Cabernet Sauvignon

This is an intense and concentrated wine.  While it is drinking well today, proper cellaring will be rewarded.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, coffee and iron.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  Deep but tight.  Lots of cassis fruit with underlying spice.  Long finish.  It needs about seven to ten years until peak and should be good for fifteen after that.  It drinks well today on its own and will work with bigger foods.  

I am a huge fan of Rivers Marie Cabernets.  They make a bunch of single vineyard ones, but this "base" one is always great.  And for Napa, it is a good value.  The release price was $65.  This took some time to open but after an hour or so, it was singing.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, cedar, and some coffee.  On the palate, this has firm tannins.  Cassis over coffee grounds.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This will likely last as long as the single vineyard wines, another decade easily, probably two.  It is delicious on its own right now but should gain in complexity as it mature

Wow.  This is a wine that is rarely reviewed but just excellent.  Right up there with anything Napa produces.  Opened for my birthday dinner because it also goes great with food.  Deep purple in color.  Opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, spice, slight cedar and plums.  With air, a bit of iodine.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  Deep and complex.  Young with firm tannins.  Lots of cassis fruit with underlying spice and slight char.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This will no doubt continue to evolve over the next decade and closer to two.  It reminds me of St.

 Wow.  Great showing for this wine.  It is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot.  A candidate for Wine of the Year.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is deep and complex with cassis, blueberries, gravel, slight cedar and spice.  On the palate, this is seamless.  Full bodied with supple tannins.  Wonderful balance.  Cassis, over a slight dry earth and charred wood.  Long finish.  This went great with a seared Tofu dish but would be great with steak or a roast.  It is still young and will develop but won't get better - just different.  

Bordeaux wines from 1982 are often still drinking great.  While one might think a wine such as this might be over the hill, that is not true.  At least for this bottle.  It still has some youthful freshness.  It is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  No real bricking or browning.  On the nose there is cassis, dust, slight cigar box and hints of cherry.  On the palate, this has lively energy.  Cassis and cherries with some underlying dried herbal notes.  Not a big wine.  Some depth and slight layering.  Nice finish. 

This is a very nice Cabernet using mountain fruit which tends to be more concentrated than valley floor fruit.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with cassis, slight minerals, spice and a bit of floral notes.  On the palate, this has a nice texture.  Concentrated cassis fruit with mineral undertones.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well right now but it should last easily for another five to seven years.  It drinks well on its own and should go well with roasted meats or fowl.  

75% Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale & Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - 20% Langhorne Creek Merlot - 5% Eden Valley Shiraz.  This is the flagship wine of this property.  The bottle was gifted to me a couple of years ago, and it got opened at the end of a 1980's Bordeaux tasting which seemed appropriate.  It did not disappoint and held its own in the tasting.  Purple with ruby swirls, ruby at the rim, not much bricking.  On the nose, this is dusty with black cherry fruit and a bit of black pepper.  On the palate, this has some depth with nice layering that is immediately apparent.  Good aci

I have been lucky enough to have this on a few occasions.  Never has it been open or showing anything like it's lofty status with the critics would indicate so I approached with trepidation.  No need.  This bottle was amazing.  Everything it was supposed to be including still a bit on the young side.  It is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.  Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Bright but mostly opaque.  On the nose, lovely cassis, cigar box, ash and slight pencil lead.  The lead becomes more pronounced with air and there is some chocolate and spi

A big surprise on the upside drinking this wine.  It was much younger and better than I expected (and I had high expectations).  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is young with cassis, cedar, a bit of graphite and slight roasted herbs.  On the palate, what a lovely lush texture.  Still a lot of primary and secondary flavors.  Cassis, chocolate and then with air an underneath of dry forest floor.  Medium tannins.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  This bottle anyway, still needs around five to seven more years to peak, but again, at age 37, all bottles are different.  It would go great

This bottle was decanted for an hour and then double decanted back in the bottle.  It might have needed a bit more than that but that was good.  Ruby/purple in color.  Clear and bright.  The nose is a bit of a dusty attic at first.  With air, cherries and cedar come out.  Light tannins on the palate.  Cherries with sandalwood and slight forest floor on the palate.  This has a nice complexity with good layering.  This seems at peak now.  No hurry but it probably should be drunk by 2030.  It will work better at the table at this point, roasted meats, fowl or veggies would be great.