4/5/24, 5:13 AM - Maybe I should have said try in 2026-2030. The oak needs at least that much time to integrate.
8/29/23, 7:31 AM - Thanks, Dave! Very Adrian Carsini of you.
8/29/23, 5:57 PM - No one’s too young to be a Columbo fan!
4/28/23, 8:11 PM - I do love big Cabs, but this doesn’t have the texture, character, or depth of fruit to be worth more points on my scale. It’s not a bad wine, it just comes off as one of those manipulated and mass produced styles that you often find in the $40-$60 Napa range.
12/2/22, 1:03 PM - Hi Stefan, definitely doesn’t need 20 years. It’s already in early maturity with several years of peak drinking ahead. My suggestion would be anytime in the next 5 years with a couple hours’ decanting.
9/4/22, 7:21 PM - Perhaps 6-12 months of bottle age would allow the oak to further integrate and improve the experience. But it doesn’t need time for the usual reasons (acidity and/or tannin).
8/14/21, 6:50 AM - Lots left, but I don’t think it’s too young. Depends on how mature you prefer. It has elegance that I think plays well in early maturity, so I’d say drink 2022-24 based on this bottle.
9/29/14, 2:11 PM - Hi Dave, Your experience is similar to mine. The bottles I drank in 2012 and 2013 were open, expressive, and not overpowered by tannins as my most recent bottle was. I think it's just in a closed-down phase and hopefully will reemerge in a couple years.
7/14/14, 1:07 PM - What happened with this bottle? A 12-point downgrade in eight months is surprising. Do you think it's past peak?
7/21/14, 9:33 PM - Good news... thanks, Renot. Glad to hear it wasn't a bad bottle. I have three bottles arriving in the fall and am looking forward to trying it. I'll be sure to drink them sooner than later.
12/30/13, 6:11 PM - arthrovine, I had big hopes for this bottle, but it just didn't deliver. It had been stored upright in the shop for who knows how long (screwcap, so it should have been fine). Maybe mine was just a substandard bottle, but it didn't have the power I had hoped for. I suspect it was too old, but this is going off the one experience. I hope you have better luck with yours.
12/30/13, 6:06 PM - arthrovine, thanks for the comments. Lucky you got to visit Gralyn...I never got out that far west. I gave the SBR only about 30 minutes in the decanter, but I don't think it needed any more than that. It's not a wine that needs 3-4+ hours decanting, but the oak barrel notes did need some time to blow off. I really enjoyed it...very unique, ripe but still tons of herbal influence. It was like a Napa Cab in a bizarro world universe. There are clear similarities, but the differences make it very exotic, the menthol being the primary thing, and also the intense tangy cranberry. I'm sure you'll enjoy your bottle...it's one of those bottles you could drink whenever. Would have been great to have a case of it.
11/5/13, 2:36 PM - Congrats on the Ria Antonia-Dank double!--it was the right decision on the disqualification. I was big on Beholder in the Distaff... great to see her win, but wish the price had been more generous.I agree this was quite an oaky selection of wines, but many do seem to have integrated well. Generally these special occasion wine dinners turn into an arms race for big, full-bodied, in-your-face wines, which accordingly are usually heavily oaked. Fortunately, many pulled it off nicely.
11/4/13, 2:27 PM - Harley1199: Yes, it's an interesting one. My prediction would be somewhere around 2017 will see it drinking nicely, the thinking being that the oak will have receded just enough to balance with the maximum amount of fruit. That being said, as others here have noted, it's presently an overrated wine. I hope your winery tasting proves to be insightful!
7/10/13, 2:00 PM - Awesome review--was the wine decanted? If so, how long? What kind of drinking window would you give it? Thanks!
4/28/13, 8:28 PM - Butterscotch ... cherries ... not offensive ... more cherries ... nothing offensive in any way .... cherries.
4/28/13, 1:09 PM - Abbreviating "nose" and "palate" must really save time writing tasting notes.
3/31/13, 9:55 PM - Those reviews are in Portuguese.
3/26/13, 8:09 PM - If you didn't decant this wine for at least a few hours, I don't think you gave it a fair chance. Also, stylistically it's very different from a Brunello.
3/14/13, 9:45 PM - Have you tried your last bottle yet? Curious to hear your thoughts because I just bought a few bottles.
3/15/13, 8:15 AM - Thanks. I actually called the winemaker, Liam, yesterday and asked him about the wine. Really nice guy. He said he hadn't had the 1998 in a couple years, but that it was "on the way up" when he had it, and that a friend of his in Hong Kong tried the wine last month and said it was drinking awesome.
3/14/13, 8:48 PM - SacredCow: Have you had any more of these? How are they drinking? I just bought nine bottles, so I'm curious...
2/14/13, 8:21 PM - Thanks, Richard. What's the best drinking window for this wine? Do you recommend a decant?--if so, how long?
1/3/13, 9:29 PM - Thanks for the great review. See my review above. Much appreciated!
12/23/12, 1:45 PM - Did you decant it? How long before it was drinking its best?
12/29/12, 3:54 PM - Thanks, mcubed, much appreciated.
12/23/12, 1:56 PM - For anyone reading this review, Tom's score is too low and therefore inaccurate. This was my bottle that I shared with him, and there is no way that a wine of this concentration and quality gets only 90 points. It was easily a 93-94 point wine. Forgive Tom; he is still learning how to rate wines.
12/4/12, 6:14 PM - Yes, I think you'd be better off giving it 12 to 18 months, but it doesn't need a ton of time. It's certainly drinkable now, but the fruit has some primary characteristics (ripe, sweet, tangy) that I think will relax enough in that time to be more harmonious with the wine's more subtle qualities. I've earmarked my other bottles for late 2013 to 2015.
11/28/12, 8:28 PM - Did you decant it or did you just let it breathe in the bottle? How much did you spill on the floor? Did someone trip you?
11/28/12, 8:25 PM - Is your glass made of butterscotch? You seem to encounter it often.
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