Estate Bottled Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Lots of tannins and acidic great future

Still needs a few minutes to open even after 10 years, but fruit is still there. Second place tonight losing only to the 2012 Siobhan's Smugglers Blend No. 57 split. Markedly better than the 7&8 2008 cab.

Ok. Fruity and dark fruit. Definitely better with time in the bottle and good for the price but better options are out there.

Very fruity as a second bottle. Even with this vintage it’s still heavy cherry.

Pleasant. Cherry but deeper and earthy.

Standard cheaper win. Still cherry forward but not overly. Dusty. Think we’re liking the 2011 better.

This library case was a great purchase. Excellent for the money and drinking smooth.

Night 1: ooh...juniper, lavender, violet, purple flowers (all very subtle), blueberry, purple plum skin. Chalky tannins with acidity that rushes down the side of the tongue. Palate of dark chocolate, blueberry and elderberry tart, dark plum, leather and some of those delicate flowers from the nose. This is not a fruit bomb and really well balanced. I’d like to see how it opens day 2. Night 4: tannins holding on with acidity that rushes down the outside of the tongue. There’s more dark chocolate, blackberry, ripe black cherry and juicy red plum with a spicy element (not quite pepper nor cinnamon) that’s maybe nutmeg. It’s tasty. I’ll be back in 2 years if I can resist.

Complex full nose of deep dark fruit (darkest plum, cherry and cassis) and baking spices. Robust mouthfeel with medium finish. Evolving constantly over 1-2 hours. Fantastic.

Lots of blackberry and blueberry and deep dark cherry. Very focused and fragrant. Spice on the finish and some green herbs. Not terribly complex but much more so than I was hoping. Good texture and structure, nice acid balance. I had it open for 3 days and on the third day the cherry and cherry pit come through more. I’d imagine it was a good example of the type, but I don’t drink much Cali cab, or really any at all. I paid $20 for it on sale at flatiron.