Sort of a "pinot lovers Cab blend" - subtle, red berries, a bit of spice, caramel and coffee as it opened up 3rd and 4th hour. I don't know that it has the stuffing to last 8 more years (current CT drinking window).
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This is a nice one.....but you have to give it plenty of airtime. Decanted 2 hours then placed back into the bottle for taking to dinner at HMC's. Still, while it was nice early on, it really shined best at 5+ hours of air....it's red fruited, pillowy soft and long, by then. Hard to argue the qpr at this point, just beautiful.........
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Had with sous vide steaks finished off on the cast iron skillet and butternut squash. Started drinking after an hour decant but didn't fully hit its stride until about 3 hours in. Bordeaux style with some Napa influence for sure. A very solid second wine and good value for the price.
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Pretty solid wine. Pnp til 2 hours out, a plummy cab nose with some element of forest floor. Good weight in the mouth, nice density of fruit. Gets better with more and more air. 91 at the pnp, 93 two hours later. Trying to make the last bit in the glass, last another hour to see where it goes, but it all points to up another point with more air. The red plummy fruit turns a bit into red cherry by hours 3-4. The wine settles in nicely, all coming together into a very nice balanced, finished product with a touch of oak. Very good acidity adding backbone. I'd have to go with a 94 with 4 hours of air, so decant long enough to get it there.
This wine really impressed me because I had it before and I didn’t like it. Good deep purple color, nice fruity nose, solid tannins nice blue fruit as well as red. Cedar notes and decent alcohol round out this. Overall this wine is put together well.
Return to Napa; 3/6/2022-3/13/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Interesting to hear more about how this wine is made. Generally 50% of all production goes into this wine. No specific rows/etc. Just the wines that perhaps have less of the 'house style' for the reserves. Interesting because much of those wines I think are best when they have some more time to integrate. This for example is still on the young side. Suspect it could also age 15-20 years easily. About 45% CF, 45% Merlot and rest is CF and PV. Darker fruits and lots of spices. It's starting to integrate. But as I said above, could go a lot more time. This to me tastes a bit more like 'standard Napa' and as you might assume from the price point is not quite as compelling as the reserve wines.
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Decanted for 4-5 hrs. Red Cherry and Red Currant with hints of Vanilla and Cocoa. Soft Tannins and sufficient acidity that it was great glass after glass. Long fruit filled finish with velvety smoothness. Excellent red blend from winemaker Graeme MacDonald. I believe it was his first vintage.
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Ca. CS (Mu & Mu restaurant, Rehovot): Deep ruby. pronounced aroma and flavors of fresh red fruits, vanilla, plums, chocolate. Full body, complex. high acidity, high tannins, long finish. Excellent. best value for money among 6 CS!
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90 min decant. Deep garnet ruby color. Black cherry, pomegranate, blackberry, fennel, orange zest, and subtle baking spice on the nose. Very dry, velvety palate. Firm, full tannins on the longish finish. Nice, but more red than I like.
Double decanted for an hour, deep ruby/purple, dark fruit with vanilla, med. tannins, long finish; delicious, but still young, great QPR, drink or hold
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PNP- Wonderfully expressive nose. Light to medium bodied with a shorter finish on day one. Gained weight in the bottle on day three. If If I recall correctly the 15 had more body. Hopefully this will gain weight in the bottle with time.
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79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10-11% Merlot, and 6-7% Cabernet Franc (might have messed up my notes for %'s here, unless I missed a grape. Insanely smooth, perfect bright acidity, red fruit, cherries, no signs of oak, with a long, long graceful finish. Absolutely great. Drink 2020-2034.
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Still very young. Heavy tannins and some oak push the dark fruit out of the way. Good but not transcendant. Nice to drink while the Estate and Rive Droite age.
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Very good with improvement to come. Bit more old World style and maybe just a little dull at the moment but will improve. Should have taken better notes at time .
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Young and vibrant. Cherry with dark fruits on the back end. Fruit dominates now. Tannins are still firm but not overwhelming. Will be great to see how this evolves; has a foot in the new and old world.
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Quite a nice wine. This was best when I finished the leftover half bottle after a day (24h) open, so give it a long time to breath before serving if you try it soon.
Medium bodied, with a dominating red cherry aroma and a palate that reminds me of a good Bordeaux. Gained complexity and developed a soft, rich, mouthfeel on day two. Will certainly improve in the cellar, and my score would be (91-93) if CT allowed ranges.
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Wonderful wine that will be even better in a few years. Blanket is emerging as one of my favorite Cabernet producers in Napa. This “second” has great balance and depth.
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Winorama: A winter in Wineland III; 1/4/2019-1/13/2019 (Portland/Willamette, Eureka, Napa): This was an interesting wine. It's like a mix between red fruits and orange peel. A certain level of tartness too it that helps with the balance and makes sure the fruit doesn't dominate. Boysenberry for sure. Some freshness and acid coming up. Touch of the tannic backbone, but not overdone. Just holds the pieces together. It's definitely more in the second label/drink younger style, but as a previous note mentioned this prob would be helped be a few more years in the bottle. Could tell there was a bit difference in terms of how it drank even over the course of the tasting.
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This is going to be a very nice wine, in a couple years. It took some time to open up, even after two hours in the Zalto Mystique (I've said it before, I'll say it again- the best decanter out there, pick one up).
A very elegant wine that is in no way your typical NapaBomb.
The evidence of roughly a 1/3rd merlot really stood out here, adding a nice floral note with red fruit. Tannins were medium and smooth on the finish.
This paired well with my first attempt at slow cooking a short rib meal with mashed potatoes.
I will hold my remaining two bottles for a couple years.
This medium-bodied and savory Cabernet is nowhere near the level of the 2015 at this point. For what it's worth, I've had every vintage of this wine from 2012 to 2016, and this is easily the most diluted and peppery Prince of Hearts I've ever had. I've read nothing but good things about Graeme MacDonald, but this wine from his first full vintage at Blankiet (from start to finish) is not very promising, at least to me.
Cherry red in color with a mouthfeel like a Pinot, the wine has aromas of raspberry, rhubarb, and rosemary. Tastes of sour cherry, crushed rock, anise, and pine needles, with a brief finish that has some dry tannins and generally seems a bit watery. Maybe this will become something special with time, but - right now - its lack of intensity makes it taste very much like a second wine, something I've never said about the Prince of Hearts in the past. Blend of 53.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.1% Merlot, 4.9% Cabernet Franc, and 3.2% Petit Verdot. 14.5% alcohol.
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1/30/2024 - TallMikeWine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Sort of a "pinot lovers Cab blend" - subtle, red berries, a bit of spice, caramel and coffee as it opened up 3rd and 4th hour. I don't know that it has the stuffing to last 8 more years (current CT drinking window).
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1/27/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is a nice one.....but you have to give it plenty of airtime. Decanted 2 hours then placed back into the bottle for taking to dinner at HMC's. Still, while it was nice early on, it really shined best at 5+ hours of air....it's red fruited, pillowy soft and long, by then. Hard to argue the qpr at this point, just beautiful.........
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1/12/2024 - jsmorris707 wrote:
Housewarming gift for Max
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3/12/2023 - Bobcat 31 Likes this wine: 90 Points
well done blend with beautiful label
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2/24/2023 - Bobcat 31 Likes this wine: 92 Points
good bottle where each round improved
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1/21/2023 - jsmorris707 wrote:
Gift to Chad for his 50th birthday
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12/27/2022 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Similar to prior notes; delicious, but still too young for me, drink or preferably hold
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12/10/2022 - hjudsontm1 wrote: 92 Points
Had with sous vide steaks finished off on the cast iron skillet and butternut squash. Started drinking after an hour decant but didn't fully hit its stride until about 3 hours in. Bordeaux style with some Napa influence for sure. A very solid second wine and good value for the price.
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12/7/2022 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely wine without any hard edges and drinking well beyond its price point.
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9/25/2022 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great depth and color. The oak really stands out initially but fades away with time. Maybe a few points higher with a few more years in the cellar.
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3/23/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pretty solid wine. Pnp til 2 hours out, a plummy cab nose with some element of forest floor. Good weight in the mouth, nice density of fruit. Gets better with more and more air. 91 at the pnp, 93 two hours later. Trying to make the last bit in the glass, last another hour to see where it goes, but it all points to up another point with more air. The red plummy fruit turns a bit into red cherry by hours 3-4. The wine settles in nicely, all coming together into a very nice balanced, finished product with a touch of oak. Very good acidity adding backbone. I'd have to go with a 94 with 4 hours of air, so decant long enough to get it there.
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3/23/2022 - goonar182 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine really impressed me because I had it before and I didn’t like it. Good deep purple color, nice fruity nose, solid tannins nice blue fruit as well as red. Cedar notes and decent alcohol round out this. Overall this wine is put together well.
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3/8/2022 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Return to Napa; 3/6/2022-3/13/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Interesting to hear more about how this wine is made. Generally 50% of all production goes into this wine. No specific rows/etc. Just the wines that perhaps have less of the 'house style' for the reserves. Interesting because much of those wines I think are best when they have some more time to integrate. This for example is still on the young side. Suspect it could also age 15-20 years easily. About 45% CF, 45% Merlot and rest is CF and PV. Darker fruits and lots of spices. It's starting to integrate. But as I said above, could go a lot more time. This to me tastes a bit more like 'standard Napa' and as you might assume from the price point is not quite as compelling as the reserve wines.
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12/18/2021 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to prior notes; delicious, drink or hold
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11/27/2021 - pommieba@cox.net Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 4-5 hrs. Red Cherry and Red Currant with hints of Vanilla and Cocoa. Soft Tannins and sufficient acidity that it was great glass after glass. Long fruit filled finish with velvety smoothness. Excellent red blend from winemaker Graeme MacDonald. I believe it was his first vintage.
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10/31/2021 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to prior notes; delicious, drink or hold
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10/12/2021 - Yagil wrote: 93 Points
Ca. CS (Mu & Mu restaurant, Rehovot): Deep ruby.
pronounced aroma and flavors of fresh red fruits, vanilla, plums, chocolate.
Full body, complex. high acidity, high tannins, long finish.
Excellent.
best value for money among 6 CS!
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8/3/2021 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Similar to prior note, except just decanted & poured. It needed a longer decant as it kept opening & last glass was the best; delicious, drink or hold
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8/3/2021 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 93 Points
90 min decant. Deep garnet ruby color. Black cherry, pomegranate, blackberry, fennel, orange zest, and subtle baking spice on the nose. Very dry, velvety palate. Firm, full tannins on the longish finish. Nice, but more red than I like.
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7/10/2021 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to prior note after a 2.5 hour double decant, delicious, drink or hold
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5/4/2021 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Double decanted for an hour, deep ruby/purple, dark fruit with vanilla, med. tannins, long finish; delicious, but still young, great QPR, drink or hold
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10/24/2020 - VinoDiver Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid fruit, velvet tannins. Drinking well now.
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9/22/2020 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 92 Points
PNP- Wonderfully expressive nose. Light to medium bodied with a shorter finish on day one. Gained weight in the bottle on day three. If If I recall correctly the 15 had more body. Hopefully this will gain weight in the bottle with time.
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7/21/2020 - Winning_Wines Likes this wine: 94 Points
79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10-11% Merlot, and 6-7% Cabernet Franc (might have messed up my notes for %'s here, unless I missed a grape. Insanely smooth, perfect bright acidity, red fruit, cherries, no signs of oak, with a long, long graceful finish. Absolutely great. Drink 2020-2034.
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5/16/2020 - mreinhard74@gmail.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still very young. Heavy tannins and some oak push the dark fruit out of the way. Good but not transcendant. Nice to drink while the Estate and Rive Droite age.
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5/9/2020 - jmprusko Likes this wine: 91 Points
a tamer young brother of the estate
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2/21/2020 - Mbad77 wrote: 92 Points
Very good with improvement to come. Bit more old
World style and maybe just a little dull at the moment but will improve. Should have taken better notes at time .
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8/31/2019 - mreinhard74@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Young and vibrant. Cherry with dark fruits on the back end. Fruit dominates now. Tannins are still firm but not overwhelming. Will be great to see how this evolves; has a foot in the new and old world.
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6/7/2019 - KPB wrote: 91 Points
Quite a nice wine. This was best when I finished the leftover half bottle after a day (24h) open, so give it a long time to breath before serving if you try it soon.
Medium bodied, with a dominating red cherry aroma and a palate that reminds me of a good Bordeaux. Gained complexity and developed a soft, rich, mouthfeel on day two. Will certainly improve in the cellar, and my score would be (91-93) if CT allowed ranges.
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4/14/2019 - TomTom wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful wine that will be even better in a few years. Blanket is emerging as one of my favorite Cabernet producers in Napa. This “second” has great balance and depth.
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1/9/2019 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Winorama: A winter in Wineland III; 1/4/2019-1/13/2019 (Portland/Willamette, Eureka, Napa): This was an interesting wine. It's like a mix between red fruits and orange peel. A certain level of tartness too it that helps with the balance and makes sure the fruit doesn't dominate. Boysenberry for sure. Some freshness and acid coming up. Touch of the tannic backbone, but not overdone. Just holds the pieces together. It's definitely more in the second label/drink younger style, but as a previous note mentioned this prob would be helped be a few more years in the bottle. Could tell there was a bit difference in terms of how it drank even over the course of the tasting.
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11/10/2018 - blarmston Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is going to be a very nice wine, in a couple years. It took some time to open up, even after two hours in the Zalto Mystique (I've said it before, I'll say it again- the best decanter out there, pick one up).
A very elegant wine that is in no way your typical NapaBomb.
The evidence of roughly a 1/3rd merlot really stood out here, adding a nice floral note with red fruit. Tannins were medium and smooth on the finish.
This paired well with my first attempt at slow cooking a short rib meal with mashed potatoes.
I will hold my remaining two bottles for a couple years.
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10/26/2018 - jaylew1 wrote: 92 Points
Definitely lighter on its feet than in years past, but extremely enjoyable. I think 6 months down the road this will be a different animal.
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10/23/2018 - msuwine wrote: 88 Points
This medium-bodied and savory Cabernet is nowhere near the level of the 2015 at this point. For what it's worth, I've had every vintage of this wine from 2012 to 2016, and this is easily the most diluted and peppery Prince of Hearts I've ever had. I've read nothing but good things about Graeme MacDonald, but this wine from his first full vintage at Blankiet (from start to finish) is not very promising, at least to me.
Cherry red in color with a mouthfeel like a Pinot, the wine has aromas of raspberry, rhubarb, and rosemary. Tastes of sour cherry, crushed rock, anise, and pine needles, with a brief finish that has some dry tannins and generally seems a bit watery. Maybe this will become something special with time, but - right now - its lack of intensity makes it taste very much like a second wine, something I've never said about the Prince of Hearts in the past. Blend of 53.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.1% Merlot, 4.9% Cabernet Franc, and 3.2% Petit Verdot. 14.5% alcohol.
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