My first Amici, and enjoyed the light cedar and blackfruits on the nose. Cherry notes start to develop on the palate, and the tannins were reasonably resolved with slight chewiness.
Oak and tobacco develops over an hour, and delightful medium finish. Crowd pleaser, and I always love a Napa surprise. What a treat to have a bottle bro EC had hand carried back from the US 5 years ago.
Bottle 17 of 23, at our Genting Sempah early birthday staycation, this ranks in the Top 5 wines of the entire event for me!
Malaysia - BBQ dinner at Genting Sempah, Bentong, 10 Jul 2022
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Magnum bottle, decanted four hours. Classic Napa cabernet character of black cherry, tobacco and cigar box, lively and balanced with the low hum of silky tannins. Good stuff.
I’ve had the Amici Reserve which I like and this is $50 vs $80 for the reserve. I think I have the reserve 92 and this 91. This is a better value. A very good cab
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Fruit forward, with notes of ripe blackberry and plum, flanked by emerging oak and tobacco. Additional notes of black currant and spice develop with air time. Plush and crowd-pleasing, this checks off a lot of boxes. Drying tannins linger on the medium-long finish; drink now or in the next year or two.
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Clearly some people have no idea how to score wine or are unable to recognize a bad bottle. This is a very solid sub $50 Napa Cabernet. Tobacco, plums, pepper, blackberry on the nose, a bit jammy initially, almost like a Paso Cab, finishes with a pleasant earthy tone and cooked, syruppy dark fruits.
Will this wine impress your most discerning wine snobs? Probably not. Will it be a big hit at any party you attend? Absolutely.
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Deep opaque garnet. Nose and taste of cedar, blackberries, raspberries and cola. Pretty big Napa punch. Woodsy finish. Nice, somewhat typical, Napa cab that hits most of the high notes for about $50. Good daily drinker. About 91.
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Garnet in color, on PnP intense notes of dark cherry, a bit of raspberry, good chewy fruit, mild tannins - remains an outstanding value, from Tony Biagi who also makes Hourglass and Patria.
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Very disappointed in this wine, particularly considering the price ~$50, and the very high ratings from several critics. Overblown tannins and fruit with an odd finish. The person who shared the wine with me described it as "chalky." It wasn't a defective bottle or cork, just a mediocre wine. Re-read the reviews after tasting and am even more surprised by the ratings.
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We found this bright vibrant fruit filled, needing some time to integrate and hopefully develop a bit more harmony and balance, lacking complexity with a predominant sprite or accent of bright cherry plum fruit turning to a layer of mocha and floral.
Nose: spiced black cherry, cassis, black plum, cedar box. Dense, layered projection.
Mouth: Smooth, pillowy cassis and warm black cherry return, surrounded by a melted milk chocolate frame. A graphite edge has the finish, together with a woodsy cedar finale and light tannins.
Overall: textbook entry level Napa, full bodied with huge fruit, if just a bit cloying overall. This ideally could be tightened up, cleaned up, but lacks nothing for flavor. A fine value for fans of the style.
90.
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Underwhelmed by this bottle. Red plum notes and some tannins but one dimensonal. Frankly disappointing, after the other write ups. The Burhler really outclassed this.
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I bought this on sale after learning of Amici's building reputation. This is a young wine with a strong tannic structure, took an hour of decanting to get it to open up. It was well worth the wait. Intense purple in the glass with strong aromas of blackberry, plum, a hint of cherry, and pencil lead, with an intense flavor profile delivering on the promise of the nose. Grippy and full-bodied with a chocolate espresso finish that went on and on. I went in expecting a pretty good but not memorable wine, and finished by ordering a half of a case the next day. This drinks well above its price point and would represent good QPR at $60, let alone the sub-$40 for which it can be had stacking sales price on quantity discounts. 93.
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Dark ruby hue with medium-high saturation. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, honey, and leather. Strong tannins and medium-high acidity. Bold, complex, and intense Napa-style Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Mike's Cabernet Event (Prior Lake, MN): Straight forward Napa Cab. Plum, cherry, oak, vanilla and dust. Medium finish. Drink now to 2022. Not the kind of wine I would age.
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Cassis, plum and black cherry flavors develop nicely over 3-4 hours. Tannins mellow some but this is still a baby to be enjoyed more in 2-3 years. Currently 4.3 stars.
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Eight hour slow ox. Nearly opaque purple magenta color. Blackberry, strawberry and beef jerky on the rich nose. Smooth, full bodied palate, with nice acidity. Full, round tannins on the medium long finish. Good QPR here.
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Dark berries, plum, with notes of leather and earth. Good acidity, moderate tannins with a decent finish. Really nice wine, with a ton of fruit, yet quite dry. Would love to see how this fairs in 4-5 years.
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Tasted @ ACME; Surprised when I read the last review - here are my notes: explosive nose, raspberry, tremendous body, almost syrupy, tannins present, worry about fruit fading first. Ridiculous for $50. I think this is a great wine for the price, certainly cheaper than their single-vineyards. QPR is awesome. Should probably be a 95 if you take the price into account.
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Medium purple color. This is dark and saucy on the nose with blackberries, black currant, coffee, dark chocolate, some mint and cedar. Full and juicy on the palate with smooth, slightly chewy tannins, and medium acidity. Plump blackberry and fig paste flavors mix with vanilla, cola, coffee, cedar, some mint and chewing tobacco notes, too. Forward, rich and appealing, but put together well. Includes a combined 18% Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc aged 20 months in 70% new French oak.
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4/21/2024 - Higginsrj wrote:
94 rating definitely correct. Smooth, balanced, a pleasure to drink. Paired well with salmon.
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10/15/2023 - deetz Likes this wine: 93 Points
pencil shavings, black currant, black cherry, clove, gravel dust, blackberry pie. Very fresh.
Good acid, plush, silky tannins, very well rounded.
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7/10/2022 - Juliansi Likes this wine: 89 Points
My first Amici, and enjoyed the light cedar and blackfruits on the nose. Cherry notes start to develop on the palate, and the tannins were reasonably resolved with slight chewiness.
Oak and tobacco develops over an hour, and delightful medium finish. Crowd pleaser, and I always love a Napa surprise. What a treat to have a bottle bro EC had hand carried back from the US 5 years ago.
Bottle 17 of 23, at our Genting Sempah early birthday staycation, this ranks in the Top 5 wines of the entire event for me!
Malaysia - BBQ dinner at Genting Sempah, Bentong, 10 Jul 2022
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8/21/2021 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Magnum bottle, decanted four hours. Classic Napa cabernet character of black cherry, tobacco and cigar box, lively and balanced with the low hum of silky tannins. Good stuff.
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12/22/2020 - FlyPig Likes this wine: 91 Points
Much better on day 2, hold.
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12/16/2020 - Berge65 wrote: flawed
I’ve had the Amici Reserve which I like and this is $50 vs $80 for the reserve. I think I have the reserve 92 and this 91. This is a better value. A very good cab
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10/31/2020 - ThistleB Likes this wine: 91 Points
Blackberry and plum on the palate. Very smooth with nice long finish. Definitely buy again
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9/6/2020 - Deryl Likes this wine: 91 Points
Enjoyed with roast pork, near perfect pairing. Wine was ready to drink, with subtle restrained Sonoma Co flavors. QPR not quite there.
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8/30/2020 - ziavino wrote: 92 Points
Fruit forward, with notes of ripe blackberry and plum, flanked by emerging oak and tobacco. Additional notes of black currant and spice develop with air time. Plush and crowd-pleasing, this checks off a lot of boxes. Drying tannins linger on the medium-long finish; drink now or in the next year or two.
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8/14/2020 - turkina Likes this wine: 91 Points
Clearly some people have no idea how to score wine or are unable to recognize a bad bottle. This is a very solid sub $50 Napa Cabernet. Tobacco, plums, pepper, blackberry on the nose, a bit jammy initially, almost like a Paso Cab, finishes with a pleasant earthy tone and cooked, syruppy dark fruits.
Will this wine impress your most discerning wine snobs? Probably not. Will it be a big hit at any party you attend? Absolutely.
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7/21/2020 - RockyII Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep opaque garnet. Nose and taste of cedar, blackberries, raspberries and cola. Pretty big Napa punch. Woodsy finish. Nice, somewhat typical, Napa cab that hits most of the high notes for about $50. Good daily drinker. About 91.
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7/6/2020 - EpochMD Likes this wine: 94 Points
Garnet in color, on PnP intense notes of dark cherry, a bit of raspberry, good chewy fruit, mild tannins - remains an outstanding value, from Tony Biagi who also makes Hourglass and Patria.
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6/24/2020 - timb58 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Well balanced w/lots of berry & dark fruit flavors
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5/23/2020 - CRAIGERS! wrote: 95 Points
BDAY Gift From Diane
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3/28/2020 - Wolfde Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Very disappointed in this wine, particularly considering the price ~$50, and the very high ratings from several critics. Overblown tannins and fruit with an odd finish. The person who shared the wine with me described it as "chalky." It wasn't a defective bottle or cork, just a mediocre wine. Re-read the reviews after tasting and am even more surprised by the ratings.
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3/16/2020 - Winowhyno Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decent everyday drinker. Others just as good or better for $40. Martinin Napa Valley and Auros come to mind.
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3/15/2020 - rmcnees wrote: 90 Points
We found this bright vibrant fruit filled, needing some time to integrate and hopefully develop a bit more harmony and balance, lacking complexity with a predominant sprite or accent of bright cherry plum fruit turning to a layer of mocha and floral.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/03/amici-and-jayson-napa-cabernets.html
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3/1/2020 - RoyaltyCoins wrote: 90 Points
Deep ruby, completely opaque.
Nose: spiced black cherry, cassis, black plum, cedar box. Dense, layered projection.
Mouth: Smooth, pillowy cassis and warm black cherry return, surrounded by a melted milk chocolate frame. A graphite edge has the finish, together with a woodsy cedar finale and light tannins.
Overall: textbook entry level Napa, full bodied with huge fruit, if just a bit cloying overall. This ideally could be tightened up, cleaned up, but lacks nothing for flavor. A fine value for fans of the style.
90.
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2/1/2020 - cjustl wrote: 86 Points
Smells of alcohol on the nose, translating into a lot of alcohol on the palate. Nice dark fruits and tannins, but overall pretty 1 note.
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1/11/2020 - Mwhip wrote: 84 Points
Underwhelmed. Good feel in the mouth but lacked complexity. Very one dimensional. Subtle fruit. Dry finish.
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12/24/2019 - wine-enthusiast wrote: 82 Points
Underwhelmed by this bottle. Red plum notes and some tannins but one dimensonal. Frankly disappointing, after the other write ups. The Burhler really outclassed this.
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12/14/2019 - RobZ60 wrote: 85 Points
Solid - on the dry side
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12/9/2019 - traumamed Likes this wine: 93 Points
I bought this on sale after learning of Amici's building reputation. This is a young wine with a strong tannic structure, took an hour of decanting to get it to open up. It was well worth the wait. Intense purple in the glass with strong aromas of blackberry, plum, a hint of cherry, and pencil lead, with an intense flavor profile delivering on the promise of the nose. Grippy and full-bodied with a chocolate espresso finish that went on and on. I went in expecting a pretty good but not memorable wine, and finished by ordering a half of a case the next day. This drinks well above its price point and would represent good QPR at $60, let alone the sub-$40 for which it can be had stacking sales price on quantity discounts. 93.
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9/25/2019 - WhooskeyWine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark ruby hue with medium-high saturation. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, honey, and leather. Strong tannins and medium-high acidity. Bold, complex, and intense Napa-style Cabernet Sauvignon.
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9/16/2019 - galewskj wrote: 89 Points
The King is in the House (Cabernet) (Mike's house): Decanted about an hour. This was a fairly straight-forward cabernet with some nice leather, cassis and blackberry.
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9/14/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 88 Points
Mike's Cabernet Event (Prior Lake, MN): Straight forward Napa Cab. Plum, cherry, oak, vanilla and dust. Medium finish. Drink now to 2022. Not the kind of wine I would age.
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8/30/2019 - Siwink57 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cassis, plum and black cherry flavors develop nicely over 3-4 hours. Tannins mellow some but this is still a baby to be enjoyed more in 2-3 years. Currently 4.3 stars.
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8/18/2019 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 91 Points
Eight hour slow ox. Nearly opaque purple magenta color. Blackberry, strawberry and beef jerky on the rich nose. Smooth, full bodied palate, with nice acidity. Full, round tannins on the medium long finish. Good QPR here.
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6/17/2019 - bplant13 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark berries, plum, with notes of leather and earth. Good acidity, moderate tannins with a decent finish. Really nice wine, with a ton of fruit, yet quite dry. Would love to see how this fairs in 4-5 years.
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5/1/2019 - EpochMD Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted @ ACME; Surprised when I read the last review - here are my notes: explosive nose, raspberry, tremendous body, almost syrupy, tannins present, worry about fruit fading first. Ridiculous for $50. I think this is a great wine for the price, certainly cheaper than their single-vineyards. QPR is awesome. Should probably be a 95 if you take the price into account.
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8/2/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 88 Points
Medium purple color. This is dark and saucy on the nose with blackberries, black currant, coffee, dark chocolate, some mint and cedar. Full and juicy on the palate with smooth, slightly chewy tannins, and medium acidity. Plump blackberry and fig paste flavors mix with vanilla, cola, coffee, cedar, some mint and chewing tobacco notes, too. Forward, rich and appealing, but put together well. Includes a combined 18% Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc aged 20 months in 70% new French oak.
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