Lot 217 was the wine that got me hooked on dN. It was a spectacular wine in 2021/2022. I was amazed to be drinking that for like the $12-15 I paid initially. It’s lost a step some, but still great. ![]()
JDutko, ~ you got that dN Lot 217 Napa Valley (Napa Carneros) 2018 Syrah at a good sales(?) price since it was released initially at $126 [6-pack] or @21 per bottle plus shipping & tax.
It must have gone on sale later. My records show I picked it up for $15 per bottle. I am very much of fan of the 3 DN syrahs that I bought.
Over the last few days I had a bit of a dN Pinot Noir tasting. Here are the notes (best to worst):
#214 Petaluma Gap 2020: Strong backbone, rich, composed, lots of black and red berries, good length, really good, likely to improve over the next couple of years
#165 Carneros 2018: One of my all time favorite dN wine keeps getting better, but is showing some age, nice earthy flavors, very nuanced, long, lingering, but probably best to finish off the last couple of bottles sooner rather than later
#197 GV of RRV 2018: Solid backbone, fleshy mouthfeel, still a bit tight, very good and likely to improve over the next couple of years
#270 RRV 2019: Good structure, but drying out, alcohol seeps through, time to drink up
93 on day 1, 94+ on day 2. Love Howell Mtn (and R Craig). May be the best $35 bottle of wine I’ve ever had. Unlike a lot of Howell Mtn, it’s in a good drinking window early (now).
Did you taste the lot 468 or 478? or another RC dN lot I’m not aware of?
N.478 - forgot to mention, my apologies.
It’s good to know of your positive 478 tasting. I bought 468 and 478 and want to drink during their prime years. I’ve only tried 1 bottle and it was 478 last summer. My notes said I should wait 6 months so i plan on opening another this weekend. I paid $27, which I believe was the T1 case price.
- Over 2 days. Have always liked this bottle, but was a bit of an outlier from previous bottles…a jamminess, is that a word, that I hadn’t perceived before. First bottle of this in a while
N.141 Horse Heaven Hills 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon?
Lot 426 | 2020 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon
6/12,PnP.
I can drink this, but, with very little pleasure. This is not up my alley, just not yummy to me. No obvious flaws, other than the taste, can’t win them all? The best part is, it was inexpensive & contains lotsa Alcohol! About 2 years bottled, no improvements. I don’t like this wine, it has a flavor that I can’t describe other than Yuck! ![]()
with Corned Beef hash and eggs
2021 Eleveur Cabernet Sauvignon Sage Ridge
40 minutes in the decanter, 3/15?
This is a delicious oak dominated CS. Double yum!!!
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This deserves to be aged longer.
with Rack of Lamb
OG N.64 2018 Calistoga “Hillside” Cabernet
Bottle 26/36, PnP, nearly 5 years in the bottle.
Wow, a very delightfully delicious Calistoga CS. It’s showing great complexity now, leathery and deeply structured @ 15.6%, without the alcoholic heat. It’s coalesced very well now.
3 Yums & ready to go! While still age able, it’s extra fine for me right now!
with Tritip
Yessir
Your note fits in with a wine aging chart that I found online showing cabs peak drinking window is from 7.5 to 12 years after vintage:
We were at our house just outside of Estes Park last week. Snowed one night, but all melted by the end of the day.
I thought we had polished off all 3 cases of 68 - but nope, found a bottle out there in the closet! Good as always. (But I admit, not as good as the MacDonald, Chappellet, 100 Acre, Opus One, etc) that my buddy brought out!)
Tonight opened my first bottle of 401. I’ve been trying to put some age on these, but finally opened one. Fantastic! My wife (typically a dN hater) even loves it!
What makes your wife a dN hater?
Oh, she drinks it. She would just prefer that we have all “name brand” wines rather than dN or CamX. Despite my explanations…
Decant the CamX into the name brand bottle. Easy problem to have.
Brand the NDA…by NDA’ing the NDA…brilliant! ![]()




