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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 149 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ipp on 11/7/2023 & rated 89 points: a bit beyond its time (332 views) | | | Tasted by econnertx on 5/31/2021 & rated 97 points: The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like mineral and medium toast. It tastes like chocolate. The body is full. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has high acidity. (1168 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 12/8/2017 & rated 93 points: From magnum, double decanted off its sediment a coupleof hours before dinner. Dark color with an effusive bouquet dominated by eucalyptus. Dark fruit and plum notes underneath. Excellent. (1875 views) | | | Tasted by Whine-oh on 8/11/2017 & rated 91 points: Decanted tableside at a restaurant. No bricking. Sediment in bottle. Great evolution of this wine over sev hours. Disjointed out of btl. Settled down as a mature napa cab. Nice smooth tannins w/ softness in back end. Kind of fell apart by hour 2. A not over the top Napa cab. (2085 views) | | | Tasted by jbaron on 6/24/2017 & rated 92 points: Still a bit saturated, and not particularly complex, but 12 years mellow(er) and not only holding up well, but getting better with some years. (2377 views) | | | Tasted by prasm on 2/13/2017 & rated 90 points: Consumed over 2 days (vacuvined), note from day 2. Nose: Medium expressiveness, pencil shavings, dark fruit - black berry and cassis, with undertones of red fruit - cranberry and black raspberry and floral hints of lavender. Palate: Full bodied, heavy sediment, red and black fruit battle up front with the black fruit laying down a solid foundation with higher toned red fruits on top, Asian spice joins through the mid-palate and dominates the back-end with the up front fruit fading a bit. Finishes with Asian spice and earth dominating a medium length finish. Seems like it may be just past it's peak, but still drinking very nicely. (2802 views) | | | Tasted by budman on 11/23/2016 & rated 92 points: In a eal good place right now. (2937 views) | | | Tasted by PSUSteve on 10/18/2016 & rated 92 points: PnP. Black fruit wrapped in an old world cab. Very nice. (2138 views) | | | Tasted by RichardP on 9/13/2016 & rated 93 points: On the nose, camphor, stewed prunes, and something faintly spicy -- I see others have said bell pepper, and that might be it, but it's below the level I find offensive. On the palate, powerful blackberry, black currants, and cocoa that turns to vanilla oak on the second day, with notes of savory herbs and tobacco on the medium to long finish, with light tannins and good acidity. I am surprised to see that others think this is at the end of its drinking window -- for me it's right at the beginning, with the tannins almost completely absorbed and some interesting secondary characteristics just beginning to appear. I think this will last for ten more years. Except for some barely noticeable green pepper on the nose, I did not detect the green notes that others have called out here. This was my last bottle, but I see that there is still more on the market to tempt me to reload. (1971 views) | | | Tasted by CMN on 3/21/2016 & rated 92 points: Drinking beautifully tonight. 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot, but there's a savory green herbal note that is more reminiscent of Cab Franc. Tobacco and some faint cassis notes. Soft and delicious, this has aged beautifully. Tannins are barely perceptible with a beautiful tapered finish. Very good. (2605 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/18/2016 & rated 92 points: Cassis, blackberry, cedar and violets. Medium-bodied; tannins are integrating nicely. Soft and elegant, featuring black currant, cherry and cedar. Finishes with good length. Drinking well with plenty of life ahead. (2254 views) | | | Tasted by grantsky on 1/16/2016 & rated 90 points: Last bottle, sadly. Drank with Steak Au Poivre. Plum, Black Currant, mint, coffee, slight dark cocoa, Agree with the last person; no signs of decline. (2128 views) | | | Tasted by budman on 1/12/2016 & rated 92 points: Real good bottle. No sign of heading downhill any time soon. (2163 views) | | | Tasted by Mark Brandon on 11/29/2015 & rated 92 points: Terrific with NY Strip. More complex and earth than what I'd usually expect from Napa Valley, but this is from the more north end of the valley, so maybe that is a factor. Purple and black fruit, earth, tobacco. Will drink my last bottle within the next year. (2130 views) | | | Tasted by tanglenet on 11/7/2015: Opened not decanted. No formal notes. Started to open after 20-30 minutes but could use more air time. Round plush and dark black cherry fruit, medium weight in body ends with a dry finish. No sign of decline. Good to Very Good. (1601 views) | | | Tasted by PSUSteve on 10/17/2015 & rated 91 points: Pop and pour. Still needs some air but bottle was finished quickly. I do not get the green bell pepper that others have. Nice wine that I agree should be drank soon. (1623 views) | | | Tasted by raek on 4/17/2015: I believe if you have some, you need to drink it very soon. It's brown around the rim. Very smooth finish. A little funk on the noise, but otherwise a great wine. Got this on the close out sale from producer. (2691 views) | | | Tasted by bu11itt on 3/14/2015 & rated 90 points: Nose: Darker fruit with prominent green/stemy notes.
Palate: Smooth, thick mouthfeel but overall rather soft. The green, stemy flavors really flows through here and play against the less pronounced fruit character. Subtle tannins that appear to be pretty resolved at this point in the wine's life.
Finish: This is where the fruit really shows up. It's moderately dry and slightly "hot". The tannins are more evident here, giving way to a medium bodied/length finish.
Thoughts: Better than average cabernet. I like the green/stem notes that are always present, not really allowing the fruit to take center stage. It's was a bit soft but maybe it's over the hump and starting it's inevitable decline. Still a damn fine drink regardless. (2476 views) | | | Tasted by njAndrew on 12/24/2014 & rated 91 points: Needs a little air to open up. Dark fruit, med+ tannins, nice smooth mouthfeel l with med+ finish. (2761 views) | | | Tasted by Zonk on 11/14/2014 & rated 93 points: Really great complex wine. Has a lot going on. Pop and Vinturi into decanter. Nice red fruit, herbal with a bit of green pepper (much less pronounced then a few years ago). Also some olive notes. A beautiful wine and the best cabernet based wine I've had this year. (2958 views) | | | Tasted by travelme on 11/11/2014 & rated 92 points: Excellent bottle with an overall enjoyable nose that has a greeness to it. Smells like a combo of bell pepper and creme de cassis on this....really enjoyable since I love that smell on my Cabernet. Wish it had a little less green on the palate but still extremely enjoyable. On the palate complex dried black currant, crushed rock and herbs, and an Earthy and slight green finish. Highly recommended. My last bottle. (2720 views) | | | Tasted by mgstull on 11/9/2014 & rated 88 points: Dark purple red. Loads of tartrate on the cork. Strong bell pepper nose. Cassis, licorice, graphite, and blackberry notes but the green bell pepper is predominant. (1993 views) | | | Tasted by ginfizz on 8/30/2014 & rated 91 points: Nice cassis and olive/green pepper nose but both in balance. Medium weight, touch hollow towards the finish but got better in the decanter for a half hour. Delicious and ready! (2146 views) | | | Tasted by Lessthanzero on 8/1/2014 & rated 91 points: Big, napa cab with an acidic backbone, and cassis. I love cassis. (2137 views) | | | Tasted by The Wine Write on 7/25/2014 & rated 90 points: Popped and poured, drank over 2 nights. Its vegetal streak is this wine's calling card for me. Fruit is there, but the green pepper is defining. Lot of sediment in this bottle, let yours settle. (1952 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
|  By Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine Library TV, Randy Sloan from Match Cellars Comes by The Thunder Show, Episode #640 (3/10/2009)
(Match Butterdragon Hill Cabernet Sauvignon) #1; COLOR-dark; NOSE-very interesting; tons of pure black currant juice; a subtle celery stick that I love; a little mint action; TASTE-nice black fruit; it's REAL and tastes like pre-1991 Cabernet; very Bordeaux-like (like a 2000 or 2005); I really like the length--the finish is extremely long; this wine has serious elegance on the back-end; great structure; I like the juiciness; I like the dry palate play I get from this wine; for a 2005, this is really showing extremely well; this is a SPECTACULAR Cabernet and extremely well made; GV-93+ 93+ points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Wine Library TV. (manage subscription channels) |
| Match Vineyards Producer website
Match Vineyards is a small, family owned winery making single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from their own two vineyards located near St. Helena in the Napa Valley. It was started by Randy Sloan and Sasha Match in 2000. Their winemaker is CaryGott. Also see the CellarTracker page on MatchVineyards.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonButterdragon HillThis 7 acre vineyard is located on the hillside above Highway 29 in the Napa Valley in the St Helena appellation. It is planted with 87 rows of Cabernet clones 337, 7, and 15 and 3 rows of Merlot. It is owned by Match Vineyards and is currently farmed by Jim Barbour.
From Mtch website on 2/2/13:
Butterdragon Hill comprises eight acres farmed by Jim Barbour and the experts at Barbour Vineyards. Give these guys and gals a piece of Napa Valley hillside and they’ll plant it with an extremely narrow 3×5 spacing and then stingily give it water by the teaspoonful until the grapes seem to cry out for relief. The grapes may not be “happy” but those droopy faces provide sophisticated flavors from lush, succulent wines.
Butterdragon Hill is located on the western side of the Napa Valley above Highway 29, just a couple of miles north of St. Helena. This vineyard was planted in 2000 with green bench grafts of Cabernet Sauvignon clones 337, 7, and 15 plus a small amount of Merlot. Its first vintage, the 2002 was released in Spring 2005.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)St. Helena Appellation Napa Valley
The single vineyards on weinlagen-info |
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