Sloan Sloan

Our last bottle of the 2003 vintage and while we have had quite a bit of variability in this wine, I am very happy to say that this bottle was at the higher end of our five tasting notes between 2013 and now. Still deep color in the bowl with some edging on the rim. Lots of dark fruits in the nose, blackberries, black cherries and black currants with leather, licorice and tobacco. Rich concentrated black and blue fruits in …

2003 vintage

We've had some variability in this wine with the four bottles we have opened. Black fruits in the nose, blackberries, black cherries and black currants with leather, licorice and tobacco. Black fruits in the flavor as well, blackberries, black cherries and plums with licorice and chocolate. Medium to full bodied, well balanced and a long finish.

2003 vintage

This bottle was decent but based on my earlier notes and scores, it was clearly not the same wine we have opened previously, back to 2013. It was not over the hill but was missing the complexity and elegance of previous bottles. Deep ruby color with red/orange rim. Still has plenty of black fruits in the nose and flavor but I missed the nuance of our previous bottles. There was no wow factor here. It was balanced but medium bodied …

2003 vintage

Bottle was stored at 57 degrees since new from vineyard. Did not decant but allowed to sit in glass as dinner was cooked. Color was still quite dark with no halo descernable. Very nice nose and dark fruit to the pallet. Tannins were near fully resolved. Tasted Merlot like to my pallet but quite good with my steak dinner! Finish was long and smooth. A nice experience for me. My opinion this wine has several more years at this level …

2003 vintage

Solidly competent but nothing special. Gave it plenty of time in the decanted and sampled it whilst it was airing. Just didn’t come alive for me.

2003 vintage

Mature cab on the nose with cigar box and autumn leaves dominating. Dark fruits on the palate with tannins that are a bit ”chalky”. In all a great wine, mature but will still develop further.l

2003 vintage

Deep garnet. Should have been decanted as the nose and taste opened up over the evening. Nose of cherries, raspberry, cassis. Taste the same as the nose. Can age 10+ more

2003 vintage

I've never been overly impressed with this wine, find it somewhat one-dimensional and tannic. This bottle was better, though still with less fruit and more tannin than I prefer. At 18 years I doubt it will become any better. Best to drink up. Ric

2003 vintage

Decanted and poured. Purple color with a brownish tint, red at the edge. Nose is a burst of black fruit, spice, a touch of cedar. Palate is a lovely blend of blackberry, chocolate, coffee, maybe vanilla, baking spices, well balanced, reasonably well-integrated tannins, agree with reviewer who described them as "slightly chalky." Mid- to full-bodied, long smooth finish. While probably not a contender for my all-time favorites list, this is definitely note-worthy and in my next group.

2003 vintage

Decanted for 45 minutes. Huge overt nose of blackberries, lavender and a lead pencil. The palate is youthful, full bodied, packed loaded with ripe black and blue fruit. Black currant, blueberry, licorice and a little earth come through on the palate. Unfortunately there is a bit of alcoholic heat toward the finish. This delivers the goods in terms of structure and concentration but lacks a bit of balance and complexity

2003 vintage

4th Saturday Group: Uptown Brown Bag (R&Ds) : Blind. Fairly dark color. Tobacco, plum, tea and dark fruit aromas. Has just a touch of bouillon on the palate at first, giving way to plum, dark fruit and cedar. Develops perfumed floral notes as it sits. 93+ pts. Guessed '09/'10 Napa cab. I did not identify this as our bottle. This had been double decanted off its sediment 2 hours before the flight was poured.

2003 vintage

Not great but I don’t think as bad as a lot of people are saying. I had it with a great steak dinner and it paired well. By itself not so great. We also had the 2004 Paul Hobbs B to K. That was clearly much better

2003 vintage

Big wine. Needs a little time to really get the balance of tannins to be not so overwhelming. Little chalky to start but the fruits take over with a nice dry finish.

2003 vintage

Blind Tasting...Wines That Don't Suck (House of Nanda - Chicago IL) : Tasted double blind. Massively ultra ripe and modern in a style that doesn't thrill me, but is still pleasant in a non-descript modern fashion.

2003 vintage

"Wines that don't suck" (Chicago, IL) : Served double blind. The triumph of Quercus spp. and Homo sapiens over terroir, vintage, and grape. Good job! Someone call the firefighters to put out this dumpster fire.

2003 vintage

Pop and pour. Sweet and smooth with tannins fully integrated (maybe slightly chalky). Stylistically it’s definitely an early 2000’s Napa (in a good way) with heavy extraction and power. Cherry liqueur, vanilla, blueberry pie filling, cassis, tobacco... Drinking at peak with at least 10 years to go.

2003 vintage

Sloan Vertical 2000-2013 (Zürich) : Amazing vertical tasting of all Sloan vintages (2000 to 2013) in Zurich. Consistent high quality over the years. The star component are the tannins - smooth, sweet, melting, the right amount and intensity, not green – very good in almost all vintages. Of course, there is a lot of Napa (fruit) power but never too extracted and/or overripe - not one single wine felt overdone. Winner and wine of the night is the 2007 vintage. …

2003 vintage

Big big wine...

2003 vintage

Sweet blackberry, reduced teriyaki, graphite and sandalwood on the nose. Soft, velvety, big, voluptuous texture. Rounded flavors, palate drenching, ripe fig flavors, high alcohol. The Sofia Vergara of wine. Had with a ribeye steak, honey glazed carrots, grilled shisito peppers and a greek salad.

2003 vintage

4th Saturday group uptown tasting (R&C's) : Opens with a melange of red and black fruit, licorice and violets. Medium tannins with flavors of red and black fruit, tobacco and saddle leather. Excellent. 94+ pts. This had been double decanted off its sediment just over two hours before the flight was poured.

2003 vintage

dark brooding, chocolate, purple fruits, well balanced, med length, nothing super exciting

2003 vintage

This was the third of three bottles consumed over the last 2-3 years. If this was not an expensive cult cabernet my level of disappointment would be very low. But, it is and there is absolutely nothing remarkable about this wine. It misses in every category. I was hoping that time in the bottle would improve the experience, but I'm so happy there is no more of this in my cellar.

2003 vintage

Wow. This is still just a baby. Decanted the first evening for 5 hours - and could have decanted longer (3 hours more the next evening!). Dark fruits, black raspberry, currant, cassis, vanilla and cedar on the nose, with those dark fruits on the palate as well. It's still a bit tannic (hence the long decant), but it's lovely all the same. Very lush.

2003 vintage

Drank this with Persian food, kabobs etc... I have had this since release. Sold or traded all the other bottles of the 12 I got, but saved this to see what all the hubub was. I do not agree that it was a 70 point wine or so, it was a bit muted, cherry, wet tobacco, slight cedar notes. Muted was the best way to describe it. All the flavors and scents were almost there. A bit flabby, with a …

2003 vintage

No decant. Had a bit of vegetative noise and taste. Appears to be shut down. Going to wait several more years before I open another bottle.

2003 vintage

Ripe

2003 vintage

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