Helena Dakota Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Wow! This 100% Cab is outstanding!
Deep Ruby color with aromas of berry fruits, earthy oak and floral spice notes, aged for 12 months in new French oak. On the palate flavors of blackberry and cherry flavors with hints of cacao, licorice and leather, adding slight wet stone notes. Fine tannins, good acidity, well balanced, long ending with fruit and savory earthy mineral notes. Nice! Grab a Filet Mignon!

Rich nose full of charcoal and minerals. So damned primary, beautiful attack of cassis that’s just a tad green, but in a nice way. Lavender, tapenade. Monster with years to go.

Wednesday Wine Committee and what a fantastic line-up by John! Typical format of 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert wine. All tasted blind.

Most guessed left bank Bordeaux here. It seemed the least “Cali” out of the 4 reds...not leathery, but more plum than red, black or blue fruit. Very balanced in terms of sweet fruit vs savory herbal/earthy components.

The Polo Bar might be the most "sceney" restaurant in New York. The walls are adorned by hundreds of paintings of horses, wood paneling and leather is everywhere. The aesthetic is utterly on point and on brand.

We drank this fabulous Sonoma mountain Cab from Anakota. Deep, dark, quite dense, highly structured and with an intensity of fruit that gives the impression that this will be very long lived. Suffice to say it was perfect with the well executed, uncomplicated American fare (New York Strip Steak for me).

Pretty epic Cabernet. Meaty and dense with a silky mouthfeel and pretty restrained tannin.

Very attractive primary fruits. Dark blackberries and cocoa. Lush ripe tannins and massive frame. Beautiful now but can wait awhile.

Floral nose, with hints of ripe raspberries. Refined palete, which oozes Black cherries, coffee, and kirsch. Finishes sweet, and textured. Tannins will enable this to sail on for another 7 years or so.

A few days late in posting wines from the Wine Thief dinner last weekend. A nice selection of wines, most of which I’d never had before.

This showed much better than the ‘07 I had a few months ago. Cassis, blueberries, granite, graphite, licorice and a rhubarb finish.

Better than Caymus.

Surprised at how well this showed. Sometimes age on a wine comes on its own. In this case, I’m impressed because of its ethereal demeanor. Excellent poise and balance. All fruit on the mid palate. Cherries, coffee nibs and soft brown sugar. Pure and precise with tight acidity. I wasn’t an Anakota fan, but I’m very willing to rethink that now.