Myriad, Empyrean Beckstoffer Georges III Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford

If syrup and amarone had a baby…

2018 vintage

Just keeps integrating better n better. Its joy in a glass for fruit forward lovers while still retaining structure and backbone

2018 vintage

Another bottle sampled prior to last night's event and then through the night (4 more hours) with great wine friends, Agelevis, JimAronson and Mary & Barry. 1 hr and 40 min decant in the chilled cellar......very dark magenta in the glass. Nose of camphor, oak and a dark element that starts out as Baker's chocolate but soon turns to a black pen ink for me. The palate is all blackberry, still retaining some decent backing acidity but the fruit, while …

2018 vintage

Two hour decant. Inky magenta color. Dark chocolate, camphor, lemon gum drop, and subtle blackberry and cassis. Smooth, dry palate, with satiny acidity. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the longish finish. Despite being completely oak forward at the moment, this is quite integrated. Very enjoyable, easy drinker shared by my good friend Mark1NPT, in advance of a small dinner party he hosted (with an amazing lineup of wines). This was only the pre-game. 😮

2018 vintage

This was phenomenal. No formal notes, great layered fruit, deep, dark, mouth filling. Wonderful in every regard. Still young but a great showing.

2018 vintage

Nice aromas and smelled pretty classic - smoldering dark fruit. This didn't taste like any other Myriad I've had and I've been a buyer out of the gate. My wife blurted out the same as soon as she tried it. This tasted pruny and flat out scorched. This reminded of a 2003 red burg. I'll chalk this up as flawed. No score.

2018 vintage

Last bottle. Back to back with a 2021 Pott Napa it didn't do quite as well, but still a nice quaff. Blue fruit still solid, floral notes emerging after 20 minutes to open up, not overly cloying at all. Back end fairly muted given this was designed as a less structured wine than the single vineyards, but still balanced. Slightly less concentrated than the Pott. I think 2023 it was at it's best so for those with remain bottle, my …

2018 vintage

5-Hour double decant. Had alongside an '18 Schrader RBS To Kalon and we preferred the Myriad due to it's bigger fruit profile (the Schrader was a little muted). Dark fruit, a lot of cassis, some blueberries, and vanilla. Medium Long finish. Glides across the tongue. Great wine.

2018 vintage

Such a solid (modern-styled) classic. Delicious, if you’re into modern Napa cab, without being over the top.

2018 vintage

Deep dark purple color. Nose has Black fruit, Cassis, chocolate, vanilla (3 hours decant has berry liquor) mild smoky tobacco, and flower aromatics. Palate has blackberry, Black fruit, Cassis, dark chocolate, vanilla, ripe blueberries, sweet tobacco, sweet leather and mild sweet spices. Partially dry on the tongue towards the finish yet juicy. Full bodied with smooth tannins. Finish is long, fresh, pure, and delicious.

2018 vintage

Get a little muted next to the 2016 Maybach Materium. Still enjoyable but outclassed

2018 vintage

Easy to drink. Round . No sharp edges.

2018 vintage

beauty, dark

2018 vintage

The '18s in general have been the most stubborn vintage I can remember - especially based on all the hype - and these Myriad NV are no exception. They are finally settling down and coming together. Mike Smith used to always say "drink the NV in first 5 years while you are waiting for the single vineyard bottlings to age a little". Well these are just getting into their drinking window at the 6 year mark. Better late than never.

2018 vintage

Two hour decant. Deep dark intense magenta color. Blackberry compote, blueberry, cherry icee, chocolate wafer, candle wax, and lime rind. Dry, sultry palate, with lively/prickly acidity. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the medium long+ finish. This is still a bit wound up. It’s acid driven and the finish could be longer. It improved over an hour of drinking. May have taken a small step backward from a year ago. Fun drinker nonetheless.

2018 vintage

Smooth and easy drinking. Lots of red and black fruits, with medium tannins. Stood up well to the 2014 Continuum that we had first.

2018 vintage

Slightly corked.

2018 vintage

Super approachable out of bottle but give it 30 minutes and it really shines in the Mike Smith style. Lush powerful but well integrated. Only problem is it may be too drinkable

2018 vintage

As others have said, these are starting to come around. Still tight, better on day 2, but two years since my last bottle has improved this and air or more time in the bottle this should continue to get better.

2018 vintage

So well balanced and easy to drink. went well with my veal saltimbocca.

2018 vintage

Opened to wash down some Italian gems from Valpolicella over the weekend. This has mellowed to a great place from when I last had a bottle a few years ago near release. Mike's wines are exactly what I need after a day of Amarone, probably one of the few makers that can hold strong after several Amarone bottlings! This was delicious and at a perfect balance currently between show and restraint. The black fruits dancing perfectly in-tune with the oak …

2018 vintage

Drank it Pnp and though it was a bit tight, it softened after some time in the glass and open bottle. I would suggest a short decant if opening in the near future though. Drinking well, but not quite as good as other vintages of the Myriad NV IMO.

2018 vintage

These 2018 Myriads are finally starting to come around. Hallelujah!

2018 vintage

Havent had one in a while, and with a last minute gathering PnP, was good... but seemed a bit out of sorts, but I tasted the "stuffing" to make this a great wine, just seems like it needs some more time to sort itself out. I find these seem to be amazing out of the gate, then seem to go into a bit of slumbering phase, think will try and pop the next in maybe 6 months or so.... Definitely …

2018 vintage

Brought to dinner along with a 16 Rivers Marie Panek. Decanted for over an hour and drank over dinner. More elegant and silky compared to the Panek which overall was a bigger, fruitier wine. The Empyrean was drinking well after the decant but I suspect it might have gained some weight had we had more time with it. Drinking this one in the 2-4 hour window seems to be working out ok but ideally giving it another year or two …

2018 vintage

Two hour double decant. Deep dark vibrant ruby magenta color. Blueberry, blackberry purée, rosemary cracker, rum cake, wet river rock, and subtle new leather. Very smooth, dry palate, with tongue coating acidity. Firm, full tannins on the long finish. Very expressive for its youth. Great structure. Still room for improvement. Mark1NPT was kind enough to bring this to the kick off dinner for our extended wine weekend. Lots more fun/interesting bottles coming. :).

2018 vintage

Decanted 2 hours prior to taking to dinner at Ocean Prime with Mr/ Mrs Agelvis. Beautiful dark fruit, cassis, some blueberry and blackberry present. Well rounded and full in the mouth, balanced acidity, smooth round tannins...for the first 2-4 hours then it turns a bit more astringent with more cedar/oak showing up and more out of balance post 4 hours of air. This would seem to indicate it needs more time but if you drink at the 2-3 hour mark, …

2018 vintage

Two and a half hour decant. Very deep dark electric magenta color. Black cherry, red apple liqueur, blueberry cornmeal pancake, and lychee. Smooth, dry palate, with good acidity. Firm tannins on the longish finish. This surprised me. Very fun, interesting CS. Reasonable QPR.

2018 vintage

Drinking well now. Nicely floral upfront, rose in particular, and some forest floor. The backend has less oak and thus less finish, so while it needs ~45 minutes to open, I don't think it needs more aging.

2018 vintage

Much better than the bottle consumed almost two years ago; typical Mike Smith Cab with big, extracted, rich, fresh fruit dominating the palate; a little too much oak for me but still enjoyable; consumed over 3-4 hours with a 30 minute decant; not much changed over that time

2018 vintage

Drank as PnP at holiday party. I hadn't loved the prior bottle I opened. This was actually showing a bit better and wasn't nearly as closed off or showing nearly as much vegetal scents and flavors. Maybe prior bottle was bad? This like the 2018 Becklyn needed more time in bottle or open and airing in decanter. Suggest a decent decant if opening now. Will hold last bottle a few more years.

2018 vintage

This was the first bottle that I have tried of this vintage. I was a little concerned after reading some of the reviews, but I didn’t need to be! I thought that this wine held up very nicely against some more expensive ones that we also tasted during the night. Had this as a pop and pour. Plenty of dark fruit, supple tannins. Very enjoyable, and a great QPR.

2018 vintage

I have been really disappointed in these '18 Myriad NV's. I bought 2 cases upon release. Mike Smith's normal advice is to drink the NV young while the single vineyards mature. But this has not been great experience to date. We have had a few bottels of this that were so bad (bitter and astringent) that we used for cooking (that's expensive cooking wine!). Tonight we decanted for 2 hours and it was still not great (that same bitterness). Score …

2018 vintage

Popped the cork on this last evening to anticipate celebrating the Mets winning the NLWC round, then on to LA to continue our way to a ticker tape parade... WELP... The wine was very good, but still years away from hitting its peak. Other TN's have done a good job with the descriptors so I wont add on there. If you cant resist trying a bottle, give it a least an hour of air, but patience (think 3+ years) will …

2018 vintage

Still too young, but wanted to bring something nice to dinner with friends, who had never had this wine before. Decanted for almost 2 hours, enjoyed a glass with cork out at their place an hour before dinner, cork back in and taken to the restaurant as the girls finished it with dinner. This has nice quality dark red/black fruit, acidity is well matched, a little cedar on the nose and palate. The tannins are still a little grippy so …

2018 vintage

Unfortunately mildly corked. Seems to have nice fruit underneath.

2018 vintage

Method: 45 min decant; Grassl 1855; about room temp (I normally try to have it a bit more chilled) Look: deep ruby/purple Nose: ripe raspberry, blackberry, pepper, cigar box, dried herbs, leather; pretty complex Palate: blackberry, pepper; long- finish of dried herbs, bitter; dry; medium+ to full- body; high to high+ acidity; high- tannin; high- heat Overall thoughts: Wow! Myriad may be my favorite American winery and I've never had a bad Mike Smith wine before tonight, but this was …

2018 vintage

This time I liked it better on day #1. Solid Napa cab.

2018 vintage

Good blue fruit - well integrated alcohol - little sour/ bitter on the mid palate but overall a great wine.

2018 vintage

My first bottle 18 months ago was good - but you could tell this wine needed time. My second bottle 9 months ago was not a good experience at all (a lot of the Napa '18s seemed to have shut down). This time, I decanted 2 hours. It was better - but still not great. Hoping more time will help these.

2018 vintage

I decided to check in on this wine, and Coravined a half bottle into a decanter for an hour. The wine is on the more serious end for a Myriad NV-which leads me to believe this will age well, for an appellation Cabernet. Dark fruits, baking spices, vanilla, acid, and tannins on the finish. I feel this is reflective of the vintage, and less forward than 2015, 2016, or 2017, frankly. I think the best is yet to come with …

2018 vintage

Hopefully this needs more time to integrate. Tannins are a bit harsh, overwhelming the fruit flavors. Will stay away from the other bottles for a year +.

2018 vintage

This got really nice on day #2 -- a bit muted and weak on PnP. Second day it filled out, added depth and added tons of flavor, especially after an hour or so. Really enjoyed it on 2nd day.

2018 vintage

Double decanted for 3 hours. Such a different wine than what I remember from last year. This is clearly in a shutdown phase and is begging for more time or an extended decant. I will say that I had a piece of leftover beef tenderloin in the middle of this and it really did something for the wine, so maybe best paired with food at the moment? Will check in on in a couple years.

2018 vintage

Smoking good wine. Lots of upside but drinking great young. Love this.

2018 vintage

Drinking great even this young.

2018 vintage

Silky and soft, none of the abrasivness and unapproachable tannins that most of the big 2018s face - but also a much more restrained than I’m used to from a Mike smith wine - not to say there isn’t flavor, and it’s still fruit forward; dark fruit, blackberry and a bit of graphite. Going to let the rest slumber for awhile.

2018 vintage

Get together with some friends for some good wine & music - hired the band Sponge for an acoustic show. A friend brought this bottle. Dark purple fruit - blackberry, currants, and blueberry. A nice purity and solid depth/concentration but pretty tightly wound. Nice rich flavors of dark berries, some spice/licorice, cocoa, and a graphite component. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep - it also needs more time to open-up with the finish. Popped/poured but drank out of …

2018 vintage

An very, very credible drop. Super structured. Will cellar for years. Mike Smith hits this one out of the park

2018 vintage

Of the four 18 Myriad wines I've had recently (GIII, Crane and Elysian the others), this is the least ready to consume. It is coiled up tight and not giving much up at the moment. I'd suggest not opening this one for a while. Nose reminded me a bit more of LPV than GIII. Some scorched earth elements mixed in with blackberries, spice box, white flowers and hints of tobacco leaf. Full bodied, but wound up tight, right now this …

2018 vintage

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Myriad, Empyrean Beckstoffer Georges III Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford

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