Elegant body, notes of prunes, dry herbs, dry flowers, chocolate and leather. Fine soft tannins and good acidity. Unfortunately it has just surpassed its best drinking window as it’s almost all tertiary and it’s starting to lose intensity.
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The technical and artful abilities behind the winemaking for this wine is astounding, how Cathy Corison is able to produce such a wine of place and ethereal majesty in a climate and winemaking culture like what's found in Napa is beyond me, refreshing, and awesome. The 1997 vintage doesn't hurt, it being such a highly rated year. This Cab bristles with quality and nuance, tertiary flavors for days, but the core fruit remains persistent and the structure is glorious, I mean it's just impeccably balanced and alive even after 25 years, and it can keep going too, that's the thing. A wine for gatherings, community, *really* good food, and your awe complex. Enjoy, friends.
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Elegant, especially for the year. Wood notes resolved but part of the picture. Cassis and earth. I find a lot of 97's roasted and the reputation of the year more to die with Parkerized excess than anything else, but this comes in at 13.2% and drinks like a time machine rescue from 70's Napa.
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dark red color, earthy cassis, raspberry aromas and fruit on palate, it is in perfect balance now and will be in a great drinking window for several years I think. A very classy wine.
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Don't have too good of notes for this, but suffice it to say this was fantastic. We let the wine breathe in the bottle after shouldering for several hours. This wine is not over the hill by any stretch of the imagination. It's got years left.
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Wine tasting at Paul B's place (Cambridge, UK): Tasted double blind. A good contrast to the previous wine, very Old World in style, aged and elegant. Cassis is there, but elegant, good tannins, a very enjoyable wine.
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Per rpm, this one was cut down before its time. However, it was delicious, right at PnP. It shut down after a while getting some air in the bottle but was beginning to show its stuff later on. Hold the next for 2017+
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Taste: Medium/full bodied with silky tannins and medium acidity. The feel is very polished with well balanced tones of black currants, dark red cherries, dark red berries, and some spice tones.
Overall: This was drinking beautifully. It's a very well balanced and mature cab that is showing very well. There is some real nice style and polish to this right now and it feels like it can hold for a while.
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Same as prior note, left half a bottle for the second day. Seemed more ripe and fruit forward on day 2 (as this style goes). This one slightly better than prio r bottles, drinking very nicely
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did this one on back to back nights, given how light it was I thought we would see if paired OK with scallops and Salmon. Pairing not bad (it was an experiment), works well with Salmon and complimented a tomato couscous perfectly. Nice thing about Cathy Corison's wines is how delicate they are vs traditional Calif Cabs. Only about 13% ABV, tastes/feels like it could be lighter. Opens up different pairing possibilities with Cabs.
I know this is old, and probably past its prime, but still nice wine. the Kronos vineyards from Corison are a notch up from this, great wines if you have them
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Bottle had more in than prior tasters. Definitely old, but still very pleasant. 97 Calif Cabs in my cellar all have life left in them.
Restrained, Bordeaux like for a calif cabernet. Smooth, light mouthfeel, medium finish. tannins are fully resolved. Lighter nose, prior taster noted licorice which is definitely in the nose.
Cherry and some earth, starts opening after about 20 minutes
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Very intense preserved fruit, eucalyptus, and licorice on the nose to begin. Later, musty attic and dust. Tannins were soft and acidity was in balance. Fruit was predominantly dark.
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Nice purple color and a muted dark fruit nose. Medium bodied, it lacked the depth of flavors I've become used to from Corison Cabs, lacked sufficient acid, and had a slight Balsemic note. This bottle was definitely past its peak, although its still drinkable.
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Beautiful deep purple color and lush, sweet, dark fruit nose. Harmonious combo of black cherry, blueberry and plum flavors work their way to a slighltly tart but pleasant finish. In my opinion, this wine is in the twilight of its best drinking years, it is starting to throw some sediment and thus I suggest consuming your remaining bottles sooner rather than later.
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Nose of cedar, raspberry, dark fruit, eucalyptus, and other forest herbs. This was wonderful in the mouth with a profile led by dark caramelized fruit and finished with a tart, crisp acidity. The mouth was enveloped in beautiful, round tannins. The finish was long and this wine got better with each sip. We were sorry to see this bottle finish. Perfectly aged at this point.
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Still has life left in it. At first, I was a little suspect. Fruit was very muted. Color is still nice and bright. Nose is a little stinky with some tobacco and earth. Good black cherry along with cedar. Finish is a bit short.
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Muted nose. Still darl in co,lor showing no age. Better on the palatte with smoothed out tannins and good fruit. Still, not complex. A fine wine not a great one.
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This bottle was well-balanced between Napa fruit and softened tannins and generally drinking very well right now. I have one more bottle that I'm looking forward to, though I likely won't hold it more than 2-3 yrs. A very nice expression of Napa Cabernet with age.
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Very nice bottle. Mature aromas of cigar tobacco mixed with Cab cassis fruit. Very pure core of ripe red fruit in the mouth, no noticible heat or oak. Long finish with polished tannins. This kept improving over several hours and based on this bottle has plenty of life yet. Elegant and understated style, but really delicious.
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Decanted 45 mins. at cellar temp. Deep ruby to the rim; lots of life left in this one. Great nose of cassis, cedar, spice box and tobacco. On the front palate, it still has lots of dark fruits, with a full-bodied and smooth mouthfeel. This wine explodes mid-palate with smoky cedar and tobacco, and the fruit comes back on a long finish (40-50 seconds). Perfect match with prime rib roast, mushrooms and bearnaise sauce. I'd give it two more years to bring the fruit into a perfect balance, but the tannins are already well integrated and supple.
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A complex and nicely structured wine. Pronounced notes of red fruits dominated; tanins were silky and subdued. I was happy to find that the fruit was not fading at all, but the finish was a bit tart. It's hard to go wrong with a '97 Napa Cab at this point. Tanins are all but gone so I think it might be time to drink up soon. 89 points.
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Cedar, black fruits, cherries, barnyard. Finish is nice and balanced, however it is quite thin and watery on palate. Tannins are fully integrated now. Lacks depth and power of great 97' Napa Cabs.
This tasting note is for 375 ml bottle. May be 750s and magnum will show better.
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Had this with a hearty pizza. When first opened fairly intense alcohol. Decanted for two hours. Black fruit, dark chocolate and cherries and cedar. Thin texture on the palate but the aromas and a flavor made for a nice evening.
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7/30/2023 - jz-drinks-wine wrote: 87 Points
Elegant body, notes of prunes, dry herbs, dry flowers, chocolate and leather. Fine soft tannins and good acidity. Unfortunately it has just surpassed its best drinking window as it’s almost all tertiary and it’s starting to lose intensity.
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6/25/2022 - Somm Troy S Likes this wine: 97 Points
The technical and artful abilities behind the winemaking for this wine is astounding, how Cathy Corison is able to produce such a wine of place and ethereal majesty in a climate and winemaking culture like what's found in Napa is beyond me, refreshing, and awesome. The 1997 vintage doesn't hurt, it being such a highly rated year. This Cab bristles with quality and nuance, tertiary flavors for days, but the core fruit remains persistent and the structure is glorious, I mean it's just impeccably balanced and alive even after 25 years, and it can keep going too, that's the thing. A wine for gatherings, community, *really* good food, and your awe complex. Enjoy, friends.
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1/31/2019 - Schwarzer Hund Likes this wine:
Sorry to be repetitive. Actually exactly same as our notes from 10/9/16. Still a classy wine.
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2/16/2018 - Schwarzer Hund Likes this wine:
Actually exactly same as our notes from 10/9/16. Still a classy wine.
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8/7/2017 - doctornoah wrote: 92 Points
Elegant, especially for the year. Wood notes resolved but part of the picture. Cassis and earth. I find a lot of 97's roasted and the reputation of the year more to die with Parkerized excess than anything else, but this comes in at 13.2% and drinks like a time machine rescue from 70's Napa.
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10/9/2016 - Schwarzer Hund Likes this wine:
dark red color, earthy cassis, raspberry aromas and fruit on palate, it is in perfect balance now and will be in a great drinking window for several years I think. A very classy wine.
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1/3/2016 - Schaeferr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Don't have too good of notes for this, but suffice it to say this was fantastic. We let the wine breathe in the bottle after shouldering for several hours. This wine is not over the hill by any stretch of the imagination. It's got years left.
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3/6/2015 - NiklasW wrote:
Wine tasting at Paul B's place (Cambridge, UK): Tasted double blind. A good contrast to the previous wine, very Old World in style, aged and elegant. Cassis is there, but elegant, good tannins, a very enjoyable wine.
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1/23/2015 - lestergibo wrote: 93 Points
Great herbal notes. As you would expect, nothing like today's fruit bombs. Wonderful wine!
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9/14/2014 - MLR wrote: 88 Points
Nice bUt done.
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8/6/2013 - klezman wrote:
Per rpm, this one was cut down before its time. However, it was delicious, right at PnP. It shut down after a while getting some air in the bottle but was beginning to show its stuff later on. Hold the next for 2017+
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5/18/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
Bearserkerfest Day 2- Domaine Wine Storage (Domaine Wine Storage, Chicago IL): Nose: Nice and stylish nose with plush tones of black currants, dark red cherries, dark red berries, and some cedary tones as well. There is nice depth to this as well with all of the tones being well in balance.
Taste: Medium/full bodied with silky tannins and medium acidity. The feel is very polished with well balanced tones of black currants, dark red cherries, dark red berries, and some spice tones.
Overall: This was drinking beautifully. It's a very well balanced and mature cab that is showing very well. There is some real nice style and polish to this right now and it feels like it can hold for a while.
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5/5/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 91 Points
Last bottle, consistent with prior notes. balanced and elegant wine. If you have it drink up
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1/1/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 90 Points
same as prior notes. nice fruit, elegant and restrained. Late in its drinking life, but still very nice wine.
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10/30/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 90 Points
Had this one with a cassoulet we made for our post hurricane Sandy dinner. Consistent with prior notes. Smooth, restrained, elegant wine
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9/30/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 89 Points
Same as prior note, left half a bottle for the second day. Seemed more ripe and fruit forward on day 2 (as this style goes). This one slightly better than prio r bottles, drinking very nicely
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9/22/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 88 Points
did this one on back to back nights, given how light it was I thought we would see if paired OK with scallops and Salmon. Pairing not bad (it was an experiment), works well with Salmon and complimented a tomato couscous perfectly. Nice thing about Cathy Corison's wines is how delicate they are vs traditional Calif Cabs. Only about 13% ABV, tastes/feels like it could be lighter. Opens up different pairing possibilities with Cabs.
I know this is old, and probably past its prime, but still nice wine. the Kronos vineyards from Corison are a notch up from this, great wines if you have them
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9/21/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 88 Points
Bottle had more in than prior tasters. Definitely old, but still very pleasant. 97 Calif Cabs in my cellar all have life left in them.
Restrained, Bordeaux like for a calif cabernet. Smooth, light mouthfeel, medium finish. tannins are fully resolved. Lighter nose, prior taster noted licorice which is definitely in the nose.
Cherry and some earth, starts opening after about 20 minutes
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6/11/2012 - cdwinell wrote: 92 Points
Very good on the palette. Very smooth. Good alcohol and good oak!
Another year or two at the most.
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6/10/2012 - Harry Cantrell wrote: 89 Points
Garnet. Nose of a middling Cab with some age. Taste was a cab with age, red fruits, fresh herbs. Nice.
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3/11/2012 - jmprusko Likes this wine: 92 Points
last few CA cab 97's I've had have all been fresh and drinking well
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1/22/2011 - Tudz Drkl wrote: 90 Points
Very intense preserved fruit, eucalyptus, and licorice on the nose to begin. Later, musty attic and dust. Tannins were soft and acidity was in balance. Fruit was predominantly dark.
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12/18/2010 - merryberry wrote: 87 Points
Nice purple color and a muted dark fruit nose. Medium bodied, it lacked the depth of flavors I've become used to from Corison Cabs, lacked sufficient acid, and had a slight Balsemic note. This bottle was definitely past its peak, although its still drinkable.
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2/7/2010 - schwartzman wrote: 88 Points
Agree with several comments below that wine is past peak. Nice cab flavors, just a bit dull and muted. Drink up.
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12/26/2009 - sirswami wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful deep purple color and lush, sweet, dark fruit nose. Harmonious combo of black cherry, blueberry and plum flavors work their way to a slighltly tart but pleasant finish. In my opinion, this wine is in the twilight of its best drinking years, it is starting to throw some sediment and thus I suggest consuming your remaining bottles sooner rather than later.
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12/2/2009 - no leashes wrote: 89 Points
Similar to prior notes, lots of dark berry, cedar earth and some sage. Drinking nicely. Good balance and texture.
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5/29/2009 - no leashes wrote: 89 Points
Drinking nicely, in half bottle.
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5/16/2009 - Tudz Drkl wrote: 93 Points
Nose of cedar, raspberry, dark fruit, eucalyptus, and other forest herbs. This was wonderful in the mouth with a profile led by dark caramelized fruit and finished with a tart, crisp acidity. The mouth was enveloped in beautiful, round tannins. The finish was long and this wine got better with each sip. We were sorry to see this bottle finish. Perfectly aged at this point.
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4/29/2009 - LPskeleton wrote: 88 Points
past peak. Very thin on the palate. Long gone.
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3/11/2009 - ml1 wrote: 89 Points
Still has life left in it. At first, I was a little suspect. Fruit was very muted. Color is still nice and bright. Nose is a little stinky with some tobacco and earth. Good black cherry along with cedar. Finish is a bit short.
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2/8/2009 - no leashes wrote: 89 Points
nice dark, bright cherry, cedar, earth flavors. Dry tannins on the finish keep it from a 90 pt score.
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7/3/2008 - RickyB wrote: 91 Points
Getting better as the years go by as it opened up the sweet fruit started to show.
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12/26/2007 - tonyo123 wrote: 90 Points
Muted nose. Still darl in co,lor showing no age. Better on the palatte with smoothed out tannins and good fruit. Still, not complex. A fine wine not a great one.
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10/6/2007 - smotley99 wrote: 89 Points
I good Napa Cab that has lost some of its brightness. It was a little too subtle for our liking but we still enjoyed the wine.
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5/29/2007 - no leashes wrote: 90 Points
Very nice dark berry and fruit flavors, good structure and balance.
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4/1/2007 - robba wrote:
This bottle was well-balanced between Napa fruit and softened tannins and generally drinking very well right now. I have one more bottle that I'm looking forward to, though I likely won't hold it more than 2-3 yrs. A very nice expression of Napa Cabernet with age.
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3/25/2007 - marc d wrote:
Very nice bottle. Mature aromas of cigar tobacco mixed with Cab cassis fruit. Very pure core of ripe red fruit in the mouth, no noticible heat or oak. Long finish with polished tannins. This kept improving over several hours and based on this bottle has plenty of life yet. Elegant and understated style, but really delicious.
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2/11/2007 - cmbond wrote:
Decanted 45 mins. at cellar temp. Deep ruby to the rim; lots of life left in this one. Great nose of cassis, cedar, spice box and tobacco. On the front palate, it still has lots of dark fruits, with a full-bodied and smooth mouthfeel. This wine explodes mid-palate with smoky cedar and tobacco, and the fruit comes back on a long finish (40-50 seconds). Perfect match with prime rib roast, mushrooms and bearnaise sauce.
I'd give it two more years to bring the fruit into a perfect balance, but the tannins are already well integrated and supple.
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9/1/2006 - maystom@gmail.com wrote: 86 Points
The nose is quite subdued with hints of black fruit and earth, tannins still a bit harsh and a hint of black cherry on the rather short finish.
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12/6/2005 - rudylai wrote: 89 Points
A complex and nicely structured wine. Pronounced notes of red fruits dominated; tanins were silky and subdued. I was happy to find that the fruit was not fading at all, but the finish was a bit tart. It's hard to go wrong with a '97 Napa Cab at this point. Tanins are all but gone so I think it might be time to drink up soon. 89 points.
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11/27/2005 - charleshetzel wrote: 97 Points
Drank with Mark (chicago) - drinking very well, still has 3 years left on it. Smooth tannins and deep blackberry fruit.
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5/29/2005 - archer752000 wrote: 90 Points
97 vs. 94 Corison Cabs tasting.
97 - more closed. Barnyard, fresh espresso, cherry, cedar.
Opens up slowly - fruits are working really hard through the wall
of oak and tannins.
We had it with goat cheese stuffed venison loin - not a good choice
actually.
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3/25/2005 - archer752000 wrote: 88 Points
Cedar, black fruits, cherries, barnyard.
Finish is nice and balanced, however it is quite thin and watery on palate.
Tannins are fully integrated now.
Lacks depth and power of great 97' Napa Cabs.
This tasting note is for 375 ml bottle. May be 750s and magnum will show better.
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12/18/2004 - maystom@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Had this with a hearty pizza. When first opened fairly intense alcohol. Decanted for two hours. Black fruit, dark chocolate and cherries and cedar. Thin texture on the palate but the aromas and a flavor made for a nice evening.
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