Agree with others that this is still in good shape. A bit of sweet oak, cherry pie, and a slight menthol or green bell pepper note. Solid and ageworthy, but not spectacular.
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Strong color, no bricking. Almost no sediment. Took over an hour to start to balance out. Initially green peppers and veggies overwhelmed, then menthol, and finally black fruits with some sweet Oak. About 90 minutes later, these came around with good proportionality. Smooth wine. No rush to drink.
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PnP and served with pecan smoked Flannery ribeyes. Bright red cherry, Luden cough drop, dark acidic berries,damp pine forest floor, sautéed mushrooms, more earth than fruit, but a nice balance nevertheless. Actually improved a couple of point putting on more body after 45 min with eucalyptus, a lovely red candy and black licorice note complimentary to everything else. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. A nice bottle to celebrate the emptying of the nest!
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Decanted 60 minutes; teaspoon of fine sediment. Plenty of overripe blackberries and black cherries on palate; hints of black raspberries; sweet Oak and some cedar with dried herbs. Very smooth but tannins still had some backbone to them. Color was strong. This bottle had another 3 to 6 years at peak drinking window. An extra point for its ageworthiness, especially at this price point, but I took that point back because, although the alcohol was listed at 13.8, it hit us like a ton of bricks long before we finished the bottle. No alcohol on the nose or palate to speak of but it went to our heads faster than a 16% alcohol Zin.
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A wonderful bottle that was still about 4+ years from being outside of its ideal drinking window. Rich color to core although a little bricking at rim. Very little sediment. Some eucalyptus to go with the blackberries and black cherries. Sweet Oak with hints of vanilla. A few dried herbs 20+ second finish. Very smooth.
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A very pleasant surprise!. This wine was inventoried incorrectly and thus wasn't showing up as ready. I only found it in the cellar by mistake, and I'm sure glad I did. The bottle had a perfect fill and still great color. An elegant wine with blackberries, blueberries, plums, licorice, chocolate, and a hint of mint in the nose. Black currants, blackberries, and some earthiness in the flavor. It is drinking well, though I doubt it will improve any more. It is well balanced and medium to full bodied. I wish the finish had been a little longer, but this is a well made wine that has aged gracefully over the past 23 years. Finding these "lost" bottles is one of those things that make wine drinking fun, and not bad for a $29 purchase twenty years ago.
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A classic CA Cab. Really elegant. Bright red color with only a hint of brown in the rim. Excellent fruit (with hints of Cassis). Exceptionally well-balanced. Very clean finish. Bottle was upright for several months and decanted about 30" ahead of first tasting.
Lable quotes Richard and Alis Arrowood: ". . . blended small lots of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc . . . aged . . . 23 months in French and American oak. . . . Although delicious now, this rich and complex claret will develop well into the next century." Time has proven him right.
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Amazing wine that has stood the test of time. Decanted for an hour. Dark red color with no bricking along edges. Nose of cedar and smashed red fruit. Ready to drink but still has some backbone.
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Amazingly dark, almost opaque, garnet color at 21yrs old! PnP and poured two glasses into a Reidel BDX glass for my son in law & myself. The nose was immediately deep, complex and spicy. Still had some Italian sparkling rose in the glass so went back & forth between tiny sips and smelling the cab and enjoying the sparkler in the last 30 minutes before dinner. Mostly, just letting the Cab sit in glass till dinner. This is balanced & resolved with fading, spicy dark fruit flavors and a great nose. We really enjoyed. Thinking this should hang on for a few years but the youthful color may bely its true maturity. That said, this was a pleasure and a steal at the $50 I recently paid for it. ALC 13.5% but didn't feel like it. Cork and fill looked like a 6yr old wine. My first Cab with TG dinner in a longtime. I gave our son in a choice between the 95 Cab or a 90 Burg and he picked this. Turned out well.
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What a great wine! Lost WON to 90 Arrowood Sonoma but everything one could want in a mature wine. Will continue to look for more, especially at a great price point! Dick Arrowood knew what he was doing.
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Holding up very well. Cork was perfect. Heavy sediment required decanting, which also helped the nose. Deep opaque garnet moving to brick on the edge. Black fruit, note of oak and black tea on the nose. On the palate restrained black fruit, cassis, sage and mocha. Acidity fading, tannins soft and supple. Finish was decently long. CT says there are 158 in cellars, I'd definitely get busy drinking... it's tasting really nice now, but I don't know how long it will go.
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I was afraid this wine was going to be way past its prime, but it was incredible. Definitely had the chemically nose of an older wine but showed hints of blueberry and spice. Smooth as sil and ready to drink.
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Nose was a little more reticent on this one. Started to come alive after about 30 minutes. Same as prior notes, still a very nice wine.
Last bottle. Mine were stored from purchase from around 1999. If you see Arrowood from the mid 90s that can verify provenance they are worth buying/drinking. Alexander valley in general made some great wines in that time. The Bordeaux blends have aged into elegant wines
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Conventional wisdom would say this is past it prime, this guy was drinking beautifully. Arrowood Cabs from the mid 90s have aged well (at least those in my cellar).
Bordeaux like in nose, structure and palate. I paid $42 for this bottle in around 97-98 time frame. If you drank blind, first instincts would be Medoc/Margaux. Has the leathery/graphite/pencil shaving nose. Layered flavors of cassis, blackberry, forest floor. Sophisticated and smooth - 20+ second finish.
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Drank during Irene. Decanted for about an hour. Still looks very good. Cigar box, tobacco leaf and clove on the nose. The palate is restrained and elegant.
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Found a single bottle at auction and pounced on it. Popped and poured and it was tremendous. Powerful red fruits with tannins almost completely faded. Nice surprise. Where can I find more of this?
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Had this last night. It was drinking quite nicely. Smooth, silky finish on the back end, and that nice black fruit and berry flavor so common in CS on the front. The tannins have laid done nicely, and the fruit is still holding. The nose evolved nicely over the hour or so we took to drink it. This was my last bottle of this case. ;-( I woudl drink this wine now, as I am unsure how mch more time it has before heading downhill.
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Pleasant Sonoma cab from a so-so Sonoma vintage. Decanted about 45 minutes and also let it linger in the glass for a while. Nice, even ruby color, no bricking. Nose evolved over the night, from blackberries and leather to floral. Medium bodied. A little too acidic on the palate, but still had blue berries and spice on the palate. Decent finish. Drinking nicely now. I don't think it will improve and won't be suprised if this turns south before much longer.
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Deep purple, almost blue. Aromas of blackcurrant, soy sauce, and bel pepper. Smooth wine with hints of bell pepper and long finish. A delicate and well-balanced Napa Cab. Definitely mature and should hold for another 5 years.
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Decanted and then back in the bottle for transport to dinner. Very enjoyable, smooth. Typical Cab profile in nose and palate. Medium body and finish. Doubt this will improve any more, so drink up!
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Even better than I remember, it seems to be peaking, though this may be bottle-bottle variation, it was soft, integrated, with tannins fully integrated, and tasted of austere dark fruit, cigar box, spice, and just a hint of vanilla oak. Finish was medium, and the midpalate was fleshy. It was a very nice wine.
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Very nice, this could have even used some more time in storage. It was still very full bodied, and opened up after about 1 hour, revealing dark fruit, oak, a hint of bubble gum, and grass. It was excellent.
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Nice fragrant bouquet as well as early mouth feel. Chocolate, berries and earth in the mix...Like this wine a bunch, but it followed a stronger (91 Dominus) so my expectations were muted, and this wine came through as a really nice second bottle...Drink now as it is perhaps starting a downhill...
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Decanted one hour before serving. Medium amount of sediment. Coloring very light right out of the bottle. Brickish red color, which actually seemed to darken a little with time. Fairly muted nose, which became a little more expressive with time. Notes of red fruits and spice. On the palate, plums, cedar, berries, and a little bit of earth. Fruit seems to have faded a bit, but still very much present and enjoyable. Nice balance and feel to the wine - tannins present, but resolved. Nice finish - fruity and smooth, a little on the short side. Overall, drinking well now - definitely on the elegant side - seems just a little past its peak.
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(stored 55 from vintage) Big Floral aromas with the associated garden smells of earth and loam. Smooth mouth feel, Nice medium finish with lingering flavors of current and dark fruits with a slight spice at the end Drinking well but will continue on for some time
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4/16/2023 - Matt T wrote: 90 Points
Agree with others that this is still in good shape. A bit of sweet oak, cherry pie, and a slight menthol or green bell pepper note. Solid and ageworthy, but not spectacular.
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8/25/2022 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Strong color, no bricking. Almost no sediment. Took over an hour to start to balance out. Initially green peppers and veggies overwhelmed, then menthol, and finally black fruits with some sweet Oak. About 90 minutes later, these came around with good proportionality. Smooth wine. No rush to drink.
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8/14/2022 - Geaux Tigers wrote: 93 Points
PnP and served with pecan smoked Flannery ribeyes. Bright red cherry, Luden cough drop, dark acidic berries,damp pine forest floor, sautéed mushrooms, more earth than fruit, but a nice balance nevertheless. Actually improved a couple of point putting on more body after 45 min with eucalyptus, a lovely red candy and black licorice note complimentary to everything else. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. A nice bottle to celebrate the emptying of the nest!
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1/30/2021 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 60 minutes; teaspoon of fine sediment. Plenty of overripe blackberries and black cherries on palate; hints of black raspberries; sweet Oak and some cedar with dried herbs. Very smooth but tannins still had some backbone to them. Color was strong. This bottle had another 3 to 6 years at peak drinking window. An extra point for its ageworthiness, especially at this price point, but I took that point back because, although the alcohol was listed at 13.8, it hit us like a ton of bricks long before we finished the bottle. No alcohol on the nose or palate to speak of but it went to our heads faster than a 16% alcohol Zin.
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9/21/2019 - mxpbuy Likes this wine: 93 Points
A wonderful bottle that was still about 4+ years from being outside of its ideal drinking window. Rich color to core although a little bricking at rim. Very little sediment. Some eucalyptus to go with the blackberries and black cherries. Sweet Oak with hints of vanilla. A few dried herbs 20+ second finish. Very smooth.
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11/11/2018 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
A very pleasant surprise!. This wine was inventoried incorrectly and thus wasn't showing up as ready. I only found it in the cellar by mistake, and I'm sure glad I did. The bottle had a perfect fill and still great color. An elegant wine with blackberries, blueberries, plums, licorice, chocolate, and a hint of mint in the nose. Black currants, blackberries, and some earthiness in the flavor. It is drinking well, though I doubt it will improve any more. It is well balanced and medium to full bodied. I wish the finish had been a little longer, but this is a well made wine that has aged gracefully over the past 23 years. Finding these "lost" bottles is one of those things that make wine drinking fun, and not bad for a $29 purchase twenty years ago.
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5/12/2018 - Bruce 1er wrote: 95 Points
A classic CA Cab. Really elegant. Bright red color with only a hint of brown in the rim. Excellent fruit (with hints of Cassis). Exceptionally well-balanced. Very clean finish. Bottle was upright for several months and decanted about 30" ahead of first tasting.
Lable quotes Richard and Alis Arrowood: ". . . blended small lots of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc . . . aged . . . 23 months in French and American oak. . . . Although delicious now, this rich and complex claret will develop well into the next century." Time has proven him right.
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9/18/2017 - richy1849 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Smooth and full body. Back raspberry and plum scents
The body is medium. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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3/9/2017 - sirwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Amazing wine that has stood the test of time. Decanted for an hour. Dark red color with no bricking along edges. Nose of cedar and smashed red fruit. Ready to drink but still has some backbone.
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11/24/2016 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
Amazingly dark, almost opaque, garnet color at 21yrs old! PnP and poured two glasses into a Reidel BDX glass for my son in law & myself. The nose was immediately deep, complex and spicy. Still had some Italian sparkling rose in the glass so went back & forth between tiny sips and smelling the cab and enjoying the sparkler in the last 30 minutes before dinner. Mostly, just letting the Cab sit in glass till dinner. This is balanced & resolved with fading, spicy dark fruit flavors and a great nose. We really enjoyed. Thinking this should hang on for a few years but the youthful color may bely its true maturity. That said, this was a pleasure and a steal at the $50 I recently paid for it. ALC 13.5% but didn't feel like it. Cork and fill looked like a 6yr old wine. My first Cab with TG dinner in a longtime. I gave our son in a choice between the 95 Cab or a 90 Burg and he picked this. Turned out well.
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7/31/2016 - tzarf wrote: 90 Points
Let the alcohol blow off for 10 minutes and this drinks like it's much younger
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5/23/2015 - Geaux Tigers wrote: 91 Points
Final bottle. Good, but not as good as prior bottles. Same notes
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4/4/2015 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 93 Points
What a great wine! Lost WON to 90 Arrowood Sonoma but everything one could want in a mature wine. Will continue to look for more, especially at a great price point! Dick Arrowood knew what he was doing.
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2/22/2015 - sraders Likes this wine: 92 Points
Time to drink up! Very nice finish and glad to see structure has held up so well. Sorry to see the last bottle go.
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12/30/2014 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured.....absolutely fantantastic
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12/24/2014 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 94 Points
True to form...no sign of aging. Well integrated fruit and tannins.
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7/24/2013 - raypedia wrote: 87 Points
Holding up very well. Cork was perfect. Heavy sediment required decanting, which also helped the nose. Deep opaque garnet moving to brick on the edge. Black fruit, note of oak and black tea on the nose. On the palate restrained black fruit, cassis, sage and mocha. Acidity fading, tannins soft and supple. Finish was decently long. CT says there are 158 in cellars, I'd definitely get busy drinking... it's tasting really nice now, but I don't know how long it will go.
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5/25/2013 - sirwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
I was afraid this wine was going to be way past its prime, but it was incredible. Definitely had the chemically nose of an older wine but showed hints of blueberry and spice. Smooth as sil and ready to drink.
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12/9/2012 - walkerjfw Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose was a little more reticent on this one. Started to come alive after about 30 minutes. Same as prior notes, still a very nice wine.
Last bottle. Mine were stored from purchase from around 1999. If you see Arrowood from the mid 90s that can verify provenance they are worth buying/drinking. Alexander valley in general made some great wines in that time. The Bordeaux blends have aged into elegant wines
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11/5/2012 - sraders wrote: 92 Points
This is holding very well. Nice smooth finish with black fruit flavors and pleasant aroma.
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11/3/2012 - walkerjfw wrote: 92 Points
Conventional wisdom would say this is past it prime, this guy was drinking beautifully. Arrowood Cabs from the mid 90s have aged well (at least those in my cellar).
Bordeaux like in nose, structure and palate. I paid $42 for this bottle in around 97-98 time frame. If you drank blind, first instincts would be Medoc/Margaux. Has the leathery/graphite/pencil shaving nose. Layered flavors of cassis, blackberry, forest floor. Sophisticated and smooth - 20+ second finish.
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9/18/2011 - smcg wrote: 90 Points
Full fruit and body, but getting a bit thin on the finish. Nice now, but unlikely to improve.
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9/4/2011 - GSW wrote: 92 Points
Last of our bottles. Still a delightful, mature cab.
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8/29/2011 - Johann Von Mastiff wrote: 90 Points
Drank during Irene. Decanted for about an hour. Still looks very good. Cigar box, tobacco leaf and clove on the nose. The palate is restrained and elegant.
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2/8/2011 - Teamcrev wrote: 93 Points
Found a single bottle at auction and pounced on it. Popped and poured and it was tremendous. Powerful red fruits with tannins almost completely faded. Nice surprise. Where can I find more of this?
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3/28/2010 - wineflyboy wrote: 92 Points
Had this last night. It was drinking quite nicely. Smooth, silky finish on the back end, and that nice black fruit and berry flavor so common in CS on the front. The tannins have laid done nicely, and the fruit is still holding. The nose evolved nicely over the hour or so we took to drink it. This was my last bottle of this case. ;-( I woudl drink this wine now, as I am unsure how mch more time it has before heading downhill.
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2/19/2010 - dannyk8232 wrote: 92 Points
Outstanding. The cork was a bit moldy, but the wine was stellar. An approachable, mature cab. A bit feminine.
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5/9/2009 - JuniorSamples wrote: 91 Points
Pleasant Sonoma cab from a so-so Sonoma vintage. Decanted about 45 minutes and also let it linger in the glass for a while. Nice, even ruby color, no bricking. Nose evolved over the night, from blackberries and leather to floral. Medium bodied. A little too acidic on the palate, but still had blue berries and spice on the palate. Decent finish. Drinking nicely now. I don't think it will improve and won't be suprised if this turns south before much longer.
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1/19/2009 - wayfool wrote: 92 Points
Deep purple, almost blue. Aromas of blackcurrant, soy sauce, and bel pepper. Smooth wine with hints of bell pepper and long finish. A delicate and well-balanced Napa Cab. Definitely mature and should hold for another 5 years.
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1/16/2009 - norsktorsk wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful wine.
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11/24/2008 - DrNick wrote: 91 Points
Had with lovely lamb stew on Thanksgiving. Very smooth and round with some still lively fruit.
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7/29/2008 - GSW wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and then back in the bottle for transport to dinner. Very enjoyable, smooth. Typical Cab profile in nose and palate. Medium body and finish. Doubt this will improve any more, so drink up!
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5/4/2007 - mmyette wrote: 91 Points
Even better than I remember, it seems to be peaking, though this may be bottle-bottle variation, it was soft, integrated, with tannins fully integrated, and tasted of austere dark fruit, cigar box, spice, and just a hint of vanilla oak. Finish was medium, and the midpalate was fleshy. It was a very nice wine.
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12/26/2006 - DCHeel84 wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful, full-bodied and mature. Would drink up, as seemed marginally past peak.
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3/8/2006 - mmyette wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, this could have even used some more time in storage. It was still very full bodied, and opened up after about 1 hour, revealing dark fruit, oak, a hint of bubble gum, and grass. It was excellent.
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1/22/2006 - jmd60611 wrote: 91 Points
Nice fragrant bouquet as well as early mouth feel. Chocolate, berries and earth in the mix...Like this wine a bunch, but it followed a stronger (91 Dominus) so my expectations were muted, and this wine came through as a really nice second bottle...Drink now as it is perhaps starting a downhill...
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6/29/2005 - Greg W wrote: 89 Points
Decanted one hour before serving. Medium amount of sediment. Coloring very light right out of the bottle. Brickish red color, which actually seemed to darken a little with time. Fairly muted nose, which became a little more expressive with time. Notes of red fruits and spice. On the palate, plums, cedar, berries, and a little bit of earth. Fruit seems to have faded a bit, but still very much present and enjoyable. Nice balance and feel to the wine - tannins present, but resolved. Nice finish - fruity and smooth, a little on the short side. Overall, drinking well now - definitely on the elegant side - seems just a little past its peak.
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8/23/2004 - Jim wrote:
(stored 55 from vintage) Big Floral aromas with the associated garden smells of earth and loam. Smooth mouth feel, Nice medium finish with lingering flavors of current and dark fruits with a slight spice at the end Drinking well but will continue on for some time
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