Really enjoyed this wine. First bottle out of six in my cellar. Upon opening, this wine appeared to be one of those wines that had plenty of fruit but was disjointed a little - you could sense the potential but it made you wonder if they just missed the mark. After an hour, you could tell that the wine just needed some time to come around. At 90 minutes, it really found its mojo. Great fruit that was tightly focused and really had an identity of its own. Dark berries, dark chocolate, and some earth. Very much Spring Mountain; however, it reminded me of a very good Alexander Valley wine but with a smoother finish. Enjoyed it with homemade eggplant parmesan. Looking forward to the next bottle.
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Lovely floral aromas. Dark fruit flavors of ripe blackberry. Soft, smooth, and velvety Tannins have grip but are rounded and integrated. Perfect acidity. Nice structure. Luscious, long finish. Lovely.
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Dark purple/red color. Nose showing dark fruits, smoke, licorice. Rich palate displaying dark cherry, blackberry jam, violets, baking spice. Fruits persist through the mid palate. Full body and long layered finish.
Really grea showing on this evening. The 2012s from Napa in my cellar are showing great at this point, very accessible, tannins have softened. The Spring Mountain fruit here is just great. Should have next bottles with a steak...:) but otherwise there was little to not like about this! Should go another 5-7 years at this level. the decant helps, would give it an hour if venue allows
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Definitely has improved From last bottle 2 years ago. More integrated and fleshed out. Tannins are integrated and acidity has come in to balance. Still could use a year or two and definitely benefits from decanting
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Coravined this and drank glass over couple hours. Inky color with strong tannins softening over the 2 hours. Beautiful balance with a long finish. Lay this bad boy down another 6-8 years.
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From prior notes: "Dark purple/red color. Nose showing dark fruits, licorice. Ripe fruit forward palate of blackberry, baking spice, cloves, earth notes and violets. Tannins present but softening, ripe secondary flavors through mid palate. Full bodied, long finish (45 secs)...."
Showed great as expected. The 2012 Napa wines are very accessible now, tannins still present but less tannic than other vintages and will show more quickly when opened than say the 13 or 14...so the guess on opening this bottle as a late add to the lineup was good. Really nice now, should drink at this level for at least another 5-7 years (IMO).
Served at my parents. Purple fruit - blackberry, dark currants, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate with decent depth but not as deep as the 2014 vintage which I had a couple weeks ago - although the tannins are softer/integrated better which is no surprise since it's a couple years older. Nice flavors of dark berries, a little chocolate/cocoa, and some spice box/licorice. Fairly long finish. Popped/poured but drank out of a decanter for a couple hours. Improved a little with time but drinking quite well right away.
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A nice finish to the evening, pulled this one to drink w Joe & Wendy. First bottle from a batch bought direct at release. PnP, drank over 45 minutes
Dark purple/red color. Nose showing dark fruits, licorice. Ripe fruit forward palate of blackberry, baking spice, cloves, earth notes and violets. Tannins present but softening, ripe secondary flavors through mid palate. Full bodied, long finish (45 secs).
Still very youthful but drank well on this evening. Great Spring Mountain fruit from a great vintage. Should continue to evolve a bit in the cellar, should have the backbone to go another 10+ years. The wine improved in the glass, a short decant (30 minutes?) would benefit the wine.
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Not sure about this wine. Felt like it was unbalanced with high acidity and some rough edges - definitely has the stuffing to improve but not drink8ng that well at the moment. Will wait 2+ years to open next bottle
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Aerated into a decanter and consumed over 2 hours. Fruit forward, smooth, no alcohol burn and little tannins. I expected more layers / complexity. Next bottle will try without aeration.
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First tasting since acquiring two years ago of this incredible and intense dark berry and current. I look forward to trying this wine over the next several years and has a chance to be the best of the Rattlesnake vintages to date.
Barnett Vineyards Current Releases Tasting (Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Tasting pour x 2. As one might expect this was more youthful and tighter than the Spring Mountain, but actually quite similar on the nose with some time in glass. The nose shows the same fruit profile without quite the purity yet. The palate is a bit further behind, tighter, youthful, some oak and a touch of heat, ripe fruit, black fruit, bolder tannins. I'd let this sit for at least 2-3 years. Likely 91-93pts with time.
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Barnett Vineyards Tasting: Nose: Similar nose to the Spring Mountain but with more depth and spice. Palate: Like the nose similar to the other bottling but actually less richness on mid palate.
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wow, what a great tasting wine. I had a bottle at the vineyard this summer, at it was a lot more closed and tannic..this one was drinking great...huge fruit, just the way a CA cab should taste
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At the vineyard over lunch. Very young (obviously) and olny decanted for about an hour prior to our drinking. Rich and fruit forward, wine was showing well.
Nose of red fruit and leather. Dark fruits, blackberry, tobacco, smoke, vanilla. Better than my memory of the last few vintages...
This is an expensive wine, we'll see if it ages and worht the price. The setting is gorgeous,the vines on Rattlesnake Hill were planted in the early 80s by Joe Heitz. I think the highest elevation on their property. I think with a few years in the bottle you wind up with a great Spring Mountain wine from a spectacular vintage...will rate the next bottle...
3/16/2024 - The Grape Escape Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really enjoyed this wine. First bottle out of six in my cellar. Upon opening, this wine appeared to be one of those wines that had plenty of fruit but was disjointed a little - you could sense the potential but it made you wonder if they just missed the mark. After an hour, you could tell that the wine just needed some time to come around. At 90 minutes, it really found its mojo. Great fruit that was tightly focused and really had an identity of its own. Dark berries, dark chocolate, and some earth. Very much Spring Mountain; however, it reminded me of a very good Alexander Valley wine but with a smoother finish. Enjoyed it with homemade eggplant parmesan. Looking forward to the next bottle.
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7/1/2023 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points
Pretty mature but not yet secondary. Ripe black fruit, mineral, mint, and anise. Likely at peak now.
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3/24/2023 - Tym4wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely floral aromas. Dark fruit flavors of ripe blackberry. Soft, smooth, and velvety Tannins have grip but are rounded and integrated. Perfect acidity. Nice structure. Luscious, long finish. Lovely.
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12/29/2022 - Bill sims Likes this wine: 78 Points
Still a great wine . Drinks well . Is ready to enjoy
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11/7/2022 - Bwallace wrote:
Wow, just a well oiled machine here and feels to be at a prime (but more prime years left).
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10/17/2020 - walkerjfw wrote: 94 Points
"The Beat Goes On" another great socially distanced dinner, this one hosted by Andrea and David w/ Joe/Wendy/Harry/Anne/Bill/Ashley (Chez Silverstein): Post the main course, we went to hang by the fire pit and got into the cabs...this one a sentimental favorite of the crew having visited the Barnetts at the property. Two bottles were decanted 90 minutes prior.
Dark purple/red color. Nose showing dark fruits, smoke, licorice. Rich palate displaying dark cherry, blackberry jam, violets, baking spice. Fruits persist through the mid palate. Full body and long layered finish.
Really grea showing on this evening. The 2012s from Napa in my cellar are showing great at this point, very accessible, tannins have softened. The Spring Mountain fruit here is just great. Should have next bottles with a steak...:) but otherwise there was little to not like about this! Should go another 5-7 years at this level. the decant helps, would give it an hour if venue allows
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7/16/2020 - sonodoc Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark fruits, earthy, a little smoke. Smooth, with a moderately long finish. Very enjoyable.
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4/4/2020 - jswine15 Likes this wine: 95 Points
great, full bodied
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1/1/2020 - GlenviewGSW Likes this wine: 92 Points
Definitely has improved From last bottle 2 years ago. More integrated and fleshed out. Tannins are integrated and acidity has come in to balance. Still could use a year or two and definitely benefits from decanting
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11/18/2019 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
an all-time classic. Still show's year's of aging. You could hold for 2-3 more years. Decant for a few hours :)
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3/14/2019 - 1wine1 wrote: 92 Points
Coravined this and drank glass over couple hours. Inky color with strong tannins softening over the 2 hours. Beautiful balance with a long finish. Lay this bad boy down another 6-8 years.
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12/30/2018 - walkerjfw wrote: 94 Points
Pre-New Years with K&O (Chez Walker - Princeton, NJ): Last bottle of the evening, had not planned on opening this one so it was PnP. The crowd was ready for one more w Napa as preference.
From prior notes: "Dark purple/red color. Nose showing dark fruits, licorice. Ripe fruit forward palate of blackberry, baking spice, cloves, earth notes and violets. Tannins present but softening, ripe secondary flavors through mid palate. Full bodied, long finish (45 secs)...."
Showed great as expected. The 2012 Napa wines are very accessible now, tannins still present but less tannic than other vintages and will show more quickly when opened than say the 13 or 14...so the guess on opening this bottle as a late add to the lineup was good. Really nice now, should drink at this level for at least another 5-7 years (IMO).
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6/16/2018 - Badmonkey wrote: 94 Points
Served at my parents. Purple fruit - blackberry, dark currants, and dark cherry. Smooth mid-palate with decent depth but not as deep as the 2014 vintage which I had a couple weeks ago - although the tannins are softer/integrated better which is no surprise since it's a couple years older. Nice flavors of dark berries, a little chocolate/cocoa, and some spice box/licorice. Fairly long finish. Popped/poured but drank out of a decanter for a couple hours. Improved a little with time but drinking quite well right away.
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6/8/2018 - walkerjfw wrote: 94 Points
A nice finish to the evening, pulled this one to drink w Joe & Wendy. First bottle from a batch bought direct at release. PnP, drank over 45 minutes
Dark purple/red color. Nose showing dark fruits, licorice. Ripe fruit forward palate of blackberry, baking spice, cloves, earth notes and violets. Tannins present but softening, ripe secondary flavors through mid palate. Full bodied, long finish (45 secs).
Still very youthful but drank well on this evening. Great Spring Mountain fruit from a great vintage. Should continue to evolve a bit in the cellar, should have the backbone to go another 10+ years. The wine improved in the glass, a short decant (30 minutes?) would benefit the wine.
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4/23/2018 - Cabernetking Likes this wine: 95 Points
Top tier Napa Cabernet and one of the best I have had.
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2/11/2018 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 94 Points
Omg! This is amazing. The fruit on the nose is incredible. Just sit back ......swirl....sip..and drink.
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1/1/2018 - GlenviewGSW Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not sure about this wine. Felt like it was unbalanced with high acidity and some rough edges - definitely has the stuffing to improve but not drink8ng that well at the moment. Will wait 2+ years to open next bottle
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11/11/2017 - Jcturpen wrote: 92 Points
Aerated into a decanter and consumed over 2 hours. Fruit forward, smooth, no alcohol burn and little tannins. I expected more layers / complexity. Next bottle will try without aeration.
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4/15/2017 - Bordeaux Man wrote: 96 Points
We decanted this one for a little over an hour. It was outstanding!
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4/9/2017 - Zephyr83 Likes this wine: 94 Points
First tasting since acquiring two years ago of this incredible and intense dark berry and current. I look forward to trying this wine over the next several years and has a chance to be the best of the Rattlesnake vintages to date.
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5/7/2016 - dontime wrote:
Stunning stuff. Rich mountain fruit, blue and black berries, licorice, smoke and flowers. A very long finish. If scoring 96-98.
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1/9/2016 - Cuellar's Cellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Where is the love button. This wine is amazing, with tons of fruit on the nose. Sit back, and watch a true wine change over a period of time.
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3/11/2015 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Barnett Vineyards Current Releases Tasting (Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Tasting pour x 2. As one might expect this was more youthful and tighter than the Spring Mountain, but actually quite similar on the nose with some time in glass. The nose shows the same fruit profile without quite the purity yet. The palate is a bit further behind, tighter, youthful, some oak and a touch of heat, ripe fruit, black fruit, bolder tannins. I'd let this sit for at least 2-3 years. Likely 91-93pts with time.
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3/11/2015 - Mattshank wrote: 91 Points
Barnett Vineyards Tasting: Nose: Similar nose to the Spring Mountain but with more depth and spice. Palate: Like the nose similar to the other bottling but actually less richness on mid palate.
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3/8/2015 - jswine15 wrote: 94 Points
wow, what a great tasting wine. I had a bottle at the vineyard this summer, at it was a lot more closed and tannic..this one was drinking great...huge fruit, just the way a CA cab should taste
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10/11/2014 - walkerjfw wrote:
At the vineyard over lunch. Very young (obviously) and olny decanted for about an hour prior to our drinking. Rich and fruit forward, wine was showing well.
Nose of red fruit and leather. Dark fruits, blackberry, tobacco, smoke, vanilla. Better than my memory of the last few vintages...
This is an expensive wine, we'll see if it ages and worht the price. The setting is gorgeous,the vines on Rattlesnake Hill were planted in the early 80s by Joe Heitz. I think the highest elevation on their property. I think with a few years in the bottle you wind up with a great Spring Mountain wine from a spectacular vintage...will rate the next bottle...
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