Vaso
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, California, USA
This is the recent completion of the vertical, 13, 14 & 15. The 14 is my winner at this life stage.
Shows nice fruits , soft spice, very floral, well balanced and elegantly round with near perfect acidity. The 14 just offered more complexity & stuffing.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
This is the recent completion of the vertical, 13, 14 & 15. The 14 is my winner at this life stage.
Shows nice fruits , soft spice, very floral, well balanced and elegantly round with near perfect acidity. The 14 just offered more complexity & stuffing.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Welcoming the Holiday Season ⛄️❄️🎅🎁 Cheers!🥂
I posted their 2014 a few weeks ago. As I mentioned then, I bought the 13 & 15 before completing my 14 notes. While this has a yr on the 14, this is not as big as 14. Even with another yr in bottle, I expected this to have bigger teeth and it doesn’t entirely. 3 hrs in the decanter before beginning my notes. The 13 & 14 to me were not completely different. The 13’s I’ve had generally have bigger-brawnier tannins, but not significantly and not the case here with this 2013 tonight. I bought the 13 & 15 to do this comparison. The fruits on the 14 were more lush & ruby. Mildly surprising. This has more spice/earthiness and doesn’t lack a mid palate like the 14 did early on and eventually filled in.
The advantage of writing realtime notes is you can understand the changes with food. In this case a Ribcap. This was a far more lush with steak.
Now with a nearly 5 hour decant, the wine has added more lush Fruits.
Ruby & somewhat lush & juicy; dark currants, dry blackberries, black raspberries, black cherries, poached strawberries, notes of pomegranate, raspberries & hues of blueberries. Deep, dark, spice w/ palate heat, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick and vanilla, dark chocolate, caramel hues, cocoa powder, dry tobacco w/ ash, graphite, leather, cedar, steeped black tea, dark, rich, slightly, sweet forest floor w/ dry leaves, dry top soil, dry brush, limestone & volcanic minerals, pepper, dry river stone & crushed rocks, dark, red, blue flowers, red roses with nice acidity and a well knitted-balanced, nicely toned- structured, elegant finish that lands on moist volcanic clays.
Definitely put on some weight, complexity & elegance the longer it was in the decanter.
If I’d tasted 13 & 14 blind and was asked to pick, which vintage was which. I would have said the 14 was the 13.
Props to their terroirs-vineyards, vineyard manager-team, they farm exceptional fruit for all three of the Dana labels.
Welcoming the Holiday Season ⛄️❄️🎅🎁 Cheers!🥂
I posted their 2014 a few weeks ago. As I mentioned then, I bought the 13 & 15 before completing my 14 notes. While this has a yr on the 14, this is not as big as 14. Even with another yr in bottle, I expected this to have bigger teeth and it doesn’t entirely. 3 hrs in the decanter before beginning my notes. The 13 & 14 to me were not completely different. The 13’s I’ve had generally have bigger-brawnier tannins, but not significantly and not the case here with this 2013 tonight. I bought the 13 & 15 to do this comparison. The fruits on the 14 were more lush & ruby. Mildly surprising. This has more spice/earthiness and doesn’t lack a mid palate like the 14 did early on and eventually filled in.
The advantage of writing realtime notes is you can understand the changes with food. In this case a Ribcap. This was a far more lush with steak.
Now with a nearly 5 hour decant, the wine has added more lush Fruits.
Ruby & somewhat lush & juicy; dark currants, dry blackberries, black raspberries, black cherries, poached strawberries, notes of pomegranate, raspberries & hues of blueberries. Deep, dark, spice w/ palate heat, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon stick and vanilla, dark chocolate, caramel hues, cocoa powder, dry tobacco w/ ash, graphite, leather, cedar, steeped black tea, dark, rich, slightly, sweet forest floor w/ dry leaves, dry top soil, dry brush, limestone & volcanic minerals, pepper, dry river stone & crushed rocks, dark, red, blue flowers, red roses with nice acidity and a well knitted-balanced, nicely toned- structured, elegant finish that lands on moist volcanic clays.
Definitely put on some weight, complexity & elegance the longer it was in the decanter.
If I’d tasted 13 & 14 blind and was asked to pick, which vintage was which. I would have said the 14 was the 13.
Props to their terroirs-vineyards, vineyard manager-team, they farm exceptional fruit for all three of the Dana labels.
Opened a few bottles for some friends who are getting in to wine.
My experience with these wines, both the cabs and the SauvBlancs, has been time is needed. Having not been able to give previous bottles the time, I double decanted this one up front, then gave it 3hrs in a decanter before consuming over the next hour or so.
All the difference in the world! This is a perfect combo of the 2013 (big structure) and 2014 (big fruit), while giving lots of freshness. Definitely a bit ripe Bordeaux-esque on the nose with graphite, dusty/chalky dark fruits and mocha. As this opened, the acidity mellowed out and the tannins really softened alongside dark red, blue and black fruits, dark chocolate, roasted plums, dark potpourri and plenty of baking spices. Enjoyable now with a 3+hr decant, but can easily cruise in this window for 7-10yrs.
Opened a few bottles for some friends who are getting in to wine.
My experience with these wines, both the cabs and the SauvBlancs, has been time is needed. Having not been able to give previous bottles the time, I double decanted this one up front, then gave it 3hrs in a decanter before consuming over the next hour or so.
All the difference in the world! This is a perfect combo of the 2013 (big structure) and 2014 (big fruit), while giving lots of freshness. Definitely a bit ripe Bordeaux-esque on the nose with graphite, dusty/chalky dark fruits and mocha. As this opened, the acidity mellowed out and the tannins really softened alongside dark red, blue and black fruits, dark chocolate, roasted plums, dark potpourri and plenty of baking spices. Enjoyable now with a 3+hr decant, but can easily cruise in this window for 7-10yrs.
This cab from DANA is mostly from their Hershey vineyard on Howell Mtn.
I know 2013s are powerful and tightly coiled, and DANA’s style is along those same lines, but I have to admit...this was incredibly coiled and almost unforgiving. I gave this a 4hr decant (which I followed from the beginning), and then another 3hrs out of the bottle later in the evening...and didn’t experience much of an awakening. Fragrant and floral with potpourri, violets, black currant and oak. The front palate here is quite nice in texture with notes of dark fruits, cocoa powder, espresso, extremely dusty with an herbal streak to its core. It’s very Howell Mtn in style. Good acidity and an absolute wall of tannin on the finish. This got marginally better at the end of the evening and revealed a sweeter/baking spice type finish. If opening now, I’d double decant at least 4-6hrs before enjoying.
This cab from DANA is mostly from their Hershey vineyard on Howell Mtn.
I know 2013s are powerful and tightly coiled, and DANA’s style is along those same lines, but I have to admit...this was incredibly coiled and almost unforgiving. I gave this a 4hr decant (which I followed from the beginning), and then another 3hrs out of the bottle later in the evening...and didn’t experience much of an awakening. Fragrant and floral with potpourri, violets, black currant and oak. The front palate here is quite nice in texture with notes of dark fruits, cocoa powder, espresso, extremely dusty with an herbal streak to its core. It’s very Howell Mtn in style. Good acidity and an absolute wall of tannin on the finish. This got marginally better at the end of the evening and revealed a sweeter/baking spice type finish. If opening now, I’d double decant at least 4-6hrs before enjoying.
VASO cellars is essentially Dana Estate’s third label. However, what makes VASO unique is that while it’s a third label, the fruit that is used is the same fruit that goes in to Dana. No young vines or anything like that here. The main difference is the way it is oak aged.
Enjoyed during the WNH virtual tasting with a theme of 2014 Napa cab, chosen by Carl.
Similar to the ‘12 Sauv Blanc I popped, this is also from Dana’s Hershey Vineyard on Howell Mountain. Due to the ‘14 vintage being one that is drinking fairly well now, I assumed this would be close to pop and pour...wrong. Very tightly coiled on day one. Very crunchy and underripe fruits with herbs and baking spice. Re-corked and gave an hour decant on day two and it was immensely better. Sweet toasted oak, violets, charred plum, baked mixed berry pie with some added herbal flair on the nose. More plush on day two but still flexing those powerful mountain tannins. On the palate it is full of rich dark fruits, dark chocolate, mocha, nutmeg, licorice and quite a bit of graphite. It’s dusty, herbal with a good amount of ripe fruit with nice lift. I’d hold for a few more years. @Mike R , these are very nice wines. Thanks buddy!
VASO cellars is essentially Dana Estate’s third label. However, what makes VASO unique is that while it’s a third label, the fruit that is used is the same fruit that goes in to Dana. No young vines or anything like that here. The main difference is the way it is oak aged.
Enjoyed during the WNH virtual tasting with a theme of 2014 Napa cab, chosen by Carl.
Similar to the ‘12 Sauv Blanc I popped, this is also from Dana’s Hershey Vineyard on Howell Mountain. Due to the ‘14 vintage being one that is drinking fairly well now, I assumed this would be close to pop and pour...wrong. Very tightly coiled on day one. Very crunchy and underripe fruits with herbs and baking spice. Re-corked and gave an hour decant on day two and it was immensely better. Sweet toasted oak, violets, charred plum, baked mixed berry pie with some added herbal flair on the nose. More plush on day two but still flexing those powerful mountain tannins. On the palate it is full of rich dark fruits, dark chocolate, mocha, nutmeg, licorice and quite a bit of graphite. It’s dusty, herbal with a good amount of ripe fruit with nice lift. I’d hold for a few more years. @Mike R , these are very nice wines. Thanks buddy!
Lovely gift from our besty. @Mike R - thank you so much!
We love Dana, so tasting this was a treat with our sushi. It has lots of texture, with slight underripe tannins. Campfire notes on the nose and palate, give way to ripe plums, hints of charcoal and cedar. More cellaring will do this no harm. Finishes with moderate sweetness. Very enjoyable.
Lovely gift from our besty. @Mike R - thank you so much!
We love Dana, so tasting this was a treat with our sushi. It has lots of texture, with slight underripe tannins. Campfire notes on the nose and palate, give way to ripe plums, hints of charcoal and cedar. More cellaring will do this no harm. Finishes with moderate sweetness. Very enjoyable.
Soft tannin ripe fruit and lush structure.
Soft tannin ripe fruit and lush structure.
Jan 1st, 2019