Tasting notes from magnum. Very young still and could easily age many more years in this format. Needs a solid two hours to decant as the wood is still over powering upon PnP. Tasty berries and chocolate with leather nuances. Really delicious with filet and chanterelle Demi glacé, crab cake and prawn sides with truffle mash.
Yum…
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PNP. Black cherry and blackberry, dark chocolate. Full bodied, slightly chewy tannins, nice acidity, almost juicy for such a flavorful wine. A little hot, almost candied liqueur finish. Nice, modern leaning, ready to go, but should drink well another 10 years.
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Amazing at vintage +9 years, showcasing bright complexity of fruit on palate, fully integrated tannic structure and acidity to balance the wonderful result of Heidi Barratt and Paradigm's excellence, which has never wavered. Favorite Napa label, for sure.
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At first thought, you might think I’m talking about an actual scale with which to weigh a mighty beef tenderloin. WRONG! So wrong….
No, my tenderloin scale isn’t even a scale at all, it’s a gauge by which I try and determine what I want to do given certain situations; mainly having to do with food. While nothing new in my world, I’m doubting anyone out there uses this balancing mechanism to make judgments about what they are going to do when thinking about food and eating out.
The other day I was going out for lunch as my plans for the entire day had changed, no, actually they were canceled. So, I’m at home and as it’s a day I hadn’t planned to eat at home, little was in my fridge to eat. The obvious solution; go out and have lunch somewhere. Seems reasonable. Then my “tenderloin scale” kicked in. Wait, I told myself, the damage done by going out (meaning money), is going to be at least $30; lunch, a couple of beers, and a tip (and I tip well).
Now my “tenderloin scale” says that I can have a beef tenderloin dinner for $15 (that’s a half-pound of beef), plus the possibility of a few extras, still max at $20. This means that for the lunch I could have good food but not a tenderloin. Alternatively, I could buy a half-pound of beef tenderloin and regale myself with a sumptuous dinner, and save money to boot! There’s even enough money to buy sandwich meat and bread if I still need lunch.
For me, all of this is a no-brainer. It also means that I don’t go out much, except to the grocery store; thank goodness I have a person or two there that I can always count on to talk to.
You might wonder WHY I’ve taken this position on meat vs a social life. Easy, I like to eat and LOVE to drink great wine with those tenderloins. That brings up the wine for this post:
Paradigm Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. Owned and managed by Ren and Marilyn Harris, their first vintage was 1991 and taking nothing away from the Harris’, their decision to hire Heidi Barrett, who has been continuously making the wine ever since, whose resume reads like a who’s who and includes Amuse Bouche, Fantesca, Lamborn, Kenzo Estate, Au Sommet, Vin Perdu - as well as her own labels, La Sirena and Barrett & Barrett and having previously worked at Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Jones Family, Grace Family, Vineyard 29, David Arthur, Barbour Vineyards, and Showket cannot be overlooked.
Their Oakville estate vineyards lie between the Yountville Hill and the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains in soil that can only be considered exquisite for vineyards and is certified organic.
As for the wine; unlike many of the 2013 Napa Cabs I have had over the years, this wine displayed a slightly more subtle character, not the extracted big fruit I was so used to. This was a wine of finesse along with deep rich fruit and savory qualities that balanced so well with the acidity and spice notes that culminated to a long wonderful finish.
Thinking about the wine and my dinner reinforced the use of my “tenderloin scale” and my decision to forgo lunch in favor of this combination. I suggest you use whatever “floats your boat” (that had to pop in from my Navy days) to assist you in coming to a similar conclusion.
Cheers
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Lovely cab. Dark fruit blended with a little tart cherry and a touch of raspberry. Assertive, but not aggressive. Medium to full bodied. Drink now or hold.
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Wow decanted for an hour. Great nose dark fruit. Back pallet had coffee, dark fruit and soft tannins. Lasted over a minute. After 3 hours still showed improvement. Only 2 bottles left. Wish I had more. Should improve with time.
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Black fruit, medium tannins and acidity and a little heat. Second bottle I've enjoyed. Solid wine. Decanted for 90 minutes, but 2 hours was even better. 92 pts.
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Integrating nicely but still has a couple years before it's fully together. Great dark fruits and graphite. Nose took a minute to open up but was better at hour two.
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At the Tupelo Grill in Whitefish. The wine was decanted and we let it sit for 30 minutes or so then drank slowly over the next hour and a half. Dark fruit on the nose. The palate is dark berries, dark cherries, plum and tobacco. A long smooth finish.
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Terroir-istes International - USA - California, Napa, Oakville (Cape Town Law offices): (Tasted Blind): A deep black-red colour. The nose is plush with a prominent presence of milk chocolate, tobacco, mocha and undergrowth—that hot cocoa but also old leather jacket quality. Modern and forward in style on entry, the wine is very plush in texture, almost succulent. Sweet fruits with exotic flavours, the fine-grained tannins are infused with sweet cinnamon, raspberry, darkish (70%) chocolate and cocoa powder. There is richness and warmth, generous ripeness and plenty of length. There is density to the tannins and excellent concentration with integrated spicy oak and vanilla. Some felt it was pretty extracted, and it became grippier in glass but to the advantage of the wine. They own their vineyards, so is estate grown fruit with 4-5 clonal selection vineyards, etc.
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First winery on our third day in Napa Valley is Paradigm Winery in Oakville with our amazing host, Mary Ann. Second of the three Cabernet Sauvignons was this 2013. Made up of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot from their estate vineyard in Oakville. 14.6% Alc/Vol.
Loved trying the difference between the 2014 and this 2013. Dark purplish red that completely coats the glass. Dark red berries with some black too on the nose with bark and blue fruits. Tannins build up especially on the backend (8/10) with a full body. Very dry with notes of dark spices, cinnamon, cassis, volcanic soil and black currants. Long finish. Drink till 2032.
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An early to this Oakville gem. Lovely dark fruit and color. Easily enjoyable on its own or with bread and cheese in late evening. Hints of light smoke and leather too
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Money. Milky Purple bubbles pouring in but actually transparent Deep Dark Black ruby red , nose a little muted off PNP, palate fruit forward, but dry and tannic and just plain delicious. good length. Classic notes, not over-worked. 100% Estate fruit and made on site. Love this place.
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Half bottle, decanted for 30 minutes. Dark red and syrupy, with A firm grip on the stems. Brooding nose of dark fruit, light crushed stone. Still very young; bright dark fruit flavors. Black plum with a dusty tannic coating on the palate. Still has many years to it it’s peak, and would’ve benefited from another hour plus of the decanter.
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Beautiful, deep color. Very young and tight. Gradually opened some over a couple of hours. I find it pretty typical of many 2013 cabs - needs lots of cellar time before hitting its peak. But, there is great potential with this Paradigm with some patience. I look forward to enjoying this wine for years to come.
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Just wanted to check in on this wine. The inky color with a lot fruit is still tight and very youthful, so cellaring will only improve this future beauty
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Plum Market Luxury Fall Tasting (Chicago, IL): This is good in that it's not super jammy or oak, but that's about all that I can say about it. A lot of tannins right now, this is lacking any cabernet character, and I'm doubtful any nice green pepper tones will ever emerge from this. Another in a long line of uninteresting and mostly fungible Napa cabernets.
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This didn't hit as well as the 2012... Opened up well enough after an hour or two. Will likely give the others another 1-2 in the bottle and decant them next time out.
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Dinner at Prospect in SF. Requested it be decanted when ordered. Definitely a little young -- tight, highly structured body. Amazing color, deep purple. Opened up nicely over the next hour or two. Not a huge fruit bomb. I'd call this one restrained for a Napa Cab. Really started to shine with food (steak in particular). Going to have to grab a couple bottles to lay down.
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Had at their at their winery tasting room. Just released this week, great wine. Not surprisingly, still very tight with black cherry and blackberry fruit, dark chocolate and earth notes, firm tannins, long finish. This will be great over time...be patient!
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2/17/2023 - Dine&Vine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasting notes from magnum. Very young still and could easily age many more years in this format. Needs a solid two hours to decant as the wood is still over powering upon PnP. Tasty berries and chocolate with leather nuances. Really delicious with filet and chanterelle Demi glacé, crab cake and prawn sides with truffle mash.
Yum…
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9/1/2022 - Maphill01 wrote:
PNP. Black cherry and blackberry, dark chocolate. Full bodied, slightly chewy tannins, nice acidity, almost juicy for such a flavorful wine. A little hot, almost candied liqueur finish. Nice, modern leaning, ready to go, but should drink well another 10 years.
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8/10/2022 - Snoman Likes this wine: 94 Points
Amazing at vintage +9 years, showcasing bright complexity of fruit on palate, fully integrated tannic structure and acidity to balance the wonderful result of Heidi Barratt and Paradigm's excellence, which has never wavered. Favorite Napa label, for sure.
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8/9/2022 - wine=golf wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 2hrs. Absolutely delicious floral, dark fruits and soft tannins. Only 1 bottle left. Very approachable now.
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11/25/2021 - Wine G Likes this wine: 92 Points
Super dry, less fruit than other Paradigm CS bottlings. In my opinion a very good wine, with a bordeaux style for certain.
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11/4/2021 - Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
My Tenderloin Scale
At first thought, you might think I’m talking about an actual scale with which to weigh a mighty beef tenderloin. WRONG! So wrong….
No, my tenderloin scale isn’t even a scale at all, it’s a gauge by which I try and determine what I want to do given certain situations; mainly having to do with food. While nothing new in my world, I’m doubting anyone out there uses this balancing mechanism to make judgments about what they are going to do when thinking about food and eating out.
The other day I was going out for lunch as my plans for the entire day had changed, no, actually they were canceled. So, I’m at home and as it’s a day I hadn’t planned to eat at home, little was in my fridge to eat. The obvious solution; go out and have lunch somewhere. Seems reasonable. Then my “tenderloin scale” kicked in. Wait, I told myself, the damage done by going out (meaning money), is going to be at least $30; lunch, a couple of beers, and a tip (and I tip well).
Now my “tenderloin scale” says that I can have a beef tenderloin dinner for $15 (that’s a half-pound of beef), plus the possibility of a few extras, still max at $20. This means that for the lunch I could have good food but not a tenderloin. Alternatively, I could buy a half-pound of beef tenderloin and regale myself with a sumptuous dinner, and save money to boot! There’s even enough money to buy sandwich meat and bread if I still need lunch.
For me, all of this is a no-brainer. It also means that I don’t go out much, except to the grocery store; thank goodness I have a person or two there that I can always count on to talk to.
You might wonder WHY I’ve taken this position on meat vs a social life. Easy, I like to eat and LOVE to drink great wine with those tenderloins. That brings up the wine for this post:
Paradigm Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. Owned and managed by Ren and Marilyn Harris, their first vintage was 1991 and taking nothing away from the Harris’, their decision to hire Heidi Barrett, who has been continuously making the wine ever since, whose resume reads like a who’s who and includes Amuse Bouche, Fantesca, Lamborn, Kenzo Estate, Au Sommet, Vin Perdu - as well as her own labels, La Sirena and Barrett & Barrett and having previously worked at Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Jones Family, Grace Family, Vineyard 29, David Arthur, Barbour Vineyards, and Showket cannot be overlooked.
Their Oakville estate vineyards lie between the Yountville Hill and the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains in soil that can only be considered exquisite for vineyards and is certified organic.
As for the wine; unlike many of the 2013 Napa Cabs I have had over the years, this wine displayed a slightly more subtle character, not the extracted big fruit I was so used to. This was a wine of finesse along with deep rich fruit and savory qualities that balanced so well with the acidity and spice notes that culminated to a long wonderful finish.
Thinking about the wine and my dinner reinforced the use of my “tenderloin scale” and my decision to forgo lunch in favor of this combination. I suggest you use whatever “floats your boat” (that had to pop in from my Navy days) to assist you in coming to a similar conclusion.
Cheers
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9/13/2021 - OWC wrote: 93 Points
Lovely cab. Dark fruit blended with a little tart cherry and a touch of raspberry. Assertive, but not aggressive. Medium to full bodied. Drink now or hold.
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1/9/2021 - wine=golf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow decanted for an hour. Great nose dark fruit. Back pallet had coffee, dark fruit and soft tannins. Lasted over a minute. After 3 hours still showed improvement. Only 2 bottles left. Wish I had more. Should improve with time.
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8/8/2019 - Tonythefish wrote: 93 Points
See prior notes - Wine is growing in stutter and getting better while cellared. More dark fruit, cedar and old leather coming through
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6/16/2019 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 92 Points
Super solid cab drank from magnum.
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5/17/2019 - skibumdc Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black fruit, medium tannins and acidity and a little heat. Second bottle I've enjoyed. Solid wine.
Decanted for 90 minutes, but 2 hours was even better.
92 pts.
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4/12/2019 - jbeglau Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bold dark fruit balanced with enough earth to keep a structured feel. Perfect with the grass-fed burgers we enjoyed.
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2/14/2019 - odyssey11 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Integrating nicely but still has a couple years before it's fully together. Great dark fruits and graphite. Nose took a minute to open up but was better at hour two.
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12/26/2018 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely wine with good depth of fruit and nice smooth finish. Always dependable and great QPR
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12/24/2018 - jstrovel@gmail.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
PNP. Nice dark fruits but a bit thin mouthfeel. Needs another year or two in bottle or decanting.
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11/2/2018 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black fruit, pepper, cedar, cassis, Smokey oak. A
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10/25/2018 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid wine, very fruit forward. A bit simple, but good.
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8/30/2018 - markcic Likes this wine: 92 Points
At the Tupelo Grill in Whitefish. The wine was decanted and we let it sit for 30 minutes or so then drank slowly over the next hour and a half. Dark fruit on the nose. The palate is dark berries, dark cherries, plum and tobacco. A long smooth finish.
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8/21/2018 - Robwild Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose of fruit. Let breath for about 45 minutes. Full bodied and Well balanced. Cherries, berries and blackcurrant. Soft and supple. Delightful.
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8/10/2018 - Vino911 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine is unbelievable right now. If the community drink dates are accurate ('22-'32), I can't imagine how good it will be in a few years.
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6/4/2018 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 92 Points
Terroir-istes International - USA - California, Napa, Oakville (Cape Town Law offices): (Tasted Blind): A deep black-red colour. The nose is plush with a prominent presence of milk chocolate, tobacco, mocha and undergrowth—that hot cocoa but also old leather jacket quality. Modern and forward in style on entry, the wine is very plush in texture, almost succulent. Sweet fruits with exotic flavours, the fine-grained tannins are infused with sweet cinnamon, raspberry, darkish (70%) chocolate and cocoa powder. There is richness and warmth, generous ripeness and plenty of length. There is density to the tannins and excellent concentration with integrated spicy oak and vanilla. Some felt it was pretty extracted, and it became grippier in glass but to the advantage of the wine. They own their vineyards, so is estate grown fruit with 4-5 clonal selection vineyards, etc.
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5/29/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 93 Points
First winery on our third day in Napa Valley is Paradigm Winery in Oakville with our amazing host, Mary Ann. Second of the three Cabernet Sauvignons was this 2013. Made up of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot from their estate vineyard in Oakville. 14.6% Alc/Vol.
Loved trying the difference between the 2014 and this 2013. Dark purplish red that completely coats the glass. Dark red berries with some black too on the nose with bark and blue fruits. Tannins build up especially on the backend (8/10) with a full body. Very dry with notes of dark spices, cinnamon, cassis, volcanic soil and black currants. Long finish. Drink till 2032.
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5/11/2018 - Tonythefish wrote: 92 Points
See prior notes - enjoy
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4/20/2018 - Tonythefish wrote: 92 Points
See prior notes - pnp and enjoy!!
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4/15/2018 - Tonythefish wrote: 91 Points
An early to this Oakville gem. Lovely dark fruit and color. Easily enjoyable on its own or with bread and cheese in late evening. Hints of light smoke and leather too
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4/2/2018 - Gestalted Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really liked this! Rich fruit yet loads of loamy herbs and dark chocolate.
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3/31/2018 - Wine G Likes this wine: 94 Points
excellent as always
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3/18/2018 - Wine G Likes this wine: 93 Points
Money. Milky Purple bubbles pouring in but actually transparent Deep Dark Black ruby red , nose a little muted off PNP, palate fruit forward, but dry and tannic and just plain delicious. good length. Classic notes, not over-worked. 100% Estate fruit and made on site. Love this place.
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2/4/2018 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 93 Points
Half bottle, decanted for 30 minutes. Dark red and syrupy, with A firm grip on the stems. Brooding nose of dark fruit, light crushed stone. Still very young; bright dark fruit flavors. Black plum with a dusty tannic coating on the palate. Still has many years to it it’s peak, and would’ve benefited from another hour plus of the decanter.
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12/29/2017 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great wine with long life ahead. Would try again in 5-6 years
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12/7/2017 - jpmo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful, deep color. Very young and tight. Gradually opened some over a couple of hours. I find it pretty typical of many 2013 cabs - needs lots of cellar time before hitting its peak. But, there is great potential with this Paradigm with some patience. I look forward to enjoying this wine for years to come.
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11/4/2017 - Tonythefish wrote:
Just wanted to check in on this wine. The inky color with a lot fruit is still tight and very youthful, so cellaring will only improve this future beauty
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10/26/2017 - acyso wrote: 80 Points
Plum Market Luxury Fall Tasting (Chicago, IL): This is good in that it's not super jammy or oak, but that's about all that I can say about it. A lot of tannins right now, this is lacking any cabernet character, and I'm doubtful any nice green pepper tones will ever emerge from this. Another in a long line of uninteresting and mostly fungible Napa cabernets.
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8/18/2017 - Slwojdyla Likes this wine: 90 Points
This didn't hit as well as the 2012... Opened up well enough after an hour or two. Will likely give the others another 1-2 in the bottle and decant them next time out.
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8/7/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
That is bigger and gutsier than I remember it being.
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8/3/2017 - Seville Wines Likes this wine:
Really liked it despite opening it up a little early. Rich red color.
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4/29/2017 - odyssey11 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dinner at Prospect in SF. Requested it be decanted when ordered. Definitely a little young -- tight, highly structured body. Amazing color, deep purple. Opened up nicely over the next hour or two. Not a huge fruit bomb. I'd call this one restrained for a Napa Cab. Really started to shine with food (steak in particular). Going to have to grab a couple bottles to lay down.
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3/2/2017 - brianofthevine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had at their at their winery tasting room. Just released this week, great wine. Not surprisingly, still very tight with black cherry and blackberry fruit, dark chocolate and earth notes, firm tannins, long finish. This will be great over time...be patient!
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