Frias Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena

Better than expected, in the upper tier of WA cabernet sauvignons

2012 vintage

***see previous notes After the last bottle earlier this year, and its thinning nature, i figured it would be best to finish up my last bottle. This bottle had more punch, and showed marginally better. I still think if you have any bottles, drink them now. Went nicely with a peppercorn gravy steak dinner with Yorkshire pudding (thanks Britt)

2012 vintage

Acrid tire rubber for days

2012 vintage

Ox-blood in color Some dark fruit notes on the nose. Hint of oak. Nose is fairly muted. Smooth. Maybe getting a little thin. Integrated tannins. Remnants of dark fruit. Wine is peaking...drink up now. Lovely bottle. Went great with rack of lamb tonight.

2012 vintage

Third time tasted since early 2021. Still dark garnet and opaque. Pronounced, excellent cassis aromas. Good concentrated fruit, also mainly cassis. Not overly complex or outstanding. Some tannin on the late palate and aftertaste, which detracts slightly. Overall an excellent though not outstanding wine. Fully mature but should last 3-5 years. Ric

2012 vintage

Silky smooth currants, berries and cherries. Finishes with a bit of tar and earth. Drinking well but no rush to drink.

2012 vintage

Every day brings this closer to a good add to a beef stew...

2012 vintage

Corked. It seemed to be a small amount but it never blew off!

2012 vintage

Accidentally decanted for five hours (intended less), but this didn't suffer from the over-exposure like the '14 Stonessence seemed to. Complex and savory with that interesting Rocks funk overlay on the earthy blackberry fruit.

2012 vintage

We liked it much better than last tasting almost two years ago. Still dark garnet and opaque. Pronounced, excellent cassis aromas. Good concentrated fruit, also mainly cassis, though slightly austere, which we have found typical of many Walla cabs. Some tannin on the late palate and aftertaste, which detracts slightly. Overall an excellent though not outstanding wine. Fully mature but should last 3-5 years. Ric

2012 vintage

Over the hill :).

2012 vintage

Really opened up after an hour. Very nice.

2012 vintage

Tremendous evolution since my prior bottle almost 7 years ago. The Rocks signature notes have receded but are still evident, giving way to a CS that is elegant and shows nice finesse. Consumed over two nights, it didn't move a lot overnight, but didn't lose anything, either. Plenty of life ahead.

2012 vintage

This wine is coming into its own now. Concentrated dark berry fruit with tobacco, spice, espresso and a hint of Rocks funk. PnP's very well but there's plenty of runway left. Drink or hold.

2012 vintage

LOVE

2012 vintage

Decanted two hours. Dark blue-black fruits, black coffee, licorice, and a bit of herbs. Was initially put in the shade by the more flamboyant Fidelitas opened alongside it but the more it opened up the more hearts it won with it's sophistication. Only two more bottles of the ten I initially purchased, will be sorry to see them go.

2012 vintage

Reticent at first, took two hours to open up and even then it had more work to do. Elegantly dry, shows dark flavors of blackberry and black cherry with espresso notes. Very little secondary development. Interestingly, the Rocks funk that had been apparent in earlier bottles was nonexistent here. With the tannins and fruit still evident the immediate future, 3-5 years say, looks good and 2032 isn't unthinkable.

2012 vintage

It's definitely improved!

2012 vintage

We are huge fan of their syrahs, one of our favorite U.S. wineries. But their cabs have been less attractive. This was inky dark, medium intensity cassis aromas with slight herbal notes, but the flavor is one-dimensional, and tannic. Ric

2012 vintage

Been opening a bottle of this about every six months for two years now, and no two have been alike. This one was the shy, dour spinster sister of last August's bottle with less black fruit, less Rocks funk, less everything. Food got her out of her chair just a bit, but we still couldn't get her to dance. (Decanted two hours.)

2012 vintage

To enjoy a wine at the absolute pinnacle moment of its life where this wine is now is unfortunately too rare experience for a mercurial creature like me, but I relish it all the more when it happens. Opaque, mouthcoating black fruit is imbued with that amazing Rocks funk, dark chocolate and a garrique-like note of wild roadside flora. Effortlessly appealing with cashmere tannins, long finish. Everything I hoped would eventually evolve in this wine is here now. Outstanding.

2012 vintage

A fly over your head wine. Draws very little attention...Nothing bad, and nothing exciting. A typical cabernet with no style. Poor QPR. Drinking Wine

2012 vintage

We revisited this nice Cabernet after about one year. We enjoyed it with a rib eye steak dinner. The wine is improving, and is showing dark garnet color. Nose is nice, with notes of tobacco, plum, cherry, and a hint of vanilla. Flavor matched the nose. This is a full bodied wine with dusty tannins that are relaxing since last year. It is a very enjoyable wine with food, and is still improving. It is very nice now, but I …

2012 vintage

Drinking very well now. It has an interesting cola note along with dark fruit and spice aromas and flavors. Not as rich as most RFW cabs I’ve tried but quite enjoyable.

2012 vintage

We opened this very nice bottle of Cabernet (fruit coming from Mount Veeder in Napa valley). This wine is a very deep purple, with a pleasant nose of Anise, Cedar, and Cherry. The taste matched the nose, with excellent depth of flavor which opens up as the wine breathes in the glass. I picked up elements of mint, cedar, tobacco, and cherry. This is a consistent flavor profile from other Cabs which I have experienced from the Mount Veeder region. …

2012 vintage

Medium dark red. Quite viscous. Brooding dark fruit and coffee bean nose with a bit of espresso bean and scorched earth. Dry black cherry and chocolate flavours and a textured dry finish.

2012 vintage

Much tighter and less generous than the last bottle we opened and therefore a mistake to take this to a blind tasting lunch where the preference is for mature European wines in general. The Rocks funk showed in the last bottle we opened, but not so much here.

2012 vintage

Time has been good to this; it's now one of the most stellar young Washington Cabernets I've ever had. Has the fruit, the depth, the structure and the elegance, along with a very modest touch of Rocks funk (you might not notice it if you weren't looking for it) for a perfect sense of place. It tastes exactly like what Reynvaan's cabernet SHOULD taste like if you know their syrahs. Honestly, so many WA cabs only taste like WA because …

2012 vintage

Needs more time in bottle to develop. We opened it and had it set for over an hour. Serious swirling helped bring out layers, but still should have aerated more. Medium-full body showing dark fruits and a bit of sweet chocolate. With time flowers and oak developed. Finish was lush and full with medium tannin. Drinks nice now but wait a few years for it to show off.

2012 vintage

Drank with dinner with friends over about 60 minute period. Evolved nicely during that time. Black raspberries and plum came forward, while tannins relaxed their grip into a velvety underlayer.

2012 vintage

smooth and savory, my first cab from Reynvaan, need to pick some up

2012 vintage

It's an ok, cab, nothing more. I would agree with others here that WA did overhype this wine quite a bit. The Gamble family may have some wonderful and very famous neighbors, but this wine doesn't measure up to them. It's not a bad wine, it just isn't anything special. It's a basic cab, with basic fruit, basic tannins, medium weight, good acidity and a short to medium finish. Not a lot of layers here but still enjoyable so long …

2012 vintage

I agree with the others. I feel it was overhyped as it WA mentioned Oakville and other catchy phrases. Dont sit on this as it might be the best it will be. Very light and not a lot of structure in my opinion. It was pleasant but perhaps not what we were looking for with a steak last night.

2012 vintage

We opened our first bottle of this three months ago, and we were disappointed. It was thin and lackluster, showing more like a sub-$20 wine. After reading other reviews here reflecting better, I gulped in fear and refrained from reviewing pending another sample. That happened yesterday: and this was the wine we hoped for. Exactly like AFU's March review below, and I'll match his points.

2012 vintage

Nice Cab with good Napa flavors. A lighter style which I occasionally prefer depending on my mood. If your are looking for a big extracted Cab, you may not like this or be disappointed.

2012 vintage

Black fruit, cedar, charcoal, tobacco, spice and smiley oak, red fruit on the finish with tight tannins. B+

2012 vintage

Wine Access WAY overhyped this wine. It shares no characteristics whatsoever with Napa cabernet. It is thin and one-dimensional though the flavors are fine. Nothing discordant or unpleasant about the wine - it's just that there is nothing much to like about it. And, it is almost like a vanilla cream soda. So much influence of new oak. Terribly unimpressed with this wine. And - it's not going to age. There is no structure on which to hang a few …

2012 vintage

This is an outstanding effort that comes close to perfection for Washington Cabernet. If you want Napa cult fruit bomb, this is not your wine. This wine is smooth, polished, great mouth feel, long finish and inherently sweet. Not tannic in any way despite its youth. Dark fruit - plum, earth and light touches of Walla Walla olive. And that's after only 90 minutes open. I can only imagine what some bottle time could do. My personal preference is to …

2012 vintage

Tampa Spring Break (the abridged version); 3/17/2016-3/18/2016 (Various Tampa locations (Mise en Place, Ocean Prime, etc.)) : Funky cabernet, fig, plum, olive, tapenade, lovely. Really enjoyable wine. It's got lots of the wonderful fruit flavors I expect from the cab, but then the rocks side takes over as well and add some more interest to the wine. We wishlisted a few of these after having gotten to try the Cabernet last year for the first time.

2012 vintage

90-91+. Beautiful classic Napa cab. Perfumed, with rich, ripe black and blue fruit, some spice. Little bit of cinnamon/clove on finish. Silky mouth feel, good finish overall . Nice wine.

2012 vintage

smooth, light, does not finish well. Lacking in fruit. I liked it a lot better at a tasting where I bought some,

2012 vintage

Excellent value. Classic expression of fine Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark fruit and nicely balanced tannins and acidity. Should drink well for another 5-7 years.

2012 vintage

Dark garnet with blackberry and graphite on the nose. Nice legs. Full body on the palate with notes of blackberry, plum and cranberry give way to a long, tannic finish. Very pleasing. Should be decanted for about an hour before serving. Should age well.

2012 vintage

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Frias Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena

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