Surprisingly youthful and fresh, if a little disjointed on opening. 2h later, the fruit had filled out in the mid palate and early tertiary cedar notes were present on the finish.
Overall old world sensibility and classic. Excellent pairing with strong flavors of grilled beef and salt stone veggies.
Second of 3. First was too young (2017). I doubt I'll roll the dice on the last making old bones. No rush, expect it will drink at this level for 3-5 years.
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Delicious wine. Concentrated dark fruits balanced with cedar wood and dark chocolate undertones. Drinks like good Margaux. Tannins well integrated. Enough acidity to pair well with lots of dishes (had grilled chicken tonight). Maybe this could age longer but it’s drinking perfectly right now.
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Dark crimson/purple in the glass. Nose showed dark blue/black fruit, anise and scorched earth. This continued on the palate in a rich mouth coating manner. Finished long with noticeable but silky tannin. Twelve years in this still seems fresh and young. Will see if I can hold my last bottle another 6 years.
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Although I do not agree with the never ending superlatives that every major expert has given this wine, I did enjoy it last evening as we went through a Double Magnum during our Wed night Wine dinner.
Nose had some deep smoke and licorice up front while the finish was tar , cedar and a touch of bright cherry. It has mellowed quite a bit, and was an enjoyable drinking wine, but it is definitely past its prime and certainly is ready to drink now.
Still impressed by this wine maker. I have seen this wine compared to left bank wines, but I think it has its own sense of place separate from Bordeaux. Blackberries and plums on the front, with some cedar and anise. Nice balance between the weight of the wine, the alcohol (a relatively restrained 13.2% ABV), and acid. Nice job.
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Blackberry, cassis, cigar box tobacco, violets. Medium-plus body. Medium acidity & tannins. Medium-long finish. A pretty wine. Drink now or in the next 5 years.
Decanted and followed a few hours. Dark fruited with herbaceous highlights adding complexity. Refined nose but still a bit shy. Tannins were quite stout and prominent. Approachable now but probably best to hold as there’s plenty of structure here. Great balanced new world bdx blend with old school leanings.
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This one is still a wall of rough tannins, but the fruit doth lurk below. If the rest of the bottle is anything like the first glass this gal is barely out of her teen years. Will check back on day two. Hope it really loosens up.
By the third day with open air it loosened up somewhat but is still a rough beast. There's alot of dark fruits and black licorice/fennel with an undercurrent of stoniness, but I'm not sensing that the fruit component is really being allowed to show its true potential. I think it needs another 5+ years to soften up, and maybe even then it won't have any decent balance. It's just a black hole without any light at this point in time.
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Opened about 90 minutes before being paired with grilled ribeyes. Dark opaque garnet. Nose of cassis, currant, fresh cut berry, beef blood, violets. Classy, focused layers of red currant, blackberry, pleasing sauvage, and tobacco on the palate. Smoothed, fine-grained tannin and excellent acidity. Long finish of chiming red fruit with leather and grip. Quintessential example of intensity without weight.
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Cassis, pipe tobacco, black cherry, thyme, cedar. Medium-plus body. Medium acidity. Medium-minus, velvety tannins. Medium-long finish. Very nice right now, but can still hold a bit longer as well.
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Not decanted. Never quite tight, but showed best starting at an hour. Currant and blueberry fruit. Floral and smoke notes compliment. This was contemplative and subtle - all class.
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Dark ruby red. Layered nose coated in graphite, black currants, herbs and anise. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and medium plus to full bodied. Dried red berries on the palate with some dried spices, forest floor and some roasted meats. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2030.
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Friday Night, Big Blind Wines for Steak! (Bobby Van's on Park, NYC): Part of a blind tasting, this was opened, but not decanted, at a NYC Steakhouse. This was the first red wine of the night, and that may make it tough to rate. We started drinking it before the entrees arrived, and it was very obvious that it needed food. At first it was tart and very acidic. But as it sat in the glass, and the food arrived, it really started to taste great. Maybe a decant would have helped. At only 13.2% alcohol, it was had the lowest percentage of the night's wines. My next bottle, will be decanted for an hour before drinking.
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Fantastic Bordeaux blend. Refined and restrained, with ripe currents but in check. Lovey depth and complexity with just a hint of herbaceousness and tobacco leaf. Fine tannins, still quite prominent but polished. Needs more time. Much more expressive on night 2. Great stuff.
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Cab-dominated Bordeaux blend from Columbia Valley, Washington. Dark fruits - black cherries, black berries, black currant. Medium + body with medium tannins. Drinking very well right now.
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Pnp’d with a wine friend to share and compare. Dark inky color. A very earthy nose which yields a unique terroir of the Champoux Vineyard, Washington. This is not California! Very fine tannins and drinking very nice. Flavors of black current and dark fruit. A very interesting bottle! EG. #ArchitecturalArtistry. #WineArchitect
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Still a baby. Enjoyed about 75% of the bottle on night one with a 20 min decant. Forgot about the rest of the bottle that had been recorked and left in the cellar for 3 days. Upon reopening the wine was drinking beautifully. Probably will try to cellar my remaining couple bottles for at least 5 years before revisiting. Great, ageworthy, restrained, balanced, new world Cabernet blend.
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Very young and a little cranky. Didn't show well until it had about 3hrs air. Opened up nicely at that point. Polished and concentrated. Nice bdx like nose, only a little sweetness on the back end of the palate points to the new world. Flavor Profile has red fruit highlights with nice flint note really holding on the finish. A really nice wine with old world styling (had compared to '14 Pedasclaux hard to tell which was bdx) drink or hold, but best to hold.
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Dark core with maroon rim; smoky blackberry, licorice, almost grapey; good texture, some grain to the tannin, like the core of fruit with the acid and fine tannin to age gracefully.
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The clamping tannins need a good steak, which we gave it, and under which context we review it: cherry, cedar, gentle zest, paper; seszhuan. Expect a more relaxed, more finessed wine in 5-7 years. Really shows off with food.
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Been anxious to try this one. Bought as part of the Last Bottle Harvest Marathon. got three of them, two to age and one to try now. This wine is going to be just great. Terrific now but obviously still hiding. What was fun is we opened this and blind taste it against a Charles and Charles Washington state Cab/Syrah blend. I have neighbors that enjoy trying wine but don't know a lot about it and it was interesting to put up a easy every day $10 wine against this bottle an gauge the difference. the C&C obviously showed more fruit but also carried much more earth and vegetable tones. This is partly due to the Syrah which my daughter always nails with a metallic/blood taste in her mind.
The Andrew Will was still tight. Not as fruit forward an overall cleaner. Classic Blackberry, a bit of strawberry and a bit of vanilla. Must have been french oak. Touch of spice/pepper but very light on that. The tannins and acidity were there and lurking a bit. They will develop further and then tone down as the wine develops I think. I want to try to hold the other bottles for 4-5 and 7-10 years from now.
8/8/8/9/8 - 41/91 (and improving)
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92. Solid effort. A little too young still but the potential is there. Tannins are still strong and wild. Lots of blackberry, molasses & chocolate tones.
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Deep, dense ruby. Restrained dark berry fruit, firm structure and tight tannins with supporting acidity. Give it a lot of time... 10 years ++. It will only get better.
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Medium bodied, medium ruby color, taut, no fruit, no balance, short finish. I could not coax anything out of this bottle....took it back to the retailer for an exchange. I think the wine maker was aiming for elegance and restraint and missed the mark, or it was an off bottle. I won't score it. This wine baffles me.
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Plenty of dark fruit and cigar character up front, very classic cab in profile, in a dark and lush way, rich but with plenty of solidity and balance, then a wave of big but ripe tannins washes over everything. This will need a lot of time.
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12/2/2023 - Empirate wrote: 92 Points
Surprisingly youthful and fresh, if a little disjointed on opening. 2h later, the fruit had filled out in the mid palate and early tertiary cedar notes were present on the finish.
Overall old world sensibility and classic. Excellent pairing with strong flavors of grilled beef and salt stone veggies.
Second of 3. First was too young (2017). I doubt I'll roll the dice on the last making old bones. No rush, expect it will drink at this level for 3-5 years.
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7/22/2023 - arpaddagreat Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious wine. Concentrated dark fruits balanced with cedar wood and dark chocolate undertones. Drinks like good Margaux. Tannins well integrated. Enough acidity to pair well with lots of dishes (had grilled chicken tonight). Maybe this could age longer but it’s drinking perfectly right now.
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11/6/2022 - Zinlady Likes this wine: 94 Points
So good Dark. Tannic. Great body beautiful legs on glass Had with 7 Hour Lamb. Great match. Some tar. Cedar
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9/30/2022 - slulkin wrote: 91 Points
Dark crimson/purple in the glass. Nose showed dark blue/black fruit, anise and scorched earth. This continued on the palate in a rich mouth coating manner. Finished long with noticeable but silky tannin. Twelve years in this still seems fresh and young. Will see if I can hold my last bottle another 6 years.
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7/7/2022 - djpo wrote: 93 Points
Strong nose of blackberry and anise, continues in the mouth. Full bodied, rich wine at its prime.
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4/23/2022 - EFrohmader Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cassis, violets, cigar box, graphite. Medium-full body. Fragrant. Still quite fresh and should last 5+ years.
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10/6/2021 - SMHalps wrote: 93 Points
Had this at a NYC Steakhouse. Opened, but not decanted. Very enjoyable. Medium-long finish.
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8/22/2021 - tunaguy wrote:
darker fruit, scorched earth, tobacco, cedar. a touch short but a very pleasant wine
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8/2/2021 - elevwine wrote:
Purchased in TX last month. Normally love this wine, but this may not have been handled well. Drinkable, but not up to expectations.
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6/28/2021 - wiscgrad wrote: 94 Points
drinking really well right now. tar and smoke on the nose. mostly darker fruit. tannins have resolved.
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2/25/2021 - gamlingman Likes this wine: 88 Points
Although I do not agree with the never ending superlatives that every major expert has given this wine, I did enjoy it last evening as we went through a Double Magnum during our Wed night Wine dinner.
Nose had some deep smoke and licorice up front while the finish was tar , cedar and a touch of bright cherry. It has mellowed quite a bit, and was an enjoyable drinking wine, but it is definitely past its prime and certainly is ready to drink now.
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1/2/2021 - malbrecht wrote: 91 Points
Still impressed by this wine maker. I have seen this wine compared to left bank wines, but I think it has its own sense of place separate from Bordeaux. Blackberries and plums on the front, with some cedar and anise. Nice balance between the weight of the wine, the alcohol (a relatively restrained 13.2% ABV), and acid. Nice job.
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11/22/2020 - EFrohmader Likes this wine: 92 Points
Blackberry, cassis, cigar box tobacco, violets. Medium-plus body. Medium acidity & tannins. Medium-long finish. A pretty wine. Drink now or in the next 5 years.
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11/6/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted and followed a few hours. Dark fruited with herbaceous highlights adding complexity. Refined nose but still a bit shy. Tannins were quite stout and prominent. Approachable now but probably best to hold as there’s plenty of structure here. Great balanced new world bdx blend with old school leanings.
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10/20/2020 - Redteeth wrote:
I was pretty happy with this one. It had a lot of structure and mature fruit.
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8/8/2020 - Mr.Overhill wrote: 90 Points
This one is still a wall of rough tannins, but the fruit doth lurk below. If the rest of the bottle is anything like the first glass this gal is barely out of her teen years. Will check back on day two. Hope it really loosens up.
By the third day with open air it loosened up somewhat but is still a rough beast. There's alot of dark fruits and black licorice/fennel with an undercurrent of stoniness, but I'm not sensing that the fruit component is really being allowed to show its true potential. I think it needs another 5+ years to soften up, and maybe even then it won't have any decent balance. It's just a black hole without any light at this point in time.
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7/9/2020 - DougLee wrote: 93 Points
Opened about 90 minutes before being paired with grilled ribeyes. Dark opaque garnet. Nose of cassis, currant, fresh cut berry, beef blood, violets. Classy, focused layers of red currant, blackberry, pleasing sauvage, and tobacco on the palate. Smoothed, fine-grained tannin and excellent acidity. Long finish of chiming red fruit with leather and grip. Quintessential example of intensity without weight.
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6/20/2020 - EFrohmader Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cassis, pipe tobacco, black cherry, thyme, cedar. Medium-plus body. Medium acidity. Medium-minus, velvety tannins. Medium-long finish. Very nice right now, but can still hold a bit longer as well.
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2/7/2020 - gmbdds wrote: 92 Points
Not decanted. Never quite tight, but showed best starting at an hour. Currant and blueberry fruit. Floral and smoke notes compliment. This was contemplative and subtle - all class.
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1/19/2020 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 92 Points
Dark ruby red. Layered nose coated in graphite, black currants, herbs and anise. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and medium plus to full bodied. Dried red berries on the palate with some dried spices, forest floor and some roasted meats. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2030.
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1/2/2020 - jocelyng wrote: 90 Points
Very pure fruit and good length but quite light for the price. I much prefer the « two blondes » 2008 and 2009 that I have. Drink now.
90-91
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11/8/2019 - DustyB wrote:
Wine Meetup Dinner; slight tannin
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11/8/2019 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 92 Points
Friday Night, Big Blind Wines for Steak! (Bobby Van's on Park, NYC): Part of a blind tasting, this was opened, but not decanted, at a NYC Steakhouse. This was the first red wine of the night, and that may make it tough to rate. We started drinking it before the entrees arrived, and it was very obvious that it needed food. At first it was tart and very acidic. But as it sat in the glass, and the food arrived, it really started to taste great. Maybe a decant would have helped. At only 13.2% alcohol, it was had the lowest percentage of the night's wines. My next bottle, will be decanted for an hour before drinking.
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6/9/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic Bordeaux blend. Refined and restrained, with ripe currents but in check. Lovey depth and complexity with just a hint of herbaceousness and tobacco leaf. Fine tannins, still quite prominent but polished. Needs more time. Much more expressive on night 2. Great stuff.
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5/8/2019 - GA_Seattle Likes this wine: 92 Points
Let breathe for 1hr. Charcoal, blackberries and nutmeg nose. Smooth mouthfeel, tannins have eased somewhat. Improved over 3 hours, very enjoyable.
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12/27/2018 - AlphaMikeFoxtrot wrote: 95 Points
Cab-dominated Bordeaux blend from Columbia Valley, Washington. Dark fruits - black cherries, black berries, black currant. Medium + body with medium tannins. Drinking very well right now.
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12/27/2018 - WineArchitect Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pnp’d with a wine friend to share and compare. Dark inky color. A very earthy nose which yields a unique terroir of the Champoux Vineyard, Washington. This is not California! Very fine tannins and drinking very nice. Flavors of black current and dark fruit. A very interesting bottle! EG. #ArchitecturalArtistry. #WineArchitect
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12/24/2018 - danielbleier wrote:
last bottle consumed no notes
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10/21/2018 - EFrohmader Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cassis, blackberry, plum, tobacco, sweet herbs. Medium-full bodied. Medium acidity. Medium-light integrated tannins. Medium-long finish.
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9/22/2018 - EFrohmader Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cassis, blackberry, pencil lead, violets. Medium-full body. Medium-plus acidity & tannins. Medium-long finish. A pretty wine. Probably not at peak yet.
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7/16/2018 - JGinMO wrote: 93 Points
really takes on a Bordeaux quality at this stage, with good structure and real earthiness, subdued but balanced fruit. Good food wine.
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12/31/2017 - bmaxwell82 wrote: 91 Points
Still very young. Tart and restrained currently. It’s still figuring out what it wants to be in life. Will hold remaining bottles for at least 5 years
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10/9/2017 - Djfermentation Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still a baby. Enjoyed about 75% of the bottle on night one with a 20 min decant. Forgot about the rest of the bottle that had been recorked and left in the cellar for 3 days. Upon reopening the wine was drinking beautifully. Probably will try to cellar my remaining couple bottles for at least 5 years before revisiting. Great, ageworthy, restrained, balanced, new world Cabernet blend.
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7/15/2017 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very young and a little cranky. Didn't show well until it had about 3hrs air. Opened up nicely at that point. Polished and concentrated. Nice bdx like nose, only a little sweetness on the back end of the palate points to the new world. Flavor
Profile has red fruit highlights with nice flint note really holding on the finish. A really nice wine with old world styling (had compared to '14 Pedasclaux hard to tell which was bdx) drink or hold, but best to hold.
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7/5/2017 - curtr Likes this wine:
Way too young. Great future ahead. Try again in 2020.
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3/23/2017 - Burgnick wrote: 89 Points
Lots of dark currant, purple fruit, camarel and oak on the nose. Palate is rich and juicy but tannic. Good structure
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12/10/2016 - ajohn206 wrote: 90 Points
Still has a way to go.... PNP at dinner, well structured wine, very tannic on the finish. Will hold my last bottle for several more years.
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12/8/2016 - Rezy13 wrote:
Dark core with maroon rim; smoky blackberry, licorice, almost grapey; good texture, some grain to the tannin, like the core of fruit with the acid and fine tannin to age gracefully.
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8/5/2016 - slulkin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Enjoyed with Rollerball and other friends; see his tasting note for details.
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8/5/2016 - Rollerball wrote: 92 Points
The clamping tannins need a good steak, which we gave it, and under which context we review it: cherry, cedar, gentle zest, paper; seszhuan. Expect a more relaxed, more finessed wine in 5-7 years. Really shows off with food.
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10/16/2015 - Cgallivan Likes this wine: 92 Points
consistent notes with previous
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10/16/2015 - Cgallivan Likes this wine: 92 Points
One of my favorite wines of 2015! What a gem.
Great fruit and structure. Long and bright finish. Will buy again.
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10/12/2015 - fm1488 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Been anxious to try this one. Bought as part of the Last Bottle Harvest Marathon. got three of them, two to age and one to try now. This wine is going to be just great. Terrific now but obviously still hiding. What was fun is we opened this and blind taste it against a Charles and Charles Washington state Cab/Syrah blend. I have neighbors that enjoy trying wine but don't know a lot about it and it was interesting to put up a easy every day $10 wine against this bottle an gauge the difference. the C&C obviously showed more fruit but also carried much more earth and vegetable tones. This is partly due to the Syrah which my daughter always nails with a metallic/blood taste in her mind.
The Andrew Will was still tight. Not as fruit forward an overall cleaner. Classic Blackberry, a bit of strawberry and a bit of vanilla. Must have been french oak. Touch of spice/pepper but very light on that. The tannins and acidity were there and lurking a bit. They will develop further and then tone down as the wine develops I think. I want to try to hold the other bottles for 4-5 and 7-10 years from now.
8/8/8/9/8 - 41/91 (and improving)
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8/25/2015 - JJB1 wrote: flawed
Leaky cork
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7/11/2015 - eniskonuk Likes this wine:
92. Solid effort. A little too young still but the potential is there. Tannins are still strong and wild. Lots of blackberry, molasses & chocolate tones.
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5/30/2015 - brettlaurvick wrote: 92 Points
Not yet ready. Opened 3 days ago and left open. Best on day 3 by far...
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10/18/2014 - aChave Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep, dense ruby. Restrained dark berry fruit, firm structure and tight tannins with supporting acidity. Give it a lot of time... 10 years ++. It will only get better.
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9/1/2014 - wineotim wrote:
Medium bodied, medium ruby color, taut, no fruit, no balance, short finish. I could not coax anything out of this bottle....took it back to the retailer for an exchange. I think the wine maker was aiming for elegance and restraint and missed the mark, or it was an off bottle. I won't score it. This wine baffles me.
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3/22/2014 - yofog wrote: 93 Points
Plenty of dark fruit and cigar character up front, very classic cab in profile, in a dark and lush way, rich but with plenty of solidity and balance, then a wave of big but ripe tannins washes over everything. This will need a lot of time.
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11/9/2013 - jmcmchi wrote:
Taut nose with cigar-box tones. On palate, nicely balanced with fairly pronounced tannins and lingering fruit finish
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3/23/2013 - jmcmchi wrote: 91 Points
Smooth, nicely integrated; beautiful balance
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