Deep ruby in glass. Pronounced intensity on the nose. Blackberries, cassis, graphite and coconut. Tannins are mostly resolved and pretty well balanced for a 15% abv. Quite enjoyable to drink now but can easily hold for another 5+ years.
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Tremendous out of the blocks. Tasted just after release at the winery 9/2017. Silky smooth, latent power and longevity. Incredible for a new release of this type. Drink this now and for the next 30 years. 12/2017 tried again. Nose developing. Fruit is coming together. Still tight on finish. Tasted at the winery. 6/18 amazingly accessible for a young cab. This is fantastic now.
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Tasted blind among an eclectic mix of California Cabernets and next to a $2004 Dalla valle Maya. The wine ranked either number one or two among all testers, full-bodied, deep, rich, dark, purple color, loaded with black fruit, with a hint of spice and saddle, leather, on the pallet, highly viscous, mouth, coating, rich, black, cherry, and an extremely long finish… Classic California, but not over the top syrup like so many can be.
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Followed DRBADs lead and had this with steak au poivre and duck fat potatoes. Was a memorable meal. Decanted the wine for a couple of hours.
Pours deep concentrated purple/red. Nose and colour don't show much age. Nose is quite complex, get the concentrated dark fruit, but also some cedar, smoke, chocolate and a bit of game maybe starting to indicate some bottle age. Palate follows pretty reliably although starting to show a bit more age. Still has youthful fruit but get a lot more chocolate, licorice, smoke, game notes. I found the alcohol noticeable at first but either I or it settled down. Paired beautifully with the rich meal and was fantastic.
Would score higher, but I do think the QPR is not great, US wine is expensive over here in Aus. Definitely a quality drop though.
Middle of the fairway profile, the sort that made Napa cab popular. Only problem is I’m finding more and more that you can’t drink much of a high end cab without food. Just coats your mouth and about halfway through you lose your taste. But for the first half, great.
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Excellent structure and balance, as is typical of all George de Latour Private Reserves. Dark, dark, berries, chocolate, and a little spice on the tongue. Alcohol is still hot, of course. The delicious finish just grew longer over 2 hours (not decanted). Easy to forget that this is not old growth, left bank Bordeaux. Will grow even more complex with time, I am sure. Won't open another until 2024.
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Opened ONLY because of a malfunction in a small refrigerator cooling unit, causing the cork to be pushed out. IMHO, still VERY EARLY on this, lots of HUGE “tannin and structure “, in “your face”. Hold, decant or enjoy with a big piece chargrilled red meat. Lots of potential, but definitely needs time.
Day 2 update: vacuumed sealed, refrigerated overnight and opened the next day to enjoy with a chargrilled ribeye. More subdued, better integrated, and perfect for the huge, juicy ribeye!
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First taste of a truly special wine. The cabernet sings and the Bordeaux blend grapes provide flawless harmony. One taste and it is clear this is a finely made reserve and the pride of the winery. Great now and likely greater tomorrow.
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Decanted one hour. Sturdy, classic Napa Cab with plentiful blackcurrant, earth, sage, grippy tannins, long finish. First of six bottles and I expect a long life.
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Basically the same vineyards all the way through. 95% new french oak.Fermented in barrels to give the plusheness to it right up front. Salty and savory on the palate. Very young, much lighter than expected.
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I don’t drink cab often but when I do... this ain’t bad. Kirshy sweeteness on the nose and in the mid palate , balanced tannins with a healthy oak component that should integrate. Love to drink this in 2029. A-
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Scent of strawberry. But the taste - fruit is subdued initially. A long finish. Liked but didn’t love with my steak. Appreciated it more with some parmigiano reggiano. May need to open up more (only 30 min).
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A blend of the clone 4 and clone 6 wines. A complete and archetypical flashy Napa valley cabernet. Nose shows a strawberries-and-cream nose reminiscent of a supertuscan.
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I've always felt it hits a classic approach with dialing back the extraction but still showing Napa. Day 2, picking up the slightest pyrazine, acid is fresh, palate is balanced and tannins are soft. Love it, price keeps getting higher though.Good warmth from the alcohol.
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This rich and layered Cabernet is drinking with an impressive amount of class - ripe fruit, toasty oak, and a middle-weight mouthfeel. This reminded me most of a 2014 Quintessa (also from Rutherford), since it has a similar dusty and balanced profile. For what it's worth, I preferred the Quintessa (more character, more nuance), but the BV is an enjoyable - though not unique - wine.
Cherry red in color, medium in body, nose of black cherry, graphite, and wheat toast. Tastes of blueberry, cocoa powder, rosemary, and vanilla bean, with a dusty and lingering finish. Blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Merlot. 14.9% alcohol. This opened up after an hour or so, though I'm not sure it has the intensity or structure to reward lengthy cellaring.
This wine won't change your life, but it's well-made and balanced (and worth buying at a discount - the closer to $100, the better). Let's be real: impressive history aside, BV is owned by a publicly-traded company with a $12B market cap that churns out more than 13K cases of this wine each year. It's neither rare nor artisanal... but that doesn't mean it's not good; in fact, it is. I don't share the critical enthusiasm for this wine (WA97 and AG96), but it's a solid and enjoyable Cabernet.
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3/31/2024 - Es7e2003 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep ruby in glass. Pronounced intensity on the nose. Blackberries, cassis, graphite and coconut. Tannins are mostly resolved and pretty well balanced for a 15% abv. Quite enjoyable to drink now but can easily hold for another 5+ years.
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3/28/2024 - Rusdry wrote: 98 Points
Tremendous out of the blocks. Tasted just after release at the winery 9/2017. Silky smooth, latent power and longevity. Incredible for a new release of this type. Drink this now and for the next 30 years. 12/2017 tried again. Nose developing. Fruit is coming together. Still tight on finish. Tasted at the winery. 6/18 amazingly accessible for a young cab. This is fantastic now.
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10/20/2023 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big fruit flavors and still fairly aggressive tannic structure. Never really rounded out despite prolonged slow-ox. May still improve a notch or two.
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7/23/2023 - sovren Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bold. Great now, but I'd probably hold it longer.
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12/30/2022 - passion4wine wrote: 95 Points
Tasted blind among an eclectic mix of California Cabernets and next to a $2004 Dalla valle Maya. The wine ranked either number one or two among all testers, full-bodied, deep, rich, dark, purple color, loaded with black fruit, with a hint of spice and saddle, leather, on the pallet, highly viscous, mouth, coating, rich, black, cherry, and an extremely long finish… Classic California, but not over the top syrup like so many can be.
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12/14/2022 - Morgan1132 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Followed DRBADs lead and had this with steak au poivre and duck fat potatoes. Was a memorable meal. Decanted the wine for a couple of hours.
Pours deep concentrated purple/red. Nose and colour don't show much age. Nose is quite complex, get the concentrated dark fruit, but also some cedar, smoke, chocolate and a bit of game maybe starting to indicate some bottle age. Palate follows pretty reliably although starting to show a bit more age. Still has youthful fruit but get a lot more chocolate, licorice, smoke, game notes. I found the alcohol noticeable at first but either I or it settled down. Paired beautifully with the rich meal and was fantastic.
Would score higher, but I do think the QPR is not great, US wine is expensive over here in Aus. Definitely a quality drop though.
no rush
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11/27/2022 - Blue Jay Likes this wine: 94 Points
Full bodied Cabernet with flavors of blackberries, leather and mocha.
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6/18/2022 - levinml wrote: 94 Points
Middle of the fairway profile, the sort that made Napa cab popular. Only problem is I’m finding more and more that you can’t drink much of a high end cab without food. Just coats your mouth and about halfway through you lose your taste. But for the first half, great.
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5/24/2022 - StevenM Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent structure and balance, as is typical of all George de Latour Private Reserves. Dark, dark, berries, chocolate, and a little spice on the tongue. Alcohol is still hot, of course. The delicious finish just grew longer over 2 hours (not decanted). Easy to forget that this is not old growth, left bank Bordeaux. Will grow even more complex with time, I am sure. Won't open another until 2024.
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4/15/2022 - wmccone54 wrote: 94 Points
Opened ONLY because of a malfunction in a small refrigerator cooling unit, causing the cork to be pushed out. IMHO, still VERY EARLY on this, lots of HUGE “tannin and structure “, in “your face”. Hold, decant or enjoy with a big piece chargrilled red meat. Lots of potential, but definitely needs time.
Day 2 update: vacuumed sealed, refrigerated overnight and opened the next day to enjoy with a chargrilled ribeye. More subdued, better integrated, and perfect for the huge, juicy ribeye!
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3/5/2022 - marshalc Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very pleasant. Very Rutherford. Not flashy. Did not disappoint
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12/21/2021 - iahviahv wrote: 94 Points
Impressive how this tastes so old world for a Napa Cab. Good job.
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2/14/2021 - Acw1095 Likes this wine: 94 Points
First taste of a truly special wine. The cabernet sings and the Bordeaux blend grapes provide flawless harmony. One taste and it is clear this is a finely made reserve and the pride of the winery. Great now and likely greater tomorrow.
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12/25/2020 - DrBad Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted 2 hours and had with Christmas dinner of Filet Mignon au Poivre. Beautiful, well balanced wine went great with the meal.
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10/22/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted one hour. Sturdy, classic Napa Cab with plentiful blackcurrant, earth, sage, grippy tannins, long finish. First of six bottles and I expect a long life.
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10/15/2020 - rexmerlot wrote: 91 Points
Still young. Nice wine
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9/25/2020 - Floyd77 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bravo!
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6/20/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Basically the same vineyards all the way through. 95% new french oak.Fermented in barrels to give the plusheness to it right up front. Salty and savory on the palate. Very young, much lighter than expected.
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5/2/2019 - AB16 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I don’t drink cab often but when I do... this ain’t bad. Kirshy sweeteness on the nose and in the mid palate , balanced tannins with a healthy oak component that should integrate. Love to drink this in 2029. A-
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3/6/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Corked.
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12/18/2018 - Alok Kapoor Likes this wine: 90 Points
Scent of strawberry. But the taste - fruit is subdued initially. A long finish. Liked but didn’t love with my steak. Appreciated it more with some parmigiano reggiano. May need to open up more (only 30 min).
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6/30/2018 - gtilley wrote:
A blend of the clone 4 and clone 6 wines. A complete and archetypical flashy Napa valley cabernet. Nose shows a strawberries-and-cream nose reminiscent of a supertuscan.
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4/19/2018 - Joe Kane wrote:
I've always felt it hits a classic approach with dialing back the extraction but still showing Napa. Day 2, picking up the slightest pyrazine, acid is fresh, palate is balanced and tannins are soft. Love it, price keeps getting higher though.Good warmth from the alcohol.
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4/11/2018 - msuwine wrote: 93 Points
This rich and layered Cabernet is drinking with an impressive amount of class - ripe fruit, toasty oak, and a middle-weight mouthfeel. This reminded me most of a 2014 Quintessa (also from Rutherford), since it has a similar dusty and balanced profile. For what it's worth, I preferred the Quintessa (more character, more nuance), but the BV is an enjoyable - though not unique - wine.
Cherry red in color, medium in body, nose of black cherry, graphite, and wheat toast. Tastes of blueberry, cocoa powder, rosemary, and vanilla bean, with a dusty and lingering finish. Blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Merlot. 14.9% alcohol. This opened up after an hour or so, though I'm not sure it has the intensity or structure to reward lengthy cellaring.
This wine won't change your life, but it's well-made and balanced (and worth buying at a discount - the closer to $100, the better). Let's be real: impressive history aside, BV is owned by a publicly-traded company with a $12B market cap that churns out more than 13K cases of this wine each year. It's neither rare nor artisanal... but that doesn't mean it's not good; in fact, it is. I don't share the critical enthusiasm for this wine (WA97 and AG96), but it's a solid and enjoyable Cabernet.
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