Part of a large tasting. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petite Verdot. Red and black fruit, bell pepper, spice and vanilla aromas. Red and black fruit, herbs, spice, tobacco flavors. A little low on acid. Medium tannins in the finish
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This seems at its peak for me: silky, mellow, with fine grained tannins. Flavors of dark cherry, vanilla fudge, tobacco. Finishes with a layered mix of cherry, sweet raspberry, and cream soda. Continued to open in the glass.
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Stopped by the tasting room late in 2019. Was fortunate enough to be invited to try a vertical of The Illusionist from 2014-2018. I opted for the 2015, although the 2018 also showed considerable promise.
Black cherry, black berry and cassis...even amounts of earth and tobacco...full and long finish.
This is drinking well right now with the potential to integrate more.
These days I buy at least two of everything. If I don't get the 15 I'll have to lay my paws on a couple of their other Cab Suav offerings.
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Red pepper flakes and spicy cedar on the nose. Very intriguing. On the palate, brambly dark fruits come through with some spice as well. I don’t have much experience with Washington wine but this was a fun intro that’s leaving me interested to see what else is out there!
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Not bad, but not great. A bit dusty, and the tannins were gritty and unresolved. Not disjointed, so much as just flat. Although it seems to have good potential, everything felt a bit muted on this wine. Maybe it needed more air - or, more likely, more time. Try again in 2022.
Update: had a PnP at a friend’s house, from the same case, and it showed much better. Strange. Maybe mine was just in a dumb phase?
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Similar impressions to previous bottles and again, highly enjoyable. A very expressive and engaging nose leads to a full but silky palate with a nicely lingering and balanced finish.
Think my first bottle of this may have been a little off compared with the last two.
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Had to decant, and even then the nose was hard to evolve. Pleasant mix of muted fruit (not the Jammy fruits of a lot of Napa cabs) graphite notes and oak. tannins were also pleasant but muted.Mouth feel and finish were medium. Overall a good wine with our Beef fillet, but agree this wine is not one for oenophiles. We’ll see how this evolves over the next few years.
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Similar impressions to previous bottle. Though this was from a bottle I tapped into a couple of times with a Coravin for my wife and daughter.
This time though upon opening the last half of the bottle there was none of the unpleasant metallic notes from my first bottle and it went very nicely with a Moroccan spiced red lentil stew.
I have to give props to the Coravin (not a paid endorsement). From the first glass to opening the last half of the bottle was about 3 months and the wine was just as good as a never opened bottle.
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88-89: frankly disappointed given the reviews I saw prior to purchase. At the PnP it was thick with pronounced fruit tannins, and seemed to have ample stuffing. Let it breathe an hour and became a bit syrupy, grapey, and seemed fully resolved/flabby. Day 2 showed no improvement or development. Maybe it's a bad bottle, but I expected something with more cellar potential. This bottle felt at/past peak. Even at the discounted LB price ~$25, it wasn't as good as something like a Baer Ursa for under $20. Hoping the other bottles will be better. If not, it's a good red to serve friends who aren't wine drinkers.
Opaque, nearly black in the glass. Nose had notes of coffee, menthol, chocolate, spice box, dark red and black fruits and dried herbs. Initially finish was a bit off putting with an unpleasant metallic taste to it, but that disappeared after about an hour. Tannin and acid were both in balance on the lingering finish. Overall the finish was dominated by the fruit and spice box but lasted long enough to find the herbs and some tobacco as well.
Drank about half the bottle night one, pumped out the air and put it back in the cellar. Night two the nose was similar but the cab franc component stuck its head out a bit more with bell pepper notes.
Overall I enjoyed the wine a bit more on night two and would give these a quick decant before serving to try to get rid of the metallic aftertaste that was initially present.
Tasted several times after being open for 2 hours. This wine is constantly changing and evolving. Very interesting. Soon after opened I got a strong pine forest floor notes. Sour red berry fruits. Very persistent on the palate. Excellent balance. Medium plus finish. Very nice.
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Sleight of Hand Tasting Walla Walla (Walla Walla): 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Franc Cherry, blueberries, minerals, oak and spices. Medium to long finish. Love this wine now and in previous vintages.
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2/16/2024 - wiscgrad wrote: 91 Points
still drinking well. splash decant but would have been better with 30-60 minutes of air.
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3/18/2023 - Thebigbaby wrote:
There is something off putting on the finish. Kept trying and can’t get past it.
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2/19/2023 - gharter Likes this wine: 88 Points
Part of a large tasting. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petite Verdot. Red and black fruit, bell pepper, spice and vanilla aromas. Red and black fruit, herbs, spice, tobacco flavors. A little low on acid. Medium tannins in the finish
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9/3/2022 - swoodworth wrote: 90 Points
Huge fruit matched by big tannins. Wait 2 years for the next one.
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7/8/2022 - OldHick95 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This seems at its peak for me: silky, mellow, with fine grained tannins. Flavors of dark cherry, vanilla fudge, tobacco. Finishes with a layered mix of cherry, sweet raspberry, and cream soda. Continued to open in the glass.
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4/10/2022 - BGK810 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cherry, blackberry, a slight flavor of thyme, good acidity, and nicely integrated oak.
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11/27/2021 - wiscgrad wrote: 90 Points
Solid WA cab
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8/16/2021 - Hamersly wrote:
Promising core of intense dark cherry but needed more time in bottle to come together, even after a 6 hour decant.
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4/26/2021 - theebigjuan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stopped by the tasting room late in 2019. Was fortunate enough to be invited to try a vertical of The Illusionist from 2014-2018. I opted for the 2015, although the 2018 also showed considerable promise.
Black cherry, black berry and cassis...even amounts of earth and tobacco...full and long finish.
This is drinking well right now with the potential to integrate more.
These days I buy at least two of everything. If I don't get the 15 I'll have to lay my paws on a couple of their other Cab Suav offerings.
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3/20/2021 - Bgropp4 wrote:
Red pepper flakes and spicy cedar on the nose. Very intriguing. On the palate, brambly dark fruits come through with some spice as well. I don’t have much experience with Washington wine but this was a fun intro that’s leaving me interested to see what else is out there!
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12/29/2020 - slulkin wrote: 92 Points
Last of four with similar impressions to the first three. Though no metallic aftertaste as with the very first bottle we had back in August.
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11/6/2020 - Dale Rattles wrote: 89 Points
Not bad, but not great. A bit dusty, and the tannins were gritty and unresolved. Not disjointed, so much as just flat. Although it seems to have good potential, everything felt a bit muted on this wine. Maybe it needed more air - or, more likely, more time. Try again in 2022.
Update: had a PnP at a friend’s house, from the same case, and it showed much better. Strange. Maybe mine was just in a dumb phase?
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9/20/2020 - slulkin wrote: 92 Points
Similar impressions to previous bottles and again, highly enjoyable. A very expressive and engaging nose leads to a full but silky palate with a nicely lingering and balanced finish.
Think my first bottle of this may have been a little off compared with the last two.
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8/23/2020 - Cheech1a Likes this wine: 90 Points
Had to decant, and even then the nose was hard to evolve. Pleasant mix of muted fruit (not the Jammy fruits of a lot of Napa cabs) graphite notes and oak. tannins were also pleasant but muted.Mouth feel and finish were medium. Overall a good wine with our Beef fillet, but agree this wine is not one for oenophiles. We’ll see how this evolves over the next few years.
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8/12/2020 - slulkin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar impressions to previous bottle. Though this was from a bottle I tapped into a couple of times with a Coravin for my wife and daughter.
This time though upon opening the last half of the bottle there was none of the unpleasant metallic notes from my first bottle and it went very nicely with a Moroccan spiced red lentil stew.
I have to give props to the Coravin (not a paid endorsement). From the first glass to opening the last half of the bottle was about 3 months and the wine was just as good as a never opened bottle.
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5/3/2020 - jeisterh wrote:
doesn't drink that well-- don't open for ppl who know wine
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5/2/2020 - BBinSC wrote: 89 Points
88-89: frankly disappointed given the reviews I saw prior to purchase. At the PnP it was thick with pronounced fruit tannins, and seemed to have ample stuffing. Let it breathe an hour and became a bit syrupy, grapey, and seemed fully resolved/flabby. Day 2 showed no improvement or development. Maybe it's a bad bottle, but I expected something with more cellar potential. This bottle felt at/past peak. Even at the discounted LB price ~$25, it wasn't as good as something like a Baer Ursa for under $20. Hoping the other bottles will be better. If not, it's a good red to serve friends who aren't wine drinkers.
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4/12/2020 - MareMerlot Likes this wine:
Drank too much
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4/11/2020 - slulkin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opaque, nearly black in the glass. Nose had notes of coffee, menthol, chocolate, spice box, dark red and black fruits and dried herbs. Initially finish was a bit off putting with an unpleasant metallic taste to it, but that disappeared after about an hour. Tannin and acid were both in balance on the lingering finish. Overall the finish was dominated by the fruit and spice box but lasted long enough to find the herbs and some tobacco as well.
Drank about half the bottle night one, pumped out the air and put it back in the cellar. Night two the nose was similar but the cab franc component stuck its head out a bit more with bell pepper notes.
Overall I enjoyed the wine a bit more on night two and would give these a quick decant before serving to try to get rid of the metallic aftertaste that was initially present.
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2/7/2020 - Brian Glas Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted several times after being open for 2 hours. This wine is constantly changing and evolving. Very interesting. Soon after opened I got a strong pine forest floor notes. Sour red berry fruits. Very persistent on the palate. Excellent balance. Medium plus finish. Very nice.
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6/19/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Sleight of Hand Tasting Walla Walla (Walla Walla): 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Franc
Cherry, blueberries, minerals, oak and spices. Medium to long finish. Love this wine now and in previous vintages.
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