Decated 1hour with no sediment, very nice showing, certainly better than the three privious bottles tasted going back a dozen years, evidently time does make a difference. Soft, fruit forward, with dark cherry, plum, cranberry mostly integrated with just enough tannins and acidity to add balance. This bottle , my last was worth the wait!
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Delicious! Cork crumbled so we decanted and filtered. Opened up quickly. Perfect time to drink. Rich and full bodied. Beautiful color. Currants and black cherry. Drink it if you got it!
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Decated 2 hours with some sediment, last tasted 10/2011 amazingly with similar notes. Musty, herbaceous, cedar, earthy nose. Rustic palate, with some plum, cherry, a lot of oak, caramel, harsh earthy notes, reminds me of a mid level Medoc this is nothing special but interesting enough. Drink sooner than later!
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Deep, dark, reddish-purple garnet in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe dark fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & cassis with earthy/dusty overtones, peppery, spices, herbs, minerals, smoky, cocoa and a hint of & vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, smooth & polished textured, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with spices, herbs, earthy, dark cocoa, minerals and a hint of vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting and airing but should continue to develop further with additional aging. A blend of 45% Cab Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 7% Malbec & 3% Cabernet Franc. A lovely Washington Cabernet which resembles a Bordeaux in style & structure.
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Wine is ready to drink. We popped and had a taste and decided to decant. Nose is subtle with a smooth finish. It will go longer, but I'd say drink while the drinking is good.
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It has been a while since I first tasted this, but it seemed that it mellowed quite a bit. I'm not sure if it'll last too much longer but was enjoyable now. A bit on the thin side.
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brought to Daniels in Bellevue. Cork was a bit soft and looked as if it wasn't holding. Sommelier and myself tried, didn't seem bad/corked, so we decanted and drank. Was nice wine, still had some acid and tannins for being a 2005. Opened up and was even better with more time. Good wine, not spectacular, but good wine
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I found hebal notes and fresh turned dirt in the nose. Some blackberries, currants, vanilla on the palate. Drinking well now, with plenty of life left. Not overly complex, but a solid effort!
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Drank this over 3 nights. Definately needs more time. First night was out of balance and rather dry .. drank only one glass .. by the 3rd night it was really together with good fruit and balance. WA has it right .. wait till 2015.
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Decanted for 3hrs, for some reason I had only a small sample of this wine with lamb stew. It seamed a little simple, thin and lacking structure and concentration, will reserve judgement with a another bottle that I can taste over an extended period.
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Nose: Black fruits and sweet cassis with sage undertones. Palate: Black fruits and some raspberry merge with good acidic lift and a light to medium finish. A little simplistic and the finish could be longer, but overall a nice red blend.
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Cabernet Finale (Wine Exchange. Orange, CA): Warm and rich on the nose with coffee smells. Mild tannins. Easy drinking. Touch of bitter on the end palate. Length around 20 seconds. Monotone flavor with touch of carmel at end.
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Pretty nose of dark fruit, especially blackcurrants and black cherries; a touch of acidity,and luscious dark fruit flavors, accelerating through the midpalate and cruncy, well-integrated tannins into a lingering finish, ending with black cherries and a touch of vanilla. The qpr may be a bit questionable, however, for a Washington red. 40% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 7% malbec and 3% cabernet franc.
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Perfect ruby. Such a candy, delicate nose, red cherry and cotton candy nose, with secondary venison aromas. Incredible transition of flavors, with great complexity, beautiful intensity and quality of fruit, elegant style, gorgeous ripe tannis. Great dimensions. Such a graceful blend, ever so elegant, complex and profound. It is very approachable, with still some 5 more years cellaring time.
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Double-decanted at 4pm, nose was clean and restrained. 4 hours later, dark ruby color with moderate-minus expressive nose of dark fruits and pencil lead. Though this blend is 45% cab sauv, 45% merlot, 7% malbec, 3% cab franc, the nose to me said cab sauv which means the merlot really compliments the blend. The palate was seamless with great balance of acid, pure fruit and smooth/ripe moderate tannins. Very enjoyable, though not fully open. Hints of earth and some complexity. Fruit became richer and nose slightly prounounced as the night went on (8 hours from opening). Finish was moderately long and consistent with nose and palate.
The next morning, the last couple of ounces revealed deeper, brighter and more open layered fruit flavors, no oxidation and signs of a great future. The nose was open and complex, the finish was longer and more expressive and also included some red fruits which became revealed with airtime.
Tasted alongside a more fruit-focused and less complex 2006 Sineann Merlot Champoux vineyard.
This is my first note. This needed a review which included some airtime.
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More dark and opulent than the Perigee blend. Big tobacco and graphite along with impressive black fruit on the nose. A touch of earth gives great complexity to the palate and makes the fruit taste more Bordeaux-esque. Elegant.
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Hmmm, I didn't find it that tannic. Solidly structured, but after about fifteen minutes, this really started to be quite pleasurable. Nice richness, with the acidity to keep it all balanced. Not a brute, holds some elegance. 90+
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L'Ecole 41 Tasting Notes: Boldly aromatic, this wine has spicy aromas of nutmeg and clove, earthy hints of sweet tobacco and leather, and smoky dark fruit packed with chocolate, mint and cherry finish.
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Color: ruby red, Aroma: some nutmeg . Tasting notes: dark cherry and plum with a hint of tobacco. medium body and long finish. a lot like the 2002. I need to get more!
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1/28/2022 - wineshaman wrote: 92 Points
Decated 1hour with no sediment, very nice showing, certainly better than the three privious bottles tasted going back a dozen years, evidently time does make a difference.
Soft, fruit forward, with dark cherry, plum, cranberry mostly integrated with just enough tannins and acidity to add balance. This bottle , my last was worth the wait!
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1/7/2022 - norsktorsk wrote: 93 Points
Nice nose. Big full bodied with tannins persisting. needs a little air.
awesome wine for the price.
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12/6/2020 - dmsks Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious! Cork crumbled so we decanted and filtered. Opened up quickly. Perfect time to drink. Rich and full bodied. Beautiful color. Currants and black cherry. Drink it if you got it!
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3/31/2017 - wineshaman wrote: 88 Points
Decated 2 hours with some sediment, last tasted 10/2011 amazingly with similar notes. Musty, herbaceous, cedar, earthy nose. Rustic palate, with some plum, cherry, a lot of oak, caramel, harsh earthy notes, reminds me of a mid level Medoc this is nothing special but interesting enough. Drink sooner than later!
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11/5/2015 - 422dbowlsby Likes this wine: 92 Points
Can't add anything to VINNUT's comments. Terrific wine; ready to drink.
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6/27/2015 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep, dark, reddish-purple garnet in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe dark fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & cassis with earthy/dusty overtones, peppery, spices, herbs, minerals, smoky, cocoa and a hint of & vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, smooth & polished textured, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with spices, herbs, earthy, dark cocoa, minerals and a hint of vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting and airing but should continue to develop further with additional aging. A blend of 45% Cab Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 7% Malbec & 3% Cabernet Franc. A lovely Washington Cabernet which resembles a Bordeaux in style & structure.
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8/10/2014 - Snowryeder Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking great now. Berries & tobacco. Medium body. Long finish.
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3/15/2014 - WAWINEFAN wrote: 90 Points
Wine is ready to drink. We popped and had a taste and decided to decant. Nose is subtle with a smooth finish. It will go longer, but I'd say drink while the drinking is good.
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8/18/2013 - Roentgen Ray Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium body, lithe and nimble with blue and red fruit and an elegant balance. While it came across young, it showed well.
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7/10/2013 - 3marinerfans Likes this wine: 90 Points
Shared w/ Vera, Randy, Jamie & Bart in the Keys, Fourth of July 2013. Great Bordeaux blend all by itself.
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4/21/2013 - 8count Likes this wine: 91 Points
I disagree with recent reviews. Wine is drinking great and will be for at least a year or three.
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12/18/2012 - Brownvino wrote: 89 Points
Very thin. Drink this now. Good nose. Some fruit. Decanted for one hour.
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11/25/2012 - wildwine Likes this wine: 89 Points
It has been a while since I first tasted this, but it seemed that it mellowed quite a bit. I'm not sure if it'll last too much longer but was enjoyable now. A bit on the thin side.
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4/28/2012 - Richtong wrote: 92 Points
Tobacco. Rich berry. Incredible after taste.
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2/12/2012 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 88 Points
brought to Daniels in Bellevue. Cork was a bit soft and looked as if it wasn't holding. Sommelier and myself tried, didn't seem bad/corked, so we decanted and drank. Was nice wine, still had some acid and tannins for being a 2005. Opened up and was even better with more time. Good wine, not spectacular, but good wine
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12/30/2011 - Oskar Nyman wrote: 89 Points
Dark fruit & vanilla, with a twist of earth & smoke - enticing entry evolves to mid-palate mediocrity.
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12/26/2011 - dleaf wrote: 92 Points
Well rounded with those Pepper Bridge characteristics you love. Nice long finish with polished tannins. Great with lasagna for Xmas dinner.
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10/22/2011 - wineshaman wrote: 89 Points
I found hebal notes and fresh turned dirt in the nose. Some blackberries, currants, vanilla on the palate. Drinking well now, with plenty of life left. Not overly complex, but a solid effort!
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5/17/2010 - rherman wrote: 91 Points
Nice. Full, rich and dark. Not overly complex - still dark and primary, but mouth-filling and with nice length. not hot.
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1/21/2010 - cmr wrote: 89 Points
Drank this over 3 nights. Definately needs more time. First night was out of balance and rather dry .. drank only one glass .. by the 3rd night it was really together with good fruit and balance. WA has it right .. wait till 2015.
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1/10/2010 - wineshaman wrote:
Decanted for 3hrs, for some reason I had only a small sample of this wine with lamb stew. It seamed a little simple, thin and lacking structure and concentration, will reserve judgement with a another bottle that I can taste over an extended period.
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12/21/2009 - Mattshank wrote: 89 Points
Nose: Black fruits and sweet cassis with sage undertones. Palate: Black fruits and some raspberry merge with good acidic lift and a light to medium finish. A little simplistic and the finish could be longer, but overall a nice red blend.
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10/3/2009 - djdaqm wrote: 88 Points
Cabernet Finale (Wine Exchange. Orange, CA): Warm and rich on the nose with coffee smells. Mild tannins. Easy drinking. Touch of bitter on the end palate. Length around 20 seconds. Monotone flavor with touch of carmel at end.
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9/21/2009 - wahoo70 wrote: 90 Points
Pretty nose of dark fruit, especially blackcurrants and black cherries; a touch of acidity,and luscious dark fruit flavors, accelerating through the midpalate and cruncy, well-integrated tannins into a lingering finish, ending with black cherries and a touch of vanilla. The qpr may be a bit questionable, however, for a Washington red. 40% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 7% malbec and 3% cabernet franc.
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8/26/2009 - Capt M wrote: 93 Points
Perfect ruby. Such a candy, delicate nose, red cherry and cotton candy nose, with secondary venison aromas. Incredible transition of flavors, with great complexity, beautiful intensity and quality of fruit, elegant style, gorgeous ripe tannis. Great dimensions. Such a graceful blend, ever so elegant, complex and profound. It is very approachable, with still some 5 more years cellaring time.
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6/6/2009 - NomadicEntrepreneur wrote: 89 Points
good blend, needs to breathe a lot
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5/9/2009 - drgrape wrote: 89 Points
A little disappointing. Smooth and dark color. Not much nose and only medium body. Not a good value.
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3/15/2009 - moonmanvegas wrote: 93 Points
Great bottle good qpr
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1/3/2009 - mmcc wrote: 92 Points
Double-decanted at 4pm, nose was clean and restrained. 4 hours later, dark ruby color with moderate-minus expressive nose of dark fruits and pencil lead. Though this blend is 45% cab sauv, 45% merlot, 7% malbec, 3% cab franc, the nose to me said cab sauv which means the merlot really compliments the blend. The palate was seamless with great balance of acid, pure fruit and smooth/ripe moderate tannins. Very enjoyable, though not fully open. Hints of earth and some complexity. Fruit became richer and nose slightly prounounced as the night went on (8 hours from opening). Finish was moderately long and consistent with nose and palate.
The next morning, the last couple of ounces revealed deeper, brighter and more open layered fruit flavors, no oxidation and signs of a great future. The nose was open and complex, the finish was longer and more expressive and also included some red fruits which became revealed with airtime.
Tasted alongside a more fruit-focused and less complex 2006 Sineann Merlot Champoux vineyard.
This is my first note. This needed a review which included some airtime.
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11/8/2008 - EMichels wrote: 85 Points
Eastern Washington: Soft licorice nose; Tight; Tart;
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9/19/2008 - mreinitz wrote: 90 Points
Cherry, dark fruits, and a streak of tobacco. Good.
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8/25/2008 - garywa wrote: 95 Points
thick, rich, very nice, good special bottle
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8/9/2008 - csu.viticulture wrote: 92 Points
More dark and opulent than the Perigee blend. Big tobacco and graphite along with impressive black fruit on the nose. A touch of earth gives great complexity to the palate and makes the fruit taste more Bordeaux-esque. Elegant.
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5/8/2008 - hutch wrote: 90 Points
Hmmm, I didn't find it that tannic. Solidly structured, but after about fifteen minutes, this really started to be quite pleasurable. Nice richness, with the acidity to keep it all balanced. Not a brute, holds some elegance. 90+
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5/2/2008 - winegr wrote:
sooo tannic. This needs serious time and probably will never be great.
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3/19/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
nose: nice sharp nose of black currant, anise, dark cherry, and spice tones
taste: very firm tannins that give into anise, dark cherry, and spices
overall: big and full with a long finish of anise
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1/26/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Binny's winter warm up (Binny's Highland Park, highland park IL): nose: nice nose with blueberry, roots, dark cherry and hints of floral notes and spices
taste: very nice mouth. Blueberry, floral aspects, cranberry, and dark cherry. nice smooth and structured mouth
overall: real nice structure and body. real nice and long finish
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11/22/2007 - msebor wrote:
L'Ecole 41 Tasting Notes: Boldly aromatic, this wine has spicy aromas of nutmeg and clove, earthy hints of sweet tobacco and leather, and smoky dark fruit packed with chocolate, mint and cherry finish.
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11/22/2007 - msebor wrote: 90 Points
Aromas of blackberry, ripe cherry, and spices, flavors of dark berries and coffee. Quite nice but pricey, even at the 15% wine club discount.
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11/11/2007 - dawgdaze wrote: 89 Points
Color: ruby red, Aroma: some nutmeg . Tasting notes: dark cherry and plum with a hint of tobacco. medium body and long finish. a lot like the 2002. I need to get more!
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