Fruity and flat on the attack, with a hollow mid-palate that stumbled its way to a hot, booze-ridden finish. No real grip or frame aside from the distracting alcohol sensation on the back end.
Previous notes apply. Showed more complexity than its 2014 Hall Howell peer that was served the day before, but didn't do a ton to really show that it belongs in the upper echelons of Napa Cabernets.…
It's been almost two years since I last had this wine. It has certainly found a glide in terms of approachability, but it seems to have lost a little bit of drive and intensity since November 2016.…
My prior notes from last year apply. PnP was fine, with some nice dark chocolate and rich black soil notes complimenting the dark, earthy black cherry core. Rich and seemingly low in grip and frame.
Black/red fruit dominated, with a ripe, spicy, and chocolate-driven profile. With air, this became black fruited, with scorched earth and char rounding out the back end. Healthy hits of richness, but…
The optimist would say this wine is "in a transition phase," "still integrating," "of a particular style," or "a unique representation of the terroir."
All previous notes apply. A truly awesome expression of Stags Leap, seamlessly gushing with dark, black berry core fruit; dark chocolate, asphalt, black/blue river rock, scorched earth, and clove…
Previous notes apply, but this was a little muted this time around. The fruit was there, but not displaying itself with its typical accessibility and friendly flavor profile. Good but reserved. Hold…
Same as my previous notes from last year. Much better than the '14 Kathryn tasted next to it. The Howell remains in the 91-93 point max range for me. A good bottle of wine with the usual "crowd…
Same as before. A fruit-brute that hits you with a monolithic blast of RIPE dark blue and black core fruit flavors and leaves you wondering what else is there. Answer: more fruit. Too sweet and…
Previous notes apply. From two different bottles. The one opened yesterday and had 18+? hours of air was mostly alcohol and spice. The fruit took a definite back seat. Bitter on the back end. 80…
A messy diaper performance; wonky, fruity, and pretty mushy. Not much focus, with a one-note pile of ripe, flabby fruit. Sorta like taking a spoonful of raw Bisquick drop biscuit dough and plopping…
This score is based on Day 2. The first day it was a hot, alcohol-ridden, acidic mess. Day 2 it finally came around...a bit. Still, the booze was apparent; it never fully quit, on the back end…
Similar to my previous note from December 2016, except that this wine is showing a maturity (after about 2 hours of air) that is especially compelling. Reminded me of a 2012 Cliff Lede Beautiful…
Notes of red and black currant, black cherry, and black raspberry. Acid seemed a bit higher, with a more red fruit profile than the Bergfeld and Diamond served before this Veeder. A lot of tension…
Even better than when I had this wine four months ago. Much more open and giving (the bottle had been open a couple of hours). Powerful and concentrated blue and black fruits. Some nice char and…
Exact same as my previous notes four months ago. Deeply pitched blue and black fruits. Fairly plush and round, but also has a decent amount of tension to keep it from going too far into the "fruity"…
Similar to my notes four months ago. Spice and cedar lead the way this time. A decent amount of verve to move the flavors through the palate. In the end I found it to be "pretty good," but nothing…
Same as my previous notes, except that I found this to be especially thin and forgettable this time around. Some red and black fruit, but nothing too complex or captivating about this wine in…
FRUITY, with a side order of even more fruit. Fruit on the attack. Fruit mid-palate. Fruit on the back end, with fruit rounding out the finish. I like me some fruit and all folks, but man this black…
Similar to my previous notes from 11/26/2016 and 10/15/2016. I especially noticed some thin, dry wood and alcohol notes on the back end that detracted from the overall flavor profile of this wine. It…
The nose hints at strong tropical fruit and grassy notes. On the palate, alkaline/metallic and dry grass flavors dominate, with some yellow citrus bringing up the rear. A somewhat bitter and…
Similar to my notes from 09/23/16. What I appreciated most about this wine was that it was not too sweet. It was able to push real fruit and honey flavors forward without being marred by a blast of…
