2002 Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (43) Avg Score: 91.0 points

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  7/20/2023 - Tarpon222 wrote:

  We enjoyed. But this is done

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  5/21/2023 - Joealex Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Still fresh, vibrant and balanced, no trace of heaviness or overdone. Very good accidity and lots of mild tannis creates solid structure. Outstanding wine, eseacially after a few hours decant however not posses enought complexity or depth to be truly great.
  Open now, will not be better.

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  10/4/2022 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (93%), Merlot (6%) and Cabernet Franc (1%) from organically dry-farmed vineyards mainly in Yountville, with some grapes sourced from Calistoga and Rutherford. Fermented and macerated with the skins for four to six weeks. Aged for 24 months in new (90%) and once used (10%) French oak barrels. 14,5% alcohol, 2 g/l residual sugar, 6,3 g/l acidity and pH 3,52. Total production 141,000 bottles, 7,900 halves, 1,900 magnums and 316 larger-format bottles. Tasted blind from a magnum.
  
  Dense, quite concentrated and rather opaque black cherry color with a subtly evolved brick-red hue. The nose feels quite classically styled and rather similar to a Bordeaux with aromas of ripe blackcurrants and pencil shavings, some boysenberry tones, a little bit of tobacco, light evolved notes of wizened dark fruits, a leafy hint of herbaceous character and a touch of gravelly earth. The wine is ripe, dense and juicy on the palate with a full body and quite youthful, somewhat concentrated flavors of blackcurrant-driven dark berries, some plummy tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light crunchy notes of chokeberries, a hint of tobacco and a herbaceous touch of leafy greenness. The high acidity and quite assertive, moderately grippy tannins make the wine feel pretty structured and muscular. The finish is long, somewhat warm and quite grippy with a rich, intense aftertaste of ripe blackcurrants and dark plummy fruit, some crunchy chokeberry tones, a little bit of tobacco, light toasty notes of sweet oak spice, a hint of roasted bell pepper and a touch of gravelly minerality.
  
  A wonderfully firm, structured and intensely-flavored Napa Cab that is quite classically styled - I'd say that with its structure and clean, savory fruit, this wine is stylistically closer to old-school Bordeaux than most of the wines we get from Bordeaux today. It does have some obvious ripeness, as befits a Napa Cab, but it mainly translates to intensity of fruit and relatively high alcohol - not to jammy sweetness or structural softness (due to resulting low acidity and/or ripeness of tannins). All in all, this wine was pretty much identical to the wine we tasted earlier this year, even if this wine came from a magnum and that one from a normal-sized bottle. The format didn't seem to make any difference - this is still a remarkably youthful wine for its age and although it is nothing short of excellent already now, I can see the wine having potential of further improvement with additional aging. An outstanding wine, priced according to its quality at 169€ for a magnum.

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  4/8/2022 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (93%), Merlot (6%) and Cabernet Franc (1%) from organically dry-farmed vineyards mainly in Yountville, with some grapes sourced from Calistoga and Rutherford. Fermented and macerated with the skins for four to six weeks. Aged for 24 months in new (90%) and once used (10%) French oak barrels. 14,5% alcohol, 2 g/l residual sugar, 6,3 g/l acidity and pH 3,52. Total production 141,000 bottles, 7,900 halves, 1,900 magnums and 316 larger-format bottles.
  
  Dense, quite concentrated and rather opaque black cherry color with a subtly evolved brick-red hue. Ripe, clean and juicy nose with remarkably youthful aromas of juicy blackcurrants, some boysenberries, a little bit of licorice root, light leafy notes, a subtly vegetal hint of cooked bell pepper and a touch of gravelly minerality. The wine feels dense, concentrated and rather chewy on the palate with a full body and intense, surprisingly youthful flavors of ripe blackcurrants and licorice, some toasty oak spice, a little bit of dark plummy fruit, light vegetal nuances of bell pepper, a hint of meaty umami and a woody touch of savory oak character. The overall feel is firmly structured yet not aggressive, thanks to the high acidity and quite ample, ripe and moderately grippy tannins. The finish is rich, juicy and moderately grippy with very lengthy flavors of ripe boysenberries and blackcurrants, some toasty oak spice, a little bit of peppery character, light plummy notes, autumnal hints of damp leaves and forest floor and a vegetal touch of roasted bell pepper.
  
  A beautiful, classically built and still remarkably youthful Napa Cab that has the ripeness and fruit-forward nature typical of Napa while sporting the structure and complexity of an old-school claret. Although the wine is quite ripe, it still has that lovely herbaceous undercurrent typical of Cabernet that gives a delightful counterpoint to the fruitier nuances. And even if the wine has quite a bit of ripe fruit, the overall feel is more dry, savory and textural rather than sweetly-fruited and round. Based on how the wine seems to have aged at a glacial pace for the past 20 years, it will most likely continue to evolve at a similarly crawling speed. I wouldn't be surprised if this wine needed another 20 years to hit its peak. All in all, this is a stunning wine - truly an old-school Bordeaux fan's Napa Cab. Not particularly affordable at 69€, but effortlessly manages to deliver for the price. Highly recommended.

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  3/16/2022 - bubbachumps wrote: 94 Points

  Covolo's 2002 Napa Cab tasting (Casa Covolo): Darker berry nose with some minerals. Polished finish on the palate, and a well-balanced wine from start to finish. For me, this was not as complex on the nose as I would like. Finished 3 of 8 in tasting of 2002 napa cabs, but was my 4 of 8.

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