After 4+ hours in decanter: Beautiful nose of creme de cassis, blackberry jam, cacao nibs and toasty oak. Full-bodied, this is thick and textured with loads of high quality tannins and an oyster shell minerality on the finish. Loaded with creosote, black currant, black cherry, cedar and spice flavors. Just excellent, this needs several years to come around. I'll likely wait until it is 12 before opening another. Drink 2030-2038 95+
The fruit and tannins are all present and correct, but it needs time to come together. In my Zalto Bordeaux glass this was pretty hot and the alcohol really dominated the nose. Didnt have this issue from the smaller Gabriel Glas or an estate series red wine glass from Williams Sonoma, though. Still - hoping that will balance out over time.
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Note is based on how it’s drinking today. This is undoubtably a brilliantly made wine. It is absolutely blasphemous to drink this now (Jan 2023). Initial pop & pour; tighter than the Feds current monetary policy. Did a four hour aggressive decant, and it opened up slightly but still super taut. It is nowhere near ready to drink now. And it certainly wasn’t doesn’t seem as if it was crafted for early drinking. (The next morning it drank slightly better. Don’t waste bottles popping this before 2026. It will be a brilliant wine in the upper 90s in its stride.)
Appearance: Clear Pale Purple / Ruby. Not an ink bomb in the glass. Nose: graphite, minerality, red & black fruits. Palate: tart red and black fruits. Racing acidity. Body: Medium Plus Color: Acid: Medium plus trending towards high Tannin: super grippy & super fine tannins.
This one’s built for the long haul. It’s elegant and graceful but in an awkward dumb young phase. It’s definetly in the style of a young Ridge, Mayacamas, or Heitz Cabernet. In winemaking style, you can tell that this one was sent to a Bordelais finishing school. As such, patience will be rewarded and will be an absolute knockout for a long time once it hits its window. That window just doesn’t look like it’s anywhere close.
91 points now. Potential for 97-99+ in future. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to load up on this one.
Opened a half bottle and followed for 4 hours. Expressive nose, but palate was muted at first. After 3 hours, the palate is live and singing. Nice balance and smooth tannin. Refreshing. Lots of sediment in the bottle.
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Decanted for two hours. There’s a panoply of nuances with the nose: blackberry, terra cotta, fried shallots, black cherry, pencil lead and minerals. A wide then focused finish, which stretches on. Polished, and refined tannins; the body is full and this goddess is singing, yet the ability to evolve with panache is rather evident. Marvelous. Elegant. Fresh. (I will abstain from the Bordeaux comparatives, to ensure that we eschew cliche.) Drink 2023 -.
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3/17/2024 - Philip_Bundpropperne Likes this wine: 93 Points
Rating: 4,3/5,0.
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3/16/2024 - Rond Likes this wine: 94 Points
Notes of red plum and raspberry. Surprisingly smooth tannins after a 4-hr decant; very approachable.
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3/3/2024 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 95 Points
After 4+ hours in decanter:
Beautiful nose of creme de cassis, blackberry jam, cacao nibs and toasty oak. Full-bodied, this is thick and textured with loads of high quality tannins and an oyster shell minerality on the finish. Loaded with creosote, black currant, black cherry, cedar and spice flavors. Just excellent, this needs several years to come around. I'll likely wait until it is 12 before opening another. Drink 2030-2038 95+
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12/12/2023 - DTK Rockstar Likes this wine: 87 Points
Fruity but not a fruit bomb. Good concentration.
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10/1/2023 - SundevilDC Likes this wine: 93 Points
The fruit and tannins are all present and correct, but it needs time to come together. In my Zalto Bordeaux glass this was pretty hot and the alcohol really dominated the nose. Didnt have this issue from the smaller Gabriel Glas or an estate series red wine glass from Williams Sonoma, though. Still - hoping that will balance out over time.
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6/17/2023 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 94 Points
Love these restrained cabs with awesome fruit
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1/30/2023 - conway2031 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Note is based on how it’s drinking today. This is undoubtably a brilliantly made wine. It is absolutely blasphemous to drink this now (Jan 2023). Initial pop & pour; tighter than the Feds current monetary policy. Did a four hour aggressive decant, and it opened up slightly but still super taut. It is nowhere near ready to drink now. And it certainly wasn’t doesn’t seem as if it was crafted for early drinking.
(The next morning it drank slightly better. Don’t waste bottles popping this before 2026. It will be a brilliant wine in the upper 90s in its stride.)
Appearance: Clear Pale Purple / Ruby. Not an ink bomb in the glass.
Nose: graphite, minerality, red & black fruits.
Palate: tart red and black fruits. Racing acidity.
Body: Medium Plus
Color:
Acid: Medium plus trending towards high
Tannin: super grippy & super fine tannins.
This one’s built for the long haul. It’s elegant and graceful but in an awkward dumb young phase. It’s definetly in the style of a young Ridge, Mayacamas, or Heitz Cabernet. In winemaking style, you can tell that this one was sent to a Bordelais finishing school. As such, patience will be rewarded and will be an absolute knockout for a long time once it hits its window. That window just doesn’t look like it’s anywhere close.
91 points now. Potential for 97-99+ in future. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to load up on this one.
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1/8/2023 - sgamiz wrote:
I do not understand the hype on this bottle - it’s a good wine for 40 bucks but not much more.
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11/24/2022 - Sp@rk Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened a half bottle and followed for 4 hours. Expressive nose, but palate was muted at first. After 3 hours, the palate is live and singing. Nice balance and smooth tannin. Refreshing. Lots of sediment in the bottle.
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10/15/2022 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for two hours. There’s a panoply of nuances with the nose: blackberry, terra cotta, fried shallots, black cherry, pencil lead and minerals. A wide then focused finish, which stretches on. Polished, and refined tannins; the body is full and this goddess is singing, yet the ability to evolve with panache is rather evident. Marvelous. Elegant. Fresh. (I will abstain from the Bordeaux comparatives, to ensure that we eschew cliche.) Drink 2023 -.
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10/4/2022 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 94 Points
Elegant, restrained. 2018 is a step above prior vintages. The nose is like perfume
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4/29/2022 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 95 Points
Consistent with previous note. Such a great wine floral, baking spices, redder fruit creates a nice complexity and smooth finish.
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4/20/2022 - jimyeni Likes this wine: 95 Points
Super well balanced, red fruit, elegant. Much better than I expected. Built to age.
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