"There's a lot of fish at Montrose Harbor" (Chicago, IL): From magnum. Stunning stuff, with a glorious, old-school California cabernet nose. So aromatic and perfumed, the nose on this was magnificent. The palate is a bit of a let-down in comparison to the nose, it's no slouch but it just doesn't reach the same heights. In general, this was a bit softer in structure versus the other cabernets, but there's no denying how good the nose was on this.
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Nose screams out of a forested mountain side on the Pacific coast. Leaf litter, distant ocean mist, light rain in the trees. Bits of fresh mushrooms, and cedar.
Palette is incredibly silky and cool to start. Opens up into blackberry bush, green stem, and some very dark, astringent fruit, and black cherry. Still with rigid structure, but elegantly expressed. Grips and lingers into the finish starting with black cherry and progressing into dried black currant, with a bit of cedar powder. The saline notes of the ocean persist through the palatte and come forward in the lingering finish.
Beautiful, mature California Cabernet. Old and refined and IMO, perfect.
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Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color with 7mm transitional margin. Brought this to the holiday party with hopes after Coravining a little to check on it first. The first whiffs had a lot of bottle stank and didn't look great, but sitting in the glass for 15 minutes revealed a nice bit of pretty red cherry and dried roses on a rather featherweight engaging palate. After that, I thought it would need a little air to come around at dinner. Unfortunately, it never really panned out that way coming off as old and dull with funk, sundried tomato, ripe black cherries. Drinkable but not satisfying.
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Very pretty wine in the glass with no bricking appearance. Some “funk” on the nose, but otherwise suggestive of black fruit. On the tip of the tongue, I’m getting a bit of tart dark fruit. As the wine passes back I am enjoying the elegance that comes from years (decades, in this case) of bottle age. However, there is a slight suggestion of oxidation. Negative points for the retro-nasal sensation of alcohol. The latter observations suggest to me that the wine is past its prime, but, regardless, it is a winner.
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Opened for my fiancee's birthday (birth-year wine for her). This is on the greenish/underripe side even by Macayamas' standards. Still quite fresh at 31, nice redcurrant/cranberry fruit and lots of pyraziney green peppercorn/pine needle and good earthy character. Very high acid, still quite structured, not showing much in the way of tertiary cedar/tobacco development. Better with a steak, which cuts the structure and allows the fruit to express itself more. Could maybe actually use more age, as it doesn't seem to be drying out on the finish. Not a typical Napa cabernet, this is only for those who like the house style, which I do.
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A fantastic evening with a youthful classic cab. Ready to drink upon opening...great coloring, with very little bricking, if any. Highly aromatic with cigar box, dark fruit and plum notes...very savory. Acidity comes through on finish. Held up fine over 3 hour dinner...and at 12.5% you could walk out easily.
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This is not napa. This is every bit a Bordeaux and a pauillac at that and I dare say as good or almost as good as even a first growth in an average year. Technically as much a pauillac as one could get with cigar , tobacco and robust meaty savory dark red claret fruits. Good succulent body but just a waft short on the finish to make it an exceptional wine. But it is indeed good. Remarkably at least 10 yrs younger than it should taste.
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New Year's Eve 2012 Drinks (Kat and Ewen's): Yummy. From a magnum, this was a remarkably strong Napa Cab at its age. It had a such a Bordeaux-like nose that it could have fooled the sharpest blind-tasters - wafts of tobacco and spice, earth and green capcisums and tea leaves all floating around of core of sweet black fruit aromas. Really nice stuff. The palate was also putting on a great ripe-vintage left-bank imitation, with a black fruited centre of cassis and blackberries with a shade of damson plums fanning out into a twist of capcisum and tobacco. It was certainly bright and sunny in character, but with a nice warmth to it, but in a way that brought the mind to say 1989 Bordeaux rather than 1984 Napa. Part of that was the balance and structure on the wine I think. Midweight rather than rich, it was marked by super-fresh acidity and a chewy structure that was just about mellowing. The wine thinned out after a few hours in the decanter, but for the time that it was showing well, this was excellent. A Cab constructed in a very classic fashion and, from the magnum, drinking brilliantly well.
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A very good wine. Certainly very Bordeaux-like, emphasizing more of the savory/earthy side the spectrum. Aromatically gorgeous with bay leaf, dirt, manure, cassis, pepper, anise, blackberry, brown sugar, even cola. Finishes nice, mirroring the aroma with some violet tones, and a plum tomato component. Acidity is well present and so is the tannin, leading me to believe it could age another 12-15 years. Concentration and length are slightly lacking, preventing a higher score. Again, it's still a very good wine that demands attention for its beautiful bouquet and complexity.
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Surprisingly youthful for a 27 year old wine. I bet it could go for another 10 years. Very smooth with tannins well resolved. Vanilla and caramel initially with a short oak and citrus aftertaste. I believe this wine needed all of its age to resolve the citrus. If I am correct, this bottle probably is very representative of the terroir. I want more, although it's not a blockbuster and a little pricey.
If you do not have 2 hours to decant, I would wait for another night. Upon opening, this was sour cherries competing with forest floor or earthiness.
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RED BROWN ON THE EDGE, BLACKBERRIES, OAK, PEPPER, AND A TOUCH OF EARTHINESS IN THE NOSE. BLACK CHERRIES IN THE FLAVOR. A BORDEAUX LIKE WINE WITH A LONG FINISH.
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Didn't get the bitterness Jamie mentioned. Not an outstanding wine, didn't develop depth or great flavors over time in bottle. Decanted for an hour, was not significantly different after another hour.
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4/2/2024 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
"There's a lot of fish at Montrose Harbor" (Chicago, IL): From magnum. Stunning stuff, with a glorious, old-school California cabernet nose. So aromatic and perfumed, the nose on this was magnificent. The palate is a bit of a let-down in comparison to the nose, it's no slouch but it just doesn't reach the same heights. In general, this was a bit softer in structure versus the other cabernets, but there's no denying how good the nose was on this.
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11/18/2023 - chandlerc@gmail.com Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose screams out of a forested mountain side on the Pacific coast. Leaf litter, distant ocean mist, light rain in the trees. Bits of fresh mushrooms, and cedar.
Palette is incredibly silky and cool to start. Opens up into blackberry bush, green stem, and some very dark, astringent fruit, and black cherry. Still with rigid structure, but elegantly expressed. Grips and lingers into the finish starting with black cherry and progressing into dried black currant, with a bit of cedar powder. The saline notes of the ocean persist through the palatte and come forward in the lingering finish.
Beautiful, mature California Cabernet. Old and refined and IMO, perfect.
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12/12/2021 - rocknroller wrote:
Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN): Very dark red color with 7mm transitional margin. Brought this to the holiday party with hopes after Coravining a little to check on it first. The first whiffs had a lot of bottle stank and didn't look great, but sitting in the glass for 15 minutes revealed a nice bit of pretty red cherry and dried roses on a rather featherweight engaging palate. After that, I thought it would need a little air to come around at dinner. Unfortunately, it never really panned out that way coming off as old and dull with funk, sundried tomato, ripe black cherries. Drinkable but not satisfying.
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4/19/2017 - EMark Likes this wine:
Very pretty wine in the glass with no bricking appearance. Some “funk” on the nose, but otherwise suggestive of black fruit. On the tip of the tongue, I’m getting a bit of tart dark fruit. As the wine passes back I am enjoying the elegance that comes from years (decades, in this case) of bottle age. However, there is a slight suggestion of oxidation. Negative points for the retro-nasal sensation of alcohol. The latter observations suggest to me that the wine is past its prime, but, regardless, it is a winner.
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2/19/2015 - coremill wrote: 89 Points
Opened for my fiancee's birthday (birth-year wine for her). This is on the greenish/underripe side even by Macayamas' standards. Still quite fresh at 31, nice redcurrant/cranberry fruit and lots of pyraziney green peppercorn/pine needle and good earthy character. Very high acid, still quite structured, not showing much in the way of tertiary cedar/tobacco development. Better with a steak, which cuts the structure and allows the fruit to express itself more. Could maybe actually use more age, as it doesn't seem to be drying out on the finish. Not a typical Napa cabernet, this is only for those who like the house style, which I do.
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12/19/2014 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: flawed
Presented by D.B. in double-blind fashion to our tasting group, this particular bottle was unfortunately corked.
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5/18/2013 - Matthew B Likes this wine: 93 Points
A fantastic evening with a youthful classic cab. Ready to drink upon opening...great coloring, with very little bricking, if any. Highly aromatic with cigar box, dark fruit and plum notes...very savory. Acidity comes through on finish. Held up fine over 3 hour dinner...and at 12.5% you could walk out easily.
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1/4/2013 - Alex H wrote: 89 Points
This is not napa. This is every bit a Bordeaux and a pauillac at that and I dare say as good or almost as good as even a first growth in an average year. Technically as much a pauillac as one could get with cigar , tobacco and robust meaty savory dark red claret fruits. Good succulent body but just a waft short on the finish to make it an exceptional wine. But it is indeed good. Remarkably at least 10 yrs younger than it should taste.
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12/31/2012 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
New Year's Eve 2012 Drinks (Kat and Ewen's): Yummy. From a magnum, this was a remarkably strong Napa Cab at its age. It had a such a Bordeaux-like nose that it could have fooled the sharpest blind-tasters - wafts of tobacco and spice, earth and green capcisums and tea leaves all floating around of core of sweet black fruit aromas. Really nice stuff. The palate was also putting on a great ripe-vintage left-bank imitation, with a black fruited centre of cassis and blackberries with a shade of damson plums fanning out into a twist of capcisum and tobacco. It was certainly bright and sunny in character, but with a nice warmth to it, but in a way that brought the mind to say 1989 Bordeaux rather than 1984 Napa. Part of that was the balance and structure on the wine I think. Midweight rather than rich, it was marked by super-fresh acidity and a chewy structure that was just about mellowing. The wine thinned out after a few hours in the decanter, but for the time that it was showing well, this was excellent. A Cab constructed in a very classic fashion and, from the magnum, drinking brilliantly well.
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11/19/2011 - cabcbv7 wrote: 90 Points
A very good wine. Certainly very Bordeaux-like, emphasizing more of the savory/earthy side the spectrum. Aromatically gorgeous with bay leaf, dirt, manure, cassis, pepper, anise, blackberry, brown sugar, even cola. Finishes nice, mirroring the aroma with some violet tones, and a plum tomato component. Acidity is well present and so is the tannin, leading me to believe it could age another 12-15 years. Concentration and length are slightly lacking, preventing a higher score. Again, it's still a very good wine that demands attention for its beautiful bouquet and complexity.
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6/6/2011 - JustOneMore wrote: 90 Points
Surprisingly youthful for a 27 year old wine. I bet it could go for another 10 years. Very smooth with tannins well resolved. Vanilla and caramel initially with a short oak and citrus aftertaste. I believe this wine needed all of its age to resolve the citrus. If I am correct, this bottle probably is very representative of the terroir. I want more, although it's not a blockbuster and a little pricey.
If you do not have 2 hours to decant, I would wait for another night. Upon opening, this was sour cherries competing with forest floor or earthiness.
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3/26/2009 - winefool wrote: 92 Points
Hart Davis Hart BYO Dinner (Blackbird): Forward black fruit nose. Nice earthy black fruit. Nice enough.
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11/11/2006 - buckeye76 wrote: 92 Points
BLACK CHERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, AND CURRANTS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. SHOWED NICE COMPLEXITY AND A MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH.
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6/27/2006 - buckeye76 wrote: 92 Points
RED BROWN ON THE EDGE, BLACKBERRIES, OAK, PEPPER, AND A TOUCH OF EARTHINESS IN THE NOSE. BLACK CHERRIES IN THE FLAVOR. A BORDEAUX LIKE WINE WITH A LONG FINISH.
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10/2/2005 - bheller wrote: 88 Points
Didn't get the bitterness Jamie mentioned. Not an outstanding wine, didn't develop depth or great flavors over time in bottle. Decanted for an hour, was not significantly different after another hour.
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5/18/2005 - jamiekutch wrote:
THE FIRST SUPPER – Dinner with Robert Parker; 5/17/2005-5/18/2005 (Corks Restaurant, Baltimore Maryland): Dark purple with again a nose that is just non interesting and possessing notes of earth, olives and herb. Finish is unappealing and bitter.
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