Dinner with Paul and Jeff (The George Town Club - DC): Despite being forty years old, it remains very youthful character with an abundance of generous fruit. A hint of cassis but mostly red fruit, plum and cherry, scorched earth, lead pencil, a hint of green, leather and crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, generous red and black fruit, rich and unctuous but also fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long ripe red fruit driven finish with ash at the end. This reminds me the 92 Phillip Togni cab a bit, but more oaky, perhaps sweet American oak. May be a combination of Togni and Montebello. It doesn't have the complexity of a great Bordeaux but shows a lot of fruit. Really enjoyable and no need to hurry.
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Healthy ruby color ligthening up towards the rim. Notes of red cherries, some cassis, leather, graphite, some volcanic notes, smoke, cedar, cinnamon, tobacco. It's medium-full bodied, has high acidity carrying the wine and some medium- tannin that is super silky. Pretty long finish. An excellent Diamond Creek, super fresh, cool, full of tension and pretty complex, even at age 38. Breathtaking bottle that was perfectly stored and in perfect condition.
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Beautifully integrated at this point. Fruit flavors remain generous. Our bottle was purchased second-hand, but had a cork in perfect condition and poured with little sediment. The nose is 96+, and the flavor terrific but lasted only 10-20 seconds. The lack of length/depth is what stops it short of a higher score. We noticed that an hour after decanting, the flavors dissipated much more quickly than when the bottle was first opened - no surprise for a 36-year-old bottle. I'd say peak enjoyment was roughly 15 minutes after opening and decant. Our group salutes the DC winemaker of this earlier era for a bottle that stood the test of time proudly.
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Powerful, chewy, concentrated, but clearly rough around the edges, this is a solid example of old school California Cabernet Sauvignon that shows a lot of character, but not much finesse.
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Part of our No Wine Under 25 (Yr.) tasting. A medium coloring when poured with a hint of bricking on the rim. Some dried black fruit, leather, smoke and a bit of earthiness. Drinking very well.
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Bricking color on the edges, cork broke in half. However the proof is in the pudding: excellent aged cigar, dried fruits, mushrooms and library case. Smooth kiss of fruit on the palate with tense acidity and velvety resolves tannins. This wine can continue forever as have been my experiences with this great winery.
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deep red with brickish edge - fruity cabernet nose but not much complexity - rich full bodied mouth of intense red fruit - low acidity, moderate tannins - fairly long finish - very nice mature California cab that holds up to food very well, but lacks the complex flavors and aromas of a similarly aged Bordeaux
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Out of double magnum. Perfectly mature and showing fabulous smoky, spicy dark red fruits along with notes of forest floor and licorice. Balanced and crisp with a silky smooth texture that leads to a finish boasting mature but still grippy tannins and incredible mineral crunch on the finish. Impossible to stop drinking this wine which sits in such stark contrast to most of the more recent gunk coming out of Cali/Napa Cabs. Al Brounstein at his finest!
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Opened beautifully, demonstrating the Left bank Bordeaux style expected from Diamond Creek. Perfumey nose like a Margaux. Medium garnet I the glass. Complex layers of leather, tobacco box, earthiness and dark fruit. An interesting contrast to the 84 Volcanic Hill served side by side at #2 son's wedding. Two Diamond Creek magnums from his birth year. The '84's continue to impress.
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Decanted and drank over 4 hours at Guildhall. Expressive nose of black fruit, meats and oak. Very sweet and polished back fruit and licorice on the palate. Dense. Still seems modern. Great balance and medium smooth finish.
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This was really singing right out of the bottle. Beautiful aged cabernet nose of cherries, strawberries a little forest floor yet still very youthful as well. Still some tannins on the back end along with the huge amount of fruit that is left tells me that there is no hurry on these. Really drinking well. Glad I have another bottle to try down the road.
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HDH auction tasting at Tru; 6/22/2012-6/23/2012 (Chicago, IL): Smells like a nice matured cabernet. Slightly earthy, as well as some spicy red fruit notes. Truth be told, quite a youthful nose. On the palate, there's still some ways to go. Good balance of fruit and earth. Tannins are still very much alive; this is very velvety. A little ripe, perhaps, but the balance is there. Delicious.
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This bottle was well stored; ullage high in the neck; little seepage on the cork. Browning at the rim; reddish garnet color. Nose of unpretentious oak, cherry, mint, a little forest floor. Elegant and rich in the mouth for a short while. Velvety finish. The wine is at the end of its plateau, but with proper storage, still viable for a short period after opening. The last time I had this wine was in December 2001 and gave a higher score. Al Brounstein made some fine wine and I've really appreciated them over the years. Later note: after about an hour the wine fell apart and the mid-palate disappeared. The score relates to the short period after the wine was first opened.
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'80s and '90s California Cab Tasting w/ Bob Macdonald (Our House): The nose shows a faint whiff of VA. Deep, minty, and interesting, with lovely ripe raspberry and earthy tobacco flavors. The fruit turns a touch raisened and pruny with time in the glass. Fully mature, and probably a touch past its prime.
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Well stored bottles of 1984 Red Rock are excellent. This improved over a 6-hour period. It will never reach the heights of a 1984 Ridge Monte Bello, but it easily has another 5-10 years of life ahead.
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Really not impressive. It is past its prime. No fruit what so ever. Very herbal earthy on the palate. Well structures and good mouth feel. A decently long finish. It is in the fridge... will follow up with notes.
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3/7/2024 - paulst Likes this wine: 95 Points
Earth; lean; precise; narrow blackberry; complex finish.
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3/6/2024 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Dinner with Paul and Jeff (The George Town Club - DC): Despite being forty years old, it remains very youthful character with an abundance of generous fruit. A hint of cassis but mostly red fruit, plum and cherry, scorched earth, lead pencil, a hint of green, leather and crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, generous red and black fruit, rich and unctuous but also fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long ripe red fruit driven finish with ash at the end. This reminds me the 92 Phillip Togni cab a bit, but more oaky, perhaps sweet American oak. May be a combination of Togni and Montebello. It doesn't have the complexity of a great Bordeaux but shows a lot of fruit. Really enjoyable and no need to hurry.
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6/27/2022 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 96 Points
Healthy ruby color ligthening up towards the rim. Notes of red cherries, some cassis, leather, graphite, some volcanic notes, smoke, cedar, cinnamon, tobacco. It's medium-full bodied, has high acidity carrying the wine and some medium- tannin that is super silky. Pretty long finish. An excellent Diamond Creek, super fresh, cool, full of tension and pretty complex, even at age 38. Breathtaking bottle that was perfectly stored and in perfect condition.
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7/28/2020 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautifully integrated at this point. Fruit flavors remain generous. Our bottle was purchased second-hand, but had a cork in perfect condition and poured with little sediment. The nose is 96+, and the flavor terrific but lasted only 10-20 seconds. The lack of length/depth is what stops it short of a higher score. We noticed that an hour after decanting, the flavors dissipated much more quickly than when the bottle was first opened - no surprise for a 36-year-old bottle. I'd say peak enjoyment was roughly 15 minutes after opening and decant. Our group salutes the DC winemaker of this earlier era for a bottle that stood the test of time proudly.
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11/10/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Charleston V - the wooden anniversary; 11/6/2019-11/10/2019 (Charleston, SC (various locations)): Wine #2 in our blind. Darker texture to this wine. Very well balanced. Still has a reasonable amount of tannin. Some fruit. The finish is a bit quicker than I expected, but it's an enjoyable wine nonetheless.
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11/10/2019 - S1 Likes this wine:
Charleston Offlineorama V; 11/7/2019-11/10/2019 (The Holy City): (blind) In a great spot right now. These wines are certainly recognizable as 100% Cab, and this one has plenty of fruit remaining. Wonderful.
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4/21/2019 - The Beldens Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still amazing after all these years!
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2/3/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Powerful, chewy, concentrated, but clearly rough around the edges, this is a solid example of old school California Cabernet Sauvignon that shows a lot of character, but not much finesse.
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1/27/2018 - vinolovers wrote: 91 Points
Part of our No Wine Under 25 (Yr.) tasting. A medium coloring when poured with a hint of bricking on the rim. Some dried black fruit, leather, smoke and a bit of earthiness. Drinking very well.
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12/28/2017 - farinas Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bricking color on the edges, cork broke in half. However the proof is in the pudding: excellent aged cigar, dried fruits, mushrooms and library case. Smooth kiss of fruit on the palate with tense acidity and velvety resolves tannins. This wine can continue forever as have been my experiences with this great winery.
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7/4/2017 - Verb Likes this wine: 92 Points
deep red with brickish edge - fruity cabernet nose but not much complexity - rich full bodied mouth of intense red fruit - low acidity, moderate tannins - fairly long finish - very nice mature California cab that holds up to food very well, but lacks the complex flavors and aromas of a similarly aged Bordeaux
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2/11/2016 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
Out of double magnum. Perfectly mature and showing fabulous smoky, spicy dark red fruits along with notes of forest floor and licorice. Balanced and crisp with a silky smooth texture that leads to a finish boasting mature but still grippy tannins and incredible mineral crunch on the finish. Impossible to stop drinking this wine which sits in such stark contrast to most of the more recent gunk coming out of Cali/Napa Cabs. Al Brounstein at his finest!
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7/11/2015 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened beautifully, demonstrating the Left bank Bordeaux style expected from Diamond Creek. Perfumey nose like a Margaux. Medium garnet I the glass. Complex layers of leather, tobacco box, earthiness and dark fruit. An interesting contrast to the 84 Volcanic Hill served side by side at #2 son's wedding. Two Diamond Creek magnums from his birth year. The '84's continue to impress.
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6/6/2014 - twelch wrote: 95 Points
These 84 DC's just rock. No other way to put it
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7/16/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted and drank over 4 hours at Guildhall. Expressive nose of black fruit, meats and oak. Very sweet and polished back fruit and licorice on the palate. Dense. Still seems modern. Great balance and medium smooth finish.
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2/5/2013 - twelch wrote: 94 Points
This was really singing right out of the bottle. Beautiful aged cabernet nose of cherries, strawberries a little forest floor yet still very youthful as well. Still some tannins on the back end along with the huge amount of fruit that is left tells me that there is no hurry on these. Really drinking well. Glad I have another bottle to try down the road.
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6/22/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Wines Tasted at HDH Auction (Tru Restaurant - Chicago IL): Black currant and plum on nose that comes across with a very dense, meaty character. Nicely mature, but still a bit too firmly structured.
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6/22/2012 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
HDH auction tasting at Tru; 6/22/2012-6/23/2012 (Chicago, IL): Smells like a nice matured cabernet. Slightly earthy, as well as some spicy red fruit notes. Truth be told, quite a youthful nose. On the palate, there's still some ways to go. Good balance of fruit and earth. Tannins are still very much alive; this is very velvety. A little ripe, perhaps, but the balance is there. Delicious.
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7/9/2011 - Chainthroer wrote: 91 Points
This bottle was well stored; ullage high in the neck; little seepage on the cork. Browning at the rim; reddish garnet color. Nose of unpretentious oak, cherry, mint, a little forest floor. Elegant and rich in the mouth for a short while. Velvety finish. The wine is at the end of its plateau, but with proper storage, still viable for a short period after opening. The last time I had this wine was in December 2001 and gave a higher score. Al Brounstein made some fine wine and I've really appreciated them over the years. Later note: after about an hour the wine fell apart and the mid-palate disappeared. The score relates to the short period after the wine was first opened.
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1/29/2011 - DSchnider wrote: 94 Points
Earthy and delicious
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5/11/2009 - Siggy wrote: 89 Points
'80s and '90s California Cab Tasting w/ Bob Macdonald (Our House): The nose shows a faint whiff of VA. Deep, minty, and interesting, with lovely ripe raspberry and earthy tobacco flavors. The fruit turns a touch raisened and pruny with time in the glass. Fully mature, and probably a touch past its prime.
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7/4/2008 - zazim wrote: 92 Points
Well stored bottles of 1984 Red Rock are excellent. This improved over a 6-hour period. It will never reach the heights of a 1984 Ridge Monte Bello, but it easily has another 5-10 years of life ahead.
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11/12/2005 - jhngo wrote: 84 Points
Really not impressive. It is past its prime. No fruit what so ever. Very herbal earthy on the palate. Well structures and good mouth feel. A decently long finish. It is in the fridge... will follow up with notes.
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3/5/2005 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
RICH LAYERS OF DEEP FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACKBERRIES, BLACK CHERRIES, CURRENTS. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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