2016 Napa Cults Blind - and a few Champs and such for fun: This was the first wine in the tasting that seemed less uptight and unyielding. Here, a plushness and savoriness shows. A bit fruity at first, but with a textual seamlessness that seems to indicate a top tier specimen. The overall profile is fairly simple at first, but a healthy injection of O2 pushes out complexity and layered flavoring. Purple and black fruited (possibly the Vice Versa M7? – WRONG again lame-o), this picks up speed and rises to the top level of performance when compared to its peers in the lineup. One of the favorites of the group. With a few hours of open air, this could be opened even now, but wiser minds recommend holding for another 3-4 years. A top wine.
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This was a 2016 vintage blind of: Abreu Thorevilos, Colgin IX, MacDonald, Scarecrow, Bond St. Eden, Eisele, Futo Oakville, Colgin Tychson and Vice Versa M7. Each wine had a decant of approximately five hours before the first sip, except for MacDonald, which had around three, and the Futo, which I believe was PnP. There were nine tasters, including CSIMM1161, wine proprietors and a prominent winemaker.
I’d really love to post notes on all these wines, but unfortunately time is scarce, and I don’t think I would be able to get to it anytime soon. I am sure CSIMM will post a ton on each, so that should fill the gap. Instead, I am going to give the broad strokes here.
The first thing to note is all these wines could have used more air, especially the MacDonald. We shorted it in the tasting, and I think there was an impact on how it showed. The other thing that could have impacted how the wines showed is bottle shock. Most of these bottles were packed onto an airplane a couple days prior. While I didn’t note any overtly off bottles, there is no doubt it could have played a role.
I know a lot of folks that hate blinds. It can really test your palate, and crowing a winner means the other great bottles must “lose”. If you haven’t done it before, it can also wear you down and things can blend, so it does take a methodology and consistency to do it well. That said, all these wines were spectacular.
While we didn’t have the group rank order them all, we did ask for a top 3. The consensus was 1. Magnificent 7 2. Futo and 3. Scarecrow. There were certainly others than received votes in the top 3, but overall, it was uniform across the group. Those top three were easily 99-100 pt wines, and the others were not far behind. A few comments on each (in no particular order outside the top 3):
1. Magnificent 7: almost universally the #1 wine in the tasting, this had all the elements of perfection. Suave and powerful, with super refined tannins, excellent purity, unreal depth, and a finish for days. Nothing harsh and pure class without any element out of balance.
2. Futo: super focused wine with precision, this wrapped power and grace into a regal package. Showed dark chocolate and powerful fruit intensity backed up by impressive levels of freshness and acidity. Simply outstanding.
3. Scarecrow: the most opulent, plush, and sexy wine of the bunch. While some of the other wines were trying to get all the pieces to fit together, this one was complete on every level. Beautifully integrated with supple tannins and wonderful energy and balance.
4. Colgin IX: the only mountain/hillside wine of the bunch. This wine really progressed over the course of the tasting to the point where it was gaining on the leaders. Lovely red soil profile with deep mineral driven flavors, the mid palate began expanding over time and produced a complex, powerful yet refined wine with fantastic length.
5. MacDonald: this was one of the wines that was a bit discombobulated, and I attribute that mostly to lack of decant time. It showed more spice and woodsy character than usual and was a little rough around the edges despite clearly having the class, pedigree, and overall intensity to be amongst the best wines in Napa.
6. Colgin Tychson: this had a soft, supple entry with opulent fruit and gorgeous floral notes. The mid palate stayed tight throughout, and it never really blossomed into what I am sure will be an epic wine. I love this bottling, and this is going to be spectacular with a bit more time.
7. Eisele: another wine here that needed more time to unfurl. This showed possibly the best complexity of the bunch, both on the nose and in the glass. It had all the hallmark savory character, but the fruit was wound up tight and there was a bit of oak obscuring things. I’ve had this when its blown my mind, just needs more air or more time.
8. Abreu Thorevilos: the most disappointing wine for me in this tasting. I was expecting it to vie for top honors and it couldn’t get out of its own way. It was super unresolved and reductive, with oak and tannin obscuring most everything. This is a fabulous vineyard and winemaker, so I am sure it will come around, and part of me wants to attribute this showing to bottle shock.
9. Bond St Eden: another wine that was within striking distance of the leaders. Rich, textured, beautiful and still grippy, it showed a ton of class with hallmark red earth notes and killer concentration and length.
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This was my favorite Scarecrow yet. Rich blueberry and Rutherford dust. Huge wine, but still elegant and sultry. After 2 hours, it began changing and really opening up. It never peaked before we finished it :)
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This is the most delicious, magnificent bottle of wine I’ve ever had! It is perfectly balanced with complex California style fruit balanced with a perfect acidity, smooth tannins, gentle alcohol, and silky finish. I cannot imagine ever having a better glass of wine in my presence. If there is a wine I would enjoy more than this one, I would be in heaven. It didn’t require decanting, though we did as we enjoyed it over the course of about an hour. I cannot say it improved necessarily since this was my new benchmark for what 100 taste like in my mouth. The more wine I taste, the more refined my personal calibration. This is my newest pinnacle of wine perfection!
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Scarecrow - Complete Vertical 2003-2019 + 2x PNV: Non blind. Not decanted. It is obvious, why Scarecrow has the status it has. This is truly one of the very best Napa wines. A few observations: 1) The absolute highlight in almost all vintages is Scarecrow’s ability to combine aromatic density and intensity with absolute weightlessness. Very, very few Napa Valley wines achieve that kind of weightlessness - other than Harlan, probably no other wine that consistently over the vintages. More recent vintages are of course a touch less weightless (due to their youth) but are as light and airy as any wine in the respective vintage. 2) The wines have a lot of substance with a flavor profile with lots of red berries and floral notes complementing the dark Cabernet fruits, always lots of earthy minerality and some herbs and sensuous, luxurious oaky notes reminding me of Cheval Blanc. 3) While probably Bordeaux-esque for Napa standards in its appearance, it is still distinctively a Napa wine. In the early years, I even found a touch too much ripeness and some alcohol heat in the wines which doesn’t seem to be an issue in the vintages of this decade. 4) These wines all are great to drink, only the structured vintages of 2010, 2013 as well as the 2016 were not really open for business and would have needed decanting. All others showed great right out of the bottle.
TN: If had this a few weeks before and it showed so magical (rated 98 pts). Constantly changing over the few hours we followed it, incredibly layered, hyper precise and with that magic weightlessness. This bottle, however, was nothing like that. Muted, dark brooding on the nose. On the palate full throttle dark, dense, ripe, baking spices. Rather sweet. High quality tannins, good freshness and balance but without the light and airy feel. 92/93 pts today but I don’t doubt its greatness.
Decanting: Not decanted, this would have needed a few hours. The last bottle I’ve had showed better from the go but also improved significantly with air.
A complete Scarecrow vertical: It shows so much potential, with dense, sweet, dark fruit and beautiful toasted notes. This could also have benefited from decanting, but with some time in the glass it started to show its potential.
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Had a “tasteoff” between this and a ‘16 M. Etain, both were spectacular, best M. Etain I’ve had. But hard to beat big brother and with another couple of years will hit perfection
My first ever Scarecrow. Honestly, I feared another dense and rather too sweet wine for my taste but this is nothing like that. Weightless like only Harlan is, tons of intensity and flavors with a touch of Mouton/Cheval burnt sugar notes which are to die for, ever changing aromas, a finish that won‘t quit. This has it all. 98/99 pts, one of the top 5 Napa wines ever for me.
TN: Ever changing nose, first full of cherries, strawberries, cassis, blueberries, with time coffee and burnt sugar notes, herbs and minterality. Lots of very delicate spices too. Wow. On the palate this has what only the very best Napas have, an absolute weightlessness and airiness. Ultra fine velvety tannins, creamy and balanced, an ultra long, very fine finish which has layers and layers of dark fruits, coffee, crushed rocks. So complete and round.
Decanting: I opened it a few hours prior to dinner. It showed exceptional from the get-go. Hence, I didn‘t decant. We followed the wine over 2.5 hours and part of the magic is the evolution of the wine. If you have time, don‘t decant it. For a larger group without time, I would decant it 2 hours (reached its peak with some time in the glass).
There’s a cool breeze on a warm mid-summer day blowing out of the glass as you approach it. Concentrated and dense packed with detailed flavors. Lead, iodine and graphite build a deeply mineral backbone supporting the potpourri of blue and dark fruit. Black currant confit, bramble berry, blueberry, among others. Then black coffee, black chocolate as well as a floral overlay. This is sprinkled with sweet spices and vanilla. Perfect delineation. The palate is incredibly softly textured, harmonious with a strong yet humble structure. The versatility is off the charts with various phases including a sweet and jammy fruit, intense coffee expression and a mineral stage. This is without a doubt one the best Napa’s I’ve ever head with a stunning, weightless palate, myriad of detailed aromas coupled with pure hedonistic pleasure.
Decanted for three hours. Still a mere baby, there’s sous bois, blackberries, mulberries, tobacco, river rock, cassis and flower shop. Full-bodied and seamless, with microfiber tannins and a middle that has all of the stuffing one could possibly want. So much length and staying power. Yet, this is agile and fine. What a stunning, classic Cabernet. This will age forever. Drink 2025 -.
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Also had a 2016 Schrader CCS and Carter Grand Daddy open.
As usual, the Scarecrow was an incredible, well balanced, pure expression of Rutherford. Only reason I couldn't give this a three digit score is the Schrader was absolutely impeccable on this night.
Very glad to have a few more of these, and think they can pop virtually any time and perform beautifully. Decanted for about 3.5 hours and drank over 1.5 hours.
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had this new years eve with family and it was AMAZING !! Lots of years left to go and smooth as velvet . drinking well right now or wait 20 + more years .
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On a night of riches, this was the wine of the night. This was slow oxed for several hours after a partial decant. A real stunner, this was surprisingly so drinkable and delicious. Big and bold, dark and ripe, chocolate and spice, this was powerful yet well defined and balanced. Sweet tannins and well integrated structure added a sense of freshness. A purity to the rich fruit and real sense of breed throughout. This was missing nothing, except a perhaps a few more years. Highly drinkable and surprisingly already delicious. Everyone wanted multiple pours of this beauty. Bravo!
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Bottle 3/3. Similar notes to last time. Red and orange fruit nose and chocolate and dark fruit palate with long smooth finish and some volcanic notes. Really well made and smooth wine but only marginally better than M Etain from the same vintage IMHO. 96-97
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Decanted immediately before dinner which helped experience more of the evolution. First two glasses were the best with bright red fruit (brambleberry), some cherry, cassis, citrus or grapefruit and the second morphed with less fruit and more spice, aniseed, licorice, violets, and a finish of flowers. Beautiful and complex if not in your face. By the 2hr+ mark the wine faded a bit which again suggests pop n pour is best. 97 lot’s of facets to this wine and at times tasted more like a Cabernet Franc with the floral element. California meets Pauillac (?).
Poured a tasting gass, decanted remainder. On pop n pour the tasting glass exhibited a powerful bouquet of redcurrant and smoke, almost mistaken for a right bank style. Palate tight but bright red color and red fruit with high acidity. When we sat down nearly 1.5 hours later the colour had darkened, as had the nose and palate, very syrupy fruit with a beautifully balanced finish of red fruit, black fruit. The first glass was the best as the wine started closing up so it seems the best way to drink this is only a very short decant. 96-97
Vice Versa weekend and dinner: Dusty red berry, purple plum, currant, earth, and some embers. I much appreciated this wine more since my last having it back in January 2020. This bottle takes a short bit of time to open up, but the sophistication is starting to finally show here. As others are aware, this carries an old-world component that keys-in squarely on its terroir and more medium stylistic display of the varietal. It tastes expensive, though it is a little strait-laced and shy on the finish still, with a medium expansion of flavor. The grip and frame over-flex here and there, letting you know that youth is still in control here. Ideally, hold bottles for another 5+ years.
Pop and pour at El Gaucho to celebrate immunity day. I like to avoid decanting these when drunk young because they tend to have a magical evolution both in the mouth and as the evening progresses. Each vintage of Scarecrow is a little different and this one definitely had some notes of youth: marzipan or vitamin C at times but not in a bad way. On the nose, glorious sweet herbal acid surprisingly Old-World-like. As I mentioned, the palate kept evolving but the expected pure, light blackcurrant formed the backbone. While lighter bodied than most cults, this vintage is showing more masculine than some others, again not in a bad way. We may have missed the very magical early showing of this vintage but it certainly lived up to expectations tonight. Here comes the sun.
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Nose of black cherry, burnt embers. From pnp this was amazing out of the gate, Drank over 3 hours and there was no change. Delicious medoly of blue and black fruits. This is full bodied with sweet tannin and no hard edges.
Nose: Initial bright purple fruits, grass and thick branches with a firm yet softly spiced barkskin. Then some subtle tobacco leaves, green dried, crushed bitter herbs and dark, clean graphite and minerals that's also touched by spice.
Palate: A backdrop of red and black fruits. Really smooth black, bitter earth.. similar notes from the nose of oaky branches with the barkskin, soft spice, bitter savory minerals with graphite and some steeped black tea.
Attributes: Deep, clear medium ruby. Dry with medium amounts of smooth yet slightly grippy tannin. Medium to medium-plus body with medium to medium-plus acidity. Great finish of about 26-30 seconds.
Thoughts: This is smooth and rich with graceful intensity. Juicy red and black fruits acts like a backdrop with the rest filling in to create depth. Very Bordeaux-like in style but with Californian influence. Good intensity of flavors and complexity with good notes of fruit. It's pretty good but debating hard about that price tag.. the length is giving it an extra point here. Don't put a hit out on me but I feel this can be matched by other bottles of juice that are more than half of what this is priced at. I guess the demand is real.. 96-97
Other notes: No decant, time in glass only. Bordeaux glass. Served initially ~60° then ~66° and consumed over 1.5 hour.
Red and black raspberry, vanilla, red currant, and hints of scorched earth and espresso powder. A floral note briefly appears but then quickly dissipates. Smooth and fairly balanced on entry, but mostly one-note throughout consumption. Stays pedestrian throughout delivery, even after 4+ hours in the decanter. A rounded frame makes for only medium focus and a casual walk-in-the-park finish. (Not that walks in the park aren’t kinda nice and all, but that’s about all they are... kinda nice). In the 92-94 realm at best for me.
I’m sure the Exalted Highness of the Scarecrow loyalists will say it just needs time, I opened it too early, and how dare I evaluate a wine that is clearly meant for another decade+ of cellaring.... and you’d likely be (partially) right. Plus, I’d be (and kinda ‘am’) super bent too if I just spent a few grand on a handful of bottles and along came some jackalope who didn’t give the wine climactic thousand-point reviews. Well, best delete this note then my friends, because this dude was a tad disappointed in this wine’s showing. Youthfully primary is one thing; boring is another. Just sayin’.... (PS: I’ve learned if you say ‘just sayin’ at the end of any sentence, it makes it ok to say whatever you want and not be blamed for it - Hooooraaay for lack of personal accountability!)... And hey, if you drink this wine and it makes orgasmic butterflies launch from your nether-regions, good on ya. That just wasn’t the case with this little soldier.
Without the fancy hay-stuffed wood box, Illuminati aura, and Area 51 access, the juice itself could have been from any halfway decent Napa Cabernet. The flavors seemed pure and decently fresh, but any semblance of complexity was not even in the conversation (I guess this Scarecrow really does need a brain).
...This conjures up a whole bunch of internal rhetoric about the role of the Scarecrow in the stigmatization of Mid-West farmers’ intellect and how wine doesn’t (or at least, shouldn't) grow in Kansas anyway so why should one expect it to manifest itself successfully as a cult wine label in Napa... but that just seems.....unnecessary..... :)
For the optimist, hold remaining bottles for another 7++ years. To the pessimist, I say donate your stash to the King of Siam so he can fund his military for the next year or so....
Nose of coffee grinds, chargrill, toffee, blackberries, burnt embers and violets. Plush, lush and rich on the palate, this shows a silky smooth mouthfeel to go along with super refined tannins. There is some jam showing, which will need time to go away, and overall this wine was showing a lot more flamboyantly than is typical of Scarecrow. Lots of opulent fruit, but also with really interesting levels of scorched earth and even charcoal like flavors. Super persistent on the finish. My overall impression is this will be exceptional with time, but right now needs a few years to come together.
6/1/2023 - csimm wrote: 97 Points
2016 Napa Cults Blind - and a few Champs and such for fun: This was the first wine in the tasting that seemed less uptight and unyielding. Here, a plushness and savoriness shows. A bit fruity at first, but with a textual seamlessness that seems to indicate a top tier specimen. The overall profile is fairly simple at first, but a healthy injection of O2 pushes out complexity and layered flavoring. Purple and black fruited (possibly the Vice Versa M7? – WRONG again lame-o), this picks up speed and rises to the top level of performance when compared to its peers in the lineup. One of the favorites of the group. With a few hours of open air, this could be opened even now, but wiser minds recommend holding for another 3-4 years. A top wine.
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5/17/2023 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine:
This was a 2016 vintage blind of: Abreu Thorevilos, Colgin IX, MacDonald, Scarecrow, Bond St. Eden, Eisele, Futo Oakville, Colgin Tychson and Vice Versa M7. Each wine had a decant of approximately five hours before the first sip, except for MacDonald, which had around three, and the Futo, which I believe was PnP. There were nine tasters, including CSIMM1161, wine proprietors and a prominent winemaker.
I’d really love to post notes on all these wines, but unfortunately time is scarce, and I don’t think I would be able to get to it anytime soon. I am sure CSIMM will post a ton on each, so that should fill the gap. Instead, I am going to give the broad strokes here.
The first thing to note is all these wines could have used more air, especially the MacDonald. We shorted it in the tasting, and I think there was an impact on how it showed. The other thing that could have impacted how the wines showed is bottle shock. Most of these bottles were packed onto an airplane a couple days prior. While I didn’t note any overtly off bottles, there is no doubt it could have played a role.
I know a lot of folks that hate blinds. It can really test your palate, and crowing a winner means the other great bottles must “lose”. If you haven’t done it before, it can also wear you down and things can blend, so it does take a methodology and consistency to do it well. That said, all these wines were spectacular.
While we didn’t have the group rank order them all, we did ask for a top 3. The consensus was 1. Magnificent 7 2. Futo and 3. Scarecrow. There were certainly others than received votes in the top 3, but overall, it was uniform across the group. Those top three were easily 99-100 pt wines, and the others were not far behind. A few comments on each (in no particular order outside the top 3):
1. Magnificent 7: almost universally the #1 wine in the tasting, this had all the elements of perfection. Suave and powerful, with super refined tannins, excellent purity, unreal depth, and a finish for days. Nothing harsh and pure class without any element out of balance.
2. Futo: super focused wine with precision, this wrapped power and grace into a regal package. Showed dark chocolate and powerful fruit intensity backed up by impressive levels of freshness and acidity. Simply outstanding.
3. Scarecrow: the most opulent, plush, and sexy wine of the bunch. While some of the other wines were trying to get all the pieces to fit together, this one was complete on every level. Beautifully integrated with supple tannins and wonderful energy and balance.
4. Colgin IX: the only mountain/hillside wine of the bunch. This wine really progressed over the course of the tasting to the point where it was gaining on the leaders. Lovely red soil profile with deep mineral driven flavors, the mid palate began expanding over time and produced a complex, powerful yet refined wine with fantastic length.
5. MacDonald: this was one of the wines that was a bit discombobulated, and I attribute that mostly to lack of decant time. It showed more spice and woodsy character than usual and was a little rough around the edges despite clearly having the class, pedigree, and overall intensity to be amongst the best wines in Napa.
6. Colgin Tychson: this had a soft, supple entry with opulent fruit and gorgeous floral notes. The mid palate stayed tight throughout, and it never really blossomed into what I am sure will be an epic wine. I love this bottling, and this is going to be spectacular with a bit more time.
7. Eisele: another wine here that needed more time to unfurl. This showed possibly the best complexity of the bunch, both on the nose and in the glass. It had all the hallmark savory character, but the fruit was wound up tight and there was a bit of oak obscuring things. I’ve had this when its blown my mind, just needs more air or more time.
8. Abreu Thorevilos: the most disappointing wine for me in this tasting. I was expecting it to vie for top honors and it couldn’t get out of its own way. It was super unresolved and reductive, with oak and tannin obscuring most everything. This is a fabulous vineyard and winemaker, so I am sure it will come around, and part of me wants to attribute this showing to bottle shock.
9. Bond St Eden: another wine that was within striking distance of the leaders. Rich, textured, beautiful and still grippy, it showed a ton of class with hallmark red earth notes and killer concentration and length.
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10/29/2022 - Santaliz Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excited and therefore expected more from this 2016. Good but not sure 97 based on the fruit left.
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7/7/2022 - AaronMaxwell Likes this wine: 98 Points
This was my favorite Scarecrow yet. Rich blueberry and Rutherford dust. Huge wine, but still elegant and sultry. After 2 hours, it began changing and really opening up. It never peaked before we finished it :)
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6/4/2022 - Baxterna Likes this wine: 100 Points
This is the most delicious, magnificent bottle of wine I’ve ever had! It is perfectly balanced with complex California style fruit balanced with a perfect acidity, smooth tannins, gentle alcohol, and silky finish. I cannot imagine ever having a better glass of wine in my presence. If there is a wine I would enjoy more than this one, I would be in heaven. It didn’t require decanting, though we did as we enjoyed it over the course of about an hour. I cannot say it improved necessarily since this was my new benchmark for what 100 taste like in my mouth. The more wine I taste, the more refined my personal calibration. This is my newest pinnacle of wine perfection!
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5/19/2022 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
Scarecrow - Complete Vertical 2003-2019 + 2x PNV: Non blind. Not decanted. It is obvious, why Scarecrow has the status it has. This is truly one of the very best Napa wines. A few observations: 1) The absolute highlight in almost all vintages is Scarecrow’s ability to combine aromatic density and intensity with absolute weightlessness. Very, very few Napa Valley wines achieve that kind of weightlessness - other than Harlan, probably no other wine that consistently over the vintages. More recent vintages are of course a touch less weightless (due to their youth) but are as light and airy as any wine in the respective vintage. 2) The wines have a lot of substance with a flavor profile with lots of red berries and floral notes complementing the dark Cabernet fruits, always lots of earthy minerality and some herbs and sensuous, luxurious oaky notes reminding me of Cheval Blanc. 3) While probably Bordeaux-esque for Napa standards in its appearance, it is still distinctively a Napa wine. In the early years, I even found a touch too much ripeness and some alcohol heat in the wines which doesn’t seem to be an issue in the vintages of this decade. 4) These wines all are great to drink, only the structured vintages of 2010, 2013 as well as the 2016 were not really open for business and would have needed decanting. All others showed great right out of the bottle.
TN: If had this a few weeks before and it showed so magical (rated 98 pts). Constantly changing over the few hours we followed it, incredibly layered, hyper precise and with that magic weightlessness. This bottle, however, was nothing like that. Muted, dark brooding on the nose. On the palate full throttle dark, dense, ripe, baking spices. Rather sweet. High quality tannins, good freshness and balance but without the light and airy feel. 92/93 pts today but I don’t doubt its greatness.
Decanting: Not decanted, this would have needed a few hours. The last bottle I’ve had showed better from the go but also improved significantly with air.
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5/12/2022 - G_H wrote: 96 Points
A complete Scarecrow vertical: It shows so much potential, with dense, sweet, dark fruit and beautiful toasted notes. This could also have benefited from decanting, but with some time in the glass it started to show its potential.
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4/17/2022 - jeffmudd Likes this wine: 99 Points
Had a “tasteoff” between this and a ‘16 M. Etain, both were spectacular, best M. Etain I’ve had.
But hard to beat big brother and with another couple of years will hit perfection
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4/3/2022 - Cailles wrote: 98 Points
My first ever Scarecrow. Honestly, I feared another dense and rather too sweet wine for my taste but this is nothing like that. Weightless like only Harlan is, tons of intensity and flavors with a touch of Mouton/Cheval burnt sugar notes which are to die for, ever changing aromas, a finish that won‘t quit. This has it all. 98/99 pts, one of the top 5 Napa wines ever for me.
TN: Ever changing nose, first full of cherries, strawberries, cassis, blueberries, with time coffee and burnt sugar notes, herbs and minterality. Lots of very delicate spices too. Wow. On the palate this has what only the very best Napas have, an absolute weightlessness and airiness. Ultra fine velvety tannins, creamy and balanced, an ultra long, very fine finish which has layers and layers of dark fruits, coffee, crushed rocks. So complete and round.
Decanting: I opened it a few hours prior to dinner. It showed exceptional from the get-go. Hence, I didn‘t decant. We followed the wine over 2.5 hours and part of the magic is the evolution of the wine. If you have time, don‘t decant it. For a larger group without time, I would decant it 2 hours (reached its peak with some time in the glass).
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4/1/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 99 Points
There’s a cool breeze on a warm mid-summer day blowing out of the glass as you approach it. Concentrated and dense packed with detailed flavors. Lead, iodine and graphite build a deeply mineral backbone supporting the potpourri of blue and dark fruit. Black currant confit, bramble berry, blueberry, among others. Then black coffee, black chocolate as well as a floral overlay. This is sprinkled with sweet spices and vanilla. Perfect delineation. The palate is incredibly softly textured, harmonious with a strong yet humble structure. The versatility is off the charts with various phases including a sweet and jammy fruit, intense coffee expression and a mineral stage. This is without a doubt one the best Napa’s I’ve ever head with a stunning, weightless palate, myriad of detailed aromas coupled with pure hedonistic pleasure.
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3/25/2022 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 99 Points
Decanted for three hours. Still a mere baby, there’s sous bois, blackberries, mulberries, tobacco, river rock, cassis and flower shop. Full-bodied and seamless, with microfiber tannins and a middle that has all of the stuffing one could possibly want. So much length and staying power. Yet, this is agile and fine. What a stunning, classic Cabernet. This will age forever. Drink 2025 -.
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1/29/2022 - ageverett Likes this wine: 99 Points
Also had a 2016 Schrader CCS and Carter Grand Daddy open.
As usual, the Scarecrow was an incredible, well balanced, pure expression of Rutherford. Only reason I couldn't give this a three digit score is the Schrader was absolutely impeccable on this night.
Very glad to have a few more of these, and think they can pop virtually any time and perform beautifully. Decanted for about 3.5 hours and drank over 1.5 hours.
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1/23/2022 - LuxNapa.com wrote: 99 Points
Long-lasting cascade of red and black fruits. Scarecrow never disappoints. . .
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1/7/2022 - AEROSMITH wrote: 99 Points
had this new years eve with family and it was AMAZING !! Lots of years left to go and smooth as velvet . drinking well right now or wait 20 + more years .
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12/23/2021 - KenK Likes this wine: 97 Points
On a night of riches, this was the wine of the night. This was slow oxed for several hours after a partial decant. A real stunner, this was surprisingly so drinkable and delicious. Big and bold, dark and ripe, chocolate and spice, this was powerful yet well defined and balanced. Sweet tannins and well integrated structure added a sense of freshness. A purity to the rich fruit and real sense of breed throughout. This was missing nothing, except a perhaps a few more years. Highly drinkable and surprisingly already delicious. Everyone wanted multiple pours of this beauty. Bravo!
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9/18/2021 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Bottle 3/3. Similar notes to last time. Red and orange fruit nose and chocolate and dark fruit palate with long smooth finish and some volcanic notes. Really well made and smooth wine but only marginally better than M Etain from the same vintage IMHO. 96-97
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8/13/2021 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted immediately before dinner which helped experience more of the evolution. First two glasses were the best with bright red fruit (brambleberry), some cherry, cassis, citrus or grapefruit and the second morphed with less fruit and more spice, aniseed, licorice, violets, and a finish of flowers. Beautiful and complex if not in your face. By the 2hr+ mark the wine faded a bit which again suggests pop n pour is best. 97 lot’s of facets to this wine and at times tasted more like a Cabernet Franc with the floral element. California meets Pauillac (?).
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8/4/2021 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Poured a tasting gass, decanted remainder. On pop n pour the tasting glass exhibited a powerful bouquet of redcurrant and smoke, almost mistaken for a right bank style. Palate tight but bright red color and red fruit with high acidity. When we sat down nearly 1.5 hours later the colour had darkened, as had the nose and palate, very syrupy fruit with a beautifully balanced finish of red fruit, black fruit. The first glass was the best as the wine started closing up so it seems the best way to drink this is only a very short decant. 96-97
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7/27/2021 - csimm wrote: 96 Points
Vice Versa weekend and dinner: Dusty red berry, purple plum, currant, earth, and some embers. I much appreciated this wine more since my last having it back in January 2020. This bottle takes a short bit of time to open up, but the sophistication is starting to finally show here. As others are aware, this carries an old-world component that keys-in squarely on its terroir and more medium stylistic display of the varietal. It tastes expensive, though it is a little strait-laced and shy on the finish still, with a medium expansion of flavor. The grip and frame over-flex here and there, letting you know that youth is still in control here. Ideally, hold bottles for another 5+ years.
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3/25/2021 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 99 Points
Pop and pour at El Gaucho to celebrate immunity day. I like to avoid decanting these when drunk young because they tend to have a magical evolution both in the mouth and as the evening progresses. Each vintage of Scarecrow is a little different and this one definitely had some notes of youth: marzipan or vitamin C at times but not in a bad way. On the nose, glorious sweet herbal acid surprisingly Old-World-like. As I mentioned, the palate kept evolving but the expected pure, light blackcurrant formed the backbone. While lighter bodied than most cults, this vintage is showing more masculine than some others, again not in a bad way. We may have missed the very magical early showing of this vintage but it certainly lived up to expectations tonight. Here comes the sun.
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11/30/2020 - Niagara wrote: 97 Points
Amazing. Tasting this is like the moment the Wizard of Oz changes from black and white to color.
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10/3/2020 - beau11 wrote: 99 Points
Nose of black cherry, burnt embers. From pnp this was amazing out of the gate, Drank over 3 hours and there was no change. Delicious medoly of blue and black fruits. This is full bodied with sweet tannin and no hard edges.
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8/29/2020 - eschuldt wrote: 98 Points
This was great but compared to the M Etain needs time. Amazing fruit concentration, nice structure. Can’t wait for the next bottle.
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4/10/2020 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose: Initial bright purple fruits, grass and thick branches with a firm yet softly spiced barkskin. Then some subtle tobacco leaves, green dried, crushed bitter herbs and dark, clean graphite and minerals that's also touched by spice.
Palate: A backdrop of red and black fruits. Really smooth black, bitter earth.. similar notes from the nose of oaky branches with the barkskin, soft spice, bitter savory minerals with graphite and some steeped black tea.
Attributes: Deep, clear medium ruby. Dry with medium amounts of smooth yet slightly grippy tannin. Medium to medium-plus body with medium to medium-plus acidity. Great finish of about 26-30 seconds.
Thoughts: This is smooth and rich with graceful intensity. Juicy red and black fruits acts like a backdrop with the rest filling in to create depth. Very Bordeaux-like in style but with Californian influence. Good intensity of flavors and complexity with good notes of fruit. It's pretty good but debating hard about that price tag.. the length is giving it an extra point here. Don't put a hit out on me but I feel this can be matched by other bottles of juice that are more than half of what this is priced at. I guess the demand is real.. 96-97
Other notes: No decant, time in glass only. Bordeaux glass. Served initially ~60° then ~66° and consumed over 1.5 hour.
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1/26/2020 - csimm wrote: 94 Points
Red and black raspberry, vanilla, red currant, and hints of scorched earth and espresso powder. A floral note briefly appears but then quickly dissipates. Smooth and fairly balanced on entry, but mostly one-note throughout consumption. Stays pedestrian throughout delivery, even after 4+ hours in the decanter. A rounded frame makes for only medium focus and a casual walk-in-the-park finish. (Not that walks in the park aren’t kinda nice and all, but that’s about all they are... kinda nice). In the 92-94 realm at best for me.
I’m sure the Exalted Highness of the Scarecrow loyalists will say it just needs time, I opened it too early, and how dare I evaluate a wine that is clearly meant for another decade+ of cellaring.... and you’d likely be (partially) right. Plus, I’d be (and kinda ‘am’) super bent too if I just spent a few grand on a handful of bottles and along came some jackalope who didn’t give the wine climactic thousand-point reviews. Well, best delete this note then my friends, because this dude was a tad disappointed in this wine’s showing. Youthfully primary is one thing; boring is another. Just sayin’.... (PS: I’ve learned if you say ‘just sayin’ at the end of any sentence, it makes it ok to say whatever you want and not be blamed for it - Hooooraaay for lack of personal accountability!)... And hey, if you drink this wine and it makes orgasmic butterflies launch from your nether-regions, good on ya. That just wasn’t the case with this little soldier.
Without the fancy hay-stuffed wood box, Illuminati aura, and Area 51 access, the juice itself could have been from any halfway decent Napa Cabernet. The flavors seemed pure and decently fresh, but any semblance of complexity was not even in the conversation (I guess this Scarecrow really does need a brain).
...This conjures up a whole bunch of internal rhetoric about the role of the Scarecrow in the stigmatization of Mid-West farmers’ intellect and how wine doesn’t (or at least, shouldn't) grow in Kansas anyway so why should one expect it to manifest itself successfully as a cult wine label in Napa... but that just seems.....unnecessary..... :)
For the optimist, hold remaining bottles for another 7++ years. To the pessimist, I say donate your stash to the King of Siam so he can fund his military for the next year or so....
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12/7/2019 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose of coffee grinds, chargrill, toffee, blackberries, burnt embers and violets. Plush, lush and rich on the palate, this shows a silky smooth mouthfeel to go along with super refined tannins. There is some jam showing, which will need time to go away, and overall this wine was showing a lot more flamboyantly than is typical of Scarecrow. Lots of opulent fruit, but also with really interesting levels of scorched earth and even charcoal like flavors. Super persistent on the finish. My overall impression is this will be exceptional with time, but right now needs a few years to come together.
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