So, sadly not many bottles out there and this was my last. What a pleasant surprise. This wine is drinking like a top tier aged Cabernet. A hint of Amarone type flavors but very subtle and cloaked into a nicely faded oak and chocolate base. MMMMMMMMmmmmm.
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Murky ox-blood, full bodied Raspberries, unripened cherries, fruit leather, paper Dry, acidic, medium finish. Fruit fading by second hour. Definitely at its peak. Rapid decline from here although the last bottle i consumed, from same vintage was wonderful. Don't take the chance. Drink NOW!!!!
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Deep dark ox blood. Full bodied. High ABV Light oak. Vanilla. All spice. Dark fruit. Leather Thick. Wonderfully balanced. Tannin still there. Smooth Medium plus finish.
Wow! LOVE this bottle! Amazing alone or with grilled food. Very good value. Every cellar should hold some of this. Drinking at its peak now.
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New Years red in memory of the Fritz who passed last night....
Deep, solid garnet, full bodied, high ABV Old leather, raspberries, salt water taffy Big and bold with a fantastic balance of tannin, acidity, minerality. This wine blew me away this fine evening. It's drinking wonderfully. Had a big steak and lobster KEG feast. Could not get much better. Great QPR for how the wine is drinking. Happy New Year Everyone!
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Stunning! I knew what to expect from this wine, but this bottle was a big step up from some prior bottles. A huge, full-bodied, concentrated, powerful wine dominated by ripe, vibrant dark berry flavors along with plenty of oak and some spice. Big, firm structure which nicely balances all the fruit. Long fruity finish with a firm grip. Forget about elegance ... this wine is all about power.
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An excellent wine to end the year with. I really wish I had more! Deep, impenetrable ruby, with a mere hint of garnet on the rim. The nose is clean, with pronounced intensity. The aromas are developing, with black berries, black cherries, black currant, rhubarb, tobacco and sweet baking spices. The palate is dry, with sweet black fruit and a luscious, creamy mouthfeel. The tannins are better integrated than six years ago, but still have a fair amount of grip. It is drinking well now, but still has several more years to go in its peak drinking window.
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No notes. Not quite as powerful as some prior bottles, but still with concentrated, rich, ripe dark berry and cassis flavors in a full-boded, seamless, new world package. Tannins have definitely mellowed and sweetened over the past couple of years and the texture has softened. Great balance and a nice finish.
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Dark garnet, full bodied Blackberries, and kirsch cherries, pipe tobacco, leather nose Big, 'Bad' Bold powerful wine. Tastes like the nose Some currents and eucalyptus off the finish. Thick, syrupy.
The wine has matured nicely since the last time i drank a bottle over two years ago.
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Starting to show some age - at least to my palate. Very dark berry and plum/prune aromas and flavors, but they were a bit flat and not as fresh and vibrant as prior bottles. Especially has too much prune flavor and even with plenty of acidity, comes off as slightly cloying. Definitely would have enjoyed more cassis and less prune. Medium to full bodied with good concentration and a nice, fruity, acidic medium + finish. Very enjoyable, but this particular bottle is a 90-91, not a 92-94.
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More mellow than a bottle of a couple of years ago, but still a very big, bold, powerful and ripe new-world cab. Awesome nose of cassis, cherry and plum, along with a huge blast of cinnamon/spice and some oak and earth. Bursting with intense, layered, deep, focused flavors of ripe, dark berry fruits. Full bodied, with tremendous concentration, a firm structure and rounded edges. Tannins are still a bit firm, but needed to balance out all the rich fruit. Nothing subtle about this - it was a brute, but a very enjoyable one. 93+
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PnP but best after about an hour. Dark and brooding. Nose of black raspberries and cassis. Palate has all black fruits with a slight lean toward over-ripeness. Balance very admirable. Tannins are large and somewhat clumsy; I can see what some think this properties potential is limitless. It's all pure Cabernet with not much elegance but tons of character. Finish holds the dark fruits true. I would like to try this in another few years.
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Rar's Birthday (kava + fritz, and Lalo all present)
This is the closing bottle after a stellar night of consumption.
This wine is Big. Dark purple, full bodied, with hints of tobacco, vanilla, and oak off the nose. Initial taste blast of cherries and black currents. Also wet leather presents itself. This silky smooth wine delivers a very long finish, with some back-end tannins.
This wine delivers in spades, and appears to have a very long life in front of it. Highly enjoyed by all present.
Happy Birthday Nacha!!!!!
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PnP. Lovely, big , full nose of cassis, blackberry, spice, cocoa and oak, along with some heat. Big, full, juicy, deep cassis flavors dominate the palate along with some tar, just a hint of menthol and a lot of oak. Full bodied with a firm backbone, some rough edges, good balance and a long, fruity, drying finish. The raw flavors and coarse textures of this bottle reminded me more of a barrel sample than of a 5 year old wine. Needs an hour+ to begin to open and soften.
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A really big oaky Napa Cab. Well made and tight. I agree with many of the other reviews, great red and blue fruits on the nose initially, but it takes about two hours for the heat to blow off and the fruit to come forward on the palate. Tannins are fine and well integrated. After a two hour decant this wine probably would have scored much higher. Long finish.
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pop, aerate and decant. Drank over 2-2.5 hrs. Starts big and with heat on the finish. nice red cherry mixed with some blackl fruit. Decent mouthfeel, though not as creamy as i would have expected. Finish lengthy enough. Over time alcohol settled mostly, though still not integerated at the 2 hr mark. Give this another couple of yrs before retry. nice enough.
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Tasted along side some big boys and it performed well. It wasn't a sophisticated as the Stag's Leap Fay or the Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot, but made up for it with hedonistic big, bold fruit, balance with a lot of heat. Intense and very nice.
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Most interesting wine to drink...I felt like I had higher hopes but I believe it was just paired poorly with the food prepared. Eat with hearty meats (Venison, Lamb, Filet Mignon) fyi. Bouquet: Legume, Cinnamon, Oaky mid, Leesy overall with a hint of tea leaf. Palate: Salty at first - mildly tannic and heavy alcohols right out of the bottle settling down after an hour or so, wet for a cab, red pepper front, hearty old vine taste with some soft cassis and a wandering mouthfeel.
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Really nice, complex nose of cassis, vanilla, spice and some cocoa. Rich, ripe, juicy cassis fruit on the palate and a full, lush mouthfeel. Medium to full bodied and very supple with soft tannins and round edges. Medium, fruity finish that turns pleasantly drying after about 30 minutes. Very interesting and enjoyable combination of rich cabernet fruit and a structure and texture that is somewhat merlot-like. The flavors reminded me of a Staglin or Mondavi Reserve Cab. This needed about an hour of air to really open up and continued to improve until it was gone an hour later. Hard to resist and very, very impressive. 94+
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Popped and poured. Very nice Napa cab. Modern styled and full. It didn't open as much as I had hoped/expected. But, went beautifully with steak frites at Rue Cler. Probably should have decanted it.
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This bottle was really nice but I did sense more oak in this one. Drank after a fairly oak neutral pinot, so the contrast may have had something to do with it.
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A superb example of a modern California cab. Fruit forward, mostly berry and plum, with a hint of dark cherry. Soft, supple tannins make for a very nice velvety finish. Pop and pour. Not built for age, but I'm sure it will be just fine for at least another 4 to 6 years. Extremely well made.
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Classic Bordeaux Cabernet notes including dried leaves, forest notes, and medium dark fruit; Lots of acidity supporting the structure; pure, nearly perfect balance, in a medium plus body and a good finish. This is the epitome of an excellent, balanced Napa cab. Why don't they make more like this? Just get rid of the label!...14.5%, 22 months in 60% new French oak
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Very well balanced. Did not get too much oak. Very nice fruit, cedar, not overly tannic . Could go for a few more years, but not much longer than that.
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dark fruit, rich mouth feel and firm tannins upon opening, but back pallet seemed a little lacking. after an hour it really came together and shined rather nicely. and, then, after hour two it started to fade a little ungracefully losing its nice, rich finish. could have been influenced by the strong flavors of dinner out. regardless a very well made wine esp for the money
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Beautiful, heady aromas of black fruit, rhubarb and spices. Luscious mouthfeel, with sweet black fruit that quickly gives way to silky tannins and bracing acidity. Nice long finish. Drinks well now, but it would benefit fr a couple year's aging and probably has the legs to go ten years or so.
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Tasted this at a pretty high-end tasting event (alongside the likes of Pahlmeyer, Gemstone, Roy Estate, Viader and Ghost Block) and this one seriously impressed and over-delivered! Further, it gave me hope for the '06 vintage, which the others had me pessimistic about. Although a tad straightforward and hedonistic, it showed great balance and depth, along with all the pleasure and satisfaction. Perhaps a smidge overpriced in this economy but if you could find it in the sub-$40 range, I'd say it's well worth that price tag.
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4/13/2021 - Ricky99 Likes this wine: 92 Points
So, sadly not many bottles out there and this was my last. What a pleasant surprise. This wine is drinking like a top tier aged Cabernet. A hint of Amarone type flavors but very subtle and cloaked into a nicely faded oak and chocolate base. MMMMMMMMmmmmm.
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9/22/2017 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 89 Points
With Rob
Murky ox-blood, full bodied
Raspberries, unripened cherries, fruit leather, paper
Dry, acidic, medium finish. Fruit fading by second hour.
Definitely at its peak. Rapid decline from here although the last bottle i consumed, from same vintage was wonderful. Don't take the chance. Drink NOW!!!!
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9/11/2017 - Acohen Likes this wine: 92 Points
lovely fruit forward oakville cab with lots of integrated tannins, current, plum and cassis with good finish
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6/4/2017 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep dark ox blood. Full bodied. High ABV
Light oak. Vanilla. All spice. Dark fruit. Leather
Thick. Wonderfully balanced. Tannin still there. Smooth
Medium plus finish.
Wow! LOVE this bottle! Amazing alone or with grilled food.
Very good value. Every cellar should hold some of this.
Drinking at its peak now.
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1/26/2017 - Ricky99 wrote: 92 Points
Big Juicy cab... not at end of its window in my mind... happy to have 4 of these left
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12/31/2016 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
New Years red in memory of the Fritz who passed last night....
Deep, solid garnet, full bodied, high ABV
Old leather, raspberries, salt water taffy
Big and bold with a fantastic balance of tannin, acidity, minerality.
This wine blew me away this fine evening. It's drinking wonderfully. Had a big steak and lobster KEG feast. Could not get much better.
Great QPR for how the wine is drinking. Happy New Year Everyone!
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4/12/2016 - rickspicks wrote: 94 Points
Stunning! I knew what to expect from this wine, but this bottle was a big step up from some prior bottles. A huge, full-bodied, concentrated, powerful wine dominated by ripe, vibrant dark berry flavors along with plenty of oak and some spice. Big, firm structure which nicely balances all the fruit. Long fruity finish with a firm grip. Forget about elegance ... this wine is all about power.
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1/3/2016 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 94 Points
An excellent wine to end the year with. I really wish I had more! Deep, impenetrable ruby, with a mere hint of garnet on the rim. The nose is clean, with pronounced intensity. The aromas are developing, with black berries, black cherries, black currant, rhubarb, tobacco and sweet baking spices. The palate is dry, with sweet black fruit and a luscious, creamy mouthfeel. The tannins are better integrated than six years ago, but still have a fair amount of grip. It is drinking well now, but still has several more years to go in its peak drinking window.
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12/29/2014 - rickspicks wrote: 92 Points
No notes. Not quite as powerful as some prior bottles, but still with concentrated, rich, ripe dark berry and cassis flavors in a full-boded, seamless, new world package. Tannins have definitely mellowed and sweetened over the past couple of years and the texture has softened. Great balance and a nice finish.
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10/18/2014 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 91 Points
CAD Thanksgiving @ Chez Carmichel's with the Gang
Dark garnet, full bodied
Blackberries, and kirsch cherries, pipe tobacco, leather nose
Big, 'Bad' Bold powerful wine. Tastes like the nose
Some currents and eucalyptus off the finish. Thick, syrupy.
The wine has matured nicely since the last time i drank a bottle over two years ago.
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8/26/2014 - JVSMagic wrote:
Nose of plums and coffee. Showing maturity, sweet tannins and coffee, cooked bing cherries and cinnamon. Layers with a long finish. Drink up.
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7/26/2014 - rickspicks wrote: 90 Points
Starting to show some age - at least to my palate. Very dark berry and plum/prune aromas and flavors, but they were a bit flat and not as fresh and vibrant as prior bottles. Especially has too much prune flavor and even with plenty of acidity, comes off as slightly cloying. Definitely would have enjoyed more cassis and less prune. Medium to full bodied with good concentration and a nice, fruity, acidic medium + finish. Very enjoyable, but this particular bottle is a 90-91, not a 92-94.
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12/27/2013 - rickspicks wrote: 93 Points
More mellow than a bottle of a couple of years ago, but still a very big, bold, powerful and ripe new-world cab. Awesome nose of cassis, cherry and plum, along with a huge blast of cinnamon/spice and some oak and earth. Bursting with intense, layered, deep, focused flavors of ripe, dark berry fruits. Full bodied, with tremendous concentration, a firm structure and rounded edges. Tannins are still a bit firm, but needed to balance out all the rich fruit. Nothing subtle about this - it was a brute, but a very enjoyable one. 93+
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11/25/2013 - Acohen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Classic oakville cab with dark fruit, currant, cassis, some oak on the midpalate and well integrated tannins and nice finish
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11/12/2012 - Acohen wrote: 92 Points
Textbook Oakville for me with rich sweet red fruit forward taste, well integrated tannins and smooth long finish
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7/6/2012 - King Cab wrote: 90 Points
PnP but best after about an hour. Dark and brooding. Nose of black raspberries and cassis. Palate has all black fruits with a slight lean toward over-ripeness. Balance very admirable. Tannins are large and somewhat clumsy; I can see what some think this properties potential is limitless. It's all pure Cabernet with not much elegance but tons of character. Finish holds the dark fruits true. I would like to try this in another few years.
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3/21/2012 - Genghis88 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Rar's Birthday (kava + fritz, and Lalo all present)
This is the closing bottle after a stellar night of consumption.
This wine is Big. Dark purple, full bodied, with hints of tobacco, vanilla, and oak off the nose.
Initial taste blast of cherries and black currents. Also wet leather presents itself. This silky smooth wine delivers a very long finish, with some back-end tannins.
This wine delivers in spades, and appears to have a very long life in front of it. Highly enjoyed by all present.
Happy Birthday Nacha!!!!!
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2/17/2012 - rickspicks wrote: 92 Points
PnP. Lovely, big , full nose of cassis, blackberry, spice, cocoa and oak, along with some heat. Big, full, juicy, deep cassis flavors dominate the palate along with some tar, just a hint of menthol and a lot of oak. Full bodied with a firm backbone, some rough edges, good balance and a long, fruity, drying finish. The raw flavors and coarse textures of this bottle reminded me more of a barrel sample than of a 5 year old wine. Needs an hour+ to begin to open and soften.
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12/13/2011 - Sauvyfan Likes this wine: 91 Points
A really big oaky Napa Cab. Well made and tight. I agree with many of the other reviews, great red and blue fruits on the nose initially, but it takes about two hours for the heat to blow off and the fruit to come forward on the palate. Tannins are fine and well integrated. After a two hour decant this wine probably would have scored much higher. Long finish.
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12/9/2011 - bruinesq84 wrote: 90 Points
pop, aerate and decant. Drank over 2-2.5 hrs. Starts big and with heat on the finish. nice red cherry mixed with some blackl fruit. Decent mouthfeel, though not as creamy as i would have expected. Finish lengthy enough. Over time alcohol settled mostly, though still not integerated at the 2 hr mark. Give this another couple of yrs before retry. nice enough.
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12/3/2011 - neurovino wrote: 93 Points
Tasted along side some big boys and it performed well. It wasn't a sophisticated as the Stag's Leap Fay or the Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot, but made up for it with hedonistic big, bold fruit, balance with a lot of heat. Intense and very nice.
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11/28/2011 - DruStemm wrote: 88 Points
Most interesting wine to drink...I felt like I had higher hopes but I believe it was just paired poorly with the food prepared. Eat with hearty meats (Venison, Lamb, Filet Mignon) fyi.
Bouquet: Legume, Cinnamon, Oaky mid, Leesy overall with a hint of tea leaf. Palate: Salty at first - mildly tannic and heavy alcohols right out of the bottle settling down after an hour or so, wet for a cab, red pepper front, hearty old vine taste with some soft cassis and a wandering mouthfeel.
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11/27/2011 - rickspicks wrote: 94 Points
Really nice, complex nose of cassis, vanilla, spice and some cocoa. Rich, ripe, juicy cassis fruit on the palate and a full, lush mouthfeel. Medium to full bodied and very supple with soft tannins and round edges. Medium, fruity finish that turns pleasantly drying after about 30 minutes. Very interesting and enjoyable combination of rich cabernet fruit and a structure and texture that is somewhat merlot-like. The flavors reminded me of a Staglin or Mondavi Reserve Cab. This needed about an hour of air to really open up and continued to improve until it was gone an hour later. Hard to resist and very, very impressive. 94+
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10/9/2011 - neurovino wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Very nice Napa cab. Modern styled and full. It didn't open as much as I had hoped/expected. But, went beautifully with steak frites at Rue Cler. Probably should have decanted it.
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3/18/2011 - winelover1 wrote: 93 Points
Just awesome. Full bodied elegant. Great Oakville flavoring.
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12/4/2010 - winopops3 wrote: 90 Points
This bottle was really nice but I did sense more oak in this one. Drank after a fairly oak neutral pinot, so the contrast may have had something to do with it.
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10/30/2010 - RSTAR4 wrote: 95 Points
A superb example of a modern California cab. Fruit forward, mostly berry and plum, with a hint of dark cherry. Soft, supple tannins make for a very nice velvety finish. Pop and pour. Not built for age, but I'm sure it will be just fine for at least another 4 to 6 years. Extremely well made.
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10/17/2010 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Classic Bordeaux Cabernet notes including dried leaves, forest notes, and medium dark fruit; Lots of acidity supporting the structure; pure, nearly perfect balance, in a medium plus body and a good finish. This is the epitome of an excellent, balanced Napa cab. Why don't they make more like this? Just get rid of the label!...14.5%, 22 months in 60% new French oak
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7/1/2010 - Acohen wrote: 93 Points
very impressive with great balance and well integrated fine tannins that went well with dark fruit. Can last for a while
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5/8/2010 - winopops3 wrote: 92 Points
Very well balanced. Did not get too much oak. Very nice fruit, cedar, not overly tannic . Could go for a few more years, but not much longer than that.
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4/25/2010 - BartsBIN wrote: 87 Points
Very classical American - (too) heavy oak - heavy alcohol and very round nose
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4/2/2010 - muredskin14 wrote: 93 Points
dark fruit, rich mouth feel and firm tannins upon opening, but back pallet seemed a little lacking. after an hour it really came together and shined rather nicely. and, then, after hour two it started to fade a little ungracefully losing its nice, rich finish. could have been influenced by the strong flavors of dinner out. regardless a very well made wine esp for the money
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2/10/2010 - Collector of Cork wrote: 96 Points
Really good. Opens up nicely.
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11/24/2009 - TannicBeast wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful, heady aromas of black fruit, rhubarb and spices. Luscious mouthfeel, with sweet black fruit that quickly gives way to silky tannins and bracing acidity. Nice long finish. Drinks well now, but it would benefit fr a couple year's aging and probably has the legs to go ten years or so.
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11/7/2009 - golfwine wrote: 90 Points
Tasted this at a pretty high-end tasting event (alongside the likes of Pahlmeyer, Gemstone, Roy Estate, Viader and Ghost Block) and this one seriously impressed and over-delivered! Further, it gave me hope for the '06 vintage, which the others had me pessimistic about. Although a tad straightforward and hedonistic, it showed great balance and depth, along with all the pleasure and satisfaction. Perhaps a smidge overpriced in this economy but if you could find it in the sub-$40 range, I'd say it's well worth that price tag.
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