A beautifully rich, elaborate, almost sweet Cabernet, so ripe and delicious you can drink it now. Wrapped into soft, complex tannins, it shows tiers of blackberries, cassis, plums, minerals and spices, with a strong, cedary coating of oak that’s in keeping with the size of the wine.
— S.H.
(8/1/2011)
Really a lovely Cab, this gentle wine captivates for its soft, lush mouthfeel and sheer complexity. It’s rich in black currant and cherry fruit, and generously oaked, but possesses an inherent balance and structural integrity that make it impeccable.
— S.H.
(10/1/2005)
This little family winery, which grows its grapes high in the Vaca Mountains outside St. Helena, is getting better with each passing vintage. Their Cabs are showing that ripeness isn’t enough, but balance and structure count, especially at this price. The ’03 is still a young wine, but a dramatically fruity, well-oaked one. It has all the drama of a fine Napa Cab…
— S.H.
(6/1/2007)
This is a big, young, rather tough Cab, tannic and thick. The blackberry flavors have to swim up to the surface from murky depths. But it’s dry and balanced, and has the stuffing for the cellar. Best after 2008.
— S.H.
(10/1/2005)
A challenging wine. Seems too forward and brash to be really elegant, with blackberry, currant and cherry flavors that taste more like pie filling than dry table wine. New oak slathers on layers of vanilla and char. But it could knit together and turn more complex with age. Try after 2008, but it’s risky.
— S.H.
(3/1/2008)
Lots of ripe blackberry and cherry fruit in this Cabernet, accented with notes of licorice and oak. It’s a good wine, full-bodied, tannic and dry. Very good now, especially after a brief decant, but too dependent on fruit for a higher score, and doesn’t seem like an ager.
— S.H.
(5/1/2012)
Your first and last impression of this wine is how tannic it is. It’s almost old fashioned in this respect, numbing the mouth with hard astringency. However the flavors are ripe and intense, suggesting heady crême de cassis liqueur, and the overall feeling is dry and balanced. If you’re a gambler, give it 10 years and see what happens.
— S.H.
(5/1/2013)