Guess I'm the outlier on this one. Lots of red fruit which fades mid palate and not much of a finish. Day 2 - Maybe one point better. Wine seemed to develop a little more structure. Day 3 - Started to fade. Given the stated occurrences of bottle to bottle variation in deNegoce wines, I've withheld rating for now. We'll see after a couple more bottles. Most deNegoce wines I've tried are worth what I paid but not much more (but have not tried 385 or 401 yet).
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Electric purple in the glass. Someone mentioned a note of ludens cough drop - that's apt. Along with some minty herbal notes. Great nose, nice mid palate, falls off a little on the finish but great for the price and seems like it'll improve with some time.
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Splash decanted back to bottle, followed for a couple hours. 14.2% ABV.
Nose is initially tight but eventually shows red raspberry, cherry, blue and pink flowers. Hint of spicy cinnamon candy and all around framed by supple oak. Palate is medium-full with lots of baby fat to shed. True red raspberry, medicinal cherry, red florals, and a gorgeous tinge of sweet acidity. Very elegant and definitively in the red spectrum. Finish hits the same notes as the palate but gives the feel of raspberry puree over chalky minerals.
Gorgeous wine that drinks beautifully now. Nice extraction, good body, red fruit, judicious oak. Not a black fruit extracted oozy oaky cab. Very sensible. I don't pick up significant tannins but the structure is not completely absent. Agree with the red cough drop reference.
91-92ish. 3-5 years and this should be in the zone.
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In a recent offer of a mixed case of reds, Cam billed this one as the "drink now" bottle and praised it for a pop and pour. Well I did that and was quite underwhelmed. However, gassing the remaining half bottle and revisiting 4 days later revealed a much more enjoyable wine. It was no longer tart and closed, and seemed to take on some body and perception of tannin.
These wines are almost always great values, but also, almost never work great on a pop and pour.
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I've had three more bottles of this wine since my initial review in the Fall of 2022. In the early part of 2023 this wine was in a place where it seemed to be taking longer to open up. This is a wine that is much better on day 2, in my opinion. I really like the classic cabernet style with luden's cough drop and cinnamon candy flavors. This wine has been in a place where it seems slightly more thin that last Fall, and I believe more aging will benefit the wine, though it is fine to drink now.
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A very special cabernet that combines all of the best of Bordeaux as well as the Russian River Valley, to create a unique and timeless wine. It has delineated red and black fruit with cassis, mixing intensity and complexity, herbal notes, and a lengthy complex finish.
This has a complete combination of soft cherry fruit, with a day-2 structure that adds complexity and backbone.
The red clay soil terroir shows through perhaps as well as the winemaker's dedication to perfectly integrating the oak and the aging process. This will age well, recommending a long decant to drink today.
The producer is known for their Pinot Noir, and this drinks more like it leans towards the pinot spectrum of Cabernet, meaning, it's not going to punch you in the face with power, but is a beautiful wine with nice complexity and drinkability.
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3/24/2024 - LCHammer Does not like this wine:
Guess I'm the outlier on this one. Lots of red fruit which fades mid palate and not much of a finish. Day 2 - Maybe one point better. Wine seemed to develop a little more structure. Day 3 - Started to fade. Given the stated occurrences of bottle to bottle variation in deNegoce wines, I've withheld rating for now. We'll see after a couple more bottles.
Most deNegoce wines I've tried are worth what I paid but not much more (but have not tried 385 or 401 yet).
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2/27/2024 - Colowine Likes this wine:
Electric purple in the glass. Someone mentioned a note of ludens cough drop - that's apt. Along with some minty herbal notes. Great nose, nice mid palate, falls off a little on the finish but great for the price and seems like it'll improve with some time.
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2/26/2024 - rama Likes this wine:
Enjoyable now as a PnP, though no rush.
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2/26/2024 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 91 Points
Chocolate Cherry, herb pyrazine, a bit bumpy early but smoothed out with air. Solid every day Cab.
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1/8/2024 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 90 Points
Solid Cab, but maybe drank too quickly, seemed a bit disjointed and missing smooth transitions. Will decant longer next time.
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8/20/2023 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Splash decanted back to bottle, followed for a couple hours. 14.2% ABV.
Nose is initially tight but eventually shows red raspberry, cherry, blue and pink flowers. Hint of spicy cinnamon candy and all around framed by supple oak. Palate is medium-full with lots of baby fat to shed. True red raspberry, medicinal cherry, red florals, and a gorgeous tinge of sweet acidity. Very elegant and definitively in the red spectrum. Finish hits the same notes as the palate but gives the feel of raspberry puree over chalky minerals.
Gorgeous wine that drinks beautifully now. Nice extraction, good body, red fruit, judicious oak. Not a black fruit extracted oozy oaky cab. Very sensible. I don't pick up significant tannins but the structure is not completely absent. Agree with the red cough drop reference.
91-92ish. 3-5 years and this should be in the zone.
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7/7/2023 - wirelesswine Likes this wine: 90 Points
In a recent offer of a mixed case of reds, Cam billed this one as the "drink now" bottle and praised it for a pop and pour. Well I did that and was quite underwhelmed. However, gassing the remaining half bottle and revisiting 4 days later revealed a much more enjoyable wine. It was no longer tart and closed, and seemed to take on some body and perception of tannin.
These wines are almost always great values, but also, almost never work great on a pop and pour.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/14/2023 - brianschool Likes this wine:
I've had three more bottles of this wine since my initial review in the Fall of 2022. In the early part of 2023 this wine was in a place where it seemed to be taking longer to open up. This is a wine that is much better on day 2, in my opinion. I really like the classic cabernet style with luden's cough drop and cinnamon candy flavors. This wine has been in a place where it seems slightly more thin that last Fall, and I believe more aging will benefit the wine, though it is fine to drink now.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/16/2022 - brianschool Likes this wine: 94 Points
A very special cabernet that combines all of the best of Bordeaux as well as the Russian River Valley, to create a unique and timeless wine. It has delineated red and black fruit with cassis, mixing intensity and complexity, herbal notes, and a lengthy complex finish.
This has a complete combination of soft cherry fruit, with a day-2 structure that adds complexity and backbone.
The red clay soil terroir shows through perhaps as well as the winemaker's dedication to perfectly integrating the oak and the aging process. This will age well, recommending a long decant to drink today.
The producer is known for their Pinot Noir, and this drinks more like it leans towards the pinot spectrum of Cabernet, meaning, it's not going to punch you in the face with power, but is a beautiful wine with nice complexity and drinkability.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment