St. Francis, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

Bricked, fruitless, but not vinegar. No saving graces to make it worth drinking. Down the drain sadly. My fault for holding too long.

1994 vintage

still has a lot of life left. Dark purple, nose of cherry, spice and coffee. Initially a bit closed but opened up after sitting in the glass. Still has some good tannins, not a lot of acidity left. Palate matched the nose. Tasty!

1997 vintage

St. Francis did a great job in 1997! Another fantastic bottle from this vintage having previously had some other bottlings. Other vintages have not been so good. This was well balanced, still great fruit, no overpowering oak. Can go another 5-7 years easy.

1997 vintage

Cooked

1994 vintage

thanksgiving 2013

1997 vintage

Decanted, more to remove sediment. But really opened up after about an hour. This is really quite nice now. Sweet nose of very dark cherries, leather, rubber, caramel, marzipan. Still some nice tannins -- might improve for another year or two. Very nice fruit on the palate. Medium to long finish. I wish i had more of this! This is my last bottle. Always nice to discover a CA wine that lasts a bit.

1994 vintage

Wow! has this bottle come into its own, nearing the peak of its prime. Deep ruby red garnet color with browning at the rim. Sweet dark cherries, hint of blueberry maybe as well. toasty caramel flavor as well. very silky mouth feel, firm tannins, still can age another year. black currant with a stoniness present on the finish. A little heat still there, but overall, amazing bottle for the age. Glad I opened when I did.

1994 vintage

97 Yesterday & Today Napa/Sonoma Cab Horizontal

1997 vintage

I agree with play36. A nice surprise. I opened it thinking it would not be much, and that I would pour out much of it. Instead, it was drinking nicely. Classic Cab. Definitely has a few more years left in it. I did not take tasting notes. Next time!

1994 vintage

Not a lot on the nose. Moving into the stewed dark fruit phase. Present tannins. Decent finish. Getting very near the end. Drink up!

1997 vintage

Still great after all these years. Classic aged Cal Cab. Cedar box and blackberries on the nose. Oak and vanilla on the palate. I was nervous given the prior reviews, but it delivered a nice surprise.

1994 vintage

Rugged but enduring red wine showing some signs of age displaying browning edges with damp, forest floor scents. Stiff clenched tannins hold the sharply defined notes of cassis, menthol and berry in place. Briary foundation at midpalate where blackberry shines with a graphite tinge. Savory, wood shavings and pretty black tea flavors are also prominent in this classy reserve Cabernet. A free flowing finish shaded with cedary oak and saddle leather. Recommend drinking in the very short term.

1997 vintage

Falling off. Tannins weak, fruit flabby. Perhaps a bit off.

1997 vintage

My last bottle. I held it a little too long, but still enjoyable. There are still some pleasant vanilla and cherry flavors with mixed with the wood notes. Drink up if holding.

1997 vintage

Very good, Strong impression of Cassis, medium body, ruby, some cherry chocolate. 89 to 91?. Not sure besides that, suffering from a mild cold.

1997 vintage

Medium red colour with bricking at the rim. Red fruits (cranberries, raspberries) on the nose, with some subtle earthiness. Medium body, soft tannins, elegant mouthfeel. 20 second finish. Very nice wine, at peak right now, maybe even starting down.

1997 vintage

Sweet cassis nose & finish. If you like oak this is your wine. Rather one dimensional. Drink up!

1997 vintage

Surprisingly juicy, with well integrated tannins. Very nice.

1997 vintage

Kind of flat, a bit woody and not much fruit. This one could be over the hill

1997 vintage

Was still in good shape and had the maturity that easily bested the other two, recent vintage, cabs that we had on steak night. Auction bottles like this one can be hit and miss- this was a direct hit.

1997 vintage

Initially showed some stewed fruit and slightly pruney notes on the nose. Fruit was still hanging around on the palate and the wine itself appears to be at it's peak of maturity. While the nose was slightly off-putting, the flavors made up for it. Overall, I liked the wine but I don't see this as getting any better at this point. Drink now.

1994 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Lurid purple. Sweet chocolate cassis with a hint of dill nose. Similar entry with obvious but now mellowed oak treatment. Surprisingly spritely. Get rid of the plastic cork!

1997 vintage

Has held up much better than other St. Francis Reserves from this era, but that's not saying much. Nice color and fruit but finishes very dry.

1997 vintage

Deep garnet. Nice upper middle class Cab. Opened and opened with airing. Nice black berry and leather in the nose and taste of a medium weight Cab with some age. Good.

1997 vintage

Over the hill and tired... like over-oaked pickel juice ... unable to drink.. color appeared to be youthful but tasted pretty awfull

1994 vintage

Good solid Cab, it is ready don't delay much longer

1997 vintage

This is a nice mature California cab. Surprised to find the synthetic cork. There were cherry and vanilla scents in the nose. Well integrated fruit, with just a little hint of wood discussed by other tasters. This is mature and should be drunk soon. The finish is silky and shows the finesse of the wine. I should have opened it sooner.

1997 vintage

Birthday party drank with Filets and grilled shrimp. a little hot out of the bottle, slight signs of aging, but overall very nice

1994 vintage

12 years old and holding up nicely. Dark complex fruit, coffee, tobacco nuances. Great buy on release, remains a great buy 12 years later.Compares nicely with wines 3 times release price.

1997 vintage

Nicely aged and drinking well now. A bit heavily oaked for my taste. In general, for its age, this is a thick wine, and a bit heavy on its feet to be scored higher.

1994 vintage

Enjoyed very much. Nice.

1997 vintage

a solid cab, ready to drink

1997 vintage

Still has unique St. Francis vanilla tone. I found very acceptable. Not great but good.

1997 vintage

Not as much going on as my bottle in June.

1994 vintage

Second St Francis Reserve I have had to dump, and 3 out of 4 that were awful when aged. I would NOT recommend aging this brand, as it will not hold up well. I have had many cheaper 1997 that preserved well (Sebastiani as an example).

1997 vintage

This wine has filled in since my last bottle. Smooth and fully ready to drink. Good depth to have with a steak dinner. Drink over the next year.

1994 vintage

CT Group Revisits 1994 Cabernets @ Home (Milford) : Looking back on a tasting note I had from this wine from about 8 years ago, I saw that I had no hope this wine would age... well... shame on me. This was by no means a great wine, or my style anymore, but it was definitely still chugging along. Simple, fruity, spicy with hints of coconuty oak. Straightforward but enjoyable for the up front, sweet and showy style. Almost Zin-like. …

1994 vintage

Pleasantly surprised that the wood element seems to have finally settled into place, which nicely joins the mature cedar, blackberry and currant flavors. Tannins are completely integrated and it’s hard to imagine this wine improving further. All in all, a good wine, and one that I have enjoyed throughout the years.

1997 vintage

Corked

1994 vintage

Nice wine but a bit over the hill.

1994 vintage

Still plenty of life in this old gal

1994 vintage

I liked it, thought it was smooth and mellow...Still plenty of fruit and has a few good years to it...Medium bodied with a nice finish

1994 vintage

Brick red in color, lots of sediment. Decanted 1 hour. Not a great deal of upfront fruit, seems a bit over the hill. Enjoyable, but not great.

1994 vintage

NYC Group does Cabs (NYC) : Big, sweet, cab nose. Very flamboyant. Heavy oak, but sweet, and the fruit is up to the challange. A bit of coconut added complexity. Big... but will it age? A low acid style seems to suggest this will not be a long ager.

1994 vintage

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St. Francis, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

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