55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc blend. Dark pure garnet red. No bricking/brown tinge. Medium plus alcohol. Light oak. Dark fruit. Medium finish. Excellent balance. Very enjoyable wine drinking very well now. Drink today or hold for a few more years. No sign that it is fading. Beautiful wine. Definitely recommended.
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A very nice Bordeaux blend with blackberry aromas. Plenty of black fruit flavors (blackberry, cassis) nicely balance the tannins. Barely perceptible traces of oak, smoke and coffee nicely add to the mix. This from a WTSO magnum purchased a year ago.
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Decanted and returned to bottle 1 hour prior to service. Clear, dark purple. Strong, rich nose. Took a few minutes of glass time to blow off the old age funk but absolutely delicious. Perfect drinking window with firm, resolved tannins. Super smooth with no rough edge whatsoever. Integrated, med/full body, dark fruit profile with an earthy edge. Long finish, nothing off. $47
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What a great wine. The nose is light floral and leather, and the color is deep red and garnet. After an hour of being open, this wine, which is reminiscent of a great right bank Bordeaux blend does not disappoint. The palate is full of ripe blackberry, black cherry, mushrooms, Robitussin (I can't believe I said that), lead pencil, and soft resolved tannins for a nice long finish. There's lots of rich dark fruit that rolls down the palate to enjoy. It's old enough to drink right away, but give it an hour or two to open up and enjoy how well it evolves. There's more at my local shop and I am going to get it! Afterthought: I saved a glass for the 2nd night (tightly coked and vinotech) and the wine just didn't last very well. It had a cooked, raisin flavor to it, so I'll go on record and call this a first night wine only!
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Yum!! I didn't take any notes but this lovely wine is drinking beautifully right now. Rich, bold and full bodied yet smooth as silk with some tannins mid-palate. I wish I had more than one bottle left to put down.
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Solid, well done cab in this price point. Medium+ to full bodied. Well integrated tannins, bold blackberry, plum, black cherry, a little leather. Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of the evening.
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55% Merlot 30% Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Cabernet Franc. • The aromatics straight from pop and pour are explosive! Blackberry, blueberry, plum, baking spices, fresh coffee, and slight undertones of vanilla and menthol! I could just sit, swirl, and sniff this wine for hours. Gorgeous purplish ruby in the glass. Carries to the palate blueberry, cedar, tobacco, cola.
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Delicious. Deep purple, big nose of blackberry, plum, some earth and granite. Smooth, balanced fruit. I was super impressed. Gave it a quick one hour decant and it was drinking well.
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Deep, dark garnet in color, bordering on opaque in color. Full, fragrant & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty notes, spices & herbs, some herbal & mint notes & a subtle hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, plush, ripe fruit flavors of sweet cherries, mulberries & currants with spices, herbs, minerals, cocoa & a touch of oak/vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present, but has the fruit & structure to develop further with additional aging. A blend of 55% Merlot, 30 % Cabernet Sauvignon & 15% Cabernet Franc.
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Opened on day 1 with a couple hour decant, saved half bottle for day 2, better on day two and are the basis of this review.
Nose, Blackberry Pie, spice, black earth.
On the attack, blackberry, currants, raspberry, tart, scorched earth, dark chocolate chunk heavily coating the finish, which is medium long and expresses the tannic structure this wine still has after 5 years.
A really pleasant wine that retailed for around $40. Although good now, I would try and wait another 2-3 years for this to settle down more and would imagine you could safely wait longer. Patience should be rewarded here, 90-91 now (in line with WE and Vinous), likely 91-92+ once it resolves itself a bit more. Vinous recommended drinking 2015-2018 and WE thru 2021. I would say both are a bit aggressive and would guess this wine might peak closer to 2021 and will continue to drink well for at least a few years after.
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Ordered at Hardware Grill in Edmonton, Alberta. PNP. Deep garnet color. Nose of cedar, blackberries and cassis. As it opened up... a hint of menthol seemed to come through too.
Palate is actually more muted than I expected from the nose.. but sufficient to carry elk tenderloin and beef short rib entree. Tart cherry, blackberries and a nice hint of vanilla.
Just enough tannins on the finish... noticeable, a bit dusty on a nice long finish. Drinking very well now... and no reason to believe it has peaked yet. I hope to find this at retail when back home in PA.
All who find this should enjoy!
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Drank from a half bottle. Mature but still vibrant and likely in or just past the prime drinking window. Plenty of Asian spice, ripe blueberry, and a vegetal note. I’d drink now as this just got more vegetal with time.
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Incredibly interesting blend. Delicious off the pnp. Restaurant purchase and worth every penny (even at the markup). Will seek out to buy at retail. Tremendous QPR.
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Last wine of the night of Blackbird Vineyards food pairing at Café Maxx in Pompano Beach. My favorite of the night. Deep garnet red. Nose of blackberries and cedar. Flavors are similar. Medium to high tannins and medium acidity. Medium body. Tastes like a mellower version of their bigger Contrarian wine. Pretty good QPR at $40. 91-92.
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Touch of cassis and dark berry on the nose. Palate of blackberry, some cassis, and toasted oak barrel. Oak masks pretty much everything. Thoughtful blend, not a massive fruit bomb, just over-oaked. Poor QPR.
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Inky/saturated purple black. Very nice nose of rich blackberry and black currant, wood spice, vanilla and a hint of flowers. Medium-full bodied and rich, with a layered, tannic mouth feel slathered with sweet and concentrated fruit. Great example of a 2013. There are both abundant tannin and fruit here. Absolutely delicious now, this should age effortlessly to age 12-15 and quite possibly improve. Drink 2020-2027 91-92
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Forward fruit, strong tannins, deep ruby - it accompanied our turkey over Thanksgiving and to some may have been too bold a choice but managed all the competing food flavors very well. This was my last bottle - excellent wine
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Shoulda let this breathe for a few hours but wasn't in the cards. Muted nose of blackberry and spice. Medium+ tannins circle around emerging dark red and blackberry fruit. Not much complexity but not one dimensional either. I think I kick the points up a level or two with 3 hours + in a decanter. But who's complaining!? Good stuff.
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Pop and poor, which was a disservice. This was a tannic beast that needs to resolve. I wish I had the patience to see what this will be in 10 years - think it has a promising future.
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Beautiful blueberry spice aroma. Spicy, one dimensional plum flavors at first. Smooth cranberry finish with hints of chocolate. Nice, still young, buy let breathe for awhile and good now.
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Decent value wine but not what I call a great QPR wine.
Solid purple no clarity. Light nose with black fruits, earthy elements and light oak. Medium body with nice tannin, for a young wine I would have expected more tannin. Somewhat extracted but smooth fruit and oak on the palate.
The taste was pretty light for such a bold winery perhaps this just needs more time.
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50% new oak, 22 months. 55/30/15 Merlot/Cabernet/Cab Franc. Medium plus nose shows mocha, plush violets, sweet baking spice, dark fruit layers. Palate is dark layers of supple expression, immediately pleasing notes of black plum, sage, graphite, dark chocolate, smooth medium plus tannins and long finish. This is their value wine and it delivers, lots here for the $.
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Maybe it was a freshly-opened bottle, or more likely just very young. Had this over the weekend at Maisonry and found it almost astringent. The fruit is there, way way down in the background, underneath a Napa-ton of tannins. Certainly not drinking now. Give it a few years and maybe everything will mellow, but I worry the fruit will disappear at the same rate.
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Very easy to like this wine. Always delivers on what you expect. Texturly on the delicate side but packing plenty of chalky blackberry, sweet raspberry, cassis, and spice. Still really tannic and mouth drying even when open all day. Hold for a couple years if you have the space.
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4/21/2024 - chitwwe wrote: 92 Points
Has lost a bit at this point. If it is in your cellar you should consider drinking it
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11/5/2022 - schott Likes this wine: 93 Points
55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc blend. Dark pure garnet red. No bricking/brown tinge. Medium plus alcohol. Light oak. Dark fruit. Medium finish. Excellent balance. Very enjoyable wine drinking very well now. Drink today or hold for a few more years. No sign that it is fading. Beautiful wine. Definitely recommended.
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8/27/2021 - MrSkimo wrote: 89 Points
Still enjoyable, but a shadow of its former self. Drink now
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5/24/2021 - WineJunkieWest Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful blend. Drinking nicely now! Enjoy!
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5/9/2021 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 91 Points
Full-bodied and rich. This is typical medium-end Napa red. Not intellectually stimulating, but delicious and a pleasure to drink! Drink now -2024 91
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1/19/2021 - NutmegNative Likes this wine: 92 Points
A very nice Bordeaux blend with blackberry aromas. Plenty of black fruit flavors (blackberry, cassis) nicely balance the tannins. Barely perceptible traces of oak, smoke and coffee nicely add to the mix. This from a WTSO magnum purchased a year ago.
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12/26/2020 - Barry Notes Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted and returned to bottle 1 hour prior to service. Clear, dark purple. Strong, rich nose. Took a few minutes of glass time to blow off the old age funk but absolutely delicious. Perfect drinking window with firm, resolved tannins. Super smooth with no rough edge whatsoever. Integrated, med/full body, dark fruit profile with an earthy edge. Long finish, nothing off. $47
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11/17/2020 - aerosol Likes this wine: 93 Points
What a great wine. The nose is light floral and leather, and the color is deep red and garnet. After an hour of being open, this wine, which is reminiscent of a great right bank Bordeaux blend does not disappoint. The palate is full of ripe blackberry, black cherry, mushrooms, Robitussin (I can't believe I said that), lead pencil, and soft resolved tannins for a nice long finish. There's lots of rich dark fruit that rolls down the palate to enjoy. It's old enough to drink right away, but give it an hour or two to open up and enjoy how well it evolves. There's more at my local shop and I am going to get it!
Afterthought: I saved a glass for the 2nd night (tightly coked and vinotech) and the wine just didn't last very well. It had a cooked, raisin flavor to it, so I'll go on record and call this a first night wine only!
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5/26/2020 - WineJunkieWest Likes this wine: 92 Points
Yum!! I didn't take any notes but this lovely wine is drinking beautifully right now. Rich, bold and full bodied yet smooth as silk with some tannins mid-palate. I wish I had more than one bottle left to put down.
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4/4/2020 - wdcwineguys Likes this wine: 91 Points
Solid, well done cab in this price point. Medium+ to full bodied. Well integrated tannins, bold blackberry, plum, black cherry, a little leather. Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of the evening.
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2/7/2019 - TMOVino2 Likes this wine: 92 Points
55% Merlot 30% Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Cabernet Franc.
•
The aromatics straight from pop and pour are explosive! Blackberry, blueberry, plum, baking spices, fresh coffee, and slight undertones of vanilla and menthol! I could just sit, swirl, and sniff this wine for hours. Gorgeous purplish ruby in the glass. Carries to the palate blueberry, cedar, tobacco, cola.
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2/5/2019 - wdcwineguys Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicious. Deep purple, big nose of blackberry, plum, some earth and granite. Smooth, balanced fruit. I was super impressed. Gave it a quick one hour decant and it was drinking well.
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1/20/2019 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep, dark garnet in color, bordering on opaque in color. Full, fragrant & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty notes, spices & herbs, some herbal & mint notes & a subtle hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, plush, ripe fruit flavors of sweet cherries, mulberries & currants with spices, herbs, minerals, cocoa & a touch of oak/vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present, but has the fruit & structure to develop further with additional aging. A blend of 55% Merlot, 30 % Cabernet Sauvignon & 15% Cabernet Franc.
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9/16/2018 - depdoc Likes this wine: 92 Points
An hour of decanting made all the difference. Dark fruit, some tannin, but delightful.
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9/9/2018 - JLuch1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Inky deep purple in the glass.
Opened on day 1 with a couple hour decant, saved half bottle for day 2, better on day two and are the basis of this review.
Nose, Blackberry Pie, spice, black earth.
On the attack, blackberry, currants, raspberry, tart, scorched earth, dark chocolate chunk heavily coating the finish, which is medium long and expresses the tannic structure this wine still has after 5 years.
A really pleasant wine that retailed for around $40. Although good now, I would try and wait another 2-3 years for this to settle down more and would imagine you could safely wait longer. Patience should be rewarded here, 90-91 now (in line with WE and Vinous), likely 91-92+ once it resolves itself a bit more. Vinous recommended drinking 2015-2018 and WE thru 2021. I would say both are a bit aggressive and would guess this wine might peak closer to 2021 and will continue to drink well for at least a few years after.
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8/31/2018 - dase13 wrote: 90 Points
Always good. Color of dark red. Scents of raspberry, blackberry and blueberry. Tastes consistent with scents.
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7/7/2018 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark fruited blackberry notes and nice firm tannic structure.
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7/1/2018 - depdoc Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice aroma, lovely dark fruit, but slightly tart on the finish. Perhaps a little more bottle age will help.
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5/10/2018 - Ecoenophile wrote: 93 Points
Ordered at Hardware Grill in Edmonton, Alberta. PNP. Deep garnet color. Nose of cedar, blackberries and cassis. As it opened up... a hint of menthol seemed to come through too.
Palate is actually more muted than I expected from the nose.. but sufficient to carry elk tenderloin and beef short rib entree. Tart cherry, blackberries and a nice hint of vanilla.
Just enough tannins on the finish... noticeable, a bit dusty on a nice long finish. Drinking very well now... and no reason to believe it has peaked yet. I hope to find this at retail when back home in PA.
All who find this should enjoy!
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5/3/2018 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 91 Points
Drank from a half bottle. Mature but still vibrant and likely in or just past the prime drinking window. Plenty of Asian spice, ripe blueberry, and a vegetal note. I’d drink now as this just got more vegetal with time.
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4/29/2018 - DrNorm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent wine. Strong fruit, nice finish
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2/15/2018 - Winowhyno Likes this wine: 90 Points
Yummy
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2/14/2018 - stags22 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Incredibly interesting blend. Delicious off the pnp. Restaurant purchase and worth every penny (even at the markup). Will seek out to buy at retail. Tremendous QPR.
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2/8/2018 - RockyII Likes this wine: 91 Points
Last wine of the night of Blackbird Vineyards food pairing at Café Maxx in Pompano Beach. My favorite of the night. Deep garnet red. Nose of blackberries and cedar. Flavors are similar. Medium to high tannins and medium acidity. Medium body. Tastes like a mellower version of their bigger Contrarian wine. Pretty good QPR at $40. 91-92.
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1/27/2018 - Smatk Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Touch of cassis and dark berry on the nose. Palate of blackberry, some cassis, and toasted oak barrel. Oak masks pretty much everything. Thoughtful blend, not a massive fruit bomb, just over-oaked. Poor QPR.
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1/6/2018 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 91 Points
Inky/saturated purple black. Very nice nose of rich blackberry and black currant, wood spice, vanilla and a hint of flowers. Medium-full bodied and rich, with a layered, tannic mouth feel slathered with sweet and concentrated fruit. Great example of a 2013. There are both abundant tannin and fruit here. Absolutely delicious now, this should age effortlessly to age 12-15 and quite possibly improve. Drink 2020-2027 91-92
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11/24/2017 - greydog wrote: 90 Points
Forward fruit, strong tannins, deep ruby - it accompanied our turkey over Thanksgiving and to some may have been too bold a choice but managed all the competing food flavors very well. This was my last bottle - excellent wine
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10/31/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Smokey and dark and black. With some reductive spicy notes,
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9/16/2017 - dase13 wrote: 90 Points
Color of dark red. Scents of raspberry, blackberry and blueberry. Tastes consistent with scents.
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9/6/2017 - rcmccall Likes this wine: 89 Points
Shoulda let this breathe for a few hours but wasn't in the cards. Muted nose of blackberry and spice. Medium+ tannins circle around emerging dark red and blackberry fruit. Not much complexity but not one dimensional either. I think I kick the points up a level or two with 3 hours + in a decanter. But who's complaining!? Good stuff.
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8/19/2017 - GrapeTank Does not like this wine:
Was corked.
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8/14/2017 - jkvedar Likes this wine: 90 Points
Soft, pleasant. A bit of cedar on the nose. Very soft on the palate. Short finish.
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5/31/2017 - ageverett Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pop and poor, which was a disservice. This was a tannic beast that needs to resolve. I wish I had the patience to see what this will be in 10 years - think it has a promising future.
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5/3/2017 - Rezy13 wrote:
55 Merlot, 30 Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 Cabernet Franc; garnet core with maroon rim; vanilla, blueberry, sweet cherry; soft almost absent tannin structure, alcohol, cassis finish.
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4/29/2017 - jrhonda160 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Beautiful blueberry spice aroma. Spicy, one dimensional plum flavors at first. Smooth cranberry finish with hints of chocolate. Nice, still young, buy let breathe for awhile and good now.
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4/23/2017 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 90 Points
Really a nice wine but tannins still a bit harsh. Needs a year two in the bottle.
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3/21/2017 - brouigu1 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decent value wine but not what I call a great QPR wine.
Solid purple no clarity. Light nose with black fruits, earthy elements and light oak. Medium body with nice tannin, for a young wine I would have expected more tannin. Somewhat extracted but smooth fruit and oak on the palate.
The taste was pretty light for such a bold winery perhaps this just needs more time.
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11/8/2016 - Winowhyno Likes this wine: 90 Points
Excellent grape and great value
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9/7/2016 - GTFreek wrote:
50% new oak, 22 months. 55/30/15 Merlot/Cabernet/Cab Franc. Medium plus nose shows mocha, plush violets, sweet baking spice, dark fruit layers. Palate is dark layers of supple expression, immediately pleasing notes of black plum, sage, graphite, dark chocolate, smooth medium plus tannins and long finish. This is their value wine and it delivers, lots here for the $.
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9/5/2016 - odyssey11 wrote: 88 Points
Maybe it was a freshly-opened bottle, or more likely just very young. Had this over the weekend at Maisonry and found it almost astringent. The fruit is there, way way down in the background, underneath a Napa-ton of tannins. Certainly not drinking now. Give it a few years and maybe everything will mellow, but I worry the fruit will disappear at the same rate.
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5/3/2016 - qtsam11 wrote: 90 Points
Still good, no complaints. Drank way too fast to take any sort of notes.
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1/24/2016 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points
Very easy to like this wine. Always delivers on what you expect. Texturly on the delicate side but packing plenty of chalky blackberry, sweet raspberry, cassis, and spice. Still really tannic and mouth drying even when open all day. Hold for a couple years if you have the space.
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12/31/2015 - evanhunterpowell wrote: 96 Points
Lovely.
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12/6/2015 - dase13 wrote: 92 Points
Always enjoyable. Color of dark red. Scents of raspberry, blackberry and blueberry. Tastes consistent with scents.
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4/18/2015 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 90 Points
30th Addy Bassin's California Barrel Tasting (The Mandarin Oriental Hotel): 89-91
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4/18/2015 - cab blends wrote: 89 Points
California Tasting (Barrel Tasting and an slight older): Tannins 7/10
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