4/6/2024 - doug374 Likes this wine:

This bottle followed a rich fruit forward CA cab and this first seemed a bit too restrained and retiring. In time it was clear the first bottle was clouding the perceptions of the wine. We discovered this was a good expression of a classic Bordeaux. The fruits were blended with light smoke, vanilla and minerals. Tannins were completely tamed and smooth.

4/5/2024 - doug374 wrote:

Fruits are dominant, ripe berries and currents, not sweet, fulsome mouthfeel hints of smoke and leather with mild tannin.

4/1/2024 - doug374 wrote:

A deep red full mouth of mountain berries, bark, smoke, and wisp of vanilla. Continued to open up over the dinner. Expect this to continue to age well for 10+ years.

3/31/2024 - doug374 Likes this wine:

This was a pleasure with the encounter similar to to one in 2020. It is aging gracefully with a core of fruit and mineral notes that held from the start to finish. Tannins have rounded out nicely. Flavors included limestone, strawberry, blackberry, currents, and leather. The cork at 46 still had one inch with no discoloration it certainly played its role in keeping this aging so well.

3/24/2024 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Nice dark color again carries a scent of berries, earth, and, violets. Does not grab you but is a complete wine. This is the second bottle and perhaps a little more jagged finish than the first. Still plenty of time to go before a plateau.

2/21/2024 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Drinking well, nice color and smooth drinking. Fruits are a little muted but comfortable in the mouth.

1/13/2024 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Opens up very nicely in the glass. Perfumed nose of rose, violet, leather and wet stone. Lots of time left but also drinking too well to not enjoy now.

12/31/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

A complex wine with layers of flavoring. Dark cherries light tobacco and leather at first. Opens up to more herbal and mineral notes all of this is held firmly together through the dinner with tannins that are in command but not obtrusive. Excellent next to a duck breast and honey spiced carrots.

12/27/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

A deep ruby coloring blocking virtually all light. Deep flavorful fruit with cherry, apricot and current alongside light smoke and vanilla. Very ready to drink now not in decline but no reason to delay.

12/28/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Dark brooding fruit and minerals. Opened one hour before tasting. Great with leg of lamb

12/25/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Dark and deep ruby color. Smooth but full of fruit, graphite and minerals. Paired very well with roast lamb.

12/14/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

An attractive wine, not seeking to overwhelm but to bring finesse. Fruits were cassis, fig, and dark berries alongside light minerals and meadow grass. The tannin was present to hold it together but stayed in the background.

11/26/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

A good wine with fulsome notes of fruit. Served tonight with a mushroom, tomato and polenta dish with spice. The wine felt light against that spice.

11/19/2023 - doug374 wrote:

A very nice surprise to still have some life in this old bottle. Came from Craig Claiborne's cellar in an auction in 2001. Color was lightening but no musty notes a gentle waft of prune, tobacco, plum.

11/18/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Deep ruby red color delivering a substantial body with cassis, leather, graphite, bound into a treat for the palate. Served with classic coq au vin, paired very well.

11/17/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Excellent wine with a Chile poco carne meal. Smooth like a velvet glove with a firm hold on the fruit, mineral and earth tones that run through this wine. Tannins only showed by holding it together, this was a sleek and pleasurable glass to the end.

11/15/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Mature, drinking well. core has well integrated fruits and light forest notes.

11/14/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Dense ruby coloring, prominenet and rich aroma of ripe cherries, vanilla, blackberry, cassis. Full fleshed mouth feel almost merlot like, rounded tanins hold everything together.

11/6/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Just as good as the bottle we had two weeks ago. Aged very well, good fruits, light smoke and cinnamon little tannin beyond what is necessary to hold the core of flavors together.

11/1/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Such a pleasure. At 48 yrs still delivering a fulsome fruit and mineral package. An elegant sleeve of flavors rather than a hammer. Some mineral, hay, and fruits -cassis, pomegranate, blackberry. Delighted to find such vibrancy after this many years.

10/31/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Big rich and towering in its presentation. Great with a spicy bean, sweet potatoes, and andouille sausage meal. Very forward fruits with a noticeable set of tannins to drive a very enjoyable and lucious set of fruits and spices.

10/30/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Wine was flat and not interesting, waited too long with a cork that was crumbling

10/29/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Drinking very well. Excellent color and nose. Notes of Earth, tobacco, ripe fruit in smooth envelope with rounded tannins.

10/26/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Wonderful deep ruby red color in the glass. Vibrant fruit aroma mingled with minerals and tobacco.Probably at a peak but anticipate a long plateau based on how fulsome this was.

10/25/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

A really enjoyable wine with lots of dark fruits, minerals, hay and hint of tobacco. Tannins are holding it together but allowing the acids to really drive the experience. Lots of life left in this one.

10/26/2023 - doug374 wrote:

I waited too long. It was not bad but the color was washed out at the edges and the fruits were present but rather flat and not interesting.

10/24/2023 - doug374 wrote:

This bottle was declining in vibrancy. Cork was not tight and slipped into the bottle. There was still refined flavors in the wine but it was fading from earlier experience.

10/23/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Fading but not so much as to reduce the score from last time. Modest tannin and a fruit core that is mild but still expressive. Notes of violets, hay and minerals.

10/14/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Opened 30 mins ahead of serving. Very nicely evolved fruit with modest but noticeable tannins. Some smoke with more fruit, dark berries, currents and cinnamon all in a very cohesive package. Worked very well with a chicken dish using turmeric, coriander and cumin.

10/10/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Brought the score down by a point. The bottle started more closed and tight than earlier experience, tannins were there but the fruit took more time to emerge. They did come through with some patience and delivered a nicely structured profile with notes of anise, blackberry, vanilla and leather.

10/8/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Big full flavored, fruity, well integrated taste treat. Served with a spicy vegan Chile and it took it on with confidence. Still more years left for this wine but it is drinking very well after 16. This was the first year Rudd produced the Abel wine from the Mt Veeder estate. Recently stopped (2016) and now are making a Leslie's Blend

10/7/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Matauring nicely referencing earlier reviews. Great dark dense ruby red for the color. Notes of tobacco, chocolate, and currents. The tannins are present to deliver a unified core of flavors but are not so assertive to diminish the mouthfeel. Very enjoyable now with more likely to come over time.

9/22/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Very nice full flavored red with fruits and earthy minerality. Tannins were present but not in the way of the fruit.

9/24/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

This is the last bottle and it left in style. Good color, solid core of fruit, cinnamon, and earth held together with supple tannins.

9/18/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Drinking well following a brief decant. Deep red, lucious fruit modest tannin.

9/4/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Nicely mature, not overly aged but now with tannins light and the deep stone fruits, light notes of leather and herbasous grass coming through. A short decant with modest sediment thrown off. Nicely paired with grilled chicken thighs and eggplant caponata.

7/30/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

The last of the 2012's. A spectacular vintage and this bottle was as vibrant and special as its predecessors. Lovely honey, vanilla, peach notes burst onto the palate and leaves you wanting to go back again and again.

7/24/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

A bit rustic and flavorful. Ripe berries, mushroom, forest floor were all part of the mix.

7/23/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Great expressive fruit from start to finish. A vibrant set of deep flavors including blackberry, cassis, chocolate and light leather. Tannins hold it together but are not interfering with the fruits. Paired very well with medium rare meat.

7/22/2023 - doug374 wrote:

An elegant and whisper smooth profile for a mature but not overly aged HB. Plenty left and an easy choice for a Denver steak evening.

7/22/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Great choice with Denver steak. Matched the full flavor of the steak and and moderately spiced dry rub very well. Fruits were distinct but not heavy on the palate, a fullness of the fruit profile that was combined with a light touch of minimality.

7/22/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Dark and deep red coloring with fruit that is not only smooth and silky but still young with room to mature. Very easy to enjoy with our Denver steaks.

7/15/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Holding up very well for a 40+ year old wine cork was still good. It is on the downslope but it is gentle with notes of tobacco and mushroom still present. This was an enjoyable accompaniment to grilled chicken thighs.

6/22/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Drinking well, full bodied with tannins surrounding the core of a dark fruit and earthy acidity.

6/28/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Tastes of dark fruits- casis, blackberry, strawberry, with notes of forest of mushroom and hay. Tannins are light but present to hold it together. Overall a sense of lightness that does not match the maturity of the wine.

6/26/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Still had a deep red color andmore lively notes of mushroom, violets, earth and straw than expected. Braced for an over aged wine but it outperformed expectations. Served with a lemon ricotta ravioli and chicken ricotta.

5/7/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

An excellent bottle with an opaque deep red color. A well maintained bottle, the cork dry for the upper 2/3's. Aroma of bundled blackberry, strawberry and currents with notes of leather and cinnamon at the edges. The flavors held through the mouth and left me wanting to go back for more.

5/6/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

A remarkably tasty and elegant wine 32 years young. Flavors are holding up very well. Still vibrant fruit with a moody complex finish a special treat sorry to know there is not another in reserve.

5/4/2023 - doug374 wrote:

Drinking very well. Solid fruit with tannins wrapping them gently.

4/17/2023 - doug374 Likes this wine:

Medium dark red color with aromas predominantly of dark berrries. Tannins are present between smooth and knobby, holds the flavors together very well for an enjoyable medium body finish.