Ellie's Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The whole fruit spectrum is here...raspberries, underripe blueberries and juicy blackberries. Aromatically, it leans more red and black fruit dominant with cedar and graphite. Not quite dusty. The palate brings in a touch more darker fruits (blue), with overripe/mixed berry pie notes. Dense core. Shocked to see it’s 15.4ABV! Doesn’t seem that hot. Finish has some baking spices (cinnamon, cardamom) and an herbal twang I’m struggling to identify. Not overly complex. Classic, “fruit forward” Napa cab without hitting the jammy/fruit bomb threshold. Not declining but not sure it’s getting much better.

Update 2hrs in: nose has evolved and is showing charcoal and smoked meat. Nice improvement.

Holy Napa! This thoroughly blasted my delicate Oregon palate. Blackberry liqueur, cassis, oak. Gigantic, and pleasing.

Ripe, round but balanced in the end with lean, long tannins.

Great well rounded red. Just enough bold blackberry flavor for my palate! Yummm #HallWines #NapaValley

Delicious. Black raspberries, blueberries, currants, black pepper, and a bit smokey. Full bodied, not overly complex, but very satisfying.

I should have been wiser like the owl drawing on the label and purchased more!

A lot of fruit in this one. I get cherry, raspberry, and blackberry. Needs at least 2 hours to soften this fruit bomb.

Loads of pencil shavings - lots of tannins, lacking acidity.

JRo and me w some steak. Really really nice but still seems so young. Will be interested to try this again tomorrow night.

Tried this vintage 2 years ago and was not impressed. The tannins have softened, much better now.