Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy New Year!🎈🎆🎊

From mag. Who said the2007 vintage was bad? They didn’t taste it 16 years from inception or 14 years in bottle. Excellent as our first prime rib wine.

2nd night tasting with leftovers. One glass left. It’s dark inky, round, mushy velvety tannins, dark currants, blackberries, blackberries, black plum, dark cherries, plum pudding, strawberry highlighter, dry stones, limestone powder, dark turned earth, soft, fresh & dry tobacco notes, soft lead pencil shavings, wet volcanic ash, moist clay, charcoal, sandalwood, understated dark spice, dark chocolate, just a touch of baking spices, dark & red withering flowers, violets, excellent round acidity and a well knitted structure, balanced fruit & earth, good tension with a long elegant finish that falls on a dry mineral finish lasting 90 seconds.

I always leave an inch to inch and half in the bottle to pour a bit to all at the end. I believe the expression for that is, “The Truth! From the expression, the truth is inside. It doesn’t lie and makes for more extremely concentrated sip(s). You might say it is a lot like monosodium glutamate…everything you tasted in the wine previously, taste more. — 2 years ago

Kim Porpora

9.0

This is from Paso Robles — 5 years ago

Cecil Ramirez

9.2

2013 vintage. Vibrant ruby color, med bodied, soft mouthfeel & tannins. Bright cherry, cola, plum, strawberry, vanilla notes. Nice lasting finish. — 6 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.2

2009 vintage. Uncommon Syrah (65 %) - Cabernet Franc (35 %) blend. Single vineyard Sugarloaf Mountain — 8 years ago

Antonio Claudio Tarre

9.1

On the nose, posh leather and ripe black fruits stand out. On the mouth, it is sweet and rounded. Good finish. The wine has evolved and it's easy to drink but it still has many years ahead of it. It got better towards the end and managed to hold the drinkers' interest throughout the meal. — 9 years ago

Nicolaas Edrick

9.0

Funky introduction with subtle tannins. After 2-3 hours of opening, bitter vanilla with nice end tannins and fresh acidity. Nice savoriness. — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2006 vintage. Decanted and tasted immediately, after 30 minutes and 2 hrs. Unexpected amount of frontal palate richness mitigating back-end tannins. Still has years to go. 10.18.23. — 3 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.2

Beautiful. Drink em up! Lovely golden color. Showing some honey and dry extract. A perfect end to a perfect evening (minus the $300 we lost at river rock casino) — 4 years ago

Ashish Upadhyay

9.2

Awesome Cab — 5 years ago

with Shruti

Ran Ilkovitch

9.2

Superb to end ASBO with great wine and greater friends — 7 years ago

Robert Torretti

9.0

What a gem! Opened and decanted into a bottle with a narrow opening to keep from aerating too quickly. Nose had tobacco, leather and earth. Palate had all that and a little mint, anise and herbs. Beautiful red color, clean and clear. Enjoyed with the tail-end of an uni pasta special, and with shared lamb (with fresh mint, morels, and asparagus) and with roast suckling pig. Evolved during the course of two hours or so. — 8 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.1

Less Riesling in this vintage... so less distinctive and different and interesting than the corresponding 2013.
Still a very, very well made Napa Chardonnay, low acidity, lots of vanilla. — 9 years ago

Max Kelly

9.3

Initially showing some oak and grip, but this settled into a cedar-y, spicy, elegant wine. Initially lagging behind the '01 La Mission, the intensity and integration built with time and air. By the end of the night, it was neck in neck. Great wine that will improve with another few years. — 9 years ago

with Chris and Alessandro

Gerard McDade

9.2

Astounding- but like a rich Rioja, fruity and well balanced, soft tannins. — 4 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.3

Boom. Huge and muscular. WS says past it’s window - but not to me! Nose of blackberry and slight secondary herbal notes Polished and smooth - with a huge Cali Cab sweetness but not overdone. Excellent way to end the year. !! — 4 years ago

with Danielle and David

Sean Sims

8.9

Wow, jam, dark stone fruit. Deep purple rim. A pleasure to drink as I grill — 6 years ago

Keith Fisher

9.4

This vintage is showing better as time passes. Could this end up aging better than 2002 which was more highly acclaimed? I liked this a little better than the last 2002 that I had. — 8 years ago

Rupesh Parikh

9.2

What a great cab; structured yet fruity; minimum tanins in the back end; loved it — 8 years ago

Christophe Dujardin

9.5

Touching perfection here — 9 years ago

Linda Marshall

9.4

Very big fruit. Very smooth finish. Smoky front Good spice. — 9 years ago