1997 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain- USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain (12/15/2009)
I opened this with some trepidations as I have heard that many 1997 California CS have started declning. Having two bottles in the cellar, I needed to find out. Beautiful deep red in color and the nose offered rich cedar, asian spices, coffee, and dark fruits. Outstanding purity and structure, dark berries, plums, vanilla, and soft mouth-coating tannins. Certainly pretty close to its peak. One of the best CS I had this year and glad that I have another one in the cellar.
I had a bunch of these purchased on closeout.
Some were great, and some were so-so, a few outright bad. I came to the conclusion there was lots of bottle variartion.
Did a quick check of scores from CT and it ranges from 88 - 96, probably confirming your view of bottle variation. I can’t see this bottle getting any better and I will probably finish my last remaining bottle soon and see if it drinks as well as this one.