Winery - Lail
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The blackberry, cherry, mocha and herb flavors are tasty, but are undeniably thinner that the previous two vintages, and are buried under thick, tough tannins. Not likely to improve with age.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The complex nose, with its herb, tobacco, black-pepper and licorice elements, announces this stylish 64% Cabernet-36% Merlot blend. In the mouth it is big and ripe, with blackberry and licorice flavors, and fine acidity. Closes long and brisk, with large tannins and espresso and cherry flavors. Cellar for five or more years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
High-end stuff, the cutting edge of what Napa is doing with Cab. The fruit is exquisitely ripe, the quintessence of black currants, but this density is balanced by lightness and grace. The mouthfeel is round and soft. Luxurious tannins will protect the wine as it ages.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Dramatic Cabernet Sauvignon, very dark in color and utterly ripe and balanced to the taste. Shows an enormity of blackberries, cherries and milk chocolate, made firm and grounded by grippy tannins. Made solidly in the modern cult style and thus appealing now for its sheer deliciousness.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lush, rich, beguiling now. Tastes fat and unctuous, like a Pomerol despite being made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, offering a creamy wealth of cherries, currants, chocolate, anise, herbs, spices and smoky oak. For all the flamboyance, it’s bone dry, with classically solid Napa tannins, courtesy of fruit from Oakville and Howell Mountain. Should develop in the bottle through 2018.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This classy wine is tasty, with voluptuously ripe creme de cassis and blackberry tart flavors enriched with chocolate fudge, vanilla and spicy, smoky oak. The tannins are superfine, and while the wine is a bit soft, it’s dry and balanced. A relative value compared to their pricier J. Daniel Cuvée.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is what people who pay a hundred bucks for a Napa Cab expect. Soft, ripe and enormously attractive, it seduces the palate with gooey red and black currant, cherry, blueberry, melted Swiss chocolate, anise and cedar flavors that just pile up and up and go on and on. The tannins, needless to say, are the finest money can buy. It’s impossible not to be impressed by a wine of this pedigree and accomplishment. Probably at its succulent best now and for the next 6 years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is very good in a Napa-does-Bordeaux style, soft and fruity, with black currant, cherry liqueur and new oak flavors wrapped into brisk tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Made from Howell Mountain grapes, yet rich and approachable in youth. There are huge, chewy tannins, but they’re sweet, and frame black currant and cherry-chocolate fudge flavors. This makes it sound like a dessert wine, but it’s dry and balanced and entirely satisfying.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Among the better ’98s, this wine’s vineyard pedigree shows in the polished fruit and supple tannins, the result of great terroir. The aromas suggest black cherries and blackberries with intense oaky, smoky tones. Particularly notable for the soft, lush mouthfeel, like sipping pure velvet. If the wine were more concentrated it would be classic.
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