Nose tells me, this girl is packing all the right stuff. First sip, yes, that taste, dusty but decadent, fruit but not sweet, distant hint of burnt meat and smoky mushrooms. easy 100pts
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Last bottle. Still young, primary, big and enjoyable, especially with a nice ribeye steak. Lots of blue fruits, blueberries, blackberries, violets. I just love the distinct character of Dr. Crane. Wonderfully balanced. If you can wait, this is going to be better in a few years while those tannins integrate a bit. 98 today with upside.
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No formal notes. Just impressions. H2H with Memento Mori Dr. Crane. Judging purely off of which one got consumed the earliest, Vice Versa was the more popular wine tonight. That being said, both were phenomenal and both bottles were out before the steaks were finished by the habachi guy who came for a friend's 40th birthday. In terms of treatment prior to drinking, the VV was ready to go out the shoot while the MM needed a 2 hour double decant back into bottle prior to the dinner. I cheated and coravin poured myself an ounce to make sure the wine was good and to determine if any needed additional decanting, etc.
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Napa Trip - Trying new wines and meeting new people; 4/11/2022-4/12/2022 (Napa): Black and red fruits with a pleasant steeped tea and minerals on the finish. Not gonna rate this but I think you should play on the safer side and either taste and decant along the way or just wait for more bottle age. 97+ IF I had to score it but again, I'd rather you just wait. It hurts so much to try something so nice only to realize you don't have enough time.
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Spring 2022 Dream Napa Trip; 4/11/2022-4/12/2022: I preferred the 19’ today. The nose on the 18’ was not as expressive as I was expecting it to be and it could be that the wine was simply not decanted enough or starting to shut down a bit? On the palate, violets and blackberries with hints of chocolate and cedar.
Coravin pour at 3pm. I tried a sip at 3pm, and was actually shocked at how well it tasted on a PnP. I had that "WOW" moment. I finished the rest of the glass at 7pm which didn't last long.
Very dark black and purple with a little red around the rim. Primarily black and red fruits, signature earth and mineral, ember, slight tobacco notes from the Dr. Crane Vineyard, and a little chocolate on the nice and long finish. Great balance of tension, acid and structure. Vice Versa wines are very consistent. They have their own and unique signature style; based on their winemaker (Melka) and the proprietor's superb influence.
Interestingly, it was slightly better when I popped, poured, and tasted it. It lost a little of its luster and I'm not sure what human error I did. No matter, this is a great representation of The Crane Vineyard and it is a solid bottle of wine. It is one of the wines that I will remember having as it is the best bottle of 2018 Napa Cab that I have had thus far.
5/5/2024 - shadow wrote: 100 Points
Nose tells me, this girl is packing all the right stuff.
First sip, yes, that taste, dusty but decadent, fruit but not sweet, distant hint of burnt meat and smoky
mushrooms. easy 100pts
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4/1/2024 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 98 Points
Last bottle. Still young, primary, big and enjoyable, especially with a nice ribeye steak. Lots of blue fruits, blueberries, blackberries, violets. I just love the distinct character of Dr. Crane. Wonderfully balanced. If you can wait, this is going to be better in a few years while those tannins integrate a bit. 98 today with upside.
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10/15/2023 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 98 Points
No formal notes. Just impressions. H2H with Memento Mori Dr. Crane. Judging purely off of which one got consumed the earliest, Vice Versa was the more popular wine tonight. That being said, both were phenomenal and both bottles were out before the steaks were finished by the habachi guy who came for a friend's 40th birthday. In terms of treatment prior to drinking, the VV was ready to go out the shoot while the MM needed a 2 hour double decant back into bottle prior to the dinner. I cheated and coravin poured myself an ounce to make sure the wine was good and to determine if any needed additional decanting, etc.
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4/11/2022 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine:
Napa Trip - Trying new wines and meeting new people; 4/11/2022-4/12/2022 (Napa): Black and red fruits with a pleasant steeped tea and minerals on the finish. Not gonna rate this but I think you should play on the safer side and either taste and decant along the way or just wait for more bottle age. 97+ IF I had to score it but again, I'd rather you just wait. It hurts so much to try something so nice only to realize you don't have enough time.
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4/11/2022 - bsumoba Likes this wine:
Spring 2022 Dream Napa Trip; 4/11/2022-4/12/2022: I preferred the 19’ today. The nose on the 18’ was not as expressive as I was expecting it to be and it could be that the wine was simply not decanted enough or starting to shut down a bit? On the palate, violets and blackberries with hints of chocolate and cedar.
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11/5/2020 - #1Winelover Likes this wine: 98 Points
Coravin pour at 3pm. I tried a sip at 3pm, and was actually shocked at how well it tasted on a PnP. I had that "WOW" moment. I finished the rest of the glass at 7pm which didn't last long.
Very dark black and purple with a little red around the rim. Primarily black and red fruits, signature earth and mineral, ember, slight tobacco notes from the Dr. Crane Vineyard, and a little chocolate on the nice and long finish. Great balance of tension, acid and structure. Vice Versa wines are very consistent. They have their own and unique signature style; based on their winemaker (Melka) and the proprietor's superb influence.
Interestingly, it was slightly better when I popped, poured, and tasted it. It lost a little of its luster and I'm not sure what human error I did. No matter, this is a great representation of The Crane Vineyard and it is a solid bottle of wine. It is one of the wines that I will remember having as it is the best bottle of 2018 Napa Cab that I have had thus far.
97-99 points for now
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