Left to breathe in the bottle for about 2 hours. Consistent with previous TN except that the tannins seem pretty much resolved now. Smooth, elegant mouthfeel with nice blueberry and dark cherry fruit to go along with secondary notes of chocolate, leather and some black tea on the 25 second finish. Definitely a more feminine style of cabernet which shows nice resatraint and elegance. Drinking well right now. Guess this bottle didn't come anywhere close to making it until 2016 which seems to have been my plan. Oh well!
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Decanted 1 hour and rebottled. This has improved nicely since the last time i tasted it nearly 2 years ago. Was intially a little tannic even after the 1 hour decant. The wine opened up over the next few hours and showed nice blueberry and blackberry fruit. This is now showing more complexity with notes of chocolate, mushroom and leather. Medium plus body with nice elegance and balance. More of a feminine style of cab. The finish is about 25 seconds with notes of black tea and some drying tannins still in evidence. I have one more bottle which i intend to hold until around 2016 when i think this will be at its' peak.
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Nice nose showing blackberries and new leather. Good weight on the palate with a slight mocha note on the finish. Slightly tannic, but a very nicely structured wine. At the original price of $45 this might not be a great value but getting them for half price really makes it a good deal.
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A bold bordeaux style wine. We decanted it for a half hour before consuming and liked it enough to order a dozen more. Like a big wine? This one is for you.
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Decanted 2 hours. A little subdued on the nose with dark fruit and some floral notes. Medium bodied with nice fruit intensity. Blueberry, cedar and some earthy undertones. Picked up weight over the next couple of hours and held up well on day 2. Smooth and elegant with a medium length finish. Tannins are already quite well integrated and this was very approachable after the 2 hr decant. Very good wine which is enjoyable now but may be at its peak in 1-2 years. Well made wine which is priced about right at $40.
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needs to be de-canted for quite awhile. much better 2 hours after opening and the next day. similar to silver oak which makes sense, knowing the location of the winery's in the alexander valley. will buy again but put it away for a couple of years.
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11/24/2014 - theguy wrote: 86 Points
Not a typical Cab. Smells and tastes were close but not spot on. Finish was short and not satisfying.
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5/27/2013 - TEDL Likes this wine: 89 Points
Still one of our favorites.
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5/8/2012 - Yamadori wrote: 91 Points
Left to breathe in the bottle for about 2 hours. Consistent with previous TN except that the tannins seem pretty much resolved now. Smooth, elegant mouthfeel with nice blueberry and dark cherry fruit to go along with secondary notes of chocolate, leather and some black tea on the 25 second finish. Definitely a more feminine style of cabernet which shows nice resatraint and elegance. Drinking well right now. Guess this bottle didn't come anywhere close to making it until 2016 which seems to have been my plan. Oh well!
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10/30/2011 - Princeton Cellars wrote:
- Flavours of smokey, cedar and black pepper.
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8/10/2011 - Yamadori wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 1 hour and rebottled. This has improved nicely since the last time i tasted it nearly 2 years ago. Was intially a little tannic even after the 1 hour decant. The wine opened up over the next few hours and showed nice blueberry and blackberry fruit. This is now showing more complexity with notes of chocolate, mushroom and leather. Medium plus body with nice elegance and balance. More of a feminine style of cab. The finish is about 25 seconds with notes of black tea and some drying tannins still in evidence. I have one more bottle which i intend to hold until around 2016 when i think this will be at its' peak.
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2/10/2010 - remy wrote: 84 Points
Some fruit on the nose, nothing noteworthy on the palate after being decanted for two hours. Fine if it was a $10 cab.
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1/15/2010 - Rob MacKay wrote: 88 Points
Nice nose showing blackberries and new leather. Good weight on the palate with a slight mocha note on the finish. Slightly tannic, but a very nicely structured wine. At the original price of $45 this might not be a great value but getting them for half price really makes it a good deal.
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12/29/2009 - xboomer wrote: 83 Points
I kept waiting for this wine to open and it didn't.
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12/22/2009 - TEDL wrote: 88 Points
See 12/12 note
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12/12/2009 - TEDL wrote: 88 Points
A bold bordeaux style wine. We decanted it for a half hour before consuming and liked it enough to order a dozen more. Like a big wine? This one is for you.
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12/5/2009 - pablopicasso wrote:
Liked this, mix of sweet fruit and mushrooms, got better with time.
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11/2/2009 - Yamadori wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 2 hours. A little subdued on the nose with dark fruit and some floral notes. Medium bodied with nice fruit intensity. Blueberry, cedar and some earthy undertones. Picked up weight over the next couple of hours and held up well on day 2. Smooth and elegant with a medium length finish. Tannins are already quite well integrated and this was very approachable after the 2 hr decant. Very good wine which is enjoyable now but may be at its peak in 1-2 years. Well made wine which is priced about right at $40.
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10/31/2009 - rshoe32 wrote: 84 Points
needs to be de-canted for quite awhile. much better 2 hours after opening and the next day. similar to silver oak which makes sense, knowing the location of the winery's in the alexander valley. will buy again but put it away for a couple of years.
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3/21/2009 - pizzler wrote: 91 Points
2009 California Barrel Tasting (Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Washington DC): Cherry nose and a very nice cherry taste, this was a finesse wine for drinking now but had the structure and tannins to last.
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12/4/2008 - MJTed wrote: 90 Points
Tight and at first unyielding. Opens to reveal core of dark blue fruit, spice and subtle vanilla/oak. Firm structure, and tannin. Better to hold.
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