Bought a few years ago on auction for a song (relative to pricing now). Mild bricking but still deeply colored. Mature yet vibrant notes of dusty cherries, cedar and spice. Just wonderful. Same on the palate with a seamless integration of fruit, acid, tannin. Good finish and concentration. Just the right side of mature California fruit with Bordeaux like sensibility. No notes of eucalyptus which I know can be a feature of Heitz wines.
I recently had a 1983 Leoville Las Cases, 1992 Shafer Hillside Select, 1970 Charles Krug Vintage Select, and a 2000 Cos d'Estournel. Better than all those wines for my palate preference. Really nice wine and exceeded expectations, especially given the black mark people have 1993 as a poor vintage. No underripe flavors, just really spectacular cab.
Shows some bricking. Aromas of black cherry and violets. Surprisingly vibrant on the palate, tasting of ripe berry and dark cherry with firm acidity and subtle tannins. There are some tobacco notes as well. Beautifully integrated and elegant! Lisa thought 93 points. Recently purchased directly from Heitz--undoubtedly stored under the best conditions.
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Out of 750, decanted about 30 minutes. Very similar experience to the last bottle (magnum) in July 2019. Just an excellent bottle of wine, really firing on all cylinders.
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Chez Dalluge Celebrates The 25th Anniversary of The French Laundry (Chez Dalluge, MN): Very dark red color, very subtle bricked edge. Splash double decanted; From magnum, drank a glass over 45 minutes. Same bottle as JCGuthrie and Chablis28. Totally agree with their assessments. Didn't take many notes, but this was beautiful example of aged Napa cab giving you you eveything you could ask for. Smoky, cassis, blackberry, dense, integrated, pretty. Loved it!!
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Same btl as JCGuthrie. Loved this wine tonight! Glorious from the Mag. Old school Napa Cab from another era in Napa with more in common with BDX then most modern Napa Cabs. What a treat to have a nice pour. Thanks James & Carrie for sharing! Perfect for a larger group of 13 of us at Dalluge's.
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Out of magnum. Quick double decant for sediment, and perhaps 30 minutes on the counter with no cork. Boy was this fantastic tonight! No detailed notes, but the nose was everything I could want in an aged cab. The palate lived up to the nose, which was refreshing after a couple older bordeauxs recently in which the palate paled compared to the nose.
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Out of magnum, about two hours slow ox. Wasn't sure how this would hold up after an initial sip, so I didn't fully decant. Would have benefited from it, as it opened up further over the course of the evening. Beautiful aged cab with lots of life left.
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This was a delicious gem of a wine. I had the regular '92 cab the night before. This Trailside was just a bit more resolved, delineated and poised vs. the regular cab but similar in many ways. The fruit is there but in the background, against a foreground of a bit of dryness and acidity, all welcome. 95+pts.
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From memory, a lovely shifting inviting aroma of blackberries, graphite, tobacco, violets. Clear bright juice on the palate, wonderful with pan seared beef sirloin and wine sauce. 50 + 18 + 17 + 8.
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Weak vintage? I'll take this every time. Dark fruit, good acidity, good follow through, and tannins are resolved. Beautiful now, I don't know how long this will hang on. Perfect indoors, with tonight's burgers in this disgusting heat wave.
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Wow, this just keeps getting better. Dark, deep purple in color w/o the brownish hues expected in a 19 year old CA Cab. Some chocolate mid palate and just touch of vanilla on the finish. Great mouthfeel.
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Opened this up to celebrate my youngest son heading off to college (1993 birth year). Decanted as there was tons of sediment in bottle. Vibrant nose of blackberry and cedar. Still showing fruit, some tannins, but harmonious. Moderate length finish. Delightful. Still has life.
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Well aged California Cab that is still holding up well. Still plenty of fruit in the nose - mostly black fruits and currant. There is a mouthful of cherry, currant and cedar on the palate. Long smooth lingering finish. If you are holding move up in the drinking queue.
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Really nice although starting to get a little thin. Typical Trailside lean presentation, but some really interesting stuff going on, a bit of cherry, blackberry, cedar and a long finish.
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Nice dark color. Really nice nose of blackberry with cedar. Very nice attack. Blackberry first, then wood on a long, appealing finish. Soft, but remarkably fresh for a 16+ year old wine. First bottle, three to go. Consumed in Riedel Bordeaux glass.
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Bottle was really delicious. Moderate body, raisiny all the way through; midway chocolatey (a bit like paulliac). A bit astringent. Not at all tired, but this was definitely a good time to drink it -- seemed to be at its peak.
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God bless america! A Cali Cab that actually cellars well. It's right ON now. Any left, just drink up. Opens up after about 30 min to a blessedly harmonious dark fruit palate with fully integrated sublime tannins. Decant and filter, the sediment will make you pucker. My last one.
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The reviewers had this one pegged as over the hill, but the minute I tried it, I was blown away by the freshness in the bottle. Notes of blackberry, plum, iodine, mint/eucalyptus, and cedar. Mature and well integrated, yet still quite fruit forward. Tannins were almost imperceptible and the finish was very supple. This was a new experience for me, a cabernet with a fair amount of bottle age, and I have to say I came away very impressed. Fabulous paired with a chicken and mushroom risotto.
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This baby's got some life left! Wow - dark blue/purple color, great nose of sage, cedar, currant, dark fruits, and pencil. On the palate it was originally super tight and questionable, but after just a few minutes it unwound and started throwing off gobs of fruit. As it sat in the glass the fruit became pretty intense - dark, red fruits and some blue/black fruits, along with hints of lead and tar. Glad I've got one of these left!
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6/30/2022 - budosyu Likes this wine: 96 Points
Bought a few years ago on auction for a song (relative to pricing now). Mild bricking but still deeply colored. Mature yet vibrant notes of dusty cherries, cedar and spice. Just wonderful. Same on the palate with a seamless integration of fruit, acid, tannin. Good finish and concentration. Just the right side of mature California fruit with Bordeaux like sensibility. No notes of eucalyptus which I know can be a feature of Heitz wines.
I recently had a 1983 Leoville Las Cases, 1992 Shafer Hillside Select, 1970 Charles Krug Vintage Select, and a 2000 Cos d'Estournel. Better than all those wines for my palate preference. Really nice wine and exceeded expectations, especially given the black mark people have 1993 as a poor vintage. No underripe flavors, just really spectacular cab.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
3/13/2022 - englishman's claret wrote:
Meh. Still oaky, fruit warmish, a little smudged. Not a lot of Heitz character.
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4/11/2020 - ralaspech wrote: 92 Points
Shows some bricking. Aromas of black cherry and violets. Surprisingly vibrant on the palate, tasting of ripe berry and dark cherry with firm acidity and subtle tannins. There are some tobacco notes as well. Beautifully integrated and elegant! Lisa thought 93 points. Recently purchased directly from Heitz--undoubtedly stored under the best conditions.
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4/6/2020 - CleverCorkage wrote:
Still alive! Great balance, red fruited and tertiary notes of earth and leather.
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3/21/2020 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Out of 750, decanted about 30 minutes. Very similar experience to the last bottle (magnum) in July 2019. Just an excellent bottle of wine, really firing on all cylinders.
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7/21/2019 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Chez Dalluge Celebrates The 25th Anniversary of The French Laundry (Chez Dalluge, MN): Very dark red color, very subtle bricked edge. Splash double decanted; From magnum, drank a glass over 45 minutes. Same bottle as JCGuthrie and Chablis28. Totally agree with their assessments. Didn't take many notes, but this was beautiful example of aged Napa cab giving you you eveything you could ask for. Smoky, cassis, blackberry, dense, integrated, pretty. Loved it!!
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7/21/2019 - chablis28 wrote: 94 Points
Same btl as JCGuthrie. Loved this wine tonight! Glorious from the Mag. Old school Napa Cab from another era in Napa with more in common with BDX then most modern Napa Cabs. What a treat to have a nice pour. Thanks James & Carrie for sharing! Perfect for a larger group of 13 of us at Dalluge's.
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7/21/2019 - JCGuthrie wrote: 94 Points
Out of magnum. Quick double decant for sediment, and perhaps 30 minutes on the counter with no cork. Boy was this fantastic tonight! No detailed notes, but the nose was everything I could want in an aged cab. The palate lived up to the nose, which was refreshing after a couple older bordeauxs recently in which the palate paled compared to the nose.
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9/11/2018 - galewskj wrote: 89 Points
Steve makes Brisket; 9/9/2018-9/11/2018 (Steve and Jennie's): There was some good complexity here, but it also seemed tired. I expected this to be more alive than it was.
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7/29/2018 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Wasn't able to decant. Definitely opened up over the course of dinner. Leather, earth, some matchstick. Really nice.
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5/20/2018 - JCGuthrie wrote: 93 Points
Out of magnum, about two hours slow ox. Wasn't sure how this would hold up after an initial sip, so I didn't fully decant. Would have benefited from it, as it opened up further over the course of the evening. Beautiful aged cab with lots of life left.
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12/16/2017 - sierrapapadelta Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious notes of plum and currants.
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5/13/2017 - John McCabe wrote: 95 Points
This was a delicious gem of a wine. I had the regular '92 cab the night before. This Trailside was just a bit more resolved, delineated and poised vs. the regular cab but similar in many ways. The fruit is there but in the background, against a foreground of a bit of dryness and acidity, all welcome. 95+pts.
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12/3/2016 - wgmccallum Likes this wine: 93 Points
From memory, a lovely shifting inviting aroma of blackberries, graphite, tobacco, violets. Clear bright juice on the palate, wonderful with pan seared beef sirloin and wine sauce. 50 + 18 + 17 + 8.
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8/14/2016 - Diane (LI) wrote:
Weak vintage? I'll take this every time. Dark fruit, good acidity, good follow through, and tannins are resolved. Beautiful now, I don't know how long this will hang on. Perfect indoors, with tonight's burgers in this disgusting heat wave.
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7/22/2012 - KSWinegeek wrote: 93 Points
Wow, this just keeps getting better. Dark, deep purple in color w/o the brownish hues expected in a 19 year old CA Cab. Some chocolate mid palate and just touch of vanilla on the finish. Great mouthfeel.
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9/5/2011 - ZARDO wrote: 93 Points
I was worried about this wine. 93 was not a banner year, but this wine was very good! Minor signs of aging, great fruit.
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8/16/2011 - KSWinegeek wrote: 92 Points
Opened this up to celebrate my youngest son heading off to college (1993 birth year). Decanted as there was tons of sediment in bottle.
Vibrant nose of blackberry and cedar. Still showing fruit, some tannins, but harmonious. Moderate length finish. Delightful. Still has life.
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12/13/2010 - rfras wrote: 93 Points
Well aged California Cab that is still holding up well. Still plenty of fruit in the nose - mostly black fruits and currant. There is a mouthful of cherry, currant and cedar on the palate. Long smooth lingering finish. If you are holding move up in the drinking queue.
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1/13/2010 - AlexHop wrote: 91 Points
Really nice although starting to get a little thin. Typical Trailside lean presentation, but some really interesting stuff going on, a bit of cherry, blackberry, cedar and a long finish.
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11/15/2009 - KSWinegeek wrote: 90 Points
Nice dark color. Really nice nose of blackberry with cedar. Very nice attack. Blackberry first, then wood on a long, appealing finish. Soft, but remarkably fresh for a 16+ year old wine. First bottle, three to go. Consumed in Riedel Bordeaux glass.
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11/1/2008 - jono9999 wrote: 85 Points
Initial smell was VERY oaky.
Bottle was really delicious. Moderate body, raisiny all the way through; midway chocolatey (a bit like paulliac). A bit astringent. Not at all tired, but this was definitely a good time to drink it -- seemed to be at its peak.
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10/26/2007 - TuckerTini wrote: 94 Points
God bless america! A Cali Cab that actually cellars well. It's right ON now. Any left, just drink up. Opens up after about 30 min to a blessedly harmonious dark fruit palate with fully integrated sublime tannins. Decant and filter, the sediment will make you pucker. My last one.
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5/20/2007 - wayfool wrote: 91 Points
The reviewers had this one pegged as over the hill, but the minute I tried it, I was blown away by the freshness in the bottle. Notes of blackberry, plum, iodine, mint/eucalyptus, and cedar. Mature and well integrated, yet still quite fruit forward. Tannins were almost imperceptible and the finish was very supple. This was a new experience for me, a cabernet with a fair amount of bottle age, and I have to say I came away very impressed. Fabulous paired with a chicken and mushroom risotto.
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10/9/2006 - winefool wrote: 88 Points
Finally started to open after an hour, very dense, difficult to dissect
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12/30/2004 - MarkC wrote: 91 Points
This baby's got some life left! Wow - dark blue/purple color, great nose of sage, cedar, currant, dark fruits, and pencil. On the palate it was originally super tight and questionable, but after just a few minutes it unwound and started throwing off gobs of fruit. As it sat in the glass the fruit became pretty intense - dark, red fruits and some blue/black fruits, along with hints of lead and tar. Glad I've got one of these left!
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