I didn't know I had another bottle of this until I re-arranged my cellar a few weeks ago. What an amazing surprise. I gave this a 95 last time and while this didn't hit those heights, it was still an oustanding bottle. The midpalate has plenty of delicious, complex, red fruits left; tannins are mostly dissipated but still noticeable, and incredibly silky. Amazing balance. The finish is slightly clipped compared to what I remember from early '08, with just a touch of sour cherry. Still a benchmark in my book.
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Decanted, tasted over the next several hours. Plenty of life left in this one; I was not the only one in the group pleasantly surprised by its clear berry fruit and balance. Holds the structure of a much younger wine, but nonetheless very cozy on the palate - I'm sad that I don't have more of this vintage.
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Wines of Washington State (Fort Collins): "The Sister" Deep purple, surprisingly youthful color for a 14 year old wine. Fairly classic personality for a Bdx blend; currant, cedar, cherry, spice. Nice berry component on the palate complemented by a woodsiness on the long finish. Sizeable but not overgrown, this is elegant and nicely balanced. Medium weight. In a nice window right now, maturing but still holding some fruit and tannins. 91-92 points.
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Served blind this would be mistaken for a 2nd or 3rd growth. Close to mature with a great nose of cedar, smoke, cigar box and a slight mint note. Although a blend the cabernet came through. Weakness were in the concentration and depth but a lovely finish. Overall very impressed. Best AW that I have tasted.
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Great mature Bordeaux blend with tons of life left in the red fruit. Tastes like a significant portion of the blend is merlot. Color: appropriately bricked around the edges, with a core of bright ruby. On the nose: Asian spices and a little tomato. Initial attack: bright cranberry pucker! The midpalate is lush with leather, cherry, and cranberry. The finish is where this one sings... long on spices with a good bit of dusty tannins remaining. Tasty! This was worth the price of admission just to see how a top Washington producer ages.
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Dark ruby in color, clear and solid color throughout. Pleasing on the nose initially, after some air time notes of red onion appear. Plenty of black fruits, if you get past the onion. On the palate, the wine is much more pleasing. Medium bodied, plenty of acidity in the fruit, and the tannins have softened, leaving a very approachable wine.
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This is the best bottle I've ever enjoyed from AW. The nose filled the room when decanted (my wife noticed it from 10 feet away). Incredible mouth-coating dark fruit flavors including plum, licorice, and boysenberry. But the body and finish is what I'll remember. Smooth as silk, or velvet, and a finish that seemed to never end, and still lingers in my memory. Reading the other reviews this may be a bit of an outlier, or may this has finally aged into its full potential, but this is my new benchmark for Washington red wines. Incredible.
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This is ageing well. Very hard and tannic on initial opening, but after an hour, it really started to emerge. My overwhelming thought is sweet cheery, a good balance between fruit and tannins. Medium length finish that slowly opens up cassis and ripe cherry with cedar and some oak notes and then lingers away. Given a rather diluted nose, the finish is really what captivates me with this wine.
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Big, with lots of dark fruit and a strong note of dill. This really evolved in the glass, becoming longer and more balanced. This should easily last five more years.
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STG. The nose was fairly faint and showed gingerbread. The palate did show some sweet fruit and lushness but was dominated by a drying tannic finish. This wine was extremely disjointed. I don't see it improving.
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10/27/2010 - Magnolian wrote: 93 Points
I didn't know I had another bottle of this until I re-arranged my cellar a few weeks ago. What an amazing surprise. I gave this a 95 last time and while this didn't hit those heights, it was still an oustanding bottle. The midpalate has plenty of delicious, complex, red fruits left; tannins are mostly dissipated but still noticeable, and incredibly silky. Amazing balance. The finish is slightly clipped compared to what I remember from early '08, with just a touch of sour cherry. Still a benchmark in my book.
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2/20/2010 - brianms wrote: 92 Points
Decanted, tasted over the next several hours. Plenty of life left in this one; I was not the only one in the group pleasantly surprised by its clear berry fruit and balance. Holds the structure of a much younger wine, but nonetheless very cozy on the palate - I'm sad that I don't have more of this vintage.
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2/17/2010 - andtheodor wrote: 91 Points
Wines of Washington State (Fort Collins): "The Sister" Deep purple, surprisingly youthful color for a 14 year old wine. Fairly classic personality for a Bdx blend; currant, cedar, cherry, spice. Nice berry component on the palate complemented by a woodsiness on the long finish. Sizeable but not overgrown, this is elegant and nicely balanced. Medium weight. In a nice window right now, maturing but still holding some fruit and tannins. 91-92 points.
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2/8/2010 - Montecalvo wrote: 94 Points
Served blind this would be mistaken for a 2nd or 3rd growth. Close to mature with a great nose of cedar, smoke, cigar box and a slight mint note. Although a blend the cabernet came through. Weakness were in the concentration and depth but a lovely finish. Overall very impressed. Best AW that I have tasted.
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11/21/2009 - eliotfagley wrote: 91 Points
Great mature Bordeaux blend with tons of life left in the red fruit. Tastes like a significant portion of the blend is merlot. Color: appropriately bricked around the edges, with a core of bright ruby. On the nose: Asian spices and a little tomato. Initial attack: bright cranberry pucker! The midpalate is lush with leather, cherry, and cranberry. The finish is where this one sings... long on spices with a good bit of dusty tannins remaining. Tasty! This was worth the price of admission just to see how a top Washington producer ages.
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4/3/2008 - Tom_B wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby in color, clear and solid color throughout. Pleasing on the nose initially, after some air time notes of red onion appear. Plenty of black fruits, if you get past the onion. On the palate, the wine is much more pleasing. Medium bodied, plenty of acidity in the fruit, and the tannins have softened, leaving a very approachable wine.
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1/6/2008 - Magnolian wrote: 95 Points
This is the best bottle I've ever enjoyed from AW. The nose filled the room when decanted (my wife noticed it from 10 feet away). Incredible mouth-coating dark fruit flavors including plum, licorice, and boysenberry. But the body and finish is what I'll remember. Smooth as silk, or velvet, and a finish that seemed to never end, and still lingers in my memory. Reading the other reviews this may be a bit of an outlier, or may this has finally aged into its full potential, but this is my new benchmark for Washington red wines. Incredible.
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4/28/2006 - Mark wrote: 90 Points
This is ageing well. Very hard and tannic on initial opening, but after an hour, it really started to emerge. My overwhelming thought is sweet cheery, a good balance between fruit and tannins. Medium length finish that slowly opens up cassis and ripe cherry with cedar and some oak notes and then lingers away. Given a rather diluted nose, the finish is really what captivates me with this wine.
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4/11/2006 - Spencer wrote: 90 Points
Big, with lots of dark fruit and a strong note of dill. This really evolved in the glass, becoming longer and more balanced. This should easily last five more years.
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6/1/2005 - Eric wrote: 88 Points
Washington wine offline with Chris Cook (Bellevue, WA): Mineral, vitamin, sage and dill. This seems a touch dilute at first, medium weight with green tobacco. One first place vote.
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4/16/2004 - Jason wrote: 82 Points
STG. The nose was fairly faint and showed gingerbread. The palate did show some sweet fruit and lushness but was dominated by a drying tannic finish. This wine was extremely disjointed. I don't see it improving.
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4/16/2004 - ScottG wrote: 84 Points
WA wine dinner at Kaspars: Nose was very very sweet smelling with sundried tomato. Short and hollow, with a bit of an apple? note- very unusual.
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4/16/2004 - Eric wrote: flawed
Seattle Tasting Group Washington Wine Offline at Kaspar's (Seattle, WA, USA): What happened here? This was perhaps my biggest disappointment of the tasting. Stewed tomato, black cherry and stewed, overripe fruit is all I could get on the nose and palate. I'm hoping this was a cooked bottle.
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6/19/1999 - MikeATL wrote:
Primarily oak, plum, and a hint of spice and flowers.
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