From magnum. While still appearing youthful, this is coming into the early years of maturity. Nose is enjoyable but has some gaps. Rich and lush on the palette. Raspberry and chocolate, some green plum and earth. Delightful and lovely, but lacking a depth and complexity that I expected.
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Nose remains muted. Not much there. A bit of menthol
Medium purple in color with some bricking and sediment
Medium body, great mix of fruit and oak. Blackberry, Boisenberry, some raspberry, spice secondary, long finish. Everything well integrated little musk or signs of aging 60 minutes after opening the bottle.
Overall very solid. Tastes like it is drinking at peak now. Great paradigm of a CA Cabernet. Like a job well done. Nothing at all is wrong with this wine and nothing is extraordinary. Meets or exceeds expectations
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A superb example of a fully mature, Calif Cabernet that is drinking great. Rich, full-bodied, concentrated, and round, the layers of lusciously textured, polished, sweet, ripe, dark red fruits, with touches of chocolate, flowers and cherries hit the spot.
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Compared to the Beringer PR 2005 this came across much more hedonistic in style with a yummy fruit forward style. It is however clearly less savory or complex. Rich ripe dense with lush creamy cherry core of fruit. Really tasty, yet some felt a bit too plush and maybe monolithic with the first taste being memorizing, yet becoming a hard wine to finish a full glass as becomes heavy and less interesting.
I liked this much better than the group, but can understand nothing shy here for those with a pref for a classic Bordeaux style.
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Decanted one hour. Broad palate of dried fruit and herbs, salted licorice, acacia, acid, youthful tannins. Long seamless finish. Much better showing than the bottle I had two years ago. Lacks the precision to merit a higher score but a great old-world-meets-new Cabernet showing well.
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Fantastic bottle! Powerful nose full of fruits, most notably amarena and some nice secondary notes of dulce de leche and just a hint of vanilla. Strong tannins and long long finish, leaving behind more earthier tones of coffee and bitter chocolate.
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The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like mineral, stoniness and black currant (cassis). It tastes like black currant (cassis). The body is medium/full. The wine has linear texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity. Decanted and needed time to open and blossom. Drinking great!
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Another Saturday at Chevalier...Mostly Blind (Chevalier Fine Wines - Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Also not exactly my style of wine. Very lush and fleshy, slightly devoid of brightness or acidity. Clearly very New World. I thought this was Grenache-based, and few in the group could really identify this as Cabernet based, even though many in the group enjoyed the wine.
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Drank over 3 days. Opened tight and gradually eased up. Harmonious fruit forward cab that will improve over time. Much more on the finish than the nose. Strong.
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Tuesday Night Double Blind $60+ (Alpharetta, GA): Inky core with bright maroon rim; oaky, vanilla, blueberry, syrupy nose; soft tannin, high alcohol, brooding with resolving tannin, black fruit, cobbler, blueberry, pencil lead, heady, some grip, black currant, plummy; still showing quite youthful; hard wine and style to be placed in a lineup of Old World wines but this was very high quality even if my notes seem negative.
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Creamy, soft, feminine, and luxurious. The oak is definitely under-toasted and feels very luxurious and gives a marrow like texture to the wine. I can't see this being Paulliac like at all (Per Parker's notes) and to me, its a very very far cry from being a Mouton. However it is a nice, comfy cabernet with awesome balance and fantastic structure. Big velvety long finish, but stuck between lack of fruit and lack of complexity. Its either a hurry and drink or a long hold....But I would lean towards DRINK SOON!
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An absolutely superb Cabernet. Restrained and balanced, indeed Bordeaux-like to my taste. Cassie, lavender, minerality, and of course years away from peaking, the displaying impressive qualities already. Well balanced acidity, fine-grained tannins. This is the whole package.
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Party up front, business in the back... New world CA with first notes of stewed red and black fruit which transforms at midpalate to a mineral, stone and challk dust dominated finish reminiscent of old world. Really neat. Not too off from a Pavie 03 for reference. This should improve further over next 10 years.
Beautiful, stunning wine that's in a good place right now. On the early side of maturity but humming. Deep, rich, lush nose of chocolate and cream. Woody notes too. Lots of iron, graphite, silk, cocoa and dark floral notes. Nice finish. Not long but satisfying.
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We planned to have this with dinner at High Cotton in Charleston but due to illness in our party, decided to have take out from Mustard Seed and stay out at the beach. A well aged Napa cab that is really drinking great now. Very smooth with soft tannins and an aged Bordeaux nose. This wine may not have peaked but is ready to go now.
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Tasting notes similar to my 2013 tasting. No real improvement . Maybe in 5 more years. I have 1 left, will put it away and see if it improves down the road. Still feel not worth the cost unfortunately. No where near level of 07 and 08 Grand Vin
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Reticent. Notes of dark fruit- blackberry and currants, vanilla and plum. Full-bodied, with flavors of black fruit and plum, chocolate and spice. Chewy tannins with a long finish. Guessed Cab Sauv blend.
Youthful, and took some time to open. Let these rest a while.
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4th Saturday group, tasted blind. Bordeaux profile with cedar herbal notes and a wall of tannin. I was in the vast minority on this one, but it was tasted blind. Guessed Bordeaux.
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Not sure this wine knows what it' supposed to be. Seems to be both made for aging in a 1970s bordeaux style , while at the same time aspiring to some of the polish of a meticulously engineered high-end california cab. Opaque purple with the kind of density and purity you see in high-end cabs that reflects glints of light off the surface. Zero sediment, which strikes me a a little odd. Nose still not particularly expressive - rather cool and again, polished - though after about an hour it did start to open up a bit with pencil shavings. "Coolness" also the dominant flavor, with mostly graphite and mineral. For a wine this deeply colored, though, it is not very fruity. Still has moderate, lush tannins, but a distinct greenness to the relatively short finish. Will peak in maybe 4-5 years and last 10. I have visited this winery and thought they were a bit full of themselves. I've never seen a winery so spanking clean -- like a laboratory. As you might expect from that, this is a good wine, though not one with much soul. And definitely not worth what they charge for it.
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A Labor of Love (and wine and beer) (Our home): A real treat to drink this wine as its been a couple of years. It is in a great place right now. This is drinking like a great older Napa Cab. The nose is deep with cassis, pencil lead, and even some black licorice. Complex and layered, this is not at peak but already showing lots of nuances. Great balance. Long finish. Everything you could hope for this wine to be.
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Perfect bottle served blid. Stored perfectly. Very dense, deep dark colour. Purple/ruby with almost a black core. Still young. The bouquet is full of cassis, oak spice, blackberries, some tobacco, smoke, mocca and cedar. Must admit I was in Bordeaux on this one on the nose. Smells like Pessac/Graves. Lovely. Full bodied. Layered and complex. Nice silky texture and the tannins are quite soft. Elegant french oak. I really like the tannins in this wine. Nice sweet fruit of cassis, dark cherries, blackberries and plum, some herbs and chocolate and of course oak. Very good structure. Feels aristocratic. Great balance. Long finish, + 45 seconds. The bouquet is french, but the taste is US Napa Cab. Yes, this wine deserve to be called a Grand Vin.
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Decanted 3 hours prior to drinking, deep ruby color leads to a nose of blackberry, camphor, blueberry and a hint of leather. Medium body coats the palate with blackberry, dark cherry, plum, dark chocolate, and a hint of bell pepper. Finish last 40 seconds. Really enjoyable wine drinking near peak with long life ahead.
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Very easy on the pallet when opened, Gained some weight after an hour, then dropped off considerably after next hour and half. Didn't think it live up to the rage or release price.
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Dinner with Friends (Kapcsandy, Continuum, SQN, Droin, +) (Our Home): By a slight edge, the crowd WOTN (and mine). Purple/ruby in the glass. Blind I would have guessed Graves (Pape Clement or LMHB I think). The nose has plenty of cassis, smoke, licorice but also that underlay of cinders. Full bodied. Also a bit softer on the palate, but medium tannins. Well balanced and easy to drink. This had 5 hours of slow-ox and the wine was starting to unwind. Not as big as later vintages, this is delicious and in a nice place right now with years left.
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Excellent wine, gave two plus hours of air. Very fragrant, almost cab franc like. Long finish. Enjoyable wine, but definitely not worth the price of admission.
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Wow, pretty good stuff. Big nose of spice box, black and blue fruits, cassis, maybe some licorice. Big on the palate, but not jammy, quite a nice mouthfeel with a myriad of flavors. Lots of sweet tannins, good acidity, still a bit primary...drinking very, very young. Could use a bit better mid-palate, but being very picky. Impressed. Update a day later: Lowered the score two points as the exuberance of the first few sips gave way to the reality that this got no more interesting over the next few hours. Great taste, but needs more complexity...maybe time?
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Pulled cork, left in bottle at cellar temperature. At 15 min, the nose displays significantly more power than it did after a multi-hour decant on release. Vacillates between primary/barrel sample notes of dried cherry oak/vanilla, and more delicate, herbal/cab franc like perfume (I don’t believe this has any cab franc). Ethereal on the palate, noticeable heat, bright finish – also, considerably more length than noted on release. 4 hours air – No notable oak or primary fruit aromas. Nose a little more subtle now, but has become more floral, delicate, perfumed. Heat has blown off, a touch of sweet fruit in the mid palate that is quickly corrected by razor like tension in the finish. Pure, polished. 5 hours air + 2 hour decant – Nose understated, less complex than on open. Becoming a bit more homogenized. Picking up some structure, with acid on the back end being displaced by silky tannin, talc like in texture and flavor. After 5 hours of air + 3 hour decant, the wine is completely seamless. Round, like a balloon in the mouth, with a medium body and moderate length. Perfectly balanced, with no structural components standing out. A bit simple, with sweet red fruit coming back into focus. Very clean and pure. Although the oak and tannin are well resolved this reminds me of a modern St. Julian or Margaux that needs at least another 7-8 years to develop. The wine most definitely shows differently depending on its air treatment. For me, it was most enjoyable early on, between 4-7 hours. At that point, it was less ‘correct’ and the nose/tannin lent additional interest.
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Birthday wines (Schaefer, Kapcsandy): Decanted for three hours and consumed over the next four. Wow. I poured a glass for my wife blind and she was blown away! Ruby/purple in color. The nose certainly has some oak (of the cocoa/cedar variety) but tons of cassis and some pencil lead. Full bodied. On the palate, while this is young and exuberant, there is so much depth and complexities. Later in the night, the fruit took back stage a bit to the minerality and some black olive notes. A spectacular wine that really needs a few more years of cellaring at least. This really is one of the best wineries in the world and just getting better. In the world of $100+ Cal Cabs from new producers, this is one list I hope to stay on!
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nose - cranberry,herbs mouth - full bodied, complex, and still full of life. some back end bitterness, plentiful tannins. not sure i'd buy again at its price. a long discussion ensued if its gonna get better or not and i personally dont know.
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Decanted for about 1.5 hrs, drank over nearly two hours. A very ripe nose of dark fruit and some spice made me think the wine was going to be huge. While the plum notes, chocolate and spice was very pronounced, the mouthfeel was not huge. The mouthfeel was round, complex and relatively restrained when considered in light to the fruit. It had nice acidity to counter the fruit which led to a very well balanced wine. The wine definitely improved with air. Slightly tannic on the finish but the acidity was mouth watering and added to the experience.
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Faint chocolate, black currant and graphite on an initially medium frame. Balloons in the mouth and grabs hold with gritty tannin. Hangs on for about 30 seconds. A 2 hour decant didn't improve this, rather the tannin softened and made the acid prominent. Consequently, it appeared to shed weight and left me wanting more depth and opulence. Reminds me of a Conn Valley, Stags Leap hybrid, less the distinction of either. Good, with some complexity lurking, but needs time as air makes this a bit more angular.
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Wow deep broodling intense wine. Incredibly complex with layers of flavours that coated my mouth. Long finish. Quite ripe but it didn't put me off ... instead I concentrated in its powerful yet silky midpalette. I think I have rocker to thank for tasting this.
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VERY ELEGANT WINE WITH DEEP BERRIES, CHOCOLATE, AND LICORICE IN THE NOSE WITH BLACK CHERRIES AND CURRANTS IN THE FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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Decanted 3 hours. Perhaps the shape of the bottle played tricks on my brain but to me this wine smelled very much liked a young Haut Brion: blackberry, currant, plum, tobacco, earth and cedar. I think this could be mistaken for Bdx if smelled blind but it's all Napa on the palate with big, sweet, ripe fruit and a long palate staining finish. I accidentally left the remainder in the decanter for 3 days and it held up amazingly well - no signs of oxidation.
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6/17/2023 - PDavisMarble wrote: 92 Points
From magnum. While still appearing youthful, this is coming into the early years of maturity. Nose is enjoyable but has some gaps. Rich and lush on the palette. Raspberry and chocolate, some green plum and earth. Delightful and lovely, but lacking a depth and complexity that I expected.
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4/20/2022 - bobvictor Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose remains muted. Not much there. A bit of menthol
Medium purple in color with some bricking and sediment
Medium body, great mix of fruit and oak. Blackberry, Boisenberry, some raspberry, spice secondary, long finish. Everything well integrated little musk or signs of aging 60 minutes after opening the bottle.
Overall very solid. Tastes like it is drinking at peak now. Great paradigm of a CA Cabernet. Like a job well done. Nothing at all is wrong with this wine and nothing is extraordinary. Meets or exceeds expectations
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9/23/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
A superb example of a fully mature, Calif Cabernet that is drinking great. Rich, full-bodied, concentrated, and round, the layers of lusciously textured, polished, sweet, ripe, dark red fruits, with touches of chocolate, flowers and cherries hit the spot.
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7/22/2021 - KenK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Compared to the Beringer PR 2005 this came across much more hedonistic in style with a yummy fruit forward style. It is however clearly less savory or complex. Rich ripe dense with lush creamy cherry core of fruit. Really tasty, yet some felt a bit too plush and maybe monolithic with the first taste being memorizing, yet becoming a hard wine to finish a full glass as becomes heavy and less interesting.
I liked this much better than the group, but can understand nothing shy here for those with a pref for a classic Bordeaux style.
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3/5/2021 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful, toasty, black fruit driven but still very muscular tannin. I will wait another 5 years with my next bottles
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1/9/2021 - Sam Lee wrote:
Sweet, bold, black currant and Chaco
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8/8/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted one hour. Broad palate of dried fruit and herbs, salted licorice, acacia, acid, youthful tannins. Long seamless finish. Much better showing than the bottle I had two years ago. Lacks the precision to merit a higher score but a great old-world-meets-new Cabernet showing well.
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3/4/2020 - RusisWine wrote: 93 Points
Great fruit and youthful freshness. Eucalyptus nose and classic Bordeaux style California cab.
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12/17/2019 - RusisWine wrote: 92 Points
Great balance of fruit and structure. Eucalyptus nose and great length. Drinking for a while to come.
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10/12/2019 - hartmarco Likes this wine:
Fantastic bottle! Powerful nose full of fruits, most notably amarena and some nice secondary notes of dulce de leche and just a hint of vanilla.
Strong tannins and long long finish, leaving behind more earthier tones of coffee and bitter chocolate.
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2/14/2019 - RusisWine wrote: 93 Points
The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like mineral, stoniness and black currant (cassis). It tastes like black currant (cassis). The body is medium/full. The wine has linear texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity. Decanted and needed time to open and blossom. Drinking great!
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1/14/2019 - psyrah Likes this wine: 95 Points
Good nose, rich, deep, great fruit, concentrated, drinking very well now and probably will hold for a few more years, but why wait.
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11/21/2018 - mchern02 wrote: 94 Points
Best of lot of 4 of these.
Drank over 4 hours
Serious eucalyptus, anise, coffee and tar.
Fantastic nose
Great backbone with firm acidity. Moderate finish was the only non super star part of this wine.
Fantastic drink
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11/4/2018 - T.E.D. wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux like, very integrated with soft black and red fruit, currant, dusty cellar, spices.
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8/1/2018 - Lateva wrote: 95 Points
Pop and pour. Fantastic wine! Great structure and fruit balance.
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3/1/2018 - Quiet Lion wrote: 92 Points
Lush body, tart acid dominating the palate, sturdy, long finish. The quality is evident but it's not an easy drink at the moment.
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10/7/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Another Saturday at Chevalier...Mostly Blind (Chevalier Fine Wines - Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Also not exactly my style of wine. Very lush and fleshy, slightly devoid of brightness or acidity. Clearly very New World. I thought this was Grenache-based, and few in the group could really identify this as Cabernet based, even though many in the group enjoyed the wine.
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12/25/2016 - bobvictor Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank over 3 days. Opened tight and gradually eased up. Harmonious fruit forward cab that will improve over time. Much more on the finish than the nose. Strong.
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12/20/2016 - Rezy13 wrote:
Tuesday Night Double Blind $60+ (Alpharetta, GA): Inky core with bright maroon rim; oaky, vanilla, blueberry, syrupy nose; soft tannin, high alcohol, brooding with resolving tannin, black fruit, cobbler, blueberry, pencil lead, heady, some grip, black currant, plummy; still showing quite youthful; hard wine and style to be placed in a lineup of Old World wines but this was very high quality even if my notes seem negative.
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12/17/2016 - Purple Tooth wrote: 93 Points
Creamy, soft, feminine, and luxurious. The oak is definitely under-toasted and feels very luxurious and gives a marrow like texture to the wine. I can't see this being Paulliac like at all (Per Parker's notes) and to me, its a very very far cry from being a Mouton. However it is a nice, comfy cabernet with awesome balance and fantastic structure. Big velvety long finish, but stuck between lack of fruit and lack of complexity. Its either a hurry and drink or a long hold....But I would lean towards DRINK SOON!
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12/5/2016 - pdemaio wrote: 94 Points
PDQ94+
Big, but focused.
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9/23/2016 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 96 Points
An absolutely superb Cabernet. Restrained and balanced, indeed Bordeaux-like to my taste. Cassie, lavender, minerality, and of course years away from peaking, the displaying impressive qualities already. Well balanced acidity, fine-grained tannins. This is the whole package.
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9/9/2016 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Sour cherry, pure red cassis fruit, bright, herbal notes with good grip, classic balanced style. Very nice.
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9/1/2016 - ledwards wrote: 95 Points
Party up front, business in the back... New world CA with first notes of stewed red and black fruit which transforms at midpalate to a mineral, stone and challk dust dominated finish reminiscent of old world. Really neat. Not too off from a Pavie 03 for reference. This should improve further over next 10 years.
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4/21/2016 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful, stunning wine that's in a good place right now. On the early side of maturity but humming. Deep, rich, lush nose of chocolate and cream. Woody notes too. Lots of iron, graphite, silk, cocoa and dark floral notes. Nice finish. Not long but satisfying.
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1/10/2015 - cabellis wrote: 95 Points
We planned to have this with dinner at High Cotton in Charleston but due to illness in our party, decided to have take out from Mustard Seed and stay out at the beach. A well aged Napa cab that is really drinking great now. Very smooth with soft tannins and an aged Bordeaux nose. This wine may not have peaked but is ready to go now.
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1/9/2015 - wallstreet wrote: 93 Points
Tasting notes similar to my 2013 tasting. No real improvement . Maybe in 5 more years. I have 1 left, will put it away and see if it improves down the road. Still feel not worth the cost unfortunately. No where near level of 07 and 08 Grand Vin
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11/22/2014 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Reticent. Notes of dark fruit- blackberry and currants, vanilla and plum. Full-bodied, with flavors of black fruit and plum, chocolate and spice. Chewy tannins with a long finish. Guessed Cab Sauv blend.
Youthful, and took some time to open. Let these rest a while.
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11/22/2014 - thelostverse wrote: 88 Points
4th Saturday group, tasted blind. Bordeaux profile with cedar herbal notes and a wall of tannin. I was in the vast minority on this one, but it was tasted blind. Guessed Bordeaux.
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11/15/2014 - Shrages wrote: 91 Points
Not sure this wine knows what it' supposed to be. Seems to be both made for aging in a 1970s bordeaux style , while at the same time aspiring to some of the polish of a meticulously engineered high-end california cab. Opaque purple with the kind of density and purity you see in high-end cabs that reflects glints of light off the surface. Zero sediment, which strikes me a a little odd. Nose still not particularly expressive - rather cool and again, polished - though after about an hour it did start to open up a bit with pencil shavings. "Coolness" also the dominant flavor, with mostly graphite and mineral. For a wine this deeply colored, though, it is not very fruity. Still has moderate, lush tannins, but a distinct greenness to the relatively short finish. Will peak in maybe 4-5 years and last 10. I have visited this winery and thought they were a bit full of themselves. I've never seen a winery so spanking clean -- like a laboratory. As you might expect from that, this is a good wine, though not one with much soul. And definitely not worth what they charge for it.
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9/1/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 96 Points
A Labor of Love (and wine and beer) (Our home): A real treat to drink this wine as its been a couple of years. It is in a great place right now. This is drinking like a great older Napa Cab. The nose is deep with cassis, pencil lead, and even some black licorice. Complex and layered, this is not at peak but already showing lots of nuances. Great balance. Long finish. Everything you could hope for this wine to be.
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8/16/2014 - zazoo wrote: 90 Points
Just wasn't great .
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7/12/2014 - Tenuta Stefan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perfect bottle served blid. Stored perfectly.
Very dense, deep dark colour. Purple/ruby with almost a black core. Still young.
The bouquet is full of cassis, oak spice, blackberries, some tobacco, smoke, mocca and cedar. Must admit I was in Bordeaux on this one on the nose. Smells like Pessac/Graves.
Lovely. Full bodied. Layered and complex. Nice silky texture and the tannins are quite soft. Elegant french oak. I really like the tannins in this wine. Nice sweet fruit of cassis, dark cherries, blackberries and plum, some herbs and chocolate and of course oak. Very good structure. Feels aristocratic. Great balance. Long finish, + 45 seconds.
The bouquet is french, but the taste is US Napa Cab.
Yes, this wine deserve to be called a Grand Vin.
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6/28/2014 - flashvictor Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted 3 hours prior to drinking, deep ruby color leads to a nose of blackberry, camphor, blueberry and a hint of leather. Medium body coats the palate with blackberry, dark cherry, plum, dark chocolate, and a hint of bell pepper. Finish last 40 seconds. Really enjoyable wine drinking near peak with long life ahead.
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10/29/2013 - sablep Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very easy on the pallet when opened,
Gained some weight after an hour,
then dropped off considerably after
next hour and half. Didn't think it
live up to the rage or release price.
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5/27/2013 - pickguru55 wrote: 96 Points
Opened, but not decanted for about 4 hours. This was drinking beautifully, rich and deep, with a silky texture. Truly a spectacular wine.
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2/26/2013 - wallstreet Likes this wine: 93 Points
excellent wine, but not worth the price of admission. this should be a $120 cab max. I paid $165, not worth it.
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1/23/2013 - wallstreet Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wine still needs years in the cellar. Decanted 2 hours , very good, but needs more development to stand out.
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1/2/2013 - TwoSmoochies wrote: 94 Points
Excellent CA cab
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8/26/2012 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 96 Points
Dinner with Friends (Kapcsandy, Continuum, SQN, Droin, +) (Our Home): By a slight edge, the crowd WOTN (and mine). Purple/ruby in the glass. Blind I would have guessed Graves (Pape Clement or LMHB I think). The nose has plenty of cassis, smoke, licorice but also that underlay of cinders. Full bodied. Also a bit softer on the palate, but medium tannins. Well balanced and easy to drink. This had 5 hours of slow-ox and the wine was starting to unwind. Not as big as later vintages, this is delicious and in a nice place right now with years left.
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5/21/2012 - rsternth wrote: 92 Points
rich and smooth. delicious bottle of wine. maybe a little flat on the finish, just a little, but I wouldn't otherwise throw it away.
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2/12/2012 - wallstreet wrote: 92 Points
Excellent wine, gave two plus hours of air. Very fragrant, almost cab franc like. Long finish. Enjoyable wine, but definitely not worth the price of admission.
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5/6/2011 - cadamson wrote: 92 Points
Wow, pretty good stuff. Big nose of spice box, black and blue fruits, cassis, maybe some licorice. Big on the palate, but not jammy, quite a nice mouthfeel with a myriad of flavors. Lots of sweet tannins, good acidity, still a bit primary...drinking very, very young. Could use a bit better mid-palate, but being very picky. Impressed. Update a day later: Lowered the score two points as the exuberance of the first few sips gave way to the reality that this got no more interesting over the next few hours. Great taste, but needs more complexity...maybe time?
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12/16/2010 - Jody Smith wrote:
Pulled cork, left in bottle at cellar temperature. At 15 min, the nose displays significantly more power than it did after a multi-hour decant on release. Vacillates between primary/barrel sample notes of dried cherry oak/vanilla, and more delicate, herbal/cab franc like perfume (I don’t believe this has any cab franc). Ethereal on the palate, noticeable heat, bright finish – also, considerably more length than noted on release.
4 hours air – No notable oak or primary fruit aromas. Nose a little more subtle now, but has become more floral, delicate, perfumed. Heat has blown off, a touch of sweet fruit in the mid palate that is quickly corrected by razor like tension in the finish. Pure, polished.
5 hours air + 2 hour decant – Nose understated, less complex than on open. Becoming a bit more homogenized. Picking up some structure, with acid on the back end being displaced by silky tannin, talc like in texture and flavor.
After 5 hours of air + 3 hour decant, the wine is completely seamless. Round, like a balloon in the mouth, with a medium body and moderate length. Perfectly balanced, with no structural components standing out. A bit simple, with sweet red fruit coming back into focus. Very clean and pure. Although the oak and tannin are well resolved this reminds me of a modern St. Julian or Margaux that needs at least another 7-8 years to develop.
The wine most definitely shows differently depending on its air treatment. For me, it was most enjoyable early on, between 4-7 hours. At that point, it was less ‘correct’ and the nose/tannin lent additional interest.
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9/22/2010 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 96 Points
Birthday wines (Schaefer, Kapcsandy): Decanted for three hours and consumed over the next four. Wow. I poured a glass for my wife blind and she was blown away! Ruby/purple in color. The nose certainly has some oak (of the cocoa/cedar variety) but tons of cassis and some pencil lead. Full bodied. On the palate, while this is young and exuberant, there is so much depth and complexities. Later in the night, the fruit took back stage a bit to the minerality and some black olive notes. A spectacular wine that really needs a few more years of cellaring at least. This really is one of the best wineries in the world and just getting better. In the world of $100+ Cal Cabs from new producers, this is one list I hope to stay on!
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5/31/2010 - soyhead wrote: 90 Points
nose - cranberry,herbs
mouth - full bodied, complex, and still full of life. some back end bitterness, plentiful tannins. not sure i'd buy again at its price. a long discussion ensued if its gonna get better or not and i personally dont know.
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6/10/2009 - Lakecrest Cellars wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for about 1.5 hrs, drank over nearly two hours. A very ripe nose of dark fruit and some spice made me think the wine was going to be huge. While the plum notes, chocolate and spice was very pronounced, the mouthfeel was not huge. The mouthfeel was round, complex and relatively restrained when considered in light to the fruit. It had nice acidity to counter the fruit which led to a very well balanced wine. The wine definitely improved with air. Slightly tannic on the finish but the acidity was mouth watering and added to the experience.
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4/28/2009 - Jody Smith wrote: 91 Points
Faint chocolate, black currant and graphite on an initially medium frame. Balloons in the mouth and grabs hold with gritty tannin. Hangs on for about 30 seconds. A 2 hour decant didn't improve this, rather the tannin softened and made the acid prominent. Consequently, it appeared to shed weight and left me wanting more depth and opulence. Reminds me of a Conn Valley, Stags Leap hybrid, less the distinction of either. Good, with some complexity lurking, but needs time as air makes this a bit more angular.
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4/3/2009 - Hazeo wrote: 95 Points
Wow deep broodling intense wine. Incredibly complex with layers of flavours that coated my mouth. Long finish. Quite ripe but it didn't put me off ... instead I concentrated in its powerful yet silky midpalette. I think I have rocker to thank for tasting this.
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12/23/2008 - buckeye76 wrote: 96 Points
VERY ELEGANT WINE WITH DEEP BERRIES, CHOCOLATE, AND LICORICE IN THE NOSE WITH BLACK CHERRIES AND CURRANTS IN THE FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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7/6/2008 - rsepulve wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 3 hours. Perhaps the shape of the bottle played tricks on my brain but to me this wine smelled very much liked a young Haut Brion: blackberry, currant, plum, tobacco, earth and cedar. I think this could be mistaken for Bdx if smelled blind but it's all Napa on the palate with big, sweet, ripe fruit and a long palate staining finish. I accidentally left the remainder in the decanter for 3 days and it held up amazingly well - no signs of oxidation.
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3/30/2008 - zinfidel wrote: 96 Points
Tasted at pebble beach. Intense, dark fruit. Very extracted, but not over the top. Licorice, blackberries and violets. Superb.
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