wine has become one of the best "go to" wines to serve to those looking for the California cab experience at a reasonable price.
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Decanted 20 minutes: Aromas of black cherry, cassis, anise, vanilla, mocha and a hint of oak. Compared to 02 and 03, This has a bit more tannin, has more fruit and less mocha, chocolate & oak. Smooth and almost fullbodied with blackberry, black cherry, plums, anise and chocolate that surrounds the palate, good acidity, initially a bit tight on the moderate length finish, but opens up a bit with air. A great QPR, and an improvement over 02 and 03!
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11/20/2016 - CoolC27 Likes this wine: 91 Points
We had this lovely wine at the tasting room yesterday. Not past its prime at all. Drink now and should be a great wine for the holidays
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry and black currant (cassis). It tastes like violet. The body is medium/full. The wine has polished texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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12/2/2014 - jmesack@yahoo.com wrote: 80 Points
This was consumed past its prime. It had lost a lot of flavors, but remained smooth.
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11/30/2013 - Tykimura wrote: 88 Points
Cherry. Licorice. Oak
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3/25/2012 - ub40guy wrote: 88 Points
Still had some good stuff going on. Best during the first two hours of it being open showing dark dried fruits and a light pencil lead aroma. The final half glass, tasted over 4 hours after the bottle was decanted, was showing very sweet tannins and was showing a little oxidation. The final sips remined me of very young tawny port. Not unpleasant, but unusual.
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3/9/2012 - pbirke Likes this wine: 87 Points
Maybe passed its prime but still paired really well with steak, kale mashed potatoes and corn bread from our CSA!
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7/2/2010 - SpoochMan Likes this wine: 87 Points
This is not a big cabernet, but it has solid varietal character. The oak and tannins were pretty well in balance with the fruit, and this was enjoyable overall. Not sure this would gain much from additional cellar time. A relatively simple and straightforward wine, but quite pleasant to drink with a steak.
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1/29/2010 - matage wrote: 90 Points
Cherries / kirsch on the nose with leather and peppery undertones.
Taste of cherry, blackberries plum and leather with some maturity.
Velvety tannins and a long finish smacking of fruit and faint vanilla oak strangely enough reminding me of the aftertaste of coca cola somehow. I'm glad I let this one rest until now, but I think it might have a year or two until it peaks.
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12/30/2009 - Bro wrote: 90 Points
Consommée avec côtes de porc, poulet à la bière et frites maison au beurre à l'ail et fromage parmesan, trois recettes décadentes qui n'avaient pas pour mission de mettre ce vin en valeur ...
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12/6/2009 - tigerpaw75 wrote: 89 Points
Relatively faint nose of dark fruits. On the palate, still very fruit forward, mixed with creamy vanilla oak, but getting tobacco and earthy notes now. Reminds me a bit of one of those strawberry and creme "creme saver" hard candies. Some will find it too sweet...it is getting close for me. Tannins there but in the background and very smooth. Smooth finish. In my opinion this one has improved significantly over the last 2 years.
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11/15/2009 - Bro wrote: 90 Points
Carafée +- 20 minutes, cette seconde bouteille servie lors du même dîner a accompagné les fromages à la fin ...
J'aime beaucoup de vin et vais renouveler l'achat à la première occasion ...
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11/15/2009 - Bro wrote: 90 Points
Carafée +- 20 minutes, avons terminé le repas de filet de porc braisé après préparation moutarde de dijon et sauge ...
Excellent vin qui était tout à fait à point ... Je rachète ce produit à la première occasion ...
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8/18/2009 - ewisor wrote: 87 Points
A fine, nicely aged cab - drinking well right now. My last one - I should have got more!
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7/23/2009 - jmh st louis wrote: 92 Points
full blend of licorice, blackberry, wet leather.
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2/20/2009 - jmh st louis wrote: 90 Points
Nice blackberry and plum with a leater finish.
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11/24/2008 - wynruit wrote: 90 Points
Ditto the other bottle consumed on the same date - there were 6 of us feasting on the curried oxtail and this wine...
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11/24/2008 - wynruit wrote: 90 Points
Typical clear deep dark color. Soft nose of dark fruit and nice oak. Mouth feel to boot with medium tannins with flavors of blackberry, plum and spice. Finish is inline with the rest - nice but not overtly memorable. Had it with curried oxtail (mild) - it was a very good match.
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11/20/2008 - bvwino wrote: 89 Points
Best bottle of my stock, and the last. Too bad, as drinking the best of any bottle. Very smooth tannins, but still with nice fruit. Could drink it all night. Just not quite outstanding.
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10/15/2008 - shakedown wrote: 88 Points
Drinking quite well. A very nice wine for the money. One Word: Smooth.
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10/3/2008 - zoulodi Likes this wine: 86 Points
The tight tannins are wrapped around supple plum and cherry-laced fruit, making this easy to enjoy now, with modest complexity.
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7/28/2008 - bvwino wrote: 88 Points
Similar to my last notes. Light tannins, medium weight, short finish wine. Great value. Some red fruit notes.
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7/16/2008 - bvwino wrote: 89 Points
Great wine for the $$. Nice balance, great with dinner, and nice after dinner. Lacked depth to give it better score, and not as good as past vintages, but still excellent QPR.
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7/5/2008 - stercomm wrote: 85 Points
Less impressed this time than with previous bottles from the same vintage. The overall nose as well as taste was rather bland and pedestrian. Gave it a day to see if the wine might have evolved with some air but had the same experience, had my son taste as well without any preview from me, he felt the same.
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5/6/2008 - DTWOB wrote: 89 Points
Good solid cab with a great balance of fruit, tannins, acidity and heat. Wish the finish would have lasted a little longer.
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4/30/2008 - soyhead wrote: 88 Points
nose -sour cherry, ham.
mouth - dark fruits, chocolate
medium bodied. good fruit.
my dad, however, didn't like it - said it smells like 'an oil slick' and as a wine 'fails'
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4/27/2008 - jjlobi wrote: 87 Points
Nice nose and good cab flavor upon opening. Seemed to dissipate after a couple of hours. Better vintages from Sebastiani.
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4/26/2008 - EhrlichDY wrote: 85 Points
Awesome everyday drinker for the price. Simple and fruit forward with soft tannins. Drink now.
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4/18/2008 - jjlobi wrote: 88 Points
Not as good as previous vinatges but still ok for an everday nice cab.
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4/6/2008 - robnmo wrote: 88 Points
A little sweeter, than the previous bottles, but the Oak was gone. Really enjoyed this with some prime rib. Will look to buy some more.
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3/9/2008 - bwk wrote: 88 Points
Great value for this fruit bomb. Was excellent with a beef roast.
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2/20/2008 - tomsch wrote: 88 Points
Fruit forward with considerable cherry. Very controlled tannins makes for decent drinking now. Rather short finish
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1/16/2008 - cck wrote: 88 Points
Higher score for value on this varietally true cab. Loved the fact that this wasn't hot -- <14% alcohol.
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1/10/2008 - DTWOB wrote: 88 Points
Deep dark traditional color with great clarity that is crisp to the rim, soft nose of dark berries and oak, nice mouth feel with a little acid at the tip of the tongue and medium tannins with flavors of black berry, plumb, cassis, woodsy vanilla and spice, heat past mid palate; medium finish, but with a tease to take another sip! I agree, great QPR at $12.99/bottle (on sale)
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12/28/2007 - MountainMak wrote: 92 Points
I found it delicious. Had it with X-Mas dinner (filet mignon) ... nice long finish. rich dark berries, hint of cherry, leather. Great bottle of wine for me.
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12/7/2007 - robnmo wrote: 87 Points
less oak than prior bottle and more fruit. a nice cab for the price
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11/23/2007 - soyhead wrote: 83 Points
nice aroma, some dark fruit flavors and overall not bad, low score may reflect that i'm not that into this varietal. Kevan thought it tasty woody as in old furniture
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11/18/2007 - DTWOB wrote: 90 Points
The best of three bottles of wine for the evening, all higher priced than the Sebastiani.
Fruity, smooth, lingering finish. At this price, I could drink it every day!
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10/31/2007 - MWes wrote: 82 Points
Seems to be on it's way out. As previous posts have stated, seems to be losing it's fruit and is very one dimensional. Drink up!
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10/5/2007 - robnmo wrote: 86 Points
a little less fruit and more oak than in the previous bottle. The alcohol smell was gone. Still a nice bottle for the price.
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9/16/2007 - dv002i wrote: 83 Points
Plums, buttered toast, and alcohol on the nose. A little sweet and fruity on the palate. Finish is tannic and has too much alcohol. A drinkable wine but the alcohol overpowers it. Decanted for 20 minutes.
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8/19/2007 - DTWOB wrote: 86 Points
This bottle continues to amaze me at its value. Great price, great taste.
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8/13/2007 - wineward wrote: 85 Points
Nose of leather and black currants. Flavors of leather, pencil shavings and currants. Less sweet than prior bottles of this wine (this vintage and prior vintages), which is generally preferable; however, the richness is also gone.
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8/10/2007 - mstrickland wrote: 89 Points
Full-bodied. Chewy Cabernet that has a great texture for a steak dinner. Really dark fruits and barrel taste that is reminiscent of what makes a good California Cabernet great. Sweet aftertaste of toasted oak and cocoa.
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8/10/2007 - tigerpaw75 wrote: 85 Points
Day 1 - Nose not that expressive, faint hints of oak and vanilla. Some tannins, No finish to speak of.
Day 2 - A little more nose. Still no finish, completely smooth. Oaky sweetness. Pretty one dimensional IMHO. Pales in comparison to the 2001 and 2002 bottlings.
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8/9/2007 - Omar Khayyam wrote: 83 Points
all right, good QPR, perhaps a bit too much california but I am not complaining. Good
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7/30/2007 - jwolf99 wrote:
supple plum and cherry laced fruit; tight tannins, modest complexity
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7/26/2007 - markfarrell22 wrote: 88 Points
Color of dark plum. Oak on the nose, with dark berries. Taste had oak notes throughout with more of the dark berries across the middle of the tounge. Velvety tannins with a respectable finish.
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7/24/2007 - wineward wrote: 86 Points
Opened and tasted. Cassis and cigarettes on the nose. Palate flavors of oak, rhubarb and a slight coffee biscuit note on the finish. Not as sweet as prior bottles (an improvement), but also lacking a little flavor richness. Very good.
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6/21/2007 - ahchem wrote: 86 Points
The last bottle I had of this wine seemed a lot more complex and showed more Cab qualities. This one was still drinkable, just not exciting. I will likely give this another shot later because of my past positive experience.
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6/20/2007 - texaswino wrote: 88 Points
not as good as last bottle, but still a bang for the buck wine.
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6/19/2007 - skm95t wrote:
Bottle may have been off or served too hot, but not as good as I remembered, very hot on the palate and off balanced
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5/31/2007 - robnmo wrote: 88 Points
Nice dark color. Had some alcohol on the nose, which I think will mellow with some age. Some sweet cherries followed by some coffee. A solid bottle for the price.
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5/26/2007 - ZR1001 wrote: 89 Points
Great PQR!!!
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5/20/2007 - JavaMonkey wrote: 85 Points
Too sweet. It's all cherry and vanilla. Not much to it at all.
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5/17/2007 - mwagner7700 wrote: 90 Points
Solid wine. Notes of sweet black cherry, vanilla, bacon/maple bacon and mocha. Very enjoyable, but a short finish. Still, for $14, it's a heck of a deal. 89-91 points.
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5/16/2007 - pkbackman wrote: 88 Points
Very good. Needed time to open up and actually got better on day 2. Some sour cherry fruit and vanilla. Slight bitter finish on day 1 which went away on day 2.
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4/28/2007 - wineward wrote: 87 Points
Notes from 2nd day. Lovely violet and cassis nose. Soft flavors of cola and blackberry with some cedar. Short finish. Very good.
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4/22/2007 - texaswino wrote: 90 Points
always a good value. This is better than the 03 but maybe just a touch off the 02.
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4/14/2007 - Arch57 wrote: 83 Points
Not very good at all. Charred oak, too much vanilla and too sweet. We used to be big fans of Sebastiani but I think their Merlots show more fruit.
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4/10/2007 - win wrote: 90 Points
Solid California Cab -- very modern and forward. Great value. I think it is slightly better than 2002, and definitely better than 2003.
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4/7/2007 - raadams wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with past bottle.
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4/6/2007 - bgsu1986 wrote: 86 Points
Disappointed. Thin and had a short finish. Perfume was better than the taste. Not nearly as good as the 2002 vintage.
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3/22/2007 - vaaccess wrote: 88 Points
Very nice bottle of wine. Very smooth right out of the bottle with no decanting.
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3/13/2007 - wineward wrote: 87 Points
Nose of brown sugar. Sweet black cherry flavors with vanilla and cedar. In the style of little penguin--very sweet. Still nice flavor. Tasty.
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3/3/2007 - pakabear wrote: 90 Points
Nose of raspberry, strawberry and cherry. Not a very intense nose, all very subtle. On the palate a get some chocolate and coco-powder, cherry and red currant. More tannins then the '03 with more structure and complexity, but it lost some of the velvity texture.
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2/26/2007 - ahchem wrote: 89 Points
Second time I've had this, the first was brought to a party by a guest, and I liked it so much that I thought that I should try it again. This is a very well made Cab, especially for the price point. While it is by no means the most complex I have ever had, there is more complexity than you will usually find under $20. Appearance was dark purple with a hint of magenta and excellent clarity. A little oak on the nose, berry and cassis on the palate with a little pucker from the tannins. It drinks fairly smooth with a medium finish and just a little bit of heat on the back of the throat. I would buy this again.
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2/25/2007 - zerhart wrote: 84 Points
Decent cheap cab, but this bottle seemed a bit off relative to other bottles we've had recently.
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2/15/2007 - purcellj wrote: 88 Points
Excellent QPR. Popped and poured. Kath found it very chewy. Lots of berries on the nose. Bottle says blackberries, but I'm not sure I agree. Definite cherries in the mouth. Glad we have a few more bottles.
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2/14/2007 - kmontgom_34 wrote: 91 Points
A little young, should have decanted. Notes of cedar, licorice and mocha.
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2/13/2007 - vancouvermatt wrote: 88 Points
Nice bouquet and length for the price point. Solid mid-week wine that needs to be consumed over the next year.
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2/12/2007 - wineward wrote: 86 Points
Opened and poured. Mostly leather on the understated nose but a hint of black currant. Dark cherry, brown sugar and a weird sediment texture (no visible sediment in the glass). The finish turns charcoaly. We'll see how it opens up.
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2/9/2007 - g-man wrote: 88 Points
Solid QPR. Great everyday wine or for meeting the wine need for dinners with non-winos.
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2/8/2007 - thegrapes wrote: 90 Points
Rich and soft bursting with blackberry fruits.
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1/21/2007 - ldhaynesnc wrote: 89 Points
Ver good cabernet. Lonnie likes it but Andrea is a bit more reserved.
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1/13/2007 - Texas R Aggie wrote: 84 Points
lots of cherry. Hint of anise and chocolate. Good everyday wine and value, but nothing really special.
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1/11/2007 - Texas R Aggie wrote: 88 Points
Cherry is almost overwhelming. But still a great value.
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1/10/2007 - skm95t wrote: 91 Points
I had another bottle at home this time where I could concentrate on it. Second bottle is consistant with first.
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12/22/2006 - tigerpaw75 wrote: 86 Points
OK, but the nose and finish of the 2001 and 2002 is not there yet. Decanted but drank fairly quickly after going in. I think this one will improve over the next year or two.
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12/6/2006 - hutch wrote: 87 Points
Bring on the chocolate and mocha. This wine is dripping with it. Unfortunately, that means oak, and maybe its because of the young age of this wine, but I found the finish bitter with that wood. In fact, the drak fruit is hiding behind all the cady bar/malt elements of this wine. The body is medium, with a full lush mouthfeel. And the finish, while not particuarly pleasant, lasts. This is a created wine, but if its what you like, its hard to beat the price. I found the '03 Alex Valley a lot more pleasant. 87-89, depending on your chocolate lover score.
Day 2: I know what's bothering me about this wine. There is no acidity. It just weighs on you, and isn't refreshing at all. Also, after reading other reviews, I concur, this wine has nothing to with terroir. But it's still chocolately goodness.
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12/6/2006 - skm95t wrote: 91 Points
Drank @ Kirby's Steakhouse, Goldman Sachs sponsored dinner, we had 3 bottle and all were consistant: Drank this wine with several people who know very little about wine, and it was a big hit. This cab has a really nice garnet color, med-full bodied and the nose has a nice balance of sweet oak, cherry, plums, and towards the end of the night I started to get hints of chocolate and licorice. It had a really nice mouth feel on the palate with a lengthy, round, fruity finish. This wine has a great QPR and would highly recommend.
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11/29/2006 - CourtneyCarl wrote: 85 Points
Toast on cork, berries on tannin to cherry/leather
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11/26/2006 - cmr wrote: 89 Points
Very nice, they dialed back the Oak from the 03 so it's much more balanced. Still wonderful fruit on the nose and palate. The first night I found the tannins a tad strong but on the second everything was good.
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11/17/2006 - tnewton wrote: 89 Points
blackberry
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11/16/2006 - cbraun wrote:
Didn't get a chance to spend much time on this bottle. Not quite as enjoyable as the previous year.
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11/15/2006 - TechnoJohnny wrote: 94 Points
This wine is THE BENCHMARK for value. It has that big CA cab taste, but the price is so nice. Try tasting it blind against some of your favorite $75-$100+ cabs and you might be real surprised. We regularly pit this wine blind against some very highly rated wines and it is always close to or on top. We all bought cases of it. PS - It is better than 01 and 02 and 03 (which I also bought cases of).
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10/30/2006 - KevinS wrote: 88 Points
Just below prior vintages. Tastes more processed than natural. Good, but not great, and there are probably better, more distinctive QPRs than this currently available.
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10/11/2006 - N2Vin wrote: 89 Points
My senses are still suspect while continuing to recover from sinusitis, but this strikes me as somewhat of a departure for their usual Sonoma County cab. The presense of oak seems diminished while tones of tobacco and camp fire smoke along with the red fruits and toasty oak and white pepper. Possessing strong tannin on the finish with a mouth coating silkiness, this wine may still need a couple of years to taste at it's best.
This wine has become one of the best "go to" wines to serve to those looking for the California cab experience at a reasonable price.
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9/15/2006 - twobuckmike wrote: 81 Points
Too sweet. Tastes like it comes from a factory, not a farm. I probably should have decanted.
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8/28/2006 - LACERS wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 20 minutes: Aromas of black cherry, cassis, anise, vanilla, mocha and a hint of oak. Compared to 02 and 03, This has a bit more tannin, has more fruit and less mocha, chocolate & oak. Smooth and almost fullbodied with blackberry, black cherry, plums, anise and chocolate that surrounds the palate, good acidity, initially a bit tight on the moderate length finish, but opens up a bit with air. A great QPR, and an improvement over 02 and 03!
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