Nickel & Nickel, John C. Sullenger Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

Beautiful Napa Cab. Can age longer a few years.

2013 vintage

Amazing wine drank on Sat. June 28, 2025, cousin Carlo S., Michelle and Clare for a BBQ, a 2.5" Thick 2.3/4LB. Ribeye and Ontario Baby Lamb. Incredible after 23 years from its vintage date! Great tannins, smooth and rich of plum, smooth cherries and coffee tasting.

2002 vintage

Super deep-hued cab with great flavor that is drinking beautifully right now, but could probably last 10 more years.

2013 vintage

Amazing how this wine has held up. Excellent wine. Drank for my 65th Birthday Celebration.

2002 vintage

Again, another beautiful wine from N&N Sullenger. We had a ribeye steak with baked potatoes and veggies. For dessert dark chocolate ❤️❤️

2013 vintage

Very good. Would buy again.

2008 vintage

Elegant structure, blackberry, cassis. Silky tannins and Cedar with long lingering finish! Very nice and drinking great!

2002 vintage

Nice wine, I think it's past it prime. dark garnet turning ruby at the edges. Aromas of oak, leather, underripe berries, cacoa. light weights with long finish of grapefruit and lemon.

2002 vintage

I've had a few of these single vineyard cabs over the years, most of them relatively young, at the winery, where they were very pleasant. More recently I had the '09 Dragonfly vineyard and the '18 of this same Sullenger Vineyard. This was quite the treat. I generally have struggled with the '13 vintage as I've always found it a bit too acidic for my taste, but perhaps it needed more time. In any case this was absolutely fantastic - …

2013 vintage

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2013 vintage

Still pretty hot coming out of the bottle, let it breathe and you will enjoy it much more.

2012 vintage

Too many days have passed since drinking this to give useful detailed notes, or a fair rating. I do remember, however, that we decanted about 1/2 hour before drinking it, served it with steak, and that all three of us enjoyed it. Would definitely have been somewhere above 90.

2012 vintage

I would have thought this was a petite sirah based on the color in the glass...this is a huge inky wine. The nose has mushroom, baking spices, stewed plums and dried oak leaf. On the palate there is dried cherry, graphite, leather, pomegranate, and rutabaga. Not much fruit but still an interesting wine.

2013 vintage

Rich cherry and plum notes. Tannins are smooth and this wine has great structure and mouthfeel. Great bottle of wine

2012 vintage

Hosted a 2012-2015 vertical tasting. All were exceptional but the 2014 was the hands down favorite of the 8 of us.

2013 vintage

Drinking great - not yet peaked. Really bright cab characteristics - sweet oak.

2013 vintage

Still has more time, very good , strong varietal Cabernet flavors.

2012 vintage

Cotked

2012 vintage

Plum and black cherry aromas and flavors. Great wine but not as good as its big brother Far Niente from the same vintage. I’ll be buying more Far Niente moving forward.

2012 vintage

Mature but not over the hill. This is at its prime but not a lot of fruit left. Drink this in the next few months. Balanced, fine tannins. Very nice after an hour.

2008 vintage

Drank over 2 days. day 1 it was full bodied with dark fruit and smooth, on day 2 it was soft and very pleasing. Day 1- 94, day 2 -93

2012 vintage

Seeing other reviews that noted fruit dissipation with longer decants, we only did a 30-min bottle decant. It opened nicely with soft-enough tannins but unmistakable dark fruit, stone and leather-y notes, with a slight hint of fir. Really great, and still thinking it has more time but only with good cellar conditions.

2013 vintage

I Coravin tasted this over 2 nights then popped the cork the 3rd night. This wine fit the bill for California Cabernet with burgers one night, salmon and then T-bones.

2012 vintage

Appearance - Dark, deep garnet color, clear at edge, reflective, good body/legs - 3/3 Aroma/Bouquet - Blackberry, black plum, vanilla/oak, slight heat/alcohol on the nose, some minerality - 5.5/6 Taste - Blackberry & plum, vanilla, oaky, some spice, light tannins, slight acid, mineral/limestone - 5/6 Aftertaste - Black fruit continues, Long finish, tannins fade, tannins fruit and acid is balanced well - 3/3 Overall - Very well made Cab, complex, with good fruit/mineral/acid/tannin balance - 2/2 Note - This wine …

2012 vintage

Solid structure. Muted fruit right now.

2013 vintage

Very good. Solid Cali cab

2012 vintage

While some of the N&N cabs have more marquee value, the years have accrued interesting nuances with the Rock Cairn and given it complexity and finesse. I like this wine.

2013 vintage

Dark & dense but balanced. Great tannin and acid structure. Massive but with the right amount of elegance.

2013 vintage

Deep purple color, aromatic nose floral. Needs to open up about 30 minutes, then it the tannins become silky smooth. Dark berries slight hint of coffee, with along finish.

2013 vintage

This 2012 JC Sullenger Cabernet Sauvignon presented a deep garnet juice with a faint purple ring on the edge. This wine has medium legs with light sediment. The bouquet entices the taster with rich raspberry, strawberry, black currant (cassis) and a hint of blackberry at the end. The taste of this wine reminds me of blackberry, black currant (cassis), blueberry with a slight minerality. A medium/full body with a satin-like texture. The medium finish leaves the taster wanting more of …

2012 vintage

Layers on layers. Early flavors of anise and sweet dried fruit lead into sweet blackberry juice and eventually end with mild fruit and dusty oak and cedar. Overall a great wine. However for its price I’m surprised how soft it is already. If I had more bottles I’d drink them now. Great wine, not for long term cellaring

2012 vintage

Decanted 3 hours; non-descript, slightly sweet bouquet; beautiful balance, acidity and supple tannis offering no appreciable fruit; subtle cherry notes across a moderate finish. Extremely smooth and pleasant with no meaningful flavor profile - a bit of an enigma.

2013 vintage

All I can say is wow! One of the best wines I ever drank.

2013 vintage

Appearance - Dark garnet color, clear at edge, reflective, good body/legs - 3/3 Aroma/Bouquet - Black fruit, spice, oak, vanilla black currant, some stone/mineral, little hot (alc.) - 4.5/6 Taste - Black berry, currant, light tannin, chalky/limestone minerality - 5/6 Aftertaste - Long black fruit finish, tannins fade, smooth finish - 3/3 Overall - Good complex fruit and land complexity - 2/2 * Score is based on a 20 point scale interpolated to a 100 point scale.

2013 vintage

Shared with some friends while enjoying some grilled filets. Very nice. Opened up after about an hour.

2013 vintage

Found a bottle in the secondary market at a nice price and decided to give it a shot in light of Parker's 94 rating. Dark ruby/purple fruit - dark cherry, currants, blackberry, and a little blueberry. Smooth mid-palate with decent depth but I expected a little bigger/fuller fruit in light of the vintage and Parker's rating. Flavors of dark berries, some spice, and a little mineral/graphite component. However, I thought the flavors came across a little light/flat especially next to …

2013 vintage

Short decant, since we were thirsty and had some good steaks ready. Impressed. Doesnt need a long time-

2013 vintage

Decent cab. not overly expressive; I think this needs more time in the bottle.

2013 vintage

Opened in the bottle for about 3 hours. This has really come a long way in year. Still structured but incredibly smooth with no sharp edges or harsh tannins. Loads of extracted elements (blueberry, raspberry, cassis, vanilla) balanced perfectly by fresher elements (strawberry juice, minerals, tobacco, flowers). Still young but I would have guessed closer to 2010. Hands down the best Nickel Nickel year and SV combination out there. Decanting and straining is a necessity as this threw off a …

2013 vintage

Smooth taste, easy to drink and enjoyable. Nothing of critical note that made it stand out, but was enjoyed by all.

2008 vintage

Drank with Linda and Darrel. Wine was very smooth. We decanted for two hours before consuming. 12/25/17

2008 vintage

Beautifully integrated fruit and alcohol with exceptional color and finish. Stands on it's own nicely and unpacks surprisingly fast, but also delicious with beef, roasted vegetables, and bread. At the beginning of it's window, so I'll pace on my other bottles.

2013 vintage

We pnp'd through a soiree. It opened quickly. Dark fruit on the nose, the palate was berry, plum, a touch of charred meat and tree bark. The finish was long and brought out hints of dried thyme.

2013 vintage

During a CabSav Dinner. Nose of dark fruit, chocolate, dried fruit, oak. Medium+ bodied palate. Nothing forced here, good balance. Very decent CabSav but you won't have to pay 80 bucks in Bordeaux for something in this quality level.

2012 vintage

Solid wine, nothing terribly impressive, but nothing that detracted from the bottling. An average+ wine that probably wont evolve much form here. Drink over next 3 years...

2012 vintage

Enjoyed this bottle with a friend in Munds

2013 vintage

Nice wine, but youthful. Has great fruit, nice medium tannins and acidity, but I think it'll get better with one more year in cellar. Has potential and promise

2012 vintage

In comparison to the CC Ranch, this was more approachable at a young age. Cola, vanilla, and a slight hint of gooseberries on the tongue. This is worthy of at least an hour decant and after that, pour this like it's water. Excellent wine at this age.

2013 vintage

A fantastic bottle of wine. Notes are really coming out. Great fruit...

2013 vintage

Same note as before.

2013 vintage

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Nickel & Nickel, John C. Sullenger Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

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