1996 Chateau St. Jean Merlot Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 91.5 points

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  10/29/2016 - bacchus wrote: 92 Points

  shared with pat at selkirk manor. this is among the last remaining bottles to be consumed from purchases made during our trip to napa in august of 2001. was holding onto it for sentimental reasons. i had also overlooked this bottle because i thought that it had already been consumed. double checking inventory, it was still in the bin. decided to enjoy tonight since there were no recent notes from others and longevity was coming into question. aside from big boy napa cabs and meritage blends, which i tend to favor, this was one of the best california wines i have ever tasted. i even liked this equally as well as the 1997 cinq cepages which we enjoyed last january. the wine envelops the nose and the mouth with rich fruit which is mature but still has a bit of youthful vibrancy. mostly red berries with a hint of chocolate. should have bought more of this. had no idea it would be this good.

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  9/13/2014 - TexasBob Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Medium red. Dark chocolate and red berries and black pepper on the nose. Notes of milk chocolate, red berries, a bit of black pepper, and tons of umami. Some light coffee as well. Smooth texture, but not exactly velvety. Really delicious.

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  4/10/2010 - hfindlay wrote:

  Delicious. Decanted for about an hour and was rewarded with a rich, lush, serious merlot that had plenty of fruit but also good structure.Decidedly better than the Groth 97 cab reserve we opened at the same time. Wonderful with filet and homemade mac&cheese.

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  8/20/2007 - ken-yyz wrote: 89 Points

  After pulling the cork, my first reaction is "ohh, the cork isn't stained very much for an 11 year old... hmmmm...."
  
  The colour is garnet and if you stretch it out in the glass, there are certainly hints of some brown but the overall impression is youthful red. My early impression was not very promising - with a some oak and stewed red fruits making the first impression. The first taste was quite soft and slightly flappy. The wine was well on its way to an 85 point, I should have opened this 5 years ago impression.
  
  Then, a funny thing happened. A luscious rare Cumbrea NY Strip, slow fried yukon potates and some air, the wine wine when from flab to lusciousness. After each hour, the wine put on some weight and even developed some spiciness.
  
  The last glass was certainly the best but unlike the CSJ Reserve Cab, this is not going to be very memorable. I should probably give this a boost in to the 90's but I don't think that it quite gets there.
  
  In the end, very very very good, but just not a wine that I'll remember tomorrow.

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  8/1/2001 - OneLastSyrah wrote:

  ($90) Wine Country August 2001: Blend of 4 vineyards. Ripe, plummy sweet nose. Candy-like. Does this have some American oak? Probably not, but it seems a bit confectionary. Smooth. Nice length and concentration. Cottony tannins. Not very exciting, but tasty. Stupid expensive too.

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