Christmas in a bottle. Decanted...significant sediment. Notes of spices and cakes...think red velvet cake...chocolate, baking spices like cinnamon, Clove, anise, vanilla beam, etc. Dried red fruits, some dried plums. Smooth with dried aged fruit on the palette with some medium acidity on the finish. Likely past it's prime. Good wine.
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SLDS November 2020: Dark berries, violets and ash on the nose. Palate has full fruit flavour, intense and punchy. Has the structure to back up the fruit. Still youthful and plenty of time left to develop.
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Definitely a solid well aged cab. Did not decant, as we brought to restaurant. Even, strong fruit, and well balanced. Improved over the 2 hr meal. So decant for at least an hour,
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Charleston Offlineorama IV; 9/27/2018-10/1/2018 (Charleston, NC (various locations)): A really nicely put together Napa cab that is well balanced and entering its drinking window. Dark fruits, some cedar and tobacco with a touch of dark chocolate lurking in the background, enough acidity to stay fresh on the palate this is quite enjoyable without being showy and over the top.
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One of the best bottles I have had of California Cab in the last couple of years. Totally open for business on a pop and pour. Earlier notes talk about wood and tannin and the tannins are resolved and sweet and the wood has receded beautifully. Dark chocolate and truffle flavors on the palate, long finish. Terrific.
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Wow!! This is silky, soft, succulent, and smooth. A tour-de-force in everything "S". Great silky cherry and plum fruit, with a hint of chalk and vanilla. The wine is still very young, and I think has another 10 to 15 years left for cellaring. It took a little time to open up in the glass, but once it did, the wine disappeared in an instant, the way most wine does when people's taste buds go, "hmmm, this is really good." Enjoy!!
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Outstanding offering....classic nose hints and improved with every swirl of the glass. The taste is fa-nominal with hints of vanilla and dark fruit and chocolate. the feel on the palate was baa-bearing like(very smooth and rounded) and the finish was long and relaxing.
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Have a fair amount in the cellar...this is the first bottle I've tasted. Rich, deep purple -- not impenetrable but darker than most California Cabs. Thick glycerin with viscous legs. Out of the bottle after 10 minutes of breathing, nose has a lot of oak in it that covers the fruit but there's fruit down there somewhere. First taste is fairly tannic, oaky but with good depth of fruit. Amazed at how viscous this is...it coats the glass like a dessert wine. Second taste, ten minutes later, fruit beginning to emerge along with some black truffle. Seems very drinkable -- not hot, not overbearing, but it is tannic. My first overall impression is that this wine benefits from a decant of two hours. Will wait to see what comes next.
Over the course of two hours, the tannins never fully resolved, and I still found the oak to be somewhat dominant. Given the quality of the winemaker I hesitate to say overoaked but this needs more time to develop and definitely needs a long decant at this stage (three hours?). That in itself is not damning...the 1994 Harlan, in my experience, needs at least that long. But here's hoping this well-made wine continues to improve in bottle. I'll wait two years before I try another. Score could improve by five points.
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Truly outstanding. This wine has a formidable backbone and is built to last. Full, overpowering nose. Lovely fruit. Amazing finish. Drinking well now, but the tannins are quite prominent. Should rate even higher in the years to come. UPDATE: After 90+ minutes in the decanter, the tannins soften dramatically, and the wine becomes better integrated. Give this air for a couple of hours; it is worth the wait.
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We took this to dinner at a new restaurant before the Young Dubliner's concert -- our friend's commented that the wine was amazing. Blackberry fruit, chocolate and vanilla in a smooth, chewy, wonderful clean blend. All I can say, is that it paired perfectly with the slow braised lamb. I still thought it was young, but the table thought it was singing now. In any case, I will closely guard my 3 remaining bottles.
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Decanted 3-1/2 hours. Dark and viscous is right. Full bodied, extracted and rich. Stong espresso, soy sauce and bitter chocolate. Exciting wine! I hope a few years take the asian spice side of the wine down a hair. This could be an amazing wine to cellar longer term.
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Extremly dark and viscious. Beautifful rich nose of fruit and oak. Thick extracted and full of ripe tannins on the palate. I liked it a lot. not sweet or overfull of fruit.
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Inky black in the glass with sweet black cherry aromas. Feels and tastes like a top claret. Chocolate, mocha and blackberries. Very firm tannins that still maintain overall elegance. Built to last more than some in this style.
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David Ramey Tasting: Young but shows some promise. Dark purple. Tannic but reveals crushed rock, spice, cassis and oak. On the finish it picks up a smoke character and is quite long. Needs five plus years in the cellar.
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David Ramey Wine Dinner at Vincent's in Minneapolis (Minneapolis, MN): This new bottling from David Ramey is going to turn some heads around the globe. Why? Well the firmly structured fruit is apparent the moment the wine is poured with black and blueberry, coffee, and pencil lead with rocking levels glycerin and fat. The wine was bottled in April and it probably has yet to settle down from this transition. This was a treat from David Ramey, which will have a long life best from 2010-2025+.
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David Ramey Tasting Dinner (Restaurant Vincent, Minneapolis): Midnight black color. Deep, rich nose of dark chocolate and smoky black fruit. Brown sugar and blackberries. Inky. I found this to be very sweet on the palate, a touch green on the middle, and searingly tannic on the finish. This could turn out to be very interesting, but it was just way too young tonight.
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David Ramey Hosts a Tasting in Minneapolis: The dark purple color looks black at a slight distance. The nose is dominated by black fruit. The taste is excruciatingly tannic and drying. I didn't find it sweet like I do many young cabs. The mouth feel was actually pretty good -- mouth coating and concentrated without feeling heavy. The oak was pretty well hidden in the fruit. I'm no expert on projecting how wines like this will develop. It will be interesting for me to retaste this in five or so years. As this tastes like a barrel sample I rated it in the range 90 - 95 points and will withhold judgement until I can taste it again.
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Deep ruby color. Dark berry fruit on the nose. Tastes of black cherry, earth and vanilla oak. Full bodied. Chewy with a rich powerful finish.15% alcohol.
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8/7/2022 - osirisoo2 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Christmas in a bottle. Decanted...significant sediment. Notes of spices and cakes...think red velvet cake...chocolate, baking spices like cinnamon, Clove, anise, vanilla beam, etc. Dried red fruits, some dried plums. Smooth with dried aged fruit on the palette with some medium acidity on the finish. Likely past it's prime. Good wine.
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11/14/2020 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
SLDS November 2020: Dark berries, violets and ash on the nose. Palate has full fruit flavour, intense and punchy. Has the structure to back up the fruit. Still youthful and plenty of time left to develop.
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3/15/2020 - JB12 wrote: 94 Points
Definitely a solid well aged cab. Did not decant, as we brought to restaurant. Even, strong fruit, and well balanced. Improved over the 2 hr meal. So decant for at least an hour,
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9/30/2018 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine: 93 Points
Charleston Offlineorama IV; 9/27/2018-10/1/2018 (Charleston, NC (various locations)): A really nicely put together Napa cab that is well balanced and entering its drinking window. Dark fruits, some cedar and tobacco with a touch of dark chocolate lurking in the background, enough acidity to stay fresh on the palate this is quite enjoyable without being showy and over the top.
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3/6/2017 - Italiana Likes this wine:
Cork not soaked but at the end of its life. What's in the bottle is very good--sweet and rich. Fulfilling.
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6/25/2012 - jaylew1 wrote: 96 Points
One of the best bottles I have had of California Cab in the last couple of years. Totally open for business on a pop and pour. Earlier notes talk about wood and tannin and the tannins are resolved and sweet and the wood has receded beautifully. Dark chocolate and truffle flavors on the palate, long finish. Terrific.
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12/30/2010 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
Wow!! This is silky, soft, succulent, and smooth. A tour-de-force in everything "S". Great silky cherry and plum fruit, with a hint of chalk and vanilla. The wine is still very young, and I think has another 10 to 15 years left for cellaring. It took a little time to open up in the glass, but once it did, the wine disappeared in an instant, the way most wine does when people's taste buds go, "hmmm, this is really good." Enjoy!!
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9/11/2010 - Share 67 wrote: 96 Points
Outstanding offering....classic nose hints and improved with every swirl of the glass. The taste is fa-nominal with hints of vanilla and dark fruit and chocolate. the feel on the palate was baa-bearing like(very smooth and rounded) and the finish was long and relaxing.
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1/20/2010 - nvandyk wrote: 90 Points
Have a fair amount in the cellar...this is the first bottle I've tasted. Rich, deep purple -- not impenetrable but darker than most California Cabs. Thick glycerin with viscous legs. Out of the bottle after 10 minutes of breathing, nose has a lot of oak in it that covers the fruit but there's fruit down there somewhere. First taste is fairly tannic, oaky but with good depth of fruit. Amazed at how viscous this is...it coats the glass like a dessert wine. Second taste, ten minutes later, fruit beginning to emerge along with some black truffle. Seems very drinkable -- not hot, not overbearing, but it is tannic. My first overall impression is that this wine benefits from a decant of two hours. Will wait to see what comes next.
Over the course of two hours, the tannins never fully resolved, and I still found the oak to be somewhat dominant. Given the quality of the winemaker I hesitate to say overoaked but this needs more time to develop and definitely needs a long decant at this stage (three hours?). That in itself is not damning...the 1994 Harlan, in my experience, needs at least that long. But here's hoping this well-made wine continues to improve in bottle. I'll wait two years before I try another. Score could improve by five points.
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8/29/2009 - James B wrote: 95 Points
Truly outstanding. This wine has a formidable backbone and is built to last. Full, overpowering nose. Lovely fruit. Amazing finish. Drinking well now, but the tannins are quite prominent. Should rate even higher in the years to come.
UPDATE: After 90+ minutes in the decanter, the tannins soften dramatically, and the wine becomes better integrated. Give this air for a couple of hours; it is worth the wait.
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12/18/2008 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
This continues to get better and better. Wow. Silky smooth. Ripe smooth fruit. Vanilla. A very, very nice California Cab.
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12/7/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 88 Points
pretty harsh tannin, lots of oak. a disappointment, as i had hoped for the complexity of the jericho canyon with a different flavor profile.
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3/8/2008 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
We took this to dinner at a new restaurant before the Young Dubliner's concert -- our friend's commented that the wine was amazing. Blackberry fruit, chocolate and vanilla in a smooth, chewy, wonderful clean blend. All I can say, is that it paired perfectly with the slow braised lamb. I still thought it was young, but the table thought it was singing now. In any case, I will closely guard my 3 remaining bottles.
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1/5/2008 - Phin wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 3-1/2 hours. Dark and viscous is right. Full bodied, extracted and rich. Stong espresso, soy sauce and bitter chocolate. Exciting wine! I hope a few years take the asian spice side of the wine down a hair. This could be an amazing wine to cellar longer term.
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12/13/2007 - Mike V wrote: 93 Points
Extremly dark and viscious. Beautifful rich nose of fruit and oak. Thick extracted and full of ripe tannins on the palate. I liked it a lot. not sweet or overfull of fruit.
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12/8/2007 - bin905 wrote: 90 Points
Deep red color. Very nice bouquet. Big, complex, thick, almost overpowering.
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6/25/2007 - WineForRob wrote: 95 Points
Inky black in the glass with sweet black cherry aromas. Feels and tastes like a top claret. Chocolate, mocha and blackberries. Very firm tannins that still maintain overall elegance. Built to last more than some in this style.
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6/17/2007 - CMCLR wrote:
I think this was a little off.
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11/30/2006 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
David Ramey Tasting: Young but shows some promise. Dark purple. Tannic but reveals crushed rock, spice, cassis and oak. On the finish it picks up a smoke character and is quite long. Needs five plus years in the cellar.
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11/30/2006 - lars1014 wrote: 97 Points
David Ramey Wine Dinner at Vincent's in Minneapolis (Minneapolis, MN): This new bottling from David Ramey is going to turn some heads around the globe. Why? Well the firmly structured fruit is apparent the moment the wine is poured with black and blueberry, coffee, and pencil lead with rocking levels glycerin and fat. The wine was bottled in April and it probably has yet to settle down from this transition. This was a treat from David Ramey, which will have a long life best from 2010-2025+.
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11/30/2006 - Siggy wrote:
David Ramey Tasting Dinner (Restaurant Vincent, Minneapolis): Midnight black color. Deep, rich nose of dark chocolate and smoky black fruit. Brown sugar and blackberries. Inky. I found this to be very sweet on the palate, a touch green on the middle, and searingly tannic on the finish. This could turn out to be very interesting, but it was just way too young tonight.
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11/30/2006 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
David Ramey Hosts a Tasting in Minneapolis: The dark purple color looks black at a slight distance. The nose is dominated by black fruit. The taste is excruciatingly tannic and drying. I didn't find it sweet like I do many young cabs. The mouth feel was actually pretty good -- mouth coating and concentrated without feeling heavy. The oak was pretty well hidden in the fruit. I'm no expert on projecting how wines like this will develop. It will be interesting for me to retaste this in five or so years. As this tastes like a barrel sample I rated it in the range 90 - 95 points and will withhold judgement until I can taste it again.
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12/7/2004 - kstoddard wrote: 91 Points
Deep ruby color. Dark berry fruit on the nose. Tastes of black cherry, earth and vanilla oak. Full bodied. Chewy with a rich powerful finish.15% alcohol.
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