Robert's Holiday Party (Margaux's): Slo-O'd at the restaurant for about 2 hours. This was very Harlan-esque with a rich mouthfeel and silky smooth tannins. Lots of red fruit and leans on the fruit side of the scale (rather than tertiary), although tertiary notes are definitely there! For those who prefer more hedonistic wines with some of the complexities that tertiary flavors bring, this is in a great spot right now! (This is drinking quite well for me!) For those who prefer wines with much more tertiary flavors than fruit, this wine still needs a few years.
Mostly red fruit (currant and red berries) with some black fruit (mostly dark cherry) lurking in the background. Also, notes of earth, leather and some tobacco with hints of tar and graphite. Oak is well integrated and finish is medium to medium long. Tasty and certainly in my wheelhouse. Easy 93+ to 94 points! Will be opening my other 2 more sooner than later!
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Robert's holiday get-together: This is so soft and velvety, its like a red wine pillow. Friendly red fruit of strawberry, raspberry and plum. I had a 1997 about a year ago and that had significantly more development to it, which makes me think that a few more years will benefit this wine.
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Didn't record notes so from memory. It was mature and fruit has receded but not to the point of tired or flat. Nice mouthfeel for what it's worth. I would have these sooner than later as age won't make them better, and they made fade soon.
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Decanted for about 1 1/2 hours. The wine is drinking wonderfully. Full of herbs and spice on the nose and a velvety richness. Paired beautifully with a ribeye on the Big Green Egg.
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Decanted for 1 hour then opened for 2 hours. Aromas of cherry, blackberry, currant, graphite and lead pencil. Flavors of blackberry, currant, black cherry, earth and plum. Ends with a crazy finish of 45+ seconds with blackberry and black cherry notes. Agree with other notes in being the best Maiden I have ever had.
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Dranking absolutely fantastic. One of our best wines in many months. Went perfectly with our grill NY Strip steaks. Looking forward to our last bottle.
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Initial nose was spices and clove, touch of dirt, wet cardboard, bittersweet chocolate, some mushroom. Palate was muted. Never opened with air but not good. No score as this may have been flawed
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One of the best wines we have had in awhile, and we have had many great wines. The nose of this Bordeaux blend was very expressive upon opening with the aromas continuing to grow over the next 2+ hours. This wine is opulent, voluptuously textured with perfectly integrated flavors. An absolute killer pairing with our leftover (from Bob's b'day dinner) ribeye, sliced and top with Bob's sweetheart's wine reduction mushroom gravy. Love is in the air 💕, and in our glasses. Happy Valentine's day.
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This earthy and layered Cabernet is drinking well right now, with a savory depth and energy that I find quite charming. Garnet in color, medium in body, pungent aromas of black cherry, raspberry, cocoa powder, and herbs de provence. Flavors of mulberry, mocha, rosemary, and tapenade, with a lifted finish that carries dry tannins but still goes on and on. 14.5% alcohol. Decant an hour or so.
I tasted this on the same night as a 2008 Maiden, which came across as more full and ripe (and, to me, better). The 2007 was more nimble in the mouth and energetic on the finish, but I found myself preferring the integration and texture of the 2008. Both are savory, earthy, classy, yet full wines, with the 2007 offering another few years of life - but the 2008 demanding, convincingly, to be opened now.
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Agree with the field on this around 93-94 points. It is a big boy, huge and tannic but great underlying flavors. First night I should have decanted for two hours before drinking; flavors great but tannins got quite pronounced. Second night (under pump) tannins more under control so overall experience great. Be sure to decant, but this will be good for years.
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A good implementation of a Napa Cult Cab. Big fruit and big oak on the nose, with an intense palate that is well balanced fruity and oaky. A little sweet too but that is par for the course. There is complexity here with black cherry, blackberry, raspberry, oak, and vanilla. I’d prefer a Bordeaux like Ducru Beaucaillou most days but this is certainly a good rendition of Napa given realistic expectations. This is certainly better than The Maiden from 2001 and 2002, vintages which in my opinion were overrated in Napa. The 2001 was hard and tannic as many 2001 are, not much joy to drink. The 2002 was dense but not really giving, as 2002s tend to be. 2007 seems a much better ripe Napa vintage and this Maiden shows those good characteristics.
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Have several more and let me start by saying this wine is in a good place and easily has years left if stored properly. finally had some time away from kids and dog-and cellar roulette yielded this consumed with time to think. no food for distraction :) Cellared since release at 55deg. Poured without aeration. Zalto stemware. Dark ruby with garnet rim mild sediment. Nose of fruit compote with strawberries, rosepetals with nuances of pencil shavings and faint eucalyptus. lovely. Flavors of delicious red and dark fruits with a delicious glycerine mouthfeel and literally mouthwatering and mouthcoating tannins. for me this is an ideal tannic structure and bodes well for continued propper cellaring. Bravo!
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Same experience as our previous bottle from 2014, but this time, only 45 minutes in a decanter to get there, vs a few hours. For those of you with more patience than me, and more than one bottle, now is probably the time to at least check in on it.
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Tasted non blind. Opened and decanted before serving.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of dark cocoa powder, melted black licorice, spice box and plum. Flavors of black currants, plums and black cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with air or continue to hold.
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The color is dark, inky, and opaque with slight haze. Smells are blueberry, currants, vanilla, menthol, and sweet cherries. Tastes are cherry, blueberry, stone, tobacco, earth, and some notes of dull and cedar on the back end. Tannins are furry and velvety and the wine has a lengthy finish.
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Was very disappointed in this after cellaring for 8+ years. Harsh, didn't open up, even after long decant. Will wait 2+ more years before trying again.
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Excellent wine for Christmas Eve. Drank with food. Very forward and tannins beginning to break up. Loads of fruit and finish was extra long. Great drinking and eating wine. Lots of years left to cellar.
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Decanted and served with dinner. This bottle showed with lots of rough edges masking the delicious fruit and chocolate and didn't open up over two hours. I wish I had waited because it's probably entering a confused phase. My only bottle of 2007 but who knows what the future holds?
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Really nice wine enjoyed this afternoon. The one thing I remember is that this wine was what I envision as the true embodiment of the 2007 vintage. Lots of fruit, pepper, still actually had quite a bit of tannin on the finish but had definitely softened and integration was coming along quite nicely. This wine was NOT a show stopper. However, with excellent experience with Maiden in the past it was one of the bottles that I tried first and then came back to about 2 hours later. This bottle is continuing to evolve, and definitely got a little deeper with fruit intensity in the middle. Not bad, and will continue to last another few years. Although I think I'd start drinking this one sooner as opposed to later.
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Last time I had the 07 Maiden was only last year and this bottle seemed surprisingly developed comparatively. Sleek texture, quite sweet, notes of minerals and decaying fruit and also some notes of iodine. European proportions, if I could say so, with veritable American Cabernet flavours.
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This is hitting all the right notes. Extremely well balanced right now with great structure and fruit, but not over the top. Decanted for about 1 hour. It went very well with prime rib.
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Opened an decanted for about an hour. Beautiful wine that is in a great place. Intoxicating aromas of creme de cassis and tobacco leaf interwoven with beautiful deep fruit flavours. Very opulent and luxurious. 94+
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Don't know why people are decanting this for hours before drinking it. Pop and pour seems fine to me. Glossy, dark crimson with lightening on edges. Sizeable legs creeping up the side. Nose of camphor, eucalyptus, cassis, blueberry, dry cocoa, candied cherry Gummy Bear. Very calm, smooth, cool palate of cherry meringue, black cherry, cinnamon, dried cranberry and cedar. Not lush or over extracted, but with a lot of finesse and elegance. The absolute technical control of the winemaking is obvious in the velvety mouth feel and precise delineation of tastes. Some smooth tannins creeping into the end, promising at least another 10 years of healthy evolution.
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96 points for Maiden, then how high should I rate the Estate wine? Young, lifted, vibrant with edges - a think which I like - dry, cedary and mineral. Tasted together with the incredible Ornellaia 2004 this was less sweet, with less body, less round (i.e. had some edges: more tannic) but more elegant. Remarkable wine of very high quality.
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Not as dense as the Ornellaia but equally complex if somewhat more angular. However some prefered this thanks to its complexity and elegance. Complex nose of graphite, anise, plum, dark berry fruit, chocolate and hints of cedar. Medium to full-bodied with firm tannins, bright fruit and med+ acidity. Very long. Will reward further aging.
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Still quite young - easily could sit for 3-5 yrs. Suggest 2hr min decant beforehand. Exhibited all the things you might expect from Harlan family of wines - incredibly long finish, very dark fruit.
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Decanted two hours before service. In the glass, deep red with shades of auburn. On the nose, a smoothly integrated mix of cedar, crushed currants, and pine. On the palate, more elegance, with cedar, dark fruit, notes of forest floor, and a nice mid-palate sweetness that in my experience presages great things, given enough cellar time. Quite nice now with a few hours of air, but the best days are several years ahead.
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One of the nicer cabs I've had recently. cork broke in half but I performed surgery and the patient survived. Deep stain on cork, almost no infiltrations either. Nice heady bouquet of yeast; in fact, this wine has a very nice aroma period. Deep maroon color. Astringent, tannins in abundance, but after some time in the glass, very nice fruit. seems like there is a unique profile to this producers wines. is the the rutherford/Oakville mark? don't know. Long finish in excess of a minute, tasted in mouth much longer. Having over three days and the tannins still there, which tells me this might age quite a bit. Fruit took a few steps back in the process, and almost as if mid-palate disappeared. Still, very nice wine, savoring every sip. Throwing some sediments now reaching end of bottle, and some wine left overnight in glass showed extremely fine deposit, almost like a shellac like you get on a cars burnt cylinder head. No problem aging this second wine, should go ten more years. Recommended.
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- Brick color and aromas of eucalyptus, black currant and blackberry and has flavours of cedar - Excellent wine. Just a powerhouse. Coming into focus now and will only get better in next 3-5 years.
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The wine was very tight. I brought it to a party and in all fairness it didn't have enough time to open before it was gone. It could use more time in the bottle.
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Decanted for a couple of hour before drinking with our meal. Very, very smooth. We loved the fruity, velvety feel, with a little bite of tannins at the finish. Excellent.
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This wine was so tight. Decanted, poured 2 hours later. Set aside for an 07 Ridge Monte Bello. Came back and it hadn't loosened a bit. 2017, 2022 & 2027 are more likely drinking dates.
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Brother in law broke this one out. Concentrated bitter dark fruit to start, then morphed into chocolates. I don't know...world class? This was soooo goood. I sat around shaking my head at how ridiculously good this was.
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Decanted half the bottle for day 1. Re-corked and kept the remainder at RT for day 2. Day 1 knockout nose of cassis, blueberry, and candied fruits, impressive. Aromas really carry this wine. The palate was moderately rich with black and red fruit and wood spice (distinctly cinnamon). Day 2 less pronounced aromas, but fatter on the palate with more of a dusty red or black cherry profile and a 30+ sec finish. Roasted herbs complement the fruit, alcohol kept in balance. Great pairing with crabcakes and a caesar kale salad (I know, unconventional). I preferred the calmer and more sophisticated wine that emerged after a day of being open. Initially I thought was going to be an early drinker, but it held up impressively.
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Decanted for a few hours. Way too young. Nothing near the 2005 I had a few months before. Will wait on the other bottles for a few years, and will likely end in the 93-94 pt range in my books.
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I just don't see it. Yea, I get the chocolate, but the form is of unsweetened cocoa. The pH is way way lower than other top Napa's, and the tannins are pretty darn dry. I have two more in the cellar, so we'll se what happens in a few years...but pH doesn't resolve itself over time like tannins do.
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Opened and noon and poured at 1:30, this wine was tasted as part of a 13 vintage vertical. The wine shows nuanced aromatics of black currant, mocha, plum and tobacco. The bouquet develops a rich, lush, but detailed element with airing. The color is a youthful dark ruby to purple. The medium/full bodied palate shows detailed, forward fruit balanced by well proportioned tannins on the lengthy finish.
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Deep ruby colour, youthful. Nose is explosive with vanilla, creme brulee and toast from top quality oak. Fruit is ripe and sweet, cherry and berry. Also notes of mint, eukalyptus and chocolate. There is some herbaceousness that adds complexity. Palate is velvety, with amazing complexity and length although the wine is just a baby and has not yet lost its baby fat. Truly great wine, oak has not integrated yet but even at this phase is tremendously hedonistic and enjoyable.
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Amazing wine! Dark ruby-garnet. Extremely complex on the nose, with explosive aromas of melted licorice, palm oil, dark berries, cedar, roast meat, coffee, dark chocolate and sweet oak. Full-bodied, powerful with firm but juicy tannins, very rich fruit and high acidity. Very long. Still quite primary, will use a couple of years or more to integrate the oak, soften and come together, but already so seductive!
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2/10/2024 - Bob in NC wrote: flawed
Very disappointed. This bottle tasted like it was oxidized some, although still drinkable, but incredible as the previous 2 bottles.
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12/24/2023 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes.
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12/15/2023 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Robert's Holiday Dinner at Margaux's Table (Margaux's Table, White Bear Lake, MN): Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank a glass over about an hour. Ripe, Blackberry, plum, ripe cassis, spicy. The palte is sappy, ripe, blackberry, plum, huckleberry, dried wood. Very good. 92+pts.
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12/15/2023 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Robert's Holiday Party (Margaux's): Slo-O'd at the restaurant for about 2 hours. This was very Harlan-esque with a rich mouthfeel and silky smooth tannins. Lots of red fruit and leans on the fruit side of the scale (rather than tertiary), although tertiary notes are definitely there! For those who prefer more hedonistic wines with some of the complexities that tertiary flavors bring, this is in a great spot right now! (This is drinking quite well for me!) For those who prefer wines with much more tertiary flavors than fruit, this wine still needs a few years.
Mostly red fruit (currant and red berries) with some black fruit (mostly dark cherry) lurking in the background. Also, notes of earth, leather and some tobacco with hints of tar and graphite. Oak is well integrated and finish is medium to medium long. Tasty and certainly in my wheelhouse. Easy 93+ to 94 points! Will be opening my other 2 more sooner than later!
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12/15/2023 - galewskj wrote: 93 Points
Robert's holiday get-together: This is so soft and velvety, its like a red wine pillow. Friendly red fruit of strawberry, raspberry and plum. I had a 1997 about a year ago and that had significantly more development to it, which makes me think that a few more years will benefit this wine.
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10/22/2023 - pmarlo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Didn't record notes so from memory. It was mature and fruit has receded but not to the point of tired or flat. Nice mouthfeel for what it's worth. I would have these sooner than later as age won't make them better, and they made fade soon.
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2/1/2023 - Alfaro wrote: 98 Points
In a perfect window right now!
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4/15/2022 - ScottCowp Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for about 1 1/2 hours. The wine is drinking wonderfully. Full of herbs and spice on the nose and a velvety richness. Paired beautifully with a ribeye on the Big Green Egg.
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3/26/2022 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for 1 hour then opened for 2 hours. Aromas of cherry, blackberry, currant, graphite and lead pencil. Flavors of blackberry, currant, black cherry, earth and plum. Ends with a crazy finish of 45+ seconds with blackberry and black cherry notes. Agree with other notes in being the best Maiden I have ever had.
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3/25/2022 - Bob in NC Likes this wine: 97 Points
Dranking absolutely fantastic. One of our best wines in many months. Went perfectly with our grill NY Strip steaks. Looking forward to our last bottle.
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5/23/2021 - Geaux Tigers wrote:
Initial nose was spices and clove, touch of dirt, wet cardboard, bittersweet chocolate, some mushroom. Palate was muted. Never opened with air but not good. No score as this may have been flawed
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4/26/2021 - MOCGator wrote: 98 Points
Astounding. In a perfect place. Will not get better. Near perfection. Best Maiden I’ve ever had.
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2/14/2021 - Bob in NC Likes this wine: 98 Points
One of the best wines we have had in awhile, and we have had many great wines. The nose of this Bordeaux blend was very expressive upon opening with the aromas continuing to grow over the next 2+ hours. This wine is opulent, voluptuously textured with perfectly integrated flavors. An absolute killer pairing with our leftover (from Bob's b'day dinner) ribeye, sliced and top with Bob's sweetheart's wine reduction mushroom gravy. Love is in the air 💕, and in our glasses. Happy Valentine's day.
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12/15/2020 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points
This earthy and layered Cabernet is drinking well right now, with a savory depth and energy that I find quite charming. Garnet in color, medium in body, pungent aromas of black cherry, raspberry, cocoa powder, and herbs de provence. Flavors of mulberry, mocha, rosemary, and tapenade, with a lifted finish that carries dry tannins but still goes on and on. 14.5% alcohol. Decant an hour or so.
I tasted this on the same night as a 2008 Maiden, which came across as more full and ripe (and, to me, better). The 2007 was more nimble in the mouth and energetic on the finish, but I found myself preferring the integration and texture of the 2008. Both are savory, earthy, classy, yet full wines, with the 2007 offering another few years of life - but the 2008 demanding, convincingly, to be opened now.
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5/10/2020 - levinml wrote:
Agree with the field on this around 93-94 points. It is a big boy, huge and tannic but great underlying flavors. First night I should have decanted for two hours before drinking; flavors great but tannins got quite pronounced. Second night (under pump) tannins more under control so overall experience great. Be sure to decant, but this will be good for years.
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5/2/2020 - Bordeaux_Jon Likes this wine: 93 Points
A good implementation of a Napa Cult Cab. Big fruit and big oak on the nose, with an intense palate that is well balanced fruity and oaky. A little sweet too but that is par for the course. There is complexity here with black cherry, blackberry, raspberry, oak, and vanilla. I’d prefer a Bordeaux like Ducru Beaucaillou most days but this is certainly a good rendition of Napa given realistic expectations. This is certainly better than The Maiden from 2001 and 2002, vintages which in my opinion were overrated in Napa. The 2001 was hard and tannic as many 2001 are, not much joy to drink. The 2002 was dense but not really giving, as 2002s tend to be. 2007 seems a much better ripe Napa vintage and this Maiden shows those good characteristics.
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5/1/2020 - Wineson wrote: 95 Points
Excellent
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11/23/2019 - levinml wrote: 95 Points
Really nice drinking. Deep, long, good flavors and long finish. May get better still. Glad I have this.
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1/5/2019 - Asmiller wrote: 87 Points
Previous note still stands...unfortunately.
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12/22/2018 - Griffeyfan04 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Just starting to get secondary notes and still good fruit to it. I would drink now with a little decant or another few years if properly stored.
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11/20/2018 - 55degrees wrote: 95 Points
Have several more and let me start by saying this wine is in a good place and easily has years left if stored properly. finally had some time away from kids and dog-and cellar roulette yielded this consumed with time to think. no food for distraction :)
Cellared since release at 55deg. Poured without aeration. Zalto stemware.
Dark ruby with garnet rim mild sediment.
Nose of fruit compote with strawberries, rosepetals with nuances of pencil shavings and faint eucalyptus. lovely.
Flavors of delicious red and dark fruits with a delicious glycerine mouthfeel and literally mouthwatering and mouthcoating tannins.
for me this is an ideal tannic structure and bodes well for continued propper cellaring.
Bravo!
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10/30/2018 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Same experience as our previous bottle from 2014, but this time, only 45 minutes in a decanter to get there, vs a few hours. For those of you with more patience than me, and more than one bottle, now is probably the time to at least check in on it.
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10/6/2018 - wineismylife wrote: 93 Points
WIML93
Tasted non blind. Opened and decanted before serving.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of dark cocoa powder, melted black licorice, spice box and plum. Flavors of black currants, plums and black cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with air or continue to hold.
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10/6/2018 - hackey37 Likes this wine: 95 Points
The color is dark, inky, and opaque with slight haze. Smells are blueberry, currants, vanilla, menthol, and sweet cherries. Tastes are cherry, blueberry, stone, tobacco, earth, and some notes of dull and cedar on the back end. Tannins are furry and velvety and the wine has a lengthy finish.
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9/29/2018 - Asmiller wrote: 87 Points
87 might be generous. Nose was terrible but got a bit better over a few hours. No backbone. Overall extremely disappointing.
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4/7/2018 - rremiker wrote: 86 Points
Was very disappointed in this after cellaring for 8+ years. Harsh, didn't open up, even after long decant. Will wait 2+ more years before trying again.
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1/13/2018 - bkay Likes this wine: 98 Points
Excellent wine for wife's b-day at our favorite restaurant. Will come back to it in 5 years to see how it changed
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12/24/2017 - Bcw1989 wrote: 94 Points
Excellent wine for Christmas Eve. Drank with food. Very forward and tannins beginning to break up. Loads of fruit and finish was extra long. Great drinking and eating wine. Lots of years left to cellar.
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9/20/2017 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted and served with dinner. This bottle showed with lots of rough edges masking the delicious fruit and chocolate and didn't open up over two hours. I wish I had waited because it's probably entering a confused phase. My only bottle of 2007 but who knows what the future holds?
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7/28/2017 - mflesh wrote:
Really nice wine enjoyed this afternoon. The one thing I remember is that this wine was what I envision as the true embodiment of the 2007 vintage. Lots of fruit, pepper, still actually had quite a bit of tannin on the finish but had definitely softened and integration was coming along quite nicely. This wine was NOT a show stopper. However, with excellent experience with Maiden in the past it was one of the bottles that I tried first and then came back to about 2 hours later. This bottle is continuing to evolve, and definitely got a little deeper with fruit intensity in the middle. Not bad, and will continue to last another few years. Although I think I'd start drinking this one sooner as opposed to later.
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6/13/2017 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 96 Points
Last time I had the 07 Maiden was only last year and this bottle seemed surprisingly developed comparatively. Sleek texture, quite sweet, notes of minerals and decaying fruit and also some notes of iodine. European proportions, if I could say so, with veritable American Cabernet flavours.
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12/2/2016 - joesiu Likes this wine: 96 Points
This is hitting all the right notes. Extremely well balanced right now with great structure and fruit, but not over the top. Decanted for about 1 hour. It went very well with prime rib.
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7/16/2016 - lucaslabelle wrote: 94 Points
Opened an decanted for about an hour. Beautiful wine that is in a great place. Intoxicating aromas of creme de cassis and tobacco leaf interwoven with beautiful deep fruit flavours. Very opulent and luxurious. 94+
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6/22/2016 - sbeeks wrote: 90 Points
I don't agree with the notes that this has a "massive" structure. It is quite approachable and doesn't need significant decanting or time to open.
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5/8/2016 - slaughterer Likes this wine: 95 Points
Don't know why people are decanting this for hours before drinking it. Pop and pour seems fine to me.
Glossy, dark crimson with lightening on edges. Sizeable legs creeping up the side. Nose of camphor, eucalyptus, cassis, blueberry, dry cocoa, candied cherry Gummy Bear. Very calm, smooth, cool palate of cherry meringue, black cherry, cinnamon, dried cranberry and cedar. Not lush or over extracted, but with a lot of finesse and elegance. The absolute technical control of the winemaking is obvious in the velvety mouth feel and precise delineation of tastes. Some smooth tannins creeping into the end, promising at least another 10 years of healthy evolution.
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3/25/2016 - jasonkle wrote: flawed
Spoiled.
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8/13/2015 - MOCGator wrote: 94 Points
Needed a good decant. Very solid cab. Not as good as older Maidens but still a joy.
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7/29/2015 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 96 Points
96 points for Maiden, then how high should I rate the Estate wine?
Young, lifted, vibrant with edges - a think which I like - dry, cedary and mineral. Tasted together with the incredible Ornellaia 2004 this was less sweet, with less body, less round (i.e. had some edges: more tannic) but more elegant.
Remarkable wine of very high quality.
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7/20/2015 - Yiannis Likes this wine: 97 Points
Not as dense as the Ornellaia but equally complex if somewhat more angular. However some prefered this thanks to its complexity and elegance. Complex nose of graphite, anise, plum, dark berry fruit, chocolate and hints of cedar. Medium to full-bodied with firm tannins, bright fruit and med+ acidity. Very long. Will reward further aging.
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7/4/2015 - bmartz1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still quite young - easily could sit for 3-5 yrs. Suggest 2hr min decant beforehand. Exhibited all the things you might expect from Harlan family of wines - incredibly long finish, very dark fruit.
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3/28/2015 - ajfret01 Likes this wine:
Dark chocolate, vanilla, cherry. Rich, velvety, with firm but pleasant tannins. Really needs a long decant. Much better as the night progressed.
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1/4/2015 - cns Likes this wine:
Still way too early. Wait a few more years.
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12/26/2014 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Decanted two hours before service. In the glass, deep red with shades of auburn. On the nose, a smoothly integrated mix of cedar, crushed currants, and pine. On the palate, more elegance, with cedar, dark fruit, notes of forest floor, and a nice mid-palate sweetness that in my experience presages great things, given enough cellar time. Quite nice now with a few hours of air, but the best days are several years ahead.
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8/4/2014 - pmarlo wrote: 94 Points
One of the nicer cabs I've had recently. cork broke in half but I performed surgery and the patient survived. Deep stain on cork, almost no infiltrations either. Nice heady bouquet of yeast; in fact, this wine has a very nice aroma period. Deep maroon color. Astringent, tannins in abundance, but after some time in the glass, very nice fruit. seems like there is a unique profile to this producers wines. is the the rutherford/Oakville mark? don't know. Long finish in excess of a minute, tasted in mouth much longer. Having over three days and the tannins still there, which tells me this might age quite a bit. Fruit took a few steps back in the process, and almost as if mid-palate disappeared. Still, very nice wine, savoring every sip. Throwing some sediments now reaching end of bottle, and some wine left overnight in glass showed extremely fine deposit, almost like a shellac like you get on a cars burnt cylinder head. No problem aging this second wine, should go ten more years. Recommended.
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8/2/2014 - ajfret01 Likes this wine:
Rich with dark fruit. Still firm tannins. Rich long mouthfeel. Good stuff.
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5/3/2014 - jbouchy wrote: 95 Points
Massive, expressive dark fruits, beautiful balance with a long finish. Surpassed expectations. Plenty of age left on this wine. Glad we 11 more!!!
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9/22/2013 - Justinwine wrote: 90 Points
Needs time.Has possibilities.
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6/5/2013 - Fooze wrote: 93 Points
- Brick color and aromas of eucalyptus, black currant and blackberry and has flavours of cedar - Excellent wine. Just a powerhouse. Coming into focus now and will only get better in next 3-5 years.
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2/24/2013 - Niagara wrote: 95 Points
this is serious wine! Loads of fruit, depth of expression, just gets better in the glass.
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12/26/2012 - vkcellars Likes this wine: 91 Points
The wine was very tight. I brought it to a party and in all fairness it didn't have enough time to open before it was gone. It could use more time in the bottle.
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11/23/2012 - Wineson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for a couple of hour before drinking with our meal. Very, very smooth. We loved the fruity, velvety feel, with a little bite of tannins at the finish. Excellent.
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11/4/2012 - cns wrote: 93 Points
Young wine, expensive, but beautiful.
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9/29/2012 - mateo-san wrote: 96 Points
still young, suggest decanting 2+ hrs before drinking for now. full-bodied, very complex with dry tannins. looong finish. excellent wine.
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9/28/2012 - asaselzer Likes this wine: 93 Points
a young pup, to be sure. very tasty. fruit and aromatics and of course a nice back bone, but still civilized.
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8/18/2012 - JimmysWineGuy wrote:
This wine was so tight. Decanted, poured 2 hours later. Set aside for an 07 Ridge Monte Bello. Came back and it hadn't loosened a bit. 2017, 2022 & 2027 are more likely drinking dates.
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4/19/2012 - Tiborones wrote:
Brother in law broke this one out. Concentrated bitter dark fruit to start, then morphed into chocolates. I don't know...world class? This was soooo goood. I sat around shaking my head at how ridiculously good this was.
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3/25/2012 - sergiozy wrote:
do not drink this wine
its so closed and so big that we hope that it will open soon
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3/23/2012 - chimpanzee29 wrote: 95 Points
Decanted half the bottle for day 1. Re-corked and kept the remainder at RT for day 2.
Day 1 knockout nose of cassis, blueberry, and candied fruits, impressive. Aromas really carry this wine. The palate was moderately rich with black and red fruit and wood spice (distinctly cinnamon).
Day 2 less pronounced aromas, but fatter on the palate with more of a dusty red or black cherry profile and a 30+ sec finish. Roasted herbs complement the fruit, alcohol kept in balance. Great pairing with crabcakes and a caesar kale salad (I know, unconventional).
I preferred the calmer and more sophisticated wine that emerged after a day of being open. Initially I thought was going to be an early drinker, but it held up impressively.
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11/20/2011 - lucaslabelle wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for a few hours. Way too young. Nothing near the 2005 I had a few months before. Will wait on the other bottles for a few years, and will likely end in the 93-94 pt range in my books.
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10/10/2011 - Colia wrote: 88 Points
I just don't see it. Yea, I get the chocolate, but the form is of unsweetened cocoa. The pH is way way lower than other top Napa's, and the tannins are pretty darn dry. I have two more in the cellar, so we'll se what happens in a few years...but pH doesn't resolve itself over time like tannins do.
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9/19/2011 - sehill Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened and noon and poured at 1:30, this wine was tasted as part of a 13 vintage vertical. The wine shows nuanced aromatics of black currant, mocha, plum and tobacco. The bouquet develops a rich, lush, but detailed element with airing. The color is a youthful dark ruby to purple. The medium/full bodied palate shows detailed, forward fruit balanced by well proportioned tannins on the lengthy finish.
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9/19/2011 - danstrings wrote: 90 Points
A day at Harlan trying every vintage of the Maiden ever made (Harlan winery, Oakville, CA): "Landmark Harlan vintage" say the winemaking and management team. Huge fruity dusty chocolatey bomb today for sure. Like a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and coconut, yet bone dry.
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7/22/2011 - Stefanos T. wrote: 96 Points
Deep ruby colour, youthful. Nose is explosive with vanilla, creme brulee and toast from top quality oak. Fruit is ripe and sweet, cherry and berry. Also notes of mint, eukalyptus and chocolate. There is some herbaceousness that adds complexity. Palate is velvety, with amazing complexity and length although the wine is just a baby and has not yet lost its baby fat. Truly great wine, oak has not integrated yet but even at this phase is tremendously hedonistic and enjoyable.
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7/21/2011 - Yiannis wrote: 96 Points
Amazing wine! Dark ruby-garnet. Extremely complex on the nose, with explosive aromas of melted licorice, palm oil, dark berries, cedar, roast meat, coffee, dark chocolate and sweet oak. Full-bodied, powerful with firm but juicy tannins, very rich fruit and high acidity. Very long. Still quite primary, will use a couple of years or more to integrate the oak, soften and come together, but already so seductive!
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