Gracias a Dino — 3 years ago
Great pairing with Sunday gravy, candlelight and Dino Crocetti. We’ll put this one into the regular winter rotation. Salud! — 4 years ago
Nice. Boothes. Better than Dino finally. — 4 years ago
2021 vintage. Nice light, dry, flavorful, Italian — 6 months ago
Wine and friendship are often synonymous. This bottle shared with Dino is a continuation of a journey many decades in the making. Dino introduced me to the magic of Cristal during our 20’s. Dino describes this as “liquid silk”. My comments begin with Toasty, brioche, Granny Smith apple, Asian Pear. Rich and lovely, young and elegant, nice now, but capable of more with time and patience. Why wait, our friends are here now. Cheers!! — 4 years ago
Dinner w the best Dino in SB. Flavor long lasting. — 4 years ago
LOVE the tannins in this wine - it’s perfect. It’s got very light and smooth aromas with a round taste to it and a smoky finish. (Fun fact - the grapes are grown in a “Jurassic Landscape” alongside Dino fossils so that’s pretty cool) — 5 years ago
Christmas 2023 Dino — a year ago
Cimarossa, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rive di Cimarossa. Vintage 2011. ABV 14.20%.
This wine is deep ruby with garnet secondary hues. On the nose this wine has medium(+) intensity of developing aromas. Aromas include blackberry preserves, black cherry, dried prune, fig, also black pepper, molasses, cedar, tobacco, mocha, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, earth, and wet moss. On the palate this wine is dry. It has medium acidity, a full body, high alcohol, firm (high) tannins, and medium(+) intensity of flavors consistent with the nose but with delicate vegetal notes. The baking spice is also very prominent. The finish is long.
The 2011 vintage in Napa Valley was on the wetter and cooler side, which offered an extended growing season allowing the grapes to ripen and develop slowly. This wine comes from a vineyard located in Howell Mountain, on the Northeastern side of the Vaca Mountains, which afforded it additional exposure to winds that kept the vines dry and sunshine which aided in the ripening process.
Fun fact! Howell Mountain legally became its own appellation in 1983, the year of my birth, making this Howell Mountain Cab a fine choice for a Birthday weekend (there’s always a connection).
In addition to owning this spectacular winery, owners Corry Dekker and Dino Dina both come from an impressive background in medicine and biotechnology and have left, and continue to leave, an indelible impact on the vaccine industry. Cheers to that!! And cheers to Mia Kline for her excellence in winemaking and fruit expression.
This label features an image of the yellow monkeyflower, a wild flower that grows along the edges of the vineyard from which this wine comes.
— 4 years ago
Brent Clayton
Dino-mite! — 6 months ago