Reviews

Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon

Shut down and totally constricted, with practically every identifiable flavor showing nothing beyond being completely linear and narrow. As others have noted, the core fruit is especially closed. DRY…

L'Aventure Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Same notes as last year. Some fruity, dark black cherry notes dominated more than I remember from my prior experience. It's good, but it doesn't make me want to race right out and buy more…

Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard

I have many notes on this wine which essentially still apply to my experience this time. PnP was just fine. A little acid, a little grip, but overall an expected rush of accessible, lush black cherry…

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Similar to my notes from 3/14/2016. PnP had some hits of alcohol and bitterness on the attack initially, but that dissipated fairly quickly after decanting and filtering-off the sediment. Lively and…

Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Beautiful Generation

Same as all of my other notes. On PnP, this was tight. Notes of dark black currant, black licorice, and asphalt. It needed about two hours to open up. With air, fascinating flavors of cacao, dark…

Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon 29 Estate

PnP with notes of blackberry, black currant, asphalt, black cherry, cedar, and some spice. Dark and somewhat primary, but delivering an initial attack of black fruit and wood. The finish lacked a…

TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard

Wine is a funny thing. Four months ago I drank a bottle and it was just oozing black fruit elixir. It was a 98/99 point production the likes of which I hadn't experienced much with Tor.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Coming along nicely. Still fairly juvenile, carrying a youthful pop of acid and tannins (especially on PnP and for the first hour or so in the decater). A little linear in the attack, but displaying…

Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Morlet Estate

I concur with other CTers (MSU, Rob) that this is a beautifully crafted bottle of wine. PnP was a little tight and higher-toned, but after two hours in the decanter, it developed very attractive…

TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard

Similar to all of my previous notes on this wine. A beautifully crafted Cabernet, if not coming across a little more delicate than I remember from before. The concentration/depth was fairly…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard 887 St. Helena

Same as last year. Tasted at the bar. This had medium concentration and depth; average display of core fruit. Decent frame, but fell off a bit on the back end. The 2014 version was a little more…

Villa Del Lago Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill

A very good wine. Close to one of my favorites of the entire evening. This Villa Del Lago, the Orion South Reserve 887, and the 2012 St. Helena Mountain (from a 12 Liter!) were the stars of the show…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon The Beast

You can essentially cut/paste my notes from last year on the 2014 Beast, except this 2015 seemed even more extracted and lacked much of the finesse or frame found in the 887 wines. It showed me that…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Estate Family Reserve

Similar to the 2014 BT version of this wine from last year. Hints of wood to balance out the extracted fruit, but overall it was a bit forgettable. The 887 wines were much more interesting (and broad…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon American Oak Carved & Grooved Family Reserve Alain Fouquet South Oakville

It was an unfortunate pass for me on the American Oak wines. As with the U-Stave North, this Alain Fouquet suffered from the same caramel-laced flavor that distracted from the core fruit. I couldn't…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon American Oak U-Stave north

Try as I might, I just couldn't jump on the bandwagon with the American Oak wines. The wood imparted a lightly burnt caramel flavor on the attack that distracted from the fruit flavors. Lacked the…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseur's Series Mo/Fo Blend Vineyard 887 St. Helena

My least favorite of the three 2015 887 BTs. Ripe and rich, but missing some focus on the mid-palate. Came off a little heavier on the back end than the 887 Orion and Colbert.

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoiseur's Series Colbert French Oak Vineyard 887 St. Helena

This was another 887 that displayed very nicely overall. I preferred the 887 Orion South a little more, but this North/Front 887 had a similar profile, but had just a little less depth mid-palate…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Orion French Oak South Vineyard 887

My favorite of all the Cabernets we had at Barrels & Beasts, the 887 Orion South struck a nice balance between big black fruit (and hints of deep blue and red) and a nice frame of vanilla-laced oak…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseurs' Series Centre Sylvain Family Reserve St Helena Mountain Block 2

A bit less blown out by the heavy extracted fruit displayed by the standard 2015 St. Helena Mountain Family Reserve, but this Centre Sylvain still kicked out a bevy of predominantly black fruit…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Mountain

We started off the barrel tastings jumping right into the back of the caves with this big boy Cabernet. Huge, ripe, blue and black fruits. Mid-palate was immediately rushed with heavy fruit flavors…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoiseur's Series Colbert French Oak St. Helena Mountain

This was served from a massive 12 Liter bottle. A really nice showing considering it was served toward to end of a lengthy evening full of huge Cabernets over the course of four hours. By this time,…

Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard 887 St. Helena

This was served after I had the 2013 version at the bar. I preferred this 2014 to the 2013 mainly because it displayed some nice blue and black fruit and had a touch more concentration. Not…

Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Pow!! PnP was a smack of intense black cherry liqueur, red and black licorice, cassis, kirschwasser, vanilla bean, and alcohol. A young and sultry wine.

Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon The Arsenal Greer Vineyard

Two days ago I had a bottle of this wine and it was flawed. It showed some VA funk and heavy wet mulch notes. I HAD to open another bottle to see if I was in for a string of disappointments. Not so!