Hour+ in the glass to open up. Light spicy nose, soft somewhat lush body, but not overly sweet. A touch of menthol and spice on the body. Nice wine, not overwhelming though.
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Decanted 2 hours. Deep black ruby in the glass with nice legs. Nose of blackberries, leather, violets, roofing tar and gravel. Bone dry confirming nose with long graphite finish. Medium bodied. Tannins fairly resolved with room to go. Can see further development lurking around the corner. Good steakhouse wine, but good QPR? Nope.
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Opened last night. Certainly not a bad wine, but given the rep, I am not impressed, especially given the price and the pedigree of the vineyard. Very black ruby, with good legs. Nose has a hint of mint, and is fairly deep and concentrated. Tasty wine, with forest floor and restrained black fruit, I get the impression I am drinking this way to early to really fully appreciate it, as it seems to have much in reserve the patient. If I had it to do over again, I might wait another five years at least. Right now: 5-12-16-9: 91/100.
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Very good representation of Napa Cab. What I enjoyed were the pretty fruits, rounded in mouth, big finish. It’s a little reduced at this point, but it’s got no problem for another decade probably.
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One of my contributions for my local group’s blind theme of 2010, 2011 and 2012 Napa retrospective. I also opened the 2012 Stag’s Leap SLV as a fun side by side.
This was tasted briefly at pop and pour and was then consumed from the decanter over the next few hours. Really pretty aromatics…baking spices, dark cocoa shavings, violets and plenty of freshly squeezed dark fruits. The palate has a “juicy” profile I get on a lot of 2012s. Vibrant acidity. Blackberries and underripe blueberries dominate the fruit profile with a unique herbal/juniper type note towards the finish. Not super complex or layered. After time, this really softened. Good now, maybe gets a bit better with another 5yrs, but not sure it increases much.
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Deep purple. Nose of cassis, red fruit, some graphite, perhaps a little chocolate. Palate confirms nose. Fruit-forward, in the California style. Almost sweet in the mouth. Tannins are pretty much integrated at this point, although a fine dusting remains on the dry finish. Medium acidity keeps this lively. Technically this is a well-made wine, though at this price point I expect more complexity. Drink now, not likely to improve much with more time.
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I was shocked by this wine. Have had 3 bottled cellared and this was my first to open. Paired with a filet which wasn't very memorable, this wine was great from the first sip, and still really good even next day. Probably opened an hour or two before drinking, no decant. I almost want to rate this higher than 96. I think it hits the perfect sweet spot for a napa cab of being fruit forward but not overwhelming. Apologies I don't have better notes, this was a steal for what I paid ($95) back in 2015.
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After the last bottle this time I didn't decant the wine because it doesn't need it. It's already soft and decanting it will just make it softer. This way it still has some nice tannin to round out the fruit. not overly complex. More simple. Good Cab flavors but it isn't really anything special. My last bottle and I really won't look to buy more of it.
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Really don't think I love Stag's Leap Wine Cellars anymore. This wine felt over-extracted and flabby. Like a Robert Parker big score wine. If big Napa is your thing you'll like it, but if you wish for a more restrained style you won't find it here.
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Dark color with classic Napa Cab nose. Decanted 90 minutes but doesn’t need it.30 minutes would be plenty. Very soft tannins which I wasn’t really expecting. I thought it would have more structure. It is still very good but not great. I don’t think the wine will improve with more aging. I found the Wine a bit one dimensional. I have had plenty of Fay bottles so expected a bit more.
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I generally like FAY & SLV quite a bit, but this particular bottle had some ester notes which I did not like that much. It faded after an overnight slumber in the decanter. Perhaps flawed?
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First nose was amazing. Corvin day 1, aromatics of bright fruits red and black. No nose of alcohol. Day 2, very extracted taste. I think I like them young, or I need to weight a long time. Color is dark purple, tinged with violet at edges. Day 1, didn’t open yet. Day 2 very extracted can feel the dark alcohol. Fruit is faded a bit. Still bright red fruits, plums, pomegranates, some blueberry. Pretty tart and tannic. tannins doesn’t see to be too much on first taste, more at the end, due to the alcohol remaining. Middle palate is basic, end lasts a long time. I think I may be more a fan of younger cabs. May try and see what happens after another 5 years, where does this wine go.
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Opens a bit smoky with ripe plums on the nose. Needs 15 minutes to breathe to burn off the alcohol. Smoothe palate medium finish with flavors of cherries amd currants. Fine, well integrated tanins. Lovely to drink now.
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Bonus pour for being wine club members in our party. This is just starting to hit its stride, as I've found that 2012 across Napa has been performing really well over the last few months.
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Drank over 3 days w/only cheese/crackers.......Great color, dark garnet in the glass, not getting a lot in the nose for whatever reason, it's got to be me, however......I have a sharp provolone, I can smell that, a smoked cold salmon, I can smell that, but nothing here, very odd. Anyway, this wine needs a great steak, it's dry, not at all fruit forward, perhaps atypical Stags Leap. Lite to medium mouth feel weight, kinda of flat, blackberry, lead pencil is about all I'm getting, more tannic than anticipated, even after day 3. I have 2 more bottles and will be saving these for summer grilled meats. Understand, my last pour was a 2013 Hidden Ridge 55% Slope, it's not that, that.....was fabulous
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Strawberry, coffee, chocolate, pepper aroma. Deep, cool, layered first sip. Finishing with tobacco and oakey barrel snappiness. Needs to aerate for hours.
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Deep ruby color. Tight at first but opened up after a couple hours with aromas of french oak and cassis. Blackberry, plum and tea leaves on the palate. Long leathery finish with well balanced tannins.
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Beautiful wine! Floral nose with some berry and fragrances that do not overwhelm the nose. Great berries on palate with mellow tannins but great depth. Still earthy, chalky aftertaste familiar to Stags Leap. Big Napa cab but very polished! Awesome with ny strip steak!
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Ruby in color with a beautiful nose of dark cherry and raspberry, and perfume. On the palate similar with dark red fruit and flowers. Decanted this for 2 hours which definitely added body and allowed this wine to come in to its own. I saw a few tasting notes that described this as feminine and elegant. I found it to be a bit more than that. While this is not a huge wine I thought it struck a nice balance between big and elegant. I enjoyed this and I am really looking forward to drinking the Cask 23 of this vintage that I will let slumber for a few more years.
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Very concentrated flavors bursting with black currants, dark cherries. Fairly overwhelming overall. Acid is well pitched but the wine is a bit lacking in structure. I think this should taste much better once the wine has been given cellar time and fruit has faded more but better qpr out there in my opinion
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Decent nose, somewhat flattish mid palate, and medium- finish.
I distinctly remember tasting the 2013 Fay at the winery back in DEC and it was exponentially better than this vintage.
Apparently I have another bottle of this, so that one will be probably find its way to K&L auction one of these days.
Not a horrible wine by any means, just not what I would want out of a nearly $100 wine. SO many better options. Hell, I would even take a 2014 Teeter Totter at $55 over this...
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Really wanted to like this, did not recall that I had tasted it in 2015, and upon reviewing my note from then found this tasting experience identical to that one. There is just not much too it.
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A stunner. Supple and complex, dry and perfumed, medium bodied with Napa power rumbling underneath. High tone flavors of redcurrent and raspberry precede a more brambly back end that makes it all about California. This drinks like top flight Bordeaux, with Pavie-like complexity, but Saint Julien structure, with a perfume that leans more toward the femininity of Margaux. Will not disappoint Big Cab drinkers while impressing the fans of great Claret. Plenty of life in the bottle, perhaps another 10 years.
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Surprisingly little nose - just some dark red berries and brambles. Polished succulent and light rather than a power house and maybe that's why it doesn't sit well with 14.5% alcohol which frankly shows through on a hot spirity finish. Maybe it will fatten up but I doubt that it will ever quite hide the alcohol.
Frankly, it beats me why some vineyards still insist in making this type of wine. I'm no winemaker but the likes of Corison, Matthaiason, Montelena, Ridge Montebello all seem to come in around the 13.6% level in the same vintage. What does the extra 1% abv add to a wine? If I was drinking a huge Chateauneuf from a particularly hot year well maybe but why make such a beautiful and fine boned wine as this so alcoholic? It beats me.
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Nose - great dark blueberry with a California sage dustiness. Taste - full, deep dark blue berry and blackberry with well blended clove and nutmeg spice
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Decanted 1 hr Great nose, heavy clay, dark chocolate, raspberry, cream, vanilla, nice cigar ash kind of like a cherry pie filling type nose. Cherry, raspberry, dark chocolate flavors. Weight heavy, acid medium plus.
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This opaque crimson wine delivers an aromatic and flavor payload of black currants, plums, anise, smoked meat and minerals. Full-bodied, seamlessly alcoholic (14.5%) and with low-to-medium acidity, it wraps its flavors with plentiful grippy tannins. Dense in the middle and long on the finish, this is one that will bring joy to any Cab lover. Show a bit of patience if you can. Drink 2020-2035.
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Bought three bottles at winery, dined at Brix that evening and brought one in to share. Just as delicious as at the winery tasting earlier in the day, this is a supple, succulent and relatively light (for the blend) wine that paired very nicely with short ribs and a NY steak. So easy to drink even this early. I wouldn't expect it to age more than 10-15 years due to the relative lack of tannin but I'm sure it will go 5-10 and keep singing.
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Go West! Tasting (The QEII Centre, Westminster, London): Great finesse in the nose, balanced, smoke, chocolate and coffee nuances, ripe fruit. Beautiful ethereal nose. The palate reveals perfect ripe black fruit, nice big but smooth tannins, great texture, still very young of course, long finish. Outstanding
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Inky purple in the glass. Tons of black fruit, oak, chocolate on the nose. Rich and supple, gentle tannins. Seemed new world merlot-like (don’t mean that as a put down) as it had tons of sweet fruit.
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Dark crimson, nose and flavor was muted on night 1, could only pick up faint coffee, mocha, and toffee notes. Increased in both aroma and flavor on night 2, but still less than I would have expected. Medium + acid, medium finish.
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At the NY Yankee Steakhouse while watching the pathetic end to the Yankees 2015 baseball season. It was definitely the best part of the night. We had to PNP and swirl Dark fruit on the nose, the palate was plum, dark berries, red meat, with a hint of toffee on the long smooth finish. A really nice wine which will only improve with some cellar time.
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Really nice wine, with grace and elegance, along with rich textures, lush polished, ripe, sweet, black, red and blue fruit, chocolate, licorice and earthy notes.
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2015 Aspen Food & Wine Classic Trip; 6/17/2015-6/22/2015 (Aspen, Colorado): Those who love Napa Cabernet will find this wine to be irresistable. Opaque crimson in color, it offers an equally youthful nose and palate of ripe black currants, tar, anise and smoked meat. Full-bodied and with low-to-medium acidity, it stays solid in the middle and closes long, albeit with some bite from its big firm tannins. Give this one a bit of time in the cellar. Drink 2020-2035.
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Disappointing QPR, particularly compared to the 2011 vintage. This wine is ultra modern and ultra manufactured. It seems the winemaker went out of his way to restrain the wine's substance and terroir. Medium acid, very light tannin, considerable oak. Not much to it. 89-90.
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Dinner at SLWC during PNV week, fantastic setting and great wines.
Served next to 2012 SLV. Bright fruits, "black raspberries" chocolate, violets. Sweet and soft on the mid palate. Dusty tannins that should resolve in the coming years. Medium finish.
Not as "big" as the SLV, I think this is more accessible at a younger age. Will add weight and complexity in the bottle, most likely and be ready in about 3 years. Should drink well for first 10 years of its life
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6/15/2022 - Windacre in the Slope Likes this wine: 91 Points
Hour+ in the glass to open up. Light spicy nose, soft somewhat lush body, but not overly sweet. A touch of menthol and spice on the body. Nice wine, not overwhelming though.
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6/11/2022 - JKIndy wrote: 88 Points
Very underwhelming. Never seemed to open up.
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4/16/2022 - Hppr Cellar Likes this wine: 93 Points
Meh
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1/13/2022 - shjkwine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Exquisite wine, rich with flavor.
consumed with steak, but would be amazing with any food pairing.
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1/13/2022 - WineKnut Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
Deep black ruby in the glass with nice legs.
Nose of blackberries, leather, violets, roofing tar and gravel.
Bone dry confirming nose with long graphite finish. Medium bodied. Tannins fairly resolved with room to go. Can see further development lurking around the corner.
Good steakhouse wine, but good QPR? Nope.
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10/7/2021 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 91 Points
Opened last night. Certainly not a bad wine, but given the rep, I am not impressed, especially given the price and the pedigree of the vineyard. Very black ruby, with good legs. Nose has a hint of mint, and is fairly deep and concentrated. Tasty wine, with forest floor and restrained black fruit, I get the impression I am drinking this way to early to really fully appreciate it, as it seems to have much in reserve the patient. If I had it to do over again, I might wait another five years at least. Right now: 5-12-16-9: 91/100.
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7/6/2021 - Turboj911 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pretty much in agreement with other reviewers.
Very good representation of Napa Cab. What I enjoyed were the pretty fruits, rounded in mouth, big finish. It’s a little reduced at this point, but it’s got no problem for another decade probably.
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6/12/2021 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of my contributions for my local group’s blind theme of 2010, 2011 and 2012 Napa retrospective. I also opened the 2012 Stag’s Leap SLV as a fun side by side.
This was tasted briefly at pop and pour and was then consumed from the decanter over the next few hours. Really pretty aromatics…baking spices, dark cocoa shavings, violets and plenty of freshly squeezed dark fruits. The palate has a “juicy” profile I get on a lot of 2012s. Vibrant acidity. Blackberries and underripe blueberries dominate the fruit profile with a unique herbal/juniper type note towards the finish. Not super complex or layered. After time, this really softened. Good now, maybe gets a bit better with another 5yrs, but not sure it increases much.
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2/8/2021 - streethawk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep purple. Nose of cassis, red fruit, some graphite, perhaps a little chocolate. Palate confirms nose. Fruit-forward, in the California style. Almost sweet in the mouth. Tannins are pretty much integrated at this point, although a fine dusting remains on the dry finish. Medium acidity keeps this lively. Technically this is a well-made wine, though at this price point I expect more complexity. Drink now, not likely to improve much with more time.
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1/26/2021 - pkouchu wrote: 93 Points
blackberry, tobacco, chocolate, baking spice, forest floor, cedar and savory herbs.
Fruit is a viscous and rich on the palate. Tannins are still present a bit. Pop and pour drinks pretty well, opens nicely in the glass.
Pretty standard FAY if you've had it a lot
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12/27/2020 - Jrkeene7 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Excellent wine. Fall fruit, nuanced acidity. Drink now.
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12/7/2020 - jvphoto Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cedar, pencil shavings, Ribena, raspberry pasty filling. The price jump from the Artemis seems a bit steep for the wine.
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10/11/2020 - dase13 wrote: 92 Points
Nice. A lot of primary fruit, and only a little bit of tannin.
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9/18/2020 - schway wrote: 92 Points
tasty and generous, but fairly one-dimensional. Well within drinking window.
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8/5/2020 - Cgrant1029 Likes this wine: 96 Points
I was shocked by this wine. Have had 3 bottled cellared and this was my first to open. Paired with a filet which wasn't very memorable, this wine was great from the first sip, and still really good even next day. Probably opened an hour or two before drinking, no decant. I almost want to rate this higher than 96. I think it hits the perfect sweet spot for a napa cab of being fruit forward but not overwhelming. Apologies I don't have better notes, this was a steal for what I paid ($95) back in 2015.
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6/22/2020 - WineGuyDelMar Likes this wine: 91 Points
After the last bottle this time I didn't decant the wine because it doesn't need it. It's already soft and decanting it will just make it softer. This way it still has some nice tannin to round out the fruit. not overly complex. More simple. Good Cab flavors but it isn't really anything special. My last bottle and I really won't look to buy more of it.
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6/3/2020 - irvingn wrote: 92 Points
Really don't think I love Stag's Leap Wine Cellars anymore. This wine felt over-extracted and flabby. Like a Robert Parker big score wine. If big Napa is your thing you'll like it, but if you wish for a more restrained style you won't find it here.
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5/16/2020 - WineGuyDelMar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark color with classic Napa Cab nose. Decanted 90 minutes but doesn’t need it.30 minutes would be plenty. Very soft tannins which I wasn’t really expecting. I thought it would have more structure. It is still very good but not great. I don’t think the wine will improve with more aging. I found the Wine a bit one dimensional. I have had plenty of Fay bottles so expected a bit more.
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4/21/2020 - webbaker wrote: 91 Points
I generally like FAY & SLV quite a bit, but this particular bottle had some ester notes which I did not like that much. It faded after an overnight slumber in the decanter. Perhaps flawed?
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12/15/2019 - Darjeeling Likes this wine: 93 Points
First nose was amazing. Corvin day 1, aromatics of bright fruits red and black. No nose of alcohol. Day 2, very extracted taste. I think I like them young, or I need to weight a long time. Color is dark purple, tinged with violet at edges. Day 1, didn’t open yet. Day 2 very extracted can feel the dark alcohol. Fruit is faded a bit. Still bright red fruits, plums, pomegranates, some blueberry. Pretty tart and tannic. tannins doesn’t see to be too much on first taste, more at the end, due to the alcohol remaining. Middle palate is basic, end lasts a long time. I think I may be more a fan of younger cabs. May try and see what happens after another 5 years, where does this wine go.
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8/9/2019 - Alok Kapoor Likes this wine: 95 Points
This gets better and better. Let it breathe for four to five hours in the cellar. Just amazing.
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7/26/2019 - tblacks Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opens a bit smoky with ripe plums on the nose. Needs 15 minutes to breathe to burn off the alcohol. Smoothe palate medium finish with flavors of cherries amd currants. Fine, well integrated tanins. Lovely to drink now.
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3/2/2019 - sean7711 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Napa; 3/1/2019-3/2/2019 (Napa Valley, CA): Estate Tasting at SLWC
Bonus pour for being wine club members in our party. This is just starting to hit its stride, as I've found that 2012 across Napa has been performing really well over the last few months.
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2/9/2019 - NapaBias Likes this wine:
Drank over 3 days w/only cheese/crackers.......Great color, dark garnet in the glass, not getting a lot in the nose for whatever reason, it's got to be me, however......I have a sharp provolone, I can smell that, a smoked cold salmon, I can smell that, but nothing here, very odd. Anyway, this wine needs a great steak, it's dry, not at all fruit forward, perhaps atypical Stags Leap. Lite to medium mouth feel weight, kinda of flat, blackberry, lead pencil is about all I'm getting, more tannic than anticipated, even after day 3. I have 2 more bottles and will be saving these for summer grilled meats. Understand, my last pour was a 2013 Hidden Ridge 55% Slope, it's not that, that.....was fabulous
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1/21/2019 - jrhonda160 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Strawberry, coffee, chocolate, pepper aroma. Deep, cool, layered first sip. Finishing with tobacco and oakey barrel snappiness. Needs to aerate for hours.
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1/6/2019 - Giantwino wrote:
Incorrect total
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11/11/2018 - DanielJ Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really good. Great balance and great flavor. Spice, dark red fruit. Great wine
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10/13/2018 - Twopawsup Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep ruby color. Tight at first but opened up after a couple hours with aromas of french oak and cassis. Blackberry, plum and tea leaves on the palate. Long leathery finish with well balanced tannins.
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3/24/2018 - DanielJ Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious. Big flavor. Extremely well balanced. Very long finish. Complex. Red fruit. Sweet.
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3/2/2018 - ralstenm Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful wine! Floral nose with some berry and fragrances that do not overwhelm the nose. Great berries on palate with mellow tannins but great depth. Still earthy, chalky aftertaste familiar to Stags Leap. Big Napa cab but very polished! Awesome with ny strip steak!
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12/31/2017 - Morrissasson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Good stuff! Beautiful nose and palate of a Napa Cab. Still young and most decant too let the wine express all those flavors.
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9/26/2017 - RayT Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ruby in color with a beautiful nose of dark cherry and raspberry, and perfume. On the palate similar with dark red fruit and flowers. Decanted this for 2 hours which definitely added body and allowed this wine to come in to its own. I saw a few tasting notes that described this as feminine and elegant. I found it to be a bit more than that. While this is not a huge wine I thought it struck a nice balance between big and elegant. I enjoyed this and I am really looking forward to drinking the Cask 23 of this vintage that I will let slumber for a few more years.
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8/15/2017 - sung251 wrote: 89 Points
Very concentrated flavors bursting with black currants, dark cherries. Fairly overwhelming overall. Acid is well pitched but the wine is a bit lacking in structure. I think this should taste much better once the wine has been given cellar time and fruit has faded more but better qpr out there in my opinion
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6/28/2017 - blarmston wrote: 90 Points
Didnt meet my expectations.
Decent nose, somewhat flattish mid palate, and medium- finish.
I distinctly remember tasting the 2013 Fay at the winery back in DEC and it was exponentially better than this vintage.
Apparently I have another bottle of this, so that one will be probably find its way to K&L auction one of these days.
Not a horrible wine by any means, just not what I would want out of a nearly $100 wine. SO many better options. Hell, I would even take a 2014 Teeter Totter at $55 over this...
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6/23/2017 - Motz wrote: 89 Points
Really wanted to like this, did not recall that I had tasted it in 2015, and upon reviewing my note from then found this tasting experience identical to that one. There is just not much too it.
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12/27/2016 - Henry Miller Likes this wine: 98 Points
A stunner. Supple and complex, dry and perfumed, medium bodied with Napa power rumbling underneath. High tone flavors of redcurrent and raspberry precede a more brambly back end that makes it all about California. This drinks like top flight Bordeaux, with Pavie-like complexity, but Saint Julien structure, with a perfume that leans more toward the femininity of Margaux. Will not disappoint Big Cab drinkers while impressing the fans of great Claret. Plenty of life in the bottle, perhaps another 10 years.
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11/29/2016 - gouldcampbell77 wrote: 88 Points
Surprisingly little nose - just some dark red berries and brambles. Polished succulent and light rather than a power house and maybe that's why it doesn't sit well with 14.5% alcohol which frankly shows through on a hot spirity finish. Maybe it will fatten up but I doubt that it will ever quite hide the alcohol.
Frankly, it beats me why some vineyards still insist in making this type of wine. I'm no winemaker but the likes of Corison, Matthaiason, Montelena, Ridge Montebello all seem to come in around the 13.6% level in the same vintage. What does the extra 1% abv add to a wine? If I was drinking a huge Chateauneuf from a particularly hot year well maybe but why make such a beautiful and fine boned wine as this so alcoholic? It beats me.
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10/5/2016 - Gary of Spokane Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose - great dark blueberry with a California sage dustiness. Taste - full, deep dark blue berry and blackberry with well blended clove and nutmeg spice
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8/13/2016 - RickyT12 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 1 hr
Great nose, heavy clay, dark chocolate, raspberry, cream, vanilla, nice cigar ash kind of like a cherry pie filling type nose. Cherry, raspberry, dark chocolate flavors.
Weight heavy, acid medium plus.
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6/18/2016 - TXTASH Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fathers Day dinner.
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4/30/2016 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 93 Points
This opaque crimson wine delivers an aromatic and flavor payload of black currants, plums, anise, smoked meat and minerals. Full-bodied, seamlessly alcoholic (14.5%) and with low-to-medium acidity, it wraps its flavors with plentiful grippy tannins. Dense in the middle and long on the finish, this is one that will bring joy to any Cab lover. Show a bit of patience if you can. Drink 2020-2035.
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3/20/2016 - WineGoblin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bought three bottles at winery, dined at Brix that evening and brought one in to share. Just as delicious as at the winery tasting earlier in the day, this is a supple, succulent and relatively light (for the blend) wine that paired very nicely with short ribs and a NY steak. So easy to drink even this early. I wouldn't expect it to age more than 10-15 years due to the relative lack of tannin but I'm sure it will go 5-10 and keep singing.
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3/10/2016 - kostaslonis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Go West! Tasting (The QEII Centre, Westminster, London): Great finesse in the nose, balanced, smoke, chocolate and coffee nuances, ripe fruit. Beautiful ethereal nose. The palate reveals perfect ripe black fruit, nice big but smooth tannins, great texture, still very young of course, long finish. Outstanding
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1/24/2016 - Francois Le Mouel Likes this wine: 91 Points
Good dose of fruit/cherry; very serious and firm on the nose...tannins are more supple/approachable on the palate.
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1/8/2016 - FloridaMizes Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium to Big but smooth, red to light purple, floral with lots or berries.
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11/11/2015 - rama wrote:
Inky purple in the glass. Tons of black fruit, oak, chocolate on the nose. Rich and supple, gentle tannins. Seemed new world merlot-like (don’t mean that as a put down) as it had tons of sweet fruit.
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11/9/2015 - tb76 wrote:
Dark crimson, nose and flavor was muted on night 1, could only pick up faint coffee, mocha, and toffee notes. Increased in both aroma and flavor on night 2, but still less than I would have expected. Medium + acid, medium finish.
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10/6/2015 - markcic Likes this wine: 92 Points
At the NY Yankee Steakhouse while watching the pathetic end to the Yankees 2015 baseball season. It was definitely the best part of the night. We had to PNP and swirl Dark fruit on the nose, the palate was plum, dark berries, red meat, with a hint of toffee on the long smooth finish. A really nice wine which will only improve with some cellar time.
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9/29/2015 - Desert Pilot Likes this wine:
My favorite Cab. I'm trying to store some. But I keep opening a bottle.
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9/28/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Really nice wine, with grace and elegance, along with rich textures, lush polished, ripe, sweet, black, red and blue fruit, chocolate, licorice and earthy notes.
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9/27/2015 - Lee Fining wrote: 92 Points
True to it's character of soft and smooth. Good fruit presence. Tannin levels will want you to lay this down to age, but not for long.
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6/20/2015 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 93 Points
2015 Aspen Food & Wine Classic Trip; 6/17/2015-6/22/2015 (Aspen, Colorado): Those who love Napa Cabernet will find this wine to be irresistable. Opaque crimson in color, it offers an equally youthful nose and palate of ripe black currants, tar, anise and smoked meat. Full-bodied and with low-to-medium acidity, it stays solid in the middle and closes long, albeit with some bite from its big firm tannins. Give this one a bit of time in the cellar. Drink 2020-2035.
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6/20/2015 - Motz wrote: 89 Points
Disappointing QPR, particularly compared to the 2011 vintage. This wine is ultra modern and ultra manufactured. It seems the winemaker went out of his way to restrain the wine's substance and terroir. Medium acid, very light tannin, considerable oak. Not much to it. 89-90.
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2/19/2015 - walkerjfw wrote:
Dinner at SLWC during PNV week, fantastic setting and great wines.
Served next to 2012 SLV. Bright fruits, "black raspberries" chocolate, violets. Sweet and soft on the mid palate. Dusty tannins that should resolve in the coming years. Medium finish.
Not as "big" as the SLV, I think this is more accessible at a younger age. Will add weight and complexity in the bottle, most likely and be ready in about 3 years. Should drink well for first 10 years of its life
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