Reviews

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon La Bam Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Same as my notes from two months ago except that I bumped this up a point. Served with La Verdad side by side. Admittedly La Bam can't match the sheer awesomeness of its superior sibling La Verdad,…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon The Magnificent Seven

A nearly flawless example of a big "cult style" Napa Cabernet. The attack is a rush of dark black currant, black cherry, black raspberry, dark chocolate, subtle char, and black mulch notes. A…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon

A Stagecoach (Pritchard Hill side)/LPV hybrid, this Cabernet showed the best of what can become of Stagecoach fruit, with some much elevated flavor assistance from LPV. I wouldn't have been able to…

World's End Cabernet Sauvignon CrossFire Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard

I wasn't a fan of this wine at all. Given the Missouri Hopper site, I definitely expected more. Closed off, muted, thin, and a bit tannic. Some black fruit on the attack with a bitter back end.…

Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

A beautiful label with lovely packaging in a pretty box that would make most wine collectors proud to own a 3-pack...and...a totally forgettable and unfortunate bottle of juice given the players and…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Grand Daddy Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Same as my notes two months ago. A step behind the GTO and OG in terms of Carter's To Kalon wines, but a great showing regardless. Hold until 2020+.

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fortuna Vineyard

Same as my notes from two months ago. 10 minutes in the glass and some swirling really brought out some elevated flavors. Not as high toned and overtly red fruited as last time. Verve and acidic…

Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon BBS Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

On the nose, interesting floral aromas, with liqueur and alcohol wafting up through the back of the mouth. On the palate, dark red and black berry notes, black raspberry liqueur, and subtle violets.

Bevan Cellars Ontogeny

Same notes as 5 months ago. Drinking really well with a one hour decant. Impeccably balanced for a wine in this bracket. One of the best sub-$100 Napa reds out there. Drink now and over the next 5…

Celani Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

PnP with plum, black cherry, and red and black currant core fruit flavors. Some hints of wet cedar. A little funk on the back end. Smooth and plump, with the dark, ripe plum and black cherry notes…

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…

Rudd Oakville Estate Proprietary Red

Same as all of my previous notes. Micro-filtered (had a decent amount of sediment) and decanted for an hour. A little jet fuel at the initial PnP, but it didn't take long to start showing…

Sea-Fog (The Grade Cellars) Sauvignon Blanc

Same as my previous notes. A light-bodied SB that is crisp and refreshing, but lacks mid-palate and concentration. Faint lemon, grass, and sea. Falls off on the back end. It's "fine," but barely.…

Favia La Magdalena

PnP started out with plum and alcohol; hot brick and purple fruit notes competing with each other. This needed about two hours to calm down. Notes of ripe plum, blueberry, boysenberry, and some…

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…

Pahlmeyer Merlot

Notes of plum and dark black cherry were the most prominent. Some dark-ish raspberry, chocolate, and hints of earth rounded out the flavor profile. Fairly cran-grapey and fruity, with not much frame…

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 The David Napa Valley

Same as last year. Soft, round, and somewhat inviting, but not displaying any interesting levels of complexity or concentration. This was much sweeter than the 2015 David. Extraction was a bit high,…

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…