Did not expect much. Opened to use for braised pot roast with little hope we'd drank with dinner. Actually complimented rich roast and root vegetables quite adequately.
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Opaque purple with purple bubbles in the pour. Very lush and soft, with completely resolved tannin and an undertow of fruit sweetness and licorice. Acidity is noticeable only at the end of the swallow. For a Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is outside the normal range for fruit-acid-tannin balance, to its detriment. The low acidity especially reduces how refreshing and mouth cleaning the wine is. A good hint about what the problem comes from is the very high 15.9% alcohol. While the taste does not have separated alcoholic fumes or burning heat, only late harvested grapes would achieve the higher sugar level needed to reach 15.9% alcohol. A very common side effect of late harvest is a serious dip in the acidity level. This wine got a flattering 93-95 review from the Wine Advocate, which most likely could happen only because the wine was at its best from the young and tasty fruit and some tannin. But kept to where the tannin started softening and getting less prominent, the wine lost the grip it needed to age well.
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It is definitely coming down from its peak. Drink now if you have any bottles. The wine needs to be decanted for 2 hours before one can appreciate it. It has herbal notes with a port like nose. Very herbal on the palate with little depth.
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Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Phenolic, and Ethyl Acetate. The body is Medium. The wine has Coarse texture. The wine finishes Short. Alvaro's wine. This is obviously an OFF VINTAGE for this wine. Alvaro's prior experience and other CT notes reflect the VA. Surprisingly, I have the 2000 Vintage, one of which I drank 18 months ago and I gave it a 94, and noted it was my Wine of the Month.
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12/31/2023 - Minnesota wrote: 87 Points
Did not expect much. Opened to use for braised pot roast with little hope we'd drank with dinner. Actually complimented rich roast and root vegetables quite adequately.
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1/28/2019 - Mossrose wrote: 85 Points
Opaque purple with purple bubbles in the pour. Very lush and soft, with completely resolved tannin and an undertow of fruit sweetness and licorice. Acidity is noticeable only at the end of the swallow. For a Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is outside the normal range for fruit-acid-tannin balance, to its detriment. The low acidity especially reduces how refreshing and mouth cleaning the wine is. A good hint about what the problem comes from is the very high 15.9% alcohol. While the taste does not have separated alcoholic fumes or burning heat, only late harvested grapes would achieve the higher sugar level needed to reach 15.9% alcohol. A very common side effect of late harvest is a serious dip in the acidity level. This wine got a flattering 93-95 review from the Wine Advocate, which most likely could happen only because the wine was at its best from the young and tasty fruit and some tannin. But kept to where the tannin started softening and getting less prominent, the wine lost the grip it needed to age well.
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5/13/2016 - jakob.krummenacher@gmail.com wrote: 87 Points
It is definitely coming down from its peak. Drink now if you have any bottles. The wine needs to be decanted for 2 hours before one can appreciate it. It has herbal notes with a port like nose. Very herbal on the palate with little depth.
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11/27/2013 - anonymoose12345 Does not like this wine: 70 Points
One of the worst wines I've ever smelled. Almost couldn't get myself to taste it. And I wish I hadn't.
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10/1/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: flawed
Brown Bag Wine Dinner at Two Chefs - Double Blind (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Phenolic, and Ethyl Acetate. The body is Medium. The wine has Coarse texture. The wine finishes Short. Alvaro's wine. This is obviously an OFF VINTAGE for this wine. Alvaro's prior experience and other CT notes reflect the VA. Surprisingly, I have the 2000 Vintage, one of which I drank 18 months ago and I gave it a 94, and noted it was my Wine of the Month.
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