I had a bunch of filings, meetings, and court appearances today. After finishing, I stopped at a local downtown grocery store that has a great selection of wines under gas that sell by the pour, in a few different sizes. Its a great chance to try wines that I might not buy but can sample for a price I am comfortable paying. That said, these notes were based on small pours consumed in about 30 minutes. Still, it is helpful to get a glimpse of a wine before possibly buying. They sell a taste, a 3 ounce pour and by the glass.
2013 Continuum Proprietary Red- USA, California, Napa Valley
Purple. Ruby rim. Tight nose. Dark cherries. Tobacco. Bright fruiit on palate. Cassis. Some dark cherries. Thick tannins. Long finish. Great wine. Needs five years, ten is better. Lots of upside. (95 pts.)
2013 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection- USA, California, Napa Valley
Only reason not a 100 is this is a 1.5 ounce pour. Awesome wine. Not overblown. Purple in color. Cassis, lead, chocolate on a gorgeous nose. Complex and deep. The palate is delicious. Bright. Cassis, sone dark cherries. Big but with an elegance to it. Long finish. Really impressive. (99 pts.)
2006 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou- France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
In a nice place. Still needs time though. The nose has cassis, dark cherries and some herbal note. A slight green streak but nice. Some cedar too. On the palate, medium tannins. Plenty of fruit left. Nice complexity. At this point i would hold a few more years. (94 pts.)
2012 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon Branding Iron- USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Purple/ruby in color. The nose has cassis, slight chocolate, leather and spice. Medium to full bodied. Cassis with milk chocolate. Slightly sweet. Nice finish. A glass is plenty but i like it. Ready to go. Be prepared for ripe fruit. Not all will like it. (90 pts.)
2012 Argiano Solengo Toscana IGT- Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Purple ruby in color. Cherries and plums. Some cassis. Lumber. Spice. Thick tannins. Bright fruit. Dark. Herries. Needs time. Nice conplexity. Long finish. (92 pts.)
Thanks for the notes. My guess is that I’m not going to be the only person who will be surprised at your Caymus love. While I didn’t score the 2014 “regular” that I tried, it would have ended up around a 70 for my palate.
I was quite surprised at how different this is from the regular 2013 bottling. While I would not say elegant, it is much more so and less of a bomb than the regular. Perhaps classy is a better word. Certainly not in the same style IMO.
So Ohio has minimum mandated pricing. In other words, full retail pricing on its wines. For the most part we are the most expensive state. Consistently more than PA or other states I see (I know people who drive to PA to buy wine). Although not usually as bad as Ontario.
The pours are based on bottle pricing with a slight upcharge, not much though. So for example, the Caymus SS might be $180 per bottle, $40 per glass, $25 per 3 ounce pour, and $8 for a taste. Something like that.
It’s funny, when I read and posted on my phone, I didn’t realize it was you. So my comment and tone probably sounded strange, I thought it was someone newish to WB, and I was trying to be encouraging. Oh well. I always enjoy your posts and the modesty and open mindedness you display.
Loren Sonkin wrote:
I was quite surprised at how different this is from the regular 2013 bottling. While I would not say elegant, it is much more so and less of a bomb than the regular. Perhaps classy is a better word. Certainly not in the same style IMO.
Loren, nice notes, and I felt the same way about the 2012 regular bottling versus the Special Selection.
