I've been sitting on this last magnum purchased from The Last Bottle back in 2013. The first bottle ended up being a dud with a dry cork and a wine which was a huge disappointment, given a producer with a stellar reputation. I've been fretting over this last bottle, stored in a 55 degree cellar, praying to the "wine gods" that this might make a miraculous recovery. Lo and behold, tonight my prayers were answered... I needed some unexpected room in the cellar for some more worthy magnums and decided the day of reckoning was upon me with this "over the hill, probably dead" wine.
Cork was only saturated about a half inch, but still tight. Stood the wine up to slow ox and settle for about 45 minutes and then poured part into a regular sized decanter. Slight to moderate bricking, the lighter side of medium bodied texture. Opens a bit perfumed with lots of tart red currant; wild raspberry; green, bell pepper; dried, old worn shoe leather; stale pipe tobacco, and dry dirt. Definitely beyond peak, but still viable. Oak has long since integrated, but there's still some acidity which may help this for a while longer.. Good finish.
Holders beware, this is in decline, so drink very soon and be prepared to be disappointed.
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This wine is by far one of the best Cabs I've ever had. It just keeps getting better and better. If you can fine any bottles of this you need to buy as many bottles as you can find.
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Drank from a magnum purchased from the Last Bottle. Low expectations, given the vintage, age, and "average" ratings in CT. Dry cork that broke upon opening. Wine was strained and poured into a decanter. Medium bodied, light bricking, crimson color with translucent edges. Aromas and flavors of slightly tart cherry, watery plum, red berry, tobacco, bell pepper and red currant. Lacks depth and concentration and seemed hollow at mid palate. Diluted finish. Seems to be past prime and will only continue to fade. This is a reputable producer that has had a string of recent successes; 2000 was an "average" at best vintage. Drink up.
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From Magnum. Lots of bell pepper and good character to this Cab. Medium to full body, some acidity, light tannin, lengthy on the finish. Solid effort if not a little overpriced.
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- Garnet color - I was worriedbasedo. Earlier cellar tracker comments, but I think this was drinking fine now. Vibrant nose with strong sense of sausage with a slightly tannic palate. Drink now or in thenextfew years.
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Drinking fantastically. I was concerned based on other reviews. Did not require any decanting other than for sediment removal. Bought directly from winery, so it was in prime condition. Great aged aroma with a tint of orange as you would expect. Good tannin and fruit balance with a finesse that only comes with time. Drink now!
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Nothing wrong with this bottle other than a little age. I put this on the bottom end of 'very good to excellent' because it's still a drinkable and enjoyable bottle. don't hold them any longer though
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Great nose of tobacco, leather, and some chocolate. Unfortunately, that's where the pleasure ended. I was expecting this wine to be incredibly smooth and velvety like the 1992 I drank last month. Instead it was unpleasantly tannic -- I can't think of a better word than rough- tasting --not a regular wine word but the best description I could come up with. I got absolutely no fruit flavor. Maybe it would have been better decanted as some of the other reviewers did, but it would have had to go a long way to be even marginal. My husband says I'm being too charitable!
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Third time I've had this wine over the years and while it was never well endowed to begin with, time is not being kind to this. Minimal fruit character but still somewhat tannic with a sour profile. Weak, thin, charmless, and uninspiring. Drink yesterday!
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The only bottle I had. PnP, but still good. Some bright notes, not fruity just tasty. Not a lot of tannins left. This is probably some over its prime. Drink up and enjoy.
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This was a really nice wine. Decanted for 3 hours prior to serving with ribeye steak. Bright fruit nose for a cab but still some oak there too. The midpalate really shows the blackberry, plum and even some red fruit with tones of graphite and oak as well. Tannins have completely mellowed leaving just the great wine. Probably starting to close soon so drink up.
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This was nice. Got better over the course of dinner. Did not have as much depth and intensity of younger CVVs but still sufficient tannins and fruit to make quite enjoyable.
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This was solid. The aromatics were ridiculously exuberant, showing fresh raspberries and blackberries, pie cherries, graphite, tobacco, cocoa powder and dried flowers. Flavors matched the aromatics, for the most part. This was mouthwateringly fragrant. Good acid, pillow soft texture with plenty of grip to keep this super interesting.
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Loads of expectation, big disappointment. Nothing wrong with the bottle, just not much right. Fully expected big fruit from some of the other postings, but it was somewhat thin. Still pretty tannic & oaky. There are dark fruits there, but faded. No balance. Perhaps waited too long? No golden-brown meniscus at the edge of the glass. I believe it's just a misfire by a usually reliable producer. Drink now.
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Drinking this in 2011 was a may have been a bit to late. There is still some dark fruit and current but it turns sour and tart on the palate. Still very tannic even at this stage.
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We drank this over two nights and it was a completely different wine on the second tasting. The first night this cab was tight and tart and a bit too on the vegetal side for me. The wine softened over the course of 24 hours, opened up and softened. A bit more of the fruit emerged as well.
I don't think further age in the bottle will help. Next time I will decant a few hours ahead.
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Really enjoed this bottle of wine. Mediium ruby color. Smells of cherries and pencil and dried earth. Very elegant. Would easily mistake for an older Bordeaux. Smooth finish.
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Still a tad disjointed. Better than first two bottles, though. While it is fairly acidic it stays juicy enough to hold it together. Not too much of a finish. Med. body. Fruit thins out a bit towards the end leaving more acidity and tannin.
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This is a bad vintage? This is an outsanding bottle of Napa Cab. Huge cassis and pencil lead flavor profile. The finish is long, mineral laiden and just plain delicious.
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Nose of tobacco and cigar. Tastes a little sour at first. Concentrated. Fairly high acidity. Light, very fine, chalky tannins. More fruit flavors at the end. Should have decanted. An interesting wine, not bad but not nearly as good as the 2003.
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A sorry excuse for a wine from this usually reliable producer. High VA, sour, no fruit, nose of VA and aldehyde (ripe banana). A whole lot of oak but it is disjointed and obnoxious oak, not well integrated at all. Improved some with 4 hours of air but ACVV should have declassified this wine, sold it as their second or third label or to Fred Franzia for Two Buck Chuck because it is actually worse than TBC. I am sorry for ACVV, I know that losing a production year, especially because they must have tried to salvage this wine with good oak barrels, etc., can bankrupt a winery, but so can diluting your brand name by trying to sell disgusting swill as your top reserve Napa Cab. We know 2000 was a horrible year for cab in Napa and ACVV committed a sin by trying to pawn this stuff off as a reserve Napa Cab. For shame. This is either going into a tomato sauce or down the drain. Phantphant actually called this one right.
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Translucent ruby-purple, slightly opaque. Soft edges. Nose of dusty leather right off the bat, then turning a little sour which backs off a bit also but retains some woodiness. Goes all over the place from mint and soy sauce to developing in complexity as it opens up with notes of cherry and chocolate. Medium body. Solid mid palate structure. Fruits emerge to balance out initial high acidity. Clean tasting but not quite the depth of flavor I would like. Very fine tannins. Semi lengthy, dry finish. Drink up. 50+4+13+16+7=90
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Dark purple with bricking legs. Very aromatic dark fruit and cocoa nose. On the palate, blackberry, chocolate, and sweet tobacco leaf. Acid somewhat dominates the tannins; medium length on the finish. Drinking ok now, and might hold up for a couple more years.
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I loved this wine. It is ready to be drunk. I decanted for just an hour and it was ready. Has the charater of a nice bordeaux. The graphite and fruit flavors are layered and tasty. Great nose! I hope the other 5 bottles I have will be just as good.
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Very evolved color with a brownish rim. The nose is so Bordeaux, it’s almost inconceivable it could come from a Howell mountain grown Napa Cab! Aromatically serious, the nose offers deep black currant, chocolate and mint. Medium to full bodied, this wine’s palate impression is somewhat of a let down given how attractive the nose was. The finish lacks more fruit and is a bit too acidic. 92 pts for the nose, 84 for the taste. 87 points
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Decanted for an hour and never saw the light of day. Unripened fruits that clashed with light tannins and unbalanced alcohol content. Not an impressive wine, especially at that price point.
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tough year...this is not as full and complex as you would like in a Napa Cab; bit of volatile acid that may respond to decanting. It did help, but rating remains the same
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10/27/2017 - Tequilahal Likes this wine: 88 Points
Way past prime but still good.
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6/18/2016 - wmccone54 wrote: 90 Points
I've been sitting on this last magnum purchased from The Last Bottle back in 2013. The first bottle ended up being a dud with a dry cork and a wine which was a huge disappointment, given a producer with a stellar reputation. I've been fretting over this last bottle, stored in a 55 degree cellar, praying to the "wine gods" that this might make a miraculous recovery. Lo and behold, tonight my prayers were answered... I needed some unexpected room in the cellar for some more worthy magnums and decided the day of reckoning was upon me with this "over the hill, probably dead" wine.
Cork was only saturated about a half inch, but still tight. Stood the wine up to slow ox and settle for about 45 minutes and then poured part into a regular sized decanter. Slight to moderate bricking, the lighter side of medium bodied texture. Opens a bit perfumed with lots of tart red currant; wild raspberry; green, bell pepper; dried, old worn shoe leather; stale pipe tobacco, and dry dirt. Definitely beyond peak, but still viable. Oak has long since integrated, but there's still some acidity which may help this for a while longer.. Good finish.
Holders beware, this is in decline, so drink very soon and be prepared to be disappointed.
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12/23/2014 - THF49 Likes this wine: 87 Points
disappointing for a well cellared 2000 cab reserve...
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11/26/2014 - johnbhamrick wrote: 91 Points
Still good. A Little soft but very pleasant to drink.
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9/9/2014 - RMundell Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking nice.
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6/2/2014 - ddingley Does not like this wine: 79 Points
Drank last fall. Died long ago. Too late; hope it was just a poorly stored bottle for anyone else holding
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1/4/2014 - jllrckgr Likes this wine: 98 Points
This wine is by far one of the best Cabs I've ever had. It just keeps getting better and better. If you can fine any bottles of this you need to buy as many bottles as you can find.
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9/18/2013 - macliii Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted this side by side with the 2007 and loved the soft elegant flavors and long finish. Felt like a very nice aged bordeaux wine.
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9/7/2013 - wmccone54 wrote: 84 Points
Drank from a magnum purchased from the Last Bottle. Low expectations, given the vintage, age, and "average" ratings in CT. Dry cork that broke upon opening. Wine was strained and poured into a decanter. Medium bodied, light bricking, crimson color with translucent edges. Aromas and flavors of slightly tart cherry, watery plum, red berry, tobacco, bell pepper and red currant. Lacks depth and concentration and seemed hollow at mid palate. Diluted finish. Seems to be past prime and will only continue to fade. This is a reputable producer that has had a string of recent successes; 2000 was an "average" at best vintage. Drink up.
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8/17/2013 - jeffal66 Likes this wine: 91 Points
From Magnum. Lots of bell pepper and good character to this Cab. Medium to full body, some acidity, light tannin, lengthy on the finish. Solid effort if not a little overpriced.
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5/5/2013 - BDofMSP wrote:
smooth, layered, and classic aged cabernet profile. hasn't lost a thing except tannins and harshness. from magnum.
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1/20/2013 - ChezAlice wrote: 88 Points
- Garnet color - I was worriedbasedo. Earlier cellar tracker comments, but I think this was drinking fine now. Vibrant nose with strong sense of sausage with a slightly tannic palate. Drink now or in thenextfew years.
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1/6/2013 - JWDT Likes this wine: 90 Points
Smooth, velvet. Finish mellowed out completely, hints of currants and berries.
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10/24/2012 - OpuMayaQuem wrote: 93 Points
Drinking fantastically. I was concerned based on other reviews. Did not require any decanting other than for sediment removal. Bought directly from winery, so it was in prime condition. Great aged aroma with a tint of orange as you would expect. Good tannin and fruit balance with a finesse that only comes with time. Drink now!
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8/13/2012 - Tequilahal wrote: 85 Points
Still drinkable. Not good. Flat flavor.
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5/31/2012 - IlonaN wrote: 87 Points
Fully mature Cal. cab, with tobacco, dark plum and currant notes, good structure and full on the palate but a bit boring and one-dimensional.
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4/17/2012 - BinVA wrote: 85 Points
Nothing wrong with this bottle other than a little age. I put this on the bottom end of 'very good to excellent' because it's still a drinkable and enjoyable bottle. don't hold them any longer though
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1/12/2012 - Arkiefoodie wrote: 72 Points
Great nose of tobacco, leather, and some chocolate. Unfortunately, that's where the pleasure ended. I was expecting this wine to be incredibly smooth and velvety like the 1992 I drank last month. Instead it was unpleasantly tannic -- I can't think of a better word than rough- tasting --not a regular wine word but the best description I could come up with. I got absolutely no fruit flavor. Maybe it would have been better decanted as some of the other reviewers did, but it would have had to go a long way to be even marginal. My husband says I'm being too charitable!
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12/31/2011 - Redguy wrote: 82 Points
Third time I've had this wine over the years and while it was never well endowed to begin with, time is not being kind to this. Minimal fruit character but still somewhat tannic with a sour profile. Weak, thin, charmless, and uninspiring. Drink yesterday!
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11/7/2011 - chateaunoname wrote: 91 Points
The only bottle I had. PnP, but still good. Some bright notes, not fruity just tasty. Not a lot of tannins left. This is probably some over its prime. Drink up and enjoy.
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8/20/2011 - mattyboy76 wrote: 92 Points
This was a really nice wine. Decanted for 3 hours prior to serving with ribeye steak. Bright fruit nose for a cab but still some oak there too. The midpalate really shows the blackberry, plum and even some red fruit with tones of graphite and oak as well. Tannins have completely mellowed leaving just the great wine. Probably starting to close soon so drink up.
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8/18/2011 - bgriffi1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
This was nice. Got better over the course of dinner. Did not have as much depth and intensity of younger CVVs but still sufficient tannins and fruit to make quite enjoyable.
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6/20/2011 - KC Bloodlines wrote:
This was solid. The aromatics were ridiculously exuberant, showing fresh raspberries and blackberries, pie cherries, graphite, tobacco, cocoa powder and dried flowers. Flavors matched the aromatics, for the most part. This was mouthwateringly fragrant. Good acid, pillow soft texture with plenty of grip to keep this super interesting.
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5/10/2011 - wadcorp wrote: 84 Points
Loads of expectation, big disappointment. Nothing wrong with the bottle, just not much right. Fully expected big fruit from some of the other postings, but it was somewhat thin. Still pretty tannic & oaky. There are dark fruits there, but faded. No balance. Perhaps waited too long? No golden-brown meniscus at the edge of the glass. I believe it's just a misfire by a usually reliable producer. Drink now.
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4/10/2011 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 85 Points
Drinking this in 2011 was a may have been a bit to late. There is still some dark fruit and current but it turns sour and tart on the palate. Still very tannic even at this stage.
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2/17/2011 - rlmabry wrote:
Decanted 2 hours. Better second day. A bit tart for Conn Valley reserve. Slight brown in colors. Drink now.
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1/29/2011 - candyman wrote: 86 Points
soft and smooth no vegitable nose very plesant cabernet the edge was getting slitly brown and clear but fine .
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10/22/2010 - pepmi wrote: 88 Points
We drank this over two nights and it was a completely different wine on the second tasting. The first night this cab was tight and tart and a bit too on the vegetal side for me. The wine softened over the course of 24 hours, opened up and softened. A bit more of the fruit emerged as well.
I don't think further age in the bottle will help. Next time I will decant a few hours ahead.
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7/11/2010 - Fredpug Likes this wine: 89 Points
still very good, maybe past prime
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7/10/2010 - RMundell Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful cabernet. Drinking really well right now.
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4/5/2010 - phantphant wrote: 80 Points
Better than before, but average at best.
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3/20/2010 - WVWine wrote: 90 Points
Really enjoed this bottle of wine. Mediium ruby color. Smells of cherries and pencil and dried earth. Very elegant. Would easily mistake for an older Bordeaux. Smooth finish.
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2/27/2010 - Fredpug wrote: 91 Points
balanced, good structure, refined, smooth finish, berry flavors, great bottle
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9/7/2009 - royden wrote: 84 Points
Needed to be opened for about two hours.
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4/17/2009 - jleg wrote:
Still a tad disjointed. Better than first two bottles, though. While it is fairly acidic it stays juicy enough to hold it together. Not too much of a finish. Med. body. Fruit thins out a bit towards the end leaving more acidity and tannin.
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4/17/2009 - simpsonr wrote: 93 Points
This is a bad vintage? This is an outsanding bottle of Napa Cab. Huge cassis and pencil lead flavor profile. The finish is long, mineral laiden and just plain delicious.
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1/11/2009 - jleg wrote:
Nose of tobacco and cigar. Tastes a little sour at first. Concentrated. Fairly high acidity. Light, very fine, chalky tannins. More fruit flavors at the end. Should have decanted. An interesting wine, not bad but not nearly as good as the 2003.
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1/10/2009 - guitarguy wrote: 75 Points
A sorry excuse for a wine from this usually reliable producer. High VA, sour, no fruit, nose of VA and aldehyde (ripe banana). A whole lot of oak but it is disjointed and obnoxious oak, not well integrated at all. Improved some with 4 hours of air but ACVV should have declassified this wine, sold it as their second or third label or to Fred Franzia for Two Buck Chuck because it is actually worse than TBC. I am sorry for ACVV, I know that losing a production year, especially because they must have tried to salvage this wine with good oak barrels, etc., can bankrupt a winery, but so can diluting your brand name by trying to sell disgusting swill as your top reserve Napa Cab. We know 2000 was a horrible year for cab in Napa and ACVV committed a sin by trying to pawn this stuff off as a reserve Napa Cab. For shame. This is either going into a tomato sauce or down the drain. Phantphant actually called this one right.
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12/11/2008 - Millercg68 wrote: 88 Points
Palete was a bit overused by the time we drank this, but it still was well worth the price.
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12/9/2008 - jleg wrote: 90 Points
Translucent ruby-purple, slightly opaque. Soft edges. Nose of dusty leather right off the bat, then turning a little sour which backs off a bit also but retains some woodiness. Goes all over the place from mint and soy sauce to developing in complexity as it opens up with notes of cherry and chocolate. Medium body. Solid mid palate structure. Fruits emerge to balance out initial high acidity. Clean tasting but not quite the depth of flavor I would like. Very fine tannins. Semi lengthy, dry finish. Drink up. 50+4+13+16+7=90
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9/28/2008 - grantsi wrote:
Good on day one, better the next evening
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8/11/2008 - phantphant wrote: 79 Points
Flat. Weak. Sad.
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4/6/2008 - phantphant wrote: 65 Points
Yuck. Tried hard to make this drinkable...jsut awful. Had to pour the bottle down the drain.
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12/27/2007 - scott davis wrote: 89 Points
Dark purple with bricking legs. Very aromatic dark fruit and cocoa nose. On the palate, blackberry, chocolate, and sweet tobacco leaf. Acid somewhat dominates the tannins; medium length on the finish. Drinking ok now, and might hold up for a couple more years.
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12/25/2007 - dpeters99 wrote: 90 Points
I loved this wine. It is ready to be drunk. I decanted for just an hour and it was ready. Has the charater of a nice bordeaux. The graphite and fruit flavors are layered and tasty. Great nose! I hope the other 5 bottles I have will be just as good.
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12/4/2007 - phantphant wrote: flawed
Yuck.....had to pour out.
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9/10/2007 - hcampana wrote: 87 Points
Very evolved color with a brownish rim. The nose is so Bordeaux, it’s almost inconceivable it could come from a Howell mountain grown Napa Cab! Aromatically serious, the nose offers deep black currant, chocolate and mint. Medium to full bodied, this wine’s palate impression is somewhat of a let down given how attractive the nose was. The finish lacks more fruit and is a bit too acidic. 92 pts for the nose, 84 for the taste. 87 points
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7/10/2006 - napaJ6 wrote: 87 Points
Decanted for an hour and never saw the light of day. Unripened fruits that clashed with light tannins and unbalanced alcohol content. Not an impressive wine, especially at that price point.
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5/18/2006 - phantphant wrote: 86 Points
Sloooooooow....beginning...opened up a little but not enough. Hoping for a better taste on 2nd night.
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12/31/2005 - 1800kidney wrote: 88 Points
tough year...this is not as full and complex as you would like in a Napa Cab; bit of volatile acid that may respond to decanting. It did help, but rating remains the same
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