Did not expect much. Opened to use for braised pot roast with little hope we'd drank with dinner. Actually complimented rich roast and root vegetables quite adequately.
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Opaque purple with purple bubbles in the pour. Very lush and soft, with completely resolved tannin and an undertow of fruit sweetness and licorice. Acidity is noticeable only at the end of the swallow. For a Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is outside the normal range for fruit-acid-tannin balance, to its detriment. The low acidity especially reduces how refreshing and mouth cleaning the wine is. A good hint about what the problem comes from is the very high 15.9% alcohol. While the taste does not have separated alcoholic fumes or burning heat, only late harvested grapes would achieve the higher sugar level needed to reach 15.9% alcohol. A very common side effect of late harvest is a serious dip in the acidity level. This wine got a flattering 93-95 review from the Wine Advocate, which most likely could happen only because the wine was at its best from the young and tasty fruit and some tannin. But kept to where the tannin started softening and getting less prominent, the wine lost the grip it needed to age well.
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It is definitely coming down from its peak. Drink now if you have any bottles. The wine needs to be decanted for 2 hours before one can appreciate it. It has herbal notes with a port like nose. Very herbal on the palate with little depth.
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Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Phenolic, and Ethyl Acetate. The body is Medium. The wine has Coarse texture. The wine finishes Short. Alvaro's wine. This is obviously an OFF VINTAGE for this wine. Alvaro's prior experience and other CT notes reflect the VA. Surprisingly, I have the 2000 Vintage, one of which I drank 18 months ago and I gave it a 94, and noted it was my Wine of the Month.
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5 of 8 people at the table called this undrinkable. Overextracted, overoaked, cough medicine. I don't think this was flawed, it just was far from our taste. My first taste of a B&H wine and I surely will not be a future purchaser. The color was fine, but after that it had no redeeming features whatsoever.
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All alcohol on the nose. To much alcohol in this wine, resembled dessert wine or port. Lots of fruit, cough syrup. Not well structured, all alcohol, all fruit, all syrup in your face. Will not buy again. Finish also left something to be desired.
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decanted and consumed over 3 hours. initially quite tight, and i thought i made a mistake opening this. it turned fairly quickly, however, and ended up being very popular, especially among the younger guys (30ish) with undeveloped palates. i say that because these are wine drinkers still interested in being hit by an anvil, rather than sip a wine of great nuance. not that there's anything wrong with that. this wine delivered a very powerful, yet expressive drinking experience. the fruit envelops the tannin rather than the other way around, so i liked it, too; just not as much as most. you could certainly hold this wine in this format for 10 more years. no doubt a little softer tannin will punch this up.
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Decanted 1 hour; quite a bit of sediment in the bottle. Purple / plum color. Nose of dark fruit, cherries, leather and cough syrup. Across the palate an "ok" balance but the alcohol was a bit too much. Tannic on the finish but still an enjoyable drink.
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Dinner at home of grilled filet mignon. Deep, opaque purple/ruby color to rim. Nose of brandied cherries complemented by chocolate mint. On the palate, chocolate is primary, with cherries, mint and a hint of espresso. Lush, soft mouthfeel, though huge amounts of sediment thrown changed the texture as we went through the bottle. Spectacular with chocolate brownie cup dessert. I'd be surprised if this wasn't at or past its peak -- drink 'em up, I say...
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12/31/2023 - Minnesota wrote: 87 Points
Did not expect much. Opened to use for braised pot roast with little hope we'd drank with dinner. Actually complimented rich roast and root vegetables quite adequately.
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1/28/2019 - Mossrose wrote: 85 Points
Opaque purple with purple bubbles in the pour. Very lush and soft, with completely resolved tannin and an undertow of fruit sweetness and licorice. Acidity is noticeable only at the end of the swallow. For a Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is outside the normal range for fruit-acid-tannin balance, to its detriment. The low acidity especially reduces how refreshing and mouth cleaning the wine is. A good hint about what the problem comes from is the very high 15.9% alcohol. While the taste does not have separated alcoholic fumes or burning heat, only late harvested grapes would achieve the higher sugar level needed to reach 15.9% alcohol. A very common side effect of late harvest is a serious dip in the acidity level. This wine got a flattering 93-95 review from the Wine Advocate, which most likely could happen only because the wine was at its best from the young and tasty fruit and some tannin. But kept to where the tannin started softening and getting less prominent, the wine lost the grip it needed to age well.
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5/13/2016 - jakob.krummenacher@gmail.com wrote: 87 Points
It is definitely coming down from its peak. Drink now if you have any bottles. The wine needs to be decanted for 2 hours before one can appreciate it. It has herbal notes with a port like nose. Very herbal on the palate with little depth.
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11/27/2013 - anonymoose12345 Does not like this wine: 70 Points
One of the worst wines I've ever smelled. Almost couldn't get myself to taste it. And I wish I hadn't.
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10/1/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: flawed
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Phenolic, and Ethyl Acetate. The body is Medium. The wine has Coarse texture. The wine finishes Short. Alvaro's wine. This is obviously an OFF VINTAGE for this wine. Alvaro's prior experience and other CT notes reflect the VA. Surprisingly, I have the 2000 Vintage, one of which I drank 18 months ago and I gave it a 94, and noted it was my Wine of the Month.
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5/11/2012 - Greg Pierce wrote:
Terrible. Nail polish nose. Heavy, porty, raisiny palate without any of the good stuff that actual port provides. Yuck!
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12/30/2011 - slmielke wrote: 84 Points
This bottle did not do well with age. It was reminiscent of port, but without the lingering sweetness. Drinkable, but only marginally enjoyable.
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10/17/2009 - Amerique wrote: 90 Points
Inky color, full-bodied black cherry fruit, port-like, very hot, cough medicine like but drinkable, very eccentric, short finish
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6/18/2009 - grapist wrote: 79 Points
5 of 8 people at the table called this undrinkable. Overextracted, overoaked, cough medicine. I don't think this was flawed, it just was far from our taste. My first taste of a B&H wine and I surely will not be a future purchaser. The color was fine, but after that it had no redeeming features whatsoever.
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3/24/2008 - ptheimer wrote: 88 Points
Too fruit forward, not enough finish, fruit bomb and still a bit hot, not impressive
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3/2/2007 - keithgg wrote: 80 Points
Even worse than the last bottle. So many duds from B and H. V.A, cheap perfume, foul taste. Hard to get past the nose.
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1/6/2007 - drock25 wrote: 78 Points
All alcohol on the nose. To much alcohol in this wine, resembled dessert wine or port. Lots of fruit, cough syrup. Not well structured, all alcohol, all fruit, all syrup in your face. Will not buy again. Finish also left something to be desired.
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12/26/2006 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
decanted and consumed over 3 hours. initially quite tight, and i thought i made a mistake opening this. it turned fairly quickly, however, and ended up being very popular, especially among the younger guys (30ish) with undeveloped palates. i say that because these are wine drinkers still interested in being hit by an anvil, rather than sip a wine of great nuance. not that there's anything wrong with that. this wine delivered a very powerful, yet expressive drinking experience. the fruit envelops the tannin rather than the other way around, so i liked it, too; just not as much as most. you could certainly hold this wine in this format for 10 more years. no doubt a little softer tannin will punch this up.
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12/18/2005 - Blue Oval wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 1 hour; quite a bit of sediment in the bottle. Purple / plum color. Nose of dark fruit, cherries, leather and cough syrup. Across the palate an "ok" balance but the alcohol was a bit too much. Tannic on the finish but still an enjoyable drink.
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6/29/2005 - keithgg wrote: 84 Points
Too alcoholic, perfumey and not at all subtle. Dumped half the bottle down the drain.
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4/30/2005 - KevinS wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at home of grilled filet mignon. Deep, opaque purple/ruby color to rim. Nose of brandied cherries complemented by chocolate mint. On the palate, chocolate is primary, with cherries, mint and a hint of espresso. Lush, soft mouthfeel, though huge amounts of sediment thrown changed the texture as we went through the bottle. Spectacular with chocolate brownie cup dessert. I'd be surprised if this wasn't at or past its peak -- drink 'em up, I say...
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