Massive oak & broad bodied at first. After 2hr decant showing more floral and soil w/ black fruit, but nothing specific. Lacks acid required to enjoy with fat, but as a stand alone wine the most interesting characteristic is the intensely rich mouthfeel
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Beautiful floral aromas. Deep, dark, nearly black in the glass. Tannins are perfectly integrated with the acidity melding together a perfect finish. Flavors of blackberry, cassis, and dark stewed cherries. Lovely wine with a wonderful medium+ finish. Round, soft, and memorable. Amazing.
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Decanted for one hour but should have been more. Started to round out about hour two. Nice rich wine with high levels of tannin and acid still. Wish I had more to check back on in a few years
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Not decanted. Nice color and good grip on the stems after a stiff swirl. Restrained dark fruit and sweet tar on the nose. Really enjoyable black and blueberry flavors on the palate, with hints of cigar and chocolate. However there’s not enough depth, structure or tannins to have those flavors linger very long.
While many parts of daily life in California are overpriced for a variety of reasons, IMHO this wine is overpriced for what it delivers.
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Carol's bottle for the night, somehow didn't quite make it to dinner....I haven't even cooked the ribeyes yet and it's gone. She says a 93.....it had a nice open nose from what I could tell as I got a few sips and nice ripe '16 fruit all through it, but maybe just wasn't the best pedigree? Which really makes sense for their NV entry. I would have said 92 personally, not many layers here but it's good. Nice for the price so no complaints from anyone here. I think I paid $66 at auction. At $100 it's a bit of a stretch, IMO.
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Sweet and tasty. 3rd wine of the evening after 90 mins in a decanter. Enjoyable but definitely overpriced by $25-40. There's a plethora of wines that offer greater value than this at $80-90/bottle. Also agree that this isn't for long-term aging. Lacks the depth of a Lewelling, QC, Foley, etc....all with lower price points and generally drinkable upon release with the ability to cellar for years.
Winemaker Impressions: Beautiful aromas of fresh blackberry, blueberry pie, vanilla extract, clove, white pepper, rose petal, and cinnamon. The wine has velvety tannins and a round silky texture. On the palate are flavors of black cherry, boysenberry, cocoa powder, graham cracker, anise, and chocolate.
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Big, ripe and rich. ABV is around 15.5, so while that’s high, it didn’t taste that way. Loads of dark red fruit like blackcherry liqueur aromatically with graham cracker. Sweet cherry tobacco, dark chocolate, fig, and baked mixed berry pie on the palate with stiff tannin right at the finish. Nothing finesse about this, just a flavorful Napa Cab that, at times, seems like a powerful Zin.
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A day in Napa (Napa Valley, California): The nose is classic modern Napa, but dialed in with rich tones of black cherries, black raspberries, toasty notes, cassis, red and black currants, and some mocha. There is excellent depth and balance with it showing fairly open right now. The full bodied feel is rich and dense with medium acidity and chewy, high tannins. The feel is where the youth fully comes through. The tannins are a bit overpowering at this time but a few years to smooth it all out will show off what this really has.
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11/18/2023 - Wild Bones wrote: 89 Points
Massive oak & broad bodied at first. After 2hr decant showing more floral and soil w/ black fruit, but nothing specific. Lacks acid required to enjoy with fat, but as a stand alone wine the most interesting characteristic is the intensely rich mouthfeel
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12/20/2022 - SnobNouveau Likes this wine: 92 Points
Big bold mouth punching California cab. Exactly what you expect. Mid length finish. Enjoyed thoroughly. Decant 100 minutes
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4/10/2022 - Tym4wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful floral aromas. Deep, dark, nearly black in the glass. Tannins are perfectly integrated with the acidity melding together a perfect finish. Flavors of blackberry, cassis, and dark stewed cherries. Lovely wine with a wonderful medium+ finish. Round, soft, and memorable. Amazing.
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3/20/2022 - Jeppy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for one hour but should have been more. Started to round out about hour two. Nice rich wine with high levels of tannin and acid still. Wish I had more to check back on in a few years
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8/29/2021 - Rossdhu House Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lots of dark fruit, tannins are present but not overpowering. Like many Napa Cans, alcohol is high and it’s getting a bit jammy.
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2/21/2021 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not decanted. Nice color and good grip on the stems after a stiff swirl. Restrained dark fruit and sweet tar on the nose. Really enjoyable black and blueberry flavors on the palate, with hints of cigar and chocolate. However there’s not enough depth, structure or tannins to have those flavors linger very long.
While many parts of daily life in California are overpriced for a variety of reasons, IMHO this wine is overpriced for what it delivers.
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12/25/2020 - Rossdhu House Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking well now.
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11/8/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Carol's bottle for the night, somehow didn't quite make it to dinner....I haven't even cooked the ribeyes yet and it's gone. She says a 93.....it had a nice open nose from what I could tell as I got a few sips and nice ripe '16 fruit all through it, but maybe just wasn't the best pedigree? Which really makes sense for their NV entry. I would have said 92 personally, not many layers here but it's good. Nice for the price so no complaints from anyone here. I think I paid $66 at auction. At $100 it's a bit of a stretch, IMO.
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9/17/2020 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 90 Points
Sweet and tasty. 3rd wine of the evening after 90 mins in a decanter. Enjoyable but definitely overpriced by $25-40. There's a plethora of wines that offer greater value than this at $80-90/bottle. Also agree that this isn't for long-term aging. Lacks the depth of a Lewelling, QC, Foley, etc....all with lower price points and generally drinkable upon release with the ability to cellar for years.
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10/28/2019 - Rossdhu House wrote:
Jackie likes.
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10/2/2019 - Wade&Erinn wrote:
Winemaker Impressions:
Beautiful aromas of fresh blackberry, blueberry pie, vanilla extract, clove, white pepper, rose petal, and cinnamon. The wine has velvety tannins and a round silky texture. On the palate are flavors of black cherry, boysenberry, cocoa powder, graham cracker, anise, and chocolate.
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7/29/2019 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 92 Points
Big, ripe and rich. ABV is around 15.5, so while that’s high, it didn’t taste that way. Loads of dark red fruit like blackcherry liqueur aromatically with graham cracker. Sweet cherry tobacco, dark chocolate, fig, and baked mixed berry pie on the palate with stiff tannin right at the finish. Nothing finesse about this, just a flavorful Napa Cab that, at times, seems like a powerful Zin.
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6/15/2019 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
A day in Napa (Napa Valley, California): The nose is classic modern Napa, but dialed in with rich tones of black cherries, black raspberries, toasty notes, cassis, red and black currants, and some mocha. There is excellent depth and balance with it showing fairly open right now. The full bodied feel is rich and dense with medium acidity and chewy, high tannins. The feel is where the youth fully comes through. The tannins are a bit overpowering at this time but a few years to smooth it all out will show off what this really has.
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1/17/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Flickinger Customer Appreciation Tasting (Casino Club - Chicago IL): Tasting, brief note. Unfamiliar with this wine, I expected this to be on the extreme side of Cali Cab, but found it to be very enjoyable, nicely restrained and certainly well balanced.
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