Served with a beef tenderloin. Had not realized this was mostly Cab Franc, but can def tell. That more dusty nature, muted fruit (of the black nature - perhaps fig and plum), good earth, some leather. Tasty.
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Dark cherry leather and herbal notes to the nose. Sour cherry leather baking spice to the front palate. Heavy oak to the middle slightly creamy on back...nice mouthfeel, decent tannins med plus finish. Tannins suggest a few more years ageability but heavy oak disrupts what could be a much higher rated wine.
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PopNPour violet nose a bit tight but concentrated and palate same burly tannins seemed to calm a bit in glass but the ruch concentrate of fruit was not balanced
i replace the cork and will retest/retaste tomorrow
This is better with time but still a bit too brutish in extraction and tannin for my taste. It is a bit if a shsme. perhaps in 10 years the tannin will resolve as there is enough fruit but who has that kind of time?;)
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Decanted ~1 hour, consumed over 2+ hours. Still just a touch of youthful purple in the color here. Dense, lively tart cherry fruit (a little syrupy), some coffee and baking chocolate, a savory hint of carmelized roasted root veggies. An intriguing cab franc-based blend but with the merlot making its presence known. Should drink well for at least five more years, I'd guess.
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Pleasant WA State right bank blend that is more Cab Franc he any that Cheval Blanc buy a very memorable wine. Solid production. I kind of feel cad that I panned the Columbia Valley version. This was quite nice. Patience rewards the ones who let great wines age. Very enjoyable.
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An unusual blend for WA state of 67% cab franc, 25% merlot, and 8% petit verdot. Decided to go ahead and open this even though I wasn't sure where it would be at right now. Aerated and decanted for 90+ min. before getting started. The nose was quite muted at first but came around after the 1st hour or so. Very soft and silky on the palette. Notes of black fruit, graphite, and dark chocolate.
I would say that the primary flavors seem to have faded a bit while the secondaries haven't emerged altogether at this point. I would hold this a few more years to see what happens if I had a do-over (which I don't). A properly stored bottle of this should easily have 5 more years of life ahead of it and may gain additional complexity over that period.
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Took to dinner at a restaurant, opened, decanted and followed over a couple hours. The wine didn't really come together until the end, and even then it wasn't as good as I remembered. The structure was there (as was some heat early on) and some of the barrel notes emerged earlier, but the fruit didn't show up until much later. I'd recommend a longer decant than we did to let this wine really shine.
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I opened this and thought it was incredibly tannic, so I put it in the refrigerator, opened it the next day and microwaved about 10 ounces of it for 16 seconds (a David Lake trick that I heard from a winemaker who worked with him). It was quite good, drank the bottle over 3 days and it got better. I think it may still benefit from aging, if you have this wine still
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Drank over three days. Very pretty Red Mountain bouquet. The wine features a sleek and sexy shell built upon a sturdy frame. Very nice structure and grip for a Red Mountain wine without Cabernet Sauvignon. It drank beautifully over all three days. Either the elegant exterior or the structured frame would make this a 92 point wine, but together, these two elements merit a score a 93 point score. 92-93.
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Opened with minimal decant. Loved this wine tonight. Really coming together nicely. Great nose with some floral and nice fruit notes. On the palate, still a little heat but really nice dark fruit, very subtle barrel notes, smooth, and medium plus finish. Great wine and clearly still improving!
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Slow-O 5 hours, served single-blind. Structure, that's what impresses the most here. This was up against the Rasa CI, Woodward Canyon, Owen Roe, etc., and while it was the Group #3, it was my #2. Still rather primary at this stage with noticeable earth, aftershave, stewed plum, and blueberry. Still pretty tightly wound, I would recommend this see at least 7 hours aeration in decanter if enjoying now or at least 3-5 more years of bottle rest - at which point it will have another 10-15 years of very pleasurable drinking ahead of it. Really focused attack, with exceptional length and detail. Superb tannins and bright acids frame the purity of fruit superbly. highly recommended, 14,4% abv, drink thru 2027
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Friends and I tasted this at the winery on 4/14/12. It had a deep, rich, complex bouquet of baking spice, floral, black cherry, cedar and mineral aromas. The palate was rich, lush, beautifully structured and dusty dry with flavors of black cherry, plum, baking spice, mocha and minerals.
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12/8/2022 - Lmdaniel wrote:
Alicia’s parenrs
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10/18/2019 - DDJBCellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very smooth. Great flavor
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10/18/2019 - DDJBCellar wrote: 91 Points
Very smooth. Lots of fkavor
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7/6/2019 - VoteferPedro wrote:
first one that was really reaady to enjoy
nice details but not a Wow 88-90
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6/18/2019 - curtr Likes this wine: 91 Points
67% Cabernet Franc. At best over 45 minutes. Very good with pork tenderloin.
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1/6/2019 - TXRhoneRanger wrote: 92 Points
With Tex-Mex Tamales for Xmas Eve! Yummy. Spicy red fruit dominant. Pretty, crunchy and powerful. Fine tannins & balanced.
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12/29/2017 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Served with a beef tenderloin. Had not realized this was mostly Cab Franc, but can def tell. That more dusty nature, muted fruit (of the black nature - perhaps fig and plum), good earth, some leather. Tasty.
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11/7/2017 - Vigil gypsy wrote: 88 Points
Dark cherry leather and herbal notes to the nose. Sour cherry leather baking spice to the front palate. Heavy oak to the middle slightly creamy on back...nice mouthfeel, decent tannins med plus finish. Tannins suggest a few more years ageability but heavy oak disrupts what could be a much higher rated wine.
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6/21/2017 - VoteferPedro wrote:
PopNPour
violet
nose a bit tight but concentrated and palate same
burly tannins seemed to calm a bit in glass but the ruch concentrate of fruit was not balanced
i replace the cork and will retest/retaste tomorrow
This is better with time but still a bit too brutish in extraction and tannin for my taste. It is a bit if a shsme. perhaps in 10 years the tannin will resolve as there is enough fruit but who has that kind of time?;)
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4/29/2017 - bretrooks wrote:
Decanted ~1 hour, consumed over 2+ hours. Still just a touch of youthful purple in the color here. Dense, lively tart cherry fruit (a little syrupy), some coffee and baking chocolate, a savory hint of carmelized roasted root veggies. An intriguing cab franc-based blend but with the merlot making its presence known. Should drink well for at least five more years, I'd guess.
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7/16/2016 - Champagneinhand Likes this wine:
Pleasant WA State right bank blend that is more Cab Franc he any that Cheval Blanc buy a very memorable wine. Solid production. I kind of feel cad that I panned the Columbia Valley version. This was quite nice. Patience rewards the ones who let great wines age. Very enjoyable.
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4/24/2016 - brown57 Likes this wine: 92 Points
An unusual blend for WA state of 67% cab franc, 25% merlot, and 8% petit verdot. Decided to go ahead and open this even though I wasn't sure where it would be at right now. Aerated and decanted for 90+ min. before getting started. The nose was quite muted at first but came around after the 1st hour or so. Very soft and silky on the palette. Notes of black fruit, graphite, and dark chocolate.
I would say that the primary flavors seem to have faded a bit while the secondaries haven't emerged altogether at this point. I would hold this a few more years to see what happens if I had a do-over (which I don't). A properly stored bottle of this should easily have 5 more years of life ahead of it and may gain additional complexity over that period.
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2/15/2015 - forcumba wrote:
Took to dinner at a restaurant, opened, decanted and followed over a couple hours. The wine didn't really come together until the end, and even then it wasn't as good as I remembered. The structure was there (as was some heat early on) and some of the barrel notes emerged earlier, but the fruit didn't show up until much later. I'd recommend a longer decant than we did to let this wine really shine.
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4/12/2014 - Joe Berkson wrote: 93 Points
I opened this and thought it was incredibly tannic, so I put it in the refrigerator, opened it the next day and microwaved about 10 ounces of it for 16 seconds (a David Lake trick that I heard from a winemaker who worked with him). It was quite good, drank the bottle over 3 days and it got better. I think it may still benefit from aging, if you have this wine still
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3/18/2014 - Motz wrote: 93 Points
Drank over three days. Very pretty Red Mountain bouquet. The wine features a sleek and sexy shell built upon a sturdy frame. Very nice structure and grip for a Red Mountain wine without Cabernet Sauvignon. It drank beautifully over all three days. Either the elegant exterior or the structured frame would make this a 92 point wine, but together, these two elements merit a score a 93 point score. 92-93.
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12/13/2013 - forcumba Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened with minimal decant. Loved this wine tonight. Really coming together nicely. Great nose with some floral and nice fruit notes. On the palate, still a little heat but really nice dark fruit, very subtle barrel notes, smooth, and medium plus finish. Great wine and clearly still improving!
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10/6/2012 - curtr wrote:
Very young & tannic. Hard to judge at this point. Try again in 2016.
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6/30/2012 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Slow-O 5 hours, served single-blind. Structure, that's what impresses the most here. This was up against the Rasa CI, Woodward Canyon, Owen Roe, etc., and while it was the Group #3, it was my #2. Still rather primary at this stage with noticeable earth, aftershave, stewed plum, and blueberry. Still pretty tightly wound, I would recommend this see at least 7 hours aeration in decanter if enjoying now or at least 3-5 more years of bottle rest - at which point it will have another 10-15 years of very pleasurable drinking ahead of it. Really focused attack, with exceptional length and detail. Superb tannins and bright acids frame the purity of fruit superbly. highly recommended, 14,4% abv, drink thru 2027
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4/14/2012 - garambler wrote: 92 Points
Friends and I tasted this at the winery on 4/14/12. It had a deep, rich, complex bouquet of baking spice, floral, black cherry, cedar and mineral aromas. The palate was rich, lush, beautifully structured and dusty dry with flavors of black cherry, plum, baking spice, mocha and minerals.
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