Popped a 401 at 2pm to begin breathing for tonight. Tasted it just now after two hours and wow, it sure is different than before. It’s thick and dense, a ripe jammy nose. The palate was smooth, but not as pronounced and beautiful as I remember.
More to come later….
Last Friday evening- late to post this- but had this gem of a Cabernet:
On deck tonight: OG N.68 dinner/ Lot 346 Sauvignon Blanc pre dinner
Posted from CellarTracker
A fellow Bruckner and Mahler lover I see! Two of my all time favorites. Bruckner has the upper hand now that I am older. Prost! 
Lot 300 | 2019 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Almost 3 years bottled, 1/6, pulled the cork 3 hours prior.
Big, Ripe, soft, lush and full flavored. I like this with a tad more acid to tame the very full ripeness.
Lots of oak and developing complexity. It’s a slightly generous double yum for me.
with Ribeye
Lot 401 did not settle down on Day 2, or maybe it was a hair better, but not much. It’s an unruly beast right now, very thick and vicious. I remember it being tamer back in late 2023. Try again in 8-12 months.
Lot 356 2021 Barossa Valley Shiraz
Pop-n-Pour. Very tasty.
@ $10/bottle, Cam did a good job sourcing these for us.
OG N.151 2018 Napa Valley “Reserve” Meritage
#21 of 24, PnP.
This has aged beautifully. Complexity has fully developed and it’s soft and smooth in a good way.
It’s ready now. I’m probably going to finish my remaining 3 before Christmas 
. or ?
with awesomely rich American Wagyu Beef Ribs (Mishima Reserve)
Identity confusion?
Red Blend or Meritage? 14.8% or 16%?
I’m going with 14.8……
Thanks for sharing your note regarding 390. I was looking for a cab to have with filets last night and saw I had 12 of these so searched thread for comments and found this one. I used your guide of decanting for 2 hours and then back in the bottle to serve at 64 degrees. It was a good pairing for the beef and a very enjoyable wine even at this stage.
A reminder that your comments are not in vain…
I have Lot 151, 2018 Napa Meritage and Lot 401, 2021 Napa Proprietary Red Wine on-deck.
Much appreciated.
Lot 151, day 2. Still very good, fruity with lots of crud.
Thank you Randy!
I hope you enjoy them both!
Please review #401 here?
I had a bottle of it much tooo early.
Could be coming around by now?
Cheers 
OG 240 with NY strips tonight. Really blossoming after 4 or 5 hours open and it has a sense of “I don’t think we’re in Napa anymore” about it.
BTW - I just noticed that CT surpassed 5000 dN tasting notes today. I also appreciate all of the wisdom and perspective gained from many on this board.
Chris or others with 414 - have you had any issues extracting the closures? I’ve had issues with the whole case being really difficult to extract the synthetic cork. I’ve had the glass chip out on a couple of bottles as it gave before the cork did. Tonight I broke a high quality waiters corkscrew on another bottle. It seems like dN might have used the wrong size closure for these bottles? I’ve found the synthetic corks are regularly more difficult to pull but this case was at another level.
Other than that non-wine related observation, I had concluded 414 to be one of the weakest pinots that I had purchased from dN - generally just more generic and lacking life. However, tonight’s bottle is showing markedly better than the last half dozen or so. The difference is that I had this at refrigerator temp when I opened it and decided to have a taste before it warmed. It is actually really tasty at this temp - brighter fruit, better definition, nice depth of fruit. All around it has gained features that I often find to be muted at this temperature. If you’ve got any of these, I encourage you to try sticking a bottle in the fridge overnight. You might be surprised.
Decanted a OG N.94 2018 Dry Creek Merlot for 2 hours last night and drank with BBQ chicken and mushrooms. What an improvement this wine has made since I tried it 8 months ago. Very well balanced with the tannins at just the right development stage. Back in September, I thought this would just be a daily drinker but I’m giving it 92 - 93 points now. It still could use more time to bring out complexity but it seems to be starting its optimal drinking window. I paid $10 for these supposed $50 bottles and still have 10 or so left. I’m very pleased with this purchase.
Eric,
I’ve chipped some glass trying to remove synthetic corks from dN bottles- some whites i’ve recalled. Those closures are tough to extract.
Did get some Lot 414, being a very young Pinot, it’ll stay in my cellar 2 more years vs trying the fridge overnight.
Some thoughts on '22 Pinots- they were “squeezed” by a few things as we look back in time. '22 followed a pretty good '21 vintage, then crappy heat wave pushed winemakers to harvest vs hang to ripeness, then excellent '23 vintage. The '22’s were squeezed out the back door to other labels. Still, I believe there is some merit with this vintage. Patience in cellar, try it after 2 years is my practice, evaluate further storage.
Cheers, Tim
Saint Helena cabernet #42 very early purchase…drinking like a velvet glove after a bit of a decant…as we say in New England wicked pissa
As someone who grew up in New England and left nearly 40 years ago, thanks for that! 
Lot 401, 2021 Napa Proprietary Red.
On Pop-n-Pour, Meh…
I didn’t know the blend, but thought it might be a Syrah/Mourvedre type thing. Turns out it’s Cab Franc/Merlot. It’s ok, but I’m a little disappointed that I paid $399 for a case.
A little lacking, not rich over the whole palate. Pretty darn dry on the finish. Fairly old-world, and I’m a new-world kinda guy.
You win some (big!) and you lose some (a little). Overall, I’m very satisfied.
Lot 141, 2018 Horse Heaven Hills cab. My last of the case, but had to drink it sometime. What a great buy this was at $149/case delivered in April 2023. Jealous of those who still have some.
Time my friend. The first bottle I opened I was stoked on. Opened another 6 months later and it was a let down. Very disjointed and “dumb.” The quality is there just needs a minute.
