Medium-bodied, and clearly on the bright red berry side of the style range, the fruit is not fully ripe here. Earthy and tobacco-oriented, the tannins have a rustic edge, making this lean wine a bit overly classic for my taste. This is fully developed, there is no reason to hold it any longer.
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This is still tasting great! The classic Volcanic Hill nose upon opening of earth, leather and tobacco. Huge tannins at the start, but balanced out well over the next several hours. No rush to drink the next ‘98.
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A surprising delight. Bottle 2 of 3 in cellar. Nose upon opening full of dark or black fruit, licorice and leather. Sipped immediately, showing tight but mellowed fruit of cherry, perhaps vanilla and even tobacco. Left open for 90 minutes and, wow. Fruit came alive. Tannins soft and age appropriate. Score reflective of the wine of course but also the fact that I’m not sure this will improve much more so if you’ve got it and are thinking about it, open and enjoy!
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Wonderfully integrated. This was one of six very different wines we opened at our wine club get together this past weekend. It was a crowd favorite for sure. Red brick coloring, a fantastic nose that seemed to "bubbled up" out of the glass. Distinctly aged, round but firm tannins.
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Cherry and blackberry fruit with black licorice on the nose. A vibrant acidity and completely integrated tannin on the palate. Ready to drink but still has life left. A pleasure.
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Allowed to breathe in glass 1 hour before tasting. Clear deep dark garnet color. Wonderful bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberries, stony soil, hints of baking spices, fennel, and sage. Similar on the palate, full body, seamless, balanced, lingering finish. Improved with air and held up fine for 4 days under vacuum stopper in refrigerator. On a few occasions, with excessive swirling, the bouquet was marred by volatile notes of shoe polish and meat juice, as sometimes happens with aged cabernet, but these were just transient and did not detract from the overall enjoyment of this outstanding wine, mature but with plenty of life remaining.
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Q3 Tasting - Aged Cali (The Apt): Wine #11: I was quite excited when I found out what this was to have tried it. Have also been a bit fan of the '98 vintage which seems to have aged particularly well given how little love it received at the getgo. Sweet fruits, a word that I can't quite translate now, and an overall feeling that this was an interesting wine and worth sipping on. (12 pennies)
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Q3 - 2016 Tasting - Aged California Wines - Pre 2006 (New York, NY): #11 of 20 wines tasted double blind. Slight bricking in the color. The palate on this is red fruits with a savory, minerally characteristic which adds so much interest to the wine. Super delicious at this point. My guess was 95-2000 Cab Sauv. This was a top 5 wine for me. For the group this was the 2nd place finisher with 12 penny votes.
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Crimson colored; light sediment in the bottle. It smells like cedar and clove. Tastes of cherries, black currant (cassis), and lead pencil. The body is medium/full. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity.
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A gift from a dear friend of ours. It's amazing what wines can taste like in an off year like '98 if a winery picks the grapes at the right time, Diamond Creek did just that. This is drinking very well right now with no decant, although it will probably last another 10 years with the firm tannins it still has.
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Drank at Chew Chew with mom and dad before heading to cancun. Really liked the wine. Age was kind to the bottle. Elegant with velvety tannins as to be expected after 12 years.
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Just a wonderful, earthy cab with the complexity you'd expect with this amount of age. Very elegant and paired well at Smith and Wollensky's with a Porterhouse.
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Wine awas amazing. Served at a dinner party and all who had the pleasure to get a taste agreed. Just enough tannic to hold it all together, but ready to drink now. Not sure why the low ratings, maybe because some don't feel the cost to quality ratio is there. I don't think it's fair to judge that way. It was one of the better bottles of cab I have had the pleasure to enjoy. If you are lucky enough to have one, don't wait too long to try!
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Opened and decanted about 30 minutes. Cork was perfect, noted moderate sediment. This wine opened slowly, but by the midpoint of dinner it was fabulous. Dark and brooding. Dark cherries, plum, pencil lead on the palate. Great structure, long finish. Terrific wine for the vintage.
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i've yet to see another napa cab keep their alcohol level down this low in this vintage, and it just has to be the reason it's being an overachiever. yes, it has some oak and mildly unresolved tannin, but it's not due to overextraction. i feel it shines because it doesn't try to be something it couldn't in this difficult year. there is a solid core of black fruit, an appealing mouthfeel and midpalate, and an adequate finish. certainly, this is no blockbuster, and it's qpr is nothing short of pathetic. nevertheless, if you have it, pop the cork and give it a go. i don't think there will ever be total integration, so there is no reason to wait, but the wine will likely hold for several years at this performance level.
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Bought this wine some time ago. (I can't remember WHY I bought it!) Color is a medium ruby, nose is eucalyptus, campher, mint, alcohol; on the palate, flavors of heat (as in alcohol), red berries, tannins, poor ratio of fruit to tannin/acid. This isn't aging well. I think I see why RP didn't rate it. Probably around a78 to 80 pointer. I contemplated pouring much of it down the drain, but my dutch calvinist influence persuaded me to drink it. Probably not for the better
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4/18/2024 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
drank over two nights... had moments of excellence but in the end just didn't totally do it for me... one of those bottle where not sure why
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12/19/2022 - Dvogt wrote: 96 Points
From Magnum. Red and black fruit, menthol, mushroom, earthiness, 12.5% Alc, a real treat for classic wine lovers.
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10/22/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 89 Points
Medium-bodied, and clearly on the bright red berry side of the style range, the fruit is not fully ripe here. Earthy and tobacco-oriented, the tannins have a rustic edge, making this lean wine a bit overly classic for my taste. This is fully developed, there is no reason to hold it any longer.
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3/6/2021 - KPhillips77 Likes this wine:
This is still tasting great! The classic Volcanic Hill nose upon opening of earth, leather and tobacco. Huge tannins at the start, but balanced out well over the next several hours. No rush to drink the next ‘98.
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2/14/2021 - sbperrinsjr Likes this wine: 94 Points
A surprising delight. Bottle 2 of 3 in cellar. Nose upon opening full of dark or black fruit, licorice and leather. Sipped immediately, showing tight but mellowed fruit of cherry, perhaps vanilla and even tobacco. Left open for 90 minutes and, wow. Fruit came alive. Tannins soft and age appropriate. Score reflective of the wine of course but also the fact that I’m not sure this will improve much more so if you’ve got it and are thinking about it, open and enjoy!
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12/18/2020 - Dalex Likes this wine: 91 Points
Third place on a vertical with all the 98’s (except lake). This had brighter fruit than the rest but didn’t have the depth or texture of the others.
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12/25/2019 - adnorthup Likes this wine: 98 Points
Bought from WineBid. 1 hour decant. Perfect bottle. Beautiful leather notes and lovely fruit. This thing is incredible. Wish I got more at this price.
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4/5/2019 - MCrawford Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wonderfully integrated. This was one of six very different wines we opened at our wine club get together this past weekend. It was a crowd favorite for sure. Red brick coloring, a fantastic nose that seemed to "bubbled up" out of the glass. Distinctly aged, round but firm tannins.
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12/26/2017 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 94 Points
Spectacular. Decanted 2 hours.
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9/12/2017 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cherry and blackberry fruit with black licorice on the nose. A vibrant acidity and completely integrated tannin on the palate. Ready to drink but still has life left. A pleasure.
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11/8/2016 - Javachip wrote: 93 Points
Allowed to breathe in glass 1 hour before tasting. Clear deep dark garnet color. Wonderful bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberries, stony soil, hints of baking spices, fennel, and sage. Similar on the palate, full body, seamless, balanced, lingering finish. Improved with air and held up fine for 4 days under vacuum stopper in refrigerator. On a few occasions, with excessive swirling, the bouquet was marred by volatile notes of shoe polish and meat juice, as sometimes happens with aged cabernet, but these were just transient and did not detract from the overall enjoyment of this outstanding wine, mature but with plenty of life remaining.
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9/10/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Q3 Tasting - Aged Cali (The Apt): Wine #11: I was quite excited when I found out what this was to have tried it. Have also been a bit fan of the '98 vintage which seems to have aged particularly well given how little love it received at the getgo. Sweet fruits, a word that I can't quite translate now, and an overall feeling that this was an interesting wine and worth sipping on. (12 pennies)
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9/10/2016 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Q3 - 2016 Tasting - Aged California Wines - Pre 2006 (New York, NY): #11 of 20 wines tasted double blind. Slight bricking in the color. The palate on this is red fruits with a savory, minerally characteristic which adds so much interest to the wine. Super delicious at this point. My guess was 95-2000 Cab Sauv. This was a top 5 wine for me. For the group this was the 2nd place finisher with 12 penny votes.
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3/12/2016 - alamoave Likes this wine: 94 Points
Superb after 45 minute decant. No sign of decline but balance is perfect now.
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4/5/2014 - eporres Likes this wine: 92 Points
Crimson colored; light sediment in the bottle. It smells like cedar and clove. Tastes of cherries, black currant (cassis), and lead pencil. The body is medium/full. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity.
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2/21/2012 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful sweet forest fruit notes; pine, fern, sweet oak-caramel remnants; very tannic still with good structure.
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2/14/2012 - pakabear wrote: 93 Points
A gift from a dear friend of ours. It's amazing what wines can taste like in an off year like '98 if a winery picks the grapes at the right time, Diamond Creek did just that. This is drinking very well right now with no decant, although it will probably last another 10 years with the firm tannins it still has.
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1/26/2012 - Amerique wrote: 92 Points
Round
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9/17/2010 - J0R0 wrote: 92 Points
Drank at Chew Chew with mom and dad before heading to cancun. Really liked the wine. Age was kind to the bottle. Elegant with velvety tannins as to be expected after 12 years.
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1/8/2010 - greghart1 wrote: 95 Points
Just a wonderful, earthy cab with the complexity you'd expect with this amount of age. Very elegant and paired well at Smith and Wollensky's with a Porterhouse.
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10/20/2008 - Ricky99 wrote: 90 Points
drank with its two sisters.. this was the best.. very tight and tannic but opened nicely
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9/10/2008 - PackerJon wrote: 95 Points
Wine awas amazing. Served at a dinner party and all who had the pleasure to get a taste agreed. Just enough tannic to hold it all together, but ready to drink now. Not sure why the low ratings, maybe because some don't feel the cost to quality ratio is there. I don't think it's fair to judge that way. It was one of the better bottles of cab I have had the pleasure to enjoy. If you are lucky enough to have one, don't wait too long to try!
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12/29/2007 - Grinder wrote: 92 Points
Opened and decanted about 30 minutes. Cork was perfect, noted moderate sediment. This wine opened slowly, but by the midpoint of dinner it was fabulous. Dark and brooding. Dark cherries, plum, pencil lead on the palate. Great structure, long finish. Terrific wine for the vintage.
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3/30/2007 - The Wine Guy wrote: 84 Points
disapointed for the hype and price, the wine was flat and lost much of its fruit.
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9/10/2006 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
i've yet to see another napa cab keep their alcohol level down this low in this vintage, and it just has to be the reason it's being an overachiever. yes, it has some oak and mildly unresolved tannin, but it's not due to overextraction. i feel it shines because it doesn't try to be something it couldn't in this difficult year. there is a solid core of black fruit, an appealing mouthfeel and midpalate, and an adequate finish. certainly, this is no blockbuster, and it's qpr is nothing short of pathetic. nevertheless, if you have it, pop the cork and give it a go. i don't think there will ever be total integration, so there is no reason to wait, but the wine will likely hold for several years at this performance level.
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2/11/2006 - hifiwine wrote: 92 Points
very nice, smooth almost sweet
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7/13/2004 - Wil wrote: 80 Points
Bought this wine some time ago. (I can't remember WHY I bought it!) Color is a medium ruby, nose is eucalyptus, campher, mint, alcohol; on the palate, flavors of heat (as in alcohol), red berries, tannins, poor ratio of fruit to tannin/acid. This isn't aging well. I think I see why RP didn't rate it. Probably around a78 to 80 pointer. I contemplated pouring much of it down the drain, but my dutch calvinist influence persuaded me to drink it. Probably not for the better
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