Nathan Renfro

9.8

Lovely wine. Lavender and black fruit nose. Blue fruit, cassis, menthol, pencil shavings, black licorice. Amazing texture and mouthfeel. Lovely long finish. Fantastic wine, gonna have to order some more. — 8 days ago

Jason Case

9.8

Deep red fruit, leather, tobacco, balance completely. At peak in the glass 40mins — 4 months ago

Vianey

9.0

Super duper sweet for an 11.5!!! This reminds me of the Grand Canyon one. Great for my mom — 6 months ago

Randy Fuller

9.4

It is a medium dark wine with a savory nose, showing violets, licorice, forest floor and a touch of cardamom. The palate is spicy, with black pepper and herbs joining the black berry profile. The tannins are quite firm and the acidity is fresh. It is a youthful wine which will pair nicely with a pork roast. — 3 years ago

Kate Rawlins

9.0

Cork of the north. Smooth, dark fruits. — 13 days ago

Norma Normington

8.9

Sweet wines are normally not my favorite but I wanted to try this and expand my palate and I wasn’t disappointed 🙂 it has a nice flavor and is not bubbling at all. A good wine for a great price point which balances out the table. — 3 months ago

Ken Z

9.3

Drank 12 /7/23.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Scents of plum, blackberry, currant, and chocolate. Flavors are similar, with blackberry, plum sauce, and soil. Tannins are still firm, but, well integrated and mix with black fruits on the long finish. This one goes on for over a minute. Drinking well now, but showing no signs of slowing down. This should last another 10 plus years, but is in a nice place now.

4/22/8/4/5 +50 = 93 pts.

Great with a NY strip, but even better with the balsamic glaze that complimented it. This pairs wonderfully with sweet dark fruit flavors. — 5 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Many of you that see my posts know I don’t open a Napa Cabernet this young. However, this was selling at my Costco for $69.99. K&L Wine Merchants $99.99. Delectable at $115. So, I had to buy a four. I coravined this bottle for a Somm friend last weekend who likes his Napa reds young. 🤷‍♂️

While this has seen a bit of bottle evolution, it still needs another 6-8 yrs before I open another and has the potential to pick up another point or two then.

Nose shows; brambly blackberries, stewy black plum, black raspberries, darkest cherries, boysenberries and strawberries off the glass edges. Dry tobacco, leather, dark spice, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon notes, vanilla, anise, dark, rich, turned earth and withering, dark, slightly candied flowers.

The palate expresses some evolution. It is rich, ripe; brambly blackberries, stewy black plum, black raspberries, darkest cherries, boysenberries, hints of blueberries and strawberries off the glass edges. Tarry, dry medium plus tannins. Dry tobacco, leather, dark spice with a touch of heat, mixed darker berry cola, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon notes, vanilla, black tea, anise, mixed fresh & drier herbs, dark, rich, turned earth, barrel shavings/dust, a hint of black pepper, moist, grey clay, dry top soil, dry river stone and withering, dark, red, slightly candied flowers with violets, very round, phat acidity with a well; balanced, big structured, tensioned, lush, elegant and nicely layered & polished finish that lasts a full 90 seconds. Still kind of in its primary stage.

This is made by Chris Carpenter who also makes; Lokoya, Cardinale, La Jota, Hickinbotham (Australia) made at Yangarra. Sofia & I tasted at Yangarra and after tasted his Hickinbotham with him in 2017.

Photos of; staff picking on Mount Veeder, Chris Carpenter in the cellar and scenic shot of Mount Veeder. — a month ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Big fruit. Paired pretty well with some Mimolette. — 2 years ago

Andy Hall

9.7

Sorry to say I turned 60 a couple of weeks ago. My daughters came in to celebrate this past weekend and we wanted to drink some good wine. What a trio: ‘12 Cade Reserve, ‘13 Cardinale, and ‘05 Leoville Las Cases. Ironically, I am going to score all 3 of these as 97+. They were really a treat. The Las Cases was decanted for 5 hours and it was clear that we were about 7 years too early. It’s a terrific wine and at at age ~25 it will be absolutely stunning. Already has balance and harmony. Can’t wait until I am about 67 so that I can revisit the remaking 11 bottles! — 3 years ago