A beautifully rich and smooth attack of dark berry fruit, with dark chocolate and graphite notes that add interest. Mid-palate depth is notable, with enough acid and grip to corral the ripe core and…
Previous notes apply. Air is a friend to this wine. Beautiful bitter chocolate and coffee ground notes popped out over time to compliment the dark core fruit. Drinking great now, but I'll try to hold…
Finished the bottle. Previous note applies. This wine manages to pull off unctuous concentration and intensity while also maintaining a notable balance and texturally smooth delivery from beginning…
Coravin pour. An extraordinarily dark, concentrated wine, with black core fruit flavors of black currant, blackberry, black rock, dark bitter chocolate chunk, espresso, tar, black licorice, clove,…
Fun to check out and debate-about from an educational perspective, this wine was brought out by our gracious host primarily for that exact purpose. Specific notes typical of those 2011 Napa Cabs I've…
My favorite wine in the lineup. This came off as somewhat of a hybrid of the Blueline and the other Estate. It had the deep, black, flavorful core fruit of the Blueline, but a near-perfect frame to…
Blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry, black and red currant, tobacco leaf, and some spice. Less overtly modern and ripe than the Blueline, with a bit more focus and frame. Solid acid, especially…
Gobs of dark black and blue fruit. Ripe blackberry and blueberry flavors dominating. Heavily toasted notes of oak char, smoke, vanilla, and chocolate cake. A heavy confection aftertaste made for a…
Black cherry, black raspberry, alcohol, vanilla liqueur, unripe purple plum, and some red/black currant. Vivacious and higher register than the Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wines. Needs time. 93+…
Energetic red/black core fruit, with unique Grenache-esque flavors of kirsch, black cherry, cassis, and some wood. A prominent singed eucalyptus leaf dominated the attack, at times offering added…
A superb example of the varietal, with beautiful black core fruit; blackberry, black currant, dark chocolate, tar, black coffee, and clove. A va-va-voom sexy body, with notable muscle and frame to…
For a barrel sample, this wine displayed notable focus and frame, especially given how ripe and bombastic the black and dark red core fruit was delivering on the front of the attack. A lot of power…
Barrel sample. Beautiful dark black and deeply pitched red core fruit, with chocolate, oak char, and tar; a lot of power and push right now, but with a notable depth and body that speak well to where…
Good intensity and push of flavors; tropical fruit, quince, grass, lemon rind, and some subtle graphite. Best when served cold; as it warmed up in the glass, it lost some focus. Still, the flavors…
PnP was a little tight, but it only took about 20 minutes of air to start performing. This is what I would categorize as a fairly standard example of what's coming out of Napa from the 2014 vintage.…
From Magnum. Shockingly intense and powerful for a 2002. Really nice concentration. A little rough around the edges, with a gritty, cedar-laced finish. However, the core purple and black fruit, black…
