Showing items 1 through 10
of 10,153
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Cardinale 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
Tasted in a flight of great and famous Napa wines, this Cardinale stood at the head of the pack. Starts with a very fine nose of cedar, cassis, ripe blackberries and violets, then turns dramatic and refined in the mouth. Shows vast depth and length, with the finish a full minute of sweet fruits and spices. Marvelous tannins, so plush and elegant, so powerful yet refined. The grapes hail from Mt. Veeder, Howell Mountain, Stags Leap and Oakville, and the blend contains 14% Merlot. As good as it is now, it will improve for at least eight years. — S.H. (3/1/2010) — 100 -
- 100
- $215
Shafer 2004 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon (Stags Leap District)
A perfect score has to be considered in the context of its region. Shafer’s 2004 Hillside Select is tremendous as a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that competes with its peers at the highest levels. It’s always a fabulous wine, but in warm 2004, Shafer’s amphitheater vineyard sheltered the grapes, ripening them to perfection yet protecting the “iron fist in a velvet glove” structure that André Tchelistcheff defined as Stags Leap. This 100% Cabernet is tremendous in cassis, black currant and mocha flavors, and the 100% new French oak provides perfect additions of smoke and caramel. It’s soft and gorgeous enough to drink now, and should age well in a cool cellar for the next 20 years. — S.H. (3/1/2009) — 100 -
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- $100
Trefethen 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Oak Knoll)
This is nearly perfect, a massive, monumental wine whose sheer power is matched only by its grace and refinement. The flavors of blackberries, cassis, dark chocolate, buttered toast and cedar flood the mouth, tightly controlled by firm tannins and good acidity. Decant for several hours if you open it now, but better to give it 6–10 years in the bottle. — S.H. (4/1/2010) — 99 -
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- $125
Venge 2008 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
An absolute joy and triumph. Just superb, showcasing the best of Oakville. Perfect tannins, as pure as velvet and sweet, and perfect oak, too, with beautifully applied char and wood spice. That the oak is 100% new is in keeping with the wine’s volumetrics. The wine’s flavors are a profound, heady expression of blackberries, blueberries, cassis and dark, barely sweetened chocolate. Just spectacular, a real achievement by any world class standard. Production was a scant 275 cases. — S.H. (6/1/2011) — 99 -
- 99
- $125
Quilceda Creek 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley (WA))
The flagship wine from Quilceda Creek offers exotic scents of plum, cassis, loam, coffee and pine sap, a rich and evocative blend. The wine delivers all that is promised and more; it is deep and dense with flavor, polished, focused and persistent. Vanilla, espresso, fine tannins, luscious acids and cascading fruits. — P.G. (2/1/2012) — 99 -
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- $75
Stonestreet 2007 Rockfall Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley)
This is Cabernet Sauvignon lifted to greatness, an impeccable statement concerning this region of the high Mayacamas Mountains on the Sonoma side that, by law, is forced to bear a “valley” appellation. The wine is awesome, vast and complex, fascinating in every aspect, yet locked down in tough tannins that exaggerate the acidity, making the wine functionally undrinkable. It is a beautiful, classic Cabernet, very near perfect, and certainly one of the successes of the vintage. Don’t even think of drinking it before 2014, and it should evolve in the bottle for a good 10 years after that. — S.H. (5/1/2011) — 99 -
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- $75
Vine Cliff 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
Pretty much as good as Napa Cabernet gets. Shows the blackberries, black currants, blueberries and spicy plums of Oakville and scads of spices, and the tannin-acid structure is, in a word, superb. The oak elaboration is just about perfect, adding a tasteful layer of smoky, buttered toast. The finish goes on and on. — S.H. (12/15/2010) — 98 -
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- $85
Leonetti Cellar 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Walla Walla Valley (WA))
Dense, aromatic, layered and rich, this wine explodes from the glass with scents and flavors of concentrated berries, cassis, black cherry, and more. The vines have reached a mature stage that amplifies the fruit and keeps the generous barrel flavors in perfect balance. The barrel notes roll on in a chorus of toasty accents, and the finish is as good in the last minute as the first whiff from the glass. — P.G. (9/1/2011) — 98 -
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- $70
Cayuse 2007 Widowmaker Cabernet Sauvignon (Walla Walla Valley (OR))
This En Chamberlin vineyard offering has never been better. Simply spectacular Cabernet Sauvignon, pure and focused and textural and terroirdriven. A low yield, pure varietal wine, it is immensely concentrated, deeply flavored with cassis, cherry, and berry fruit that is substantial and detailed, with a light dappling of dried herb, chocolate powder, licorice and dark, earthy components typical of Cayuse. — P.G. (2/1/2011) — 98 -
- 98
- $125
Quilceda Creek 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley (WA))
The 2006 flagship Cabernet from Quilceda Creek is a massive wine that has just begun to emerge from its slumber. When first released the wine seemed to have entered a dumb phase, but six months later it responds to decanting and shows its muscle. Fruit flavors of black, brandied cherries, cassis and bourbon-soaked plums are wrapped in generous, layered oak. The wine is dusty, smoky, laced with streaks of licorice and brightened with sharp acids. It continues to expand further in the glass, adding flesh and spice to its frame, with a cedar/cigar box finish. — P.G. (3/1/2010) — 98
Showing items 1 through 10
of 10,153
Lineage Ghielmetti Estate Vineyard
Red Blend, Livermore Valley
The second vintage of Steven Kent’s lovely, lofty Lineage, impressive in…Read More