TNs: 2001 Neal Family Cabernet, 2005 Justin Isosceles Reserve, 2007 Dain Savage Juliet

WINE TALK
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Out to dinner with friends last night. A few of the nice bottles we brought in with us.

  • 2001 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (9/27/2009)
    Terrific California Cab drinking on point. Decanted at the table for 30 minutes, initially there was very little on the nose, but with some coaxing it began to blossom. Smoke, mint, some dill and cocoa notes on the nose. Palate is just exactly right. Soft, integrated with red fruit, currant and cedar notes. Absolutely delicious with soft sheep’s milk cheese, yet enough structure to stand up with the ribeyes. Drank beautifully over the course of two hours. This wine has finally emerged from what seemed like an extended hibernation. IMO. YMMV. Cheers.
  • 2005 Justin Vineyard Isosceles Reserve - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/27/2009)
    Really ripe initially, could smell the 15%+ alcohol on the nose. However, the palate was tight, and there was a big wall of tannins. With about 30 minutes in the glass layers of dark fruit, cocoa, some coffee bean emerges. A bit too Cali for me right now, it’s big and viscous, but it is damn tasty with the ribeye. A very well-made Cabernet that does not hide its CA pedigree. Built to go 10 more years easy. I’d wait to open if I had more. No subtle wine here.
  • 2007 Dain Wines Pinot Noir Savage Juliet - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (9/27/2009)
    Very nice showing on this Dain. Nose is reticent, slight hints of smoke and earthy funk. Palate features crisp cranberry and citrus notes with a bracing acidity. Very nice weight in the mouth, not overdone at all. Bit of structure to the back end suggests another couple of years of sleep for my other bottles won’t hurt. Very nice job.

Posted from [url=http://www.cellartracker.com]CellarTracker

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Big fan here of the Isoscles (regular) bottlings. Good to hear how the 2005 Reserve is progressing. I popped one of my six the day they hit town last year. Might be time to check in again.

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Bill,
I got the Isos Reserve from my brother who has been a Justin devotee for years.
It was young as hell, and given all the fruit and alcohol, I’d be in no hurry to open another.
It needs some time and/or significant air.
Straddles the line for me, a bit ripe and brawny right now.
I almost wrote the Justin off the other night, though following the nicely maturing Neal did not help its cause.

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Drinking the Isosceles Reserve right now…

Notes to follow.

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The bottle was simple pop and pour. I think it would have benefitted from being in a dacanter for a few hours though.

Monster nose of oak and vanilla upon opening. Loads of dark fruits and massive tannins. I get the cocoa notes that Dennis had as well as espresso beans and a faint hint of licorice. I agree that is does show its alcohol, but it isn’t obtrusive or off putting for me. With about an hour of air on it, it really reminded me of a 2005 Maybach. The wine definitely does not show its terroir of being from Paso.

I think this one is built for the long haul and would do VERY well in a few years in a blind tasting of big gun Napa Cabs.

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Nice Bill.
I guess we pretty much had the same take.
I may have liked it a bit more had it not followed the mature Neal.

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Nice notes Dennis. I agree with you on the 2001 Neal. I had it late last year and it was downright stunning. I was shocked actually at how much I loved it.

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Opened a '01 Neal Cab after reading the original post and realizing that thanks to the 30 minutes of BB hype a few years back I had some of this. Very dark for a cab, coulda been a Switchback Ridge Pet, the nose was a bit shut down at first but came out with time (just as described by Dennis). I kinda liked it with my duck/hoisin sauce/green onions pizza. It’s got a corpulent (where else do you get to use the word “corpulent”?) midpalate and some nice complexity to it. It’s got really good “grip” (ditto). It’s a bit of a monster for my present palate but as far as $50 cabs go, it’s a good wine. It would seem to have at least five years of further improvement ahead of it.

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Good show Mitch. Seems it showed similarly for you.
Agreed that it would hold for a few more years.
Nice wine.