Day 1: First bottle was slightly corked. I will say I like another vintage of this wine but this 2017 is awful. Hot wine with oak, vanilla, spices, ripe fruits and no balance. This is a huge disappointment. The fact Vinous Media gave this 90 points only should be alarming. 84 points Day 2: A little better but not much. So much oak/vanilla even worse than a Rioja aged in new American oak. Some fruit there but so heavy. Dark chocolate on the finish. 84.5 points Day 3: The worst of the days. What a mess of a wine with over the top oak with little else showing through. 80 points Recommendation: Unless you like big oak wines this one is not for you and I don't see this aging well but if you have some drink 2028 and beyond.
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From 750. Uncorked 3 days ago, but my bride recorded when the guys started falling asleep in the pool. Tar, alcohol and dark fruit on the nose; wine had the greatest depth and body during the first hour after reopening, but still got more out of this than I have from earlier 375’s of the wine.
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91-92. Drinks well with 30+ of air. Expressive nose of black cherry, plum. Tannins are a bit firm, juicy, nice texture with fruit up front, but not jammy. Good value and quality.
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Retail $45. 43% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. Big Ass Bottle. Another vintage with four of the five Bordeaux varieties (in the name of all holy, add some Malbec?). The bottle is emblazoned with an “XV” which took a bit of effort to decipher (it’s the 15th vintage for Blackbird). Decidedly richer and fruitier than the 2016, along with similar emphasis on black pepper and spice (although the hints of green pepper were noticeably absent). The palate’s focus is also on the fruit, which is rich and luscious. I was ready to dismiss this wine as a philosophical shift to the dark, er fruity, side, but starting on the mid-palate, there is a whole lot more here. Sure, the fruit continues to dominate, but OK, Whoa. Depth, intrigue, countless flavors, Yowza. And, yes, Whoa.
30 minutes of bottle air; red cherries on the nose. There’s dry tannins front and mid pallet which linger for sometime,Indicating the potential for this to age a few years. This otherwise strikes me as a fruit dominant wine, lacking much depth or layering. While I’m still concerned about the ones ability to age, it’s much better in this format than that in the half bottles I have most recently opened.
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Color of very dark red almost purple. Scents are ripe blueberry and blackberry. Tastes are consistent with scents, plush fruit, and round mouth feel. Made of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot. As a result, it wasn’t very tannic.
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Nose: Covid Taste: a Bordeaux style wine with more grip to it. The cab franc stands out with dark fruit and tobacco but not a lot of tannins which Works for me. Kind of a short finish. A good value.
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Color of very dark red almost purple. Scents are ripe blueberry and blackberry. Tastes are consistent with scents, plush fruit, and round mouth feel. Made of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot.
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Dark and fruity. Is fruit forward in a good way, with some tannin for balance but overall not to my liking. High quality, but all primary flavors of plum, oak and cassis. Still young I guess. Expected more for the price however.
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Another ungratfying 375. No rating, no interest in repurchasing these wines. While I enjoy their Auction Napa wine, both this and the illustration I purchased have been underwhelming and poor qpr’s
Nose: still cant smell very well. Taste: blackberry, blueberry and oak with a tight finish probs due to the youth of the wine. The cab franc really stands out.
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From a 375 screw cap. Much more enjoyable then just 2 months ago. 30 mins of air does this wonders; while ripe, this isn’t particularly complex or deep
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This is a nice blend. Needs some decanting to open up. Good amount of fruit but in balance. Tannins definitely present. Easy to drink now but will age well also.
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Pop and pour from a 375 screw cap. Had some faint green notes upon opening, but these blew off with 20-30 mins. There’s some ripe red fruit upfront, but this really lacks depth, structure or layering, which is troubling this young in its life. I’ll hope it adds a bit of weight in the coming weeks but I’m fairly disappointed today.
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4/6/2023 - joesi16 wrote:
Wish i bought more.
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3/22/2023 - joesi16 Likes this wine:
Black fruit and silky smooth, great conversation wine.
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10/14/2021 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 84 Points
Day 1: First bottle was slightly corked. I will say I like another vintage of this wine but this 2017 is awful. Hot wine with oak, vanilla, spices, ripe fruits and no balance. This is a huge disappointment. The fact Vinous Media gave this 90 points only should be alarming. 84 points
Day 2: A little better but not much. So much oak/vanilla even worse than a Rioja aged in new American oak. Some fruit there but so heavy. Dark chocolate on the finish. 84.5 points
Day 3: The worst of the days. What a mess of a wine with over the top oak with little else showing through. 80 points
Recommendation: Unless you like big oak wines this one is not for you and I don't see this aging well but if you have some drink 2028 and beyond.
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9/19/2021 - davidandrose Likes this wine:
Drank this late at last nights pool part so don’t recall or have any notes, but I do recall this was enjoyable.
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8/1/2021 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 91 Points
From 750. Uncorked 3 days ago, but my bride recorded when the guys started falling asleep in the pool. Tar, alcohol and dark fruit on the nose; wine had the greatest depth and body during the first hour after reopening, but still got more out of this than I have from earlier 375’s of the wine.
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6/24/2021 - wdcwineguys Likes this wine: 91 Points
91-92. Drinks well with 30+ of air. Expressive nose of black cherry, plum. Tannins are a bit firm, juicy, nice texture with fruit up front, but not jammy. Good value and quality.
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5/20/2021 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 94 Points
Retail $45. 43% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. Big Ass Bottle. Another vintage with four of the five Bordeaux varieties (in the name of all holy, add some Malbec?). The bottle is emblazoned with an “XV” which took a bit of effort to decipher (it’s the 15th vintage for Blackbird). Decidedly richer and fruitier than the 2016, along with similar emphasis on black pepper and spice (although the hints of green pepper were noticeably absent). The palate’s focus is also on the fruit, which is rich and luscious. I was ready to dismiss this wine as a philosophical shift to the dark, er fruity, side, but starting on the mid-palate, there is a whole lot more here. Sure, the fruit continues to dominate, but OK, Whoa. Depth, intrigue, countless flavors, Yowza. And, yes, Whoa.
http://www.thedrunkencyclist.com
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4/25/2021 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 90 Points
30 minutes of bottle air; red cherries on the nose. There’s dry tannins front and mid pallet which linger for sometime,Indicating the potential for this to age a few years. This otherwise strikes me as a fruit dominant wine, lacking much depth or layering.
While I’m still concerned about the ones ability to age, it’s much better in this format than that in the half bottles I have most recently opened.
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1/17/2021 - dase13 wrote: 92 Points
Color of very dark red almost purple. Scents are ripe blueberry and blackberry. Tastes are consistent with scents, plush fruit, and round mouth feel. Made of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot. As a result, it wasn’t very tannic.
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12/17/2020 - jkvedar Likes this wine: 89 Points
Juicy, mouth filling, easy drinking but not all that complex.
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12/15/2020 - ewasowicz wrote: 93 Points
Nose: Covid
Taste: a Bordeaux style wine with more grip to it. The cab franc stands out with dark fruit and tobacco but not a lot of tannins which Works for me. Kind of a short finish. A good value.
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11/8/2020 - RTJ66 wrote: 91 Points
W chicken cordon bleak. Good but needs to age.
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10/25/2020 - dase13 wrote: 91 Points
Color of very dark red almost purple. Scents are ripe blueberry and blackberry. Tastes are consistent with scents, plush fruit, and round mouth feel. Made of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot.
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9/8/2020 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pop and pour from a 375. Definitely getting better than when I first began trying these late last year.
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8/15/2020 - davidandrose wrote:
Pop and pour from 2 half bottles. Perfectly fine if not exceptional
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8/8/2020 - Robij wrote: 85 Points
Dark and fruity. Is fruit forward in a good way, with some tannin for balance but overall not to my liking. High quality, but all primary flavors of plum, oak and cassis. Still young I guess. Expected more for the price however.
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5/27/2020 - davidandrose wrote:
Another ungratfying 375. No rating, no interest in repurchasing these wines. While I enjoy their Auction Napa wine, both this and the illustration I purchased have been underwhelming and poor qpr’s
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5/21/2020 - ewasowicz wrote: 91 Points
Nose: still cant smell very well.
Taste: blackberry, blueberry and oak with a tight finish probs due to the youth of the wine. The cab franc really stands out.
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3/17/2020 - davidandrose wrote:
From a 373 screwcap, and just as before. Fine, but neither complex nor worth $25 for a half-bottle.
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1/25/2020 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 88 Points
From a 375 screw cap. Much more enjoyable then just 2 months ago. 30 mins of air does this wonders; while ripe, this isn’t particularly complex or deep
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1/10/2020 - KTelaak_Buffalo Likes this wine: 90 Points
2nd bottle. Really just a well balanced solid effort. Enjoyed by all. Excellent wine for the price.
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11/28/2019 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 89 Points
This time Fromgroup 750. Bit more weight than my prior note from 375 and the fruit seemed a bit darker as well.
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11/28/2019 - KTelaak_Buffalo Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is a nice blend. Needs some decanting to open up. Good amount of fruit but in balance. Tannins definitely present. Easy to drink now but will age well also.
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11/22/2019 - davidandrose wrote: 86 Points
Pop and pour from a 375 screw cap. Had some faint green notes upon opening, but these blew off with 20-30 mins. There’s some ripe red fruit upfront, but this really lacks depth, structure or layering, which is troubling this young in its life. I’ll hope it adds a bit of weight in the coming weeks but I’m fairly disappointed today.
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