Hourglass, Blueline Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

PnP. Fruit is still at the forefront, but not overly ripe. I got some of that dustiness as well. Drinking very well at present and probably wouldn't hold these any longer. After 3 days, this held up surprisingly well. I'm getting more cocoa, graphite, and spice to balance out the fruit. Scoring up a point.

2006 vintage

This has been solid 94 point wine for me from the get go. Reading my notes of previously consumed bottles, took a day to emerge in 2013, less in 2020, and just requires about an hour tops now. The good amount of sediment has been a constant, so should either be filtered or sent upright to allow to settle. The fruit has faded but the wine had developed into something quite nice. Gives a good mouthful of forest and thick …

2006 vintage

My last bottle of the 2006 vintage. Nice pairing again with grilled ribeye. Cathy liked it a lot. Medium body. This was holding up well beyond estimated CT drink-up date of 2016, but IMO now was the right time to finish off this vintage. I scored this bottle slightly below previous ones. Still offering flavors of dark fruit, cocoa and coffee. Slight bit of sweetness, but very pleasant. Looking forward to starting on the next of several vintages in my …

2006 vintage

Rutherford dust, whisper of black olives, and delightful dark berries. Thanks to sfwinelover1 for sharing a bottle with me! You’re right, it’s great cocktail wine. Drank like a younger bottle. Definitely 93-94 — nothing detracting in this wine, but nothing pushing it into the next tier either. Would happily drink again :)

2006 vintage

Generally consistent with prior tasting, with more notes of Rutherford dust and olives to go with the almost port-like nose and ripe berries on the palate. Reiterate that this wine works best as a standalone rather than with food because of low acidity. Ripe and delicious, but drink now. 93-94 if scoring.

2006 vintage

Well matured, tannins integrated, fruit present, all in balance, bottle threw sediment, cork intact but brittle and soft, has matured nicely, what I hoped it would, ready now, did not require the long decant as when tasted on 2013, CT consumption almost 50%, would not go more than another 5 years with this wine, as it's ready now.

2006 vintage

First of 2 from a recent auction ($84@). Pretty much of a PnP. Lovely, powerful, slightly port-y nose of dark fruit, licorice, wet earth and some dark florals. On the palate, consistent notes with black cherries, blueberries, currants, cassis, raisins and plums, coffee, dark chocolate, spicebox, tobacco and a touch of oak. Raisins give the wine an almost amarone quality. Dark purple with just a hint of brown, full-bodied, thick legs. Soft, silky tannins, totally integrated acidity, just the slightest …

2006 vintage

Very very good.

2006 vintage

Wow...amazing!

2006 vintage

Drink this if you have it. Still quite nice but the prune flavor is starting to come through. So still drinkable but now on the downslope.

2006 vintage

Last bottle of this vintage. Very rich and fruit forward, many layers of dark berry, oak, spice, and licorice. Terrific Cab Sauv, still at a peak.

2006 vintage

sherry

2006 vintage

Great expression of classic Cali cab. Drinking well right now. But I would probably drink this one up in the next year or two--I'll try to finish my last bottle in 2017 for sure.

2006 vintage

Wine dinner at Le Provencal

2006 vintage

Was so looking forward to this but both bottles seem to have lost their softness and felt off. Sediment was strong for an 06. Tight and tannic.

2006 vintage

Sad

2006 vintage

Second bottle of six. Had the first in 2009 and loved it. I loved this one too -- maybe even more. We had it last night with a grilled ribeye, mashed potatoes, sauteed baby bellas and mixed veggies. This wine is luscious and mature, but not close to being in decline. It had very soft texture, with rich fruit and a slightly coffee-like flavor. Medium bodied and a 40-second plus finish. The sweet tannins are nearly melted away. Cathy loved …

2006 vintage

Sharp and focused, showing plenty of oak and vanilla, black currant, black cherry and mocha. Tannic, bold and ripe even with 3 hour decant. Reminds me a bit of Foley merlot.

2006 vintage

This wine continues to impress me. Similar to last notes, this is a big, powerful, rich wine with layers of dark berry fruit, but at the same time shows subtle notes of pepper, cocoa, and wood. Drinking beautifully still with everything in balance.

2006 vintage

Cascading blue fruit that was both powerful and juicy. Huge finish that revealed a big black pepper note lurking till the end. Wonderful.

2006 vintage

Just outstanding, with tremendous depth of flavor, all components in balance, and long finish. Notes of dark berry fruit, cocoa, black pepper, and smoke.

2006 vintage

Impressive!

2006 vintage

five hour decant and counting - still needs more air - same as last time, initial nose and taste was fig/pruney and tart, made me suspect it was heat-stressed - now emerging more balanced and smoother, although still a tad fruitful for my tastes - so a long decant for now - and maybe this still has years ahead of it?

2006 vintage

At first pour this was cloyingly sweet to my palate - fig/prune/raisin, to the point where I thought it might have been heat-stressed at some point - the aromatics were over the top too - it gradually evolved with air to a more enjoyable, more balanced wine - although I would still describe it as fruit-forward. Needs a good 2-3 hour decant. So I'm optimistic that with additional aging this will earn a few more points the next time we …

2006 vintage

Initial reaction was a solid 93, but as I thought back, it was really impressive. Tannins were virtually non-existent. Great mouthfeel. Mostly blue and black fruits with an interesting, subtle cherry note. A winner.

2006 vintage

Floral aroma and rich fruit profile, but tannins still prominent. Seems a bit tight and closed down, but did not decant. Chocolate and blueberry notes.

2006 vintage

Big merlot with round mouthfeel, lots of fruit and some kind cocoa undertones. Very enjoyable, but we seem to like this wine every vintage.

2006 vintage

Good heady smell when first opened, but I was not impressed afterwards. It was a blah wine, with no fruit, no body, a funky taste, and just seemed average. To be honest, I felt ripped off, considering how much the wine costs. Felt so disinterested, I left my glass half full when I called it a night. But when I came back to my glass the next day... It was a completely different wine. Lovely fruit, good mouthfeel, beautiful finish, …

2006 vintage

A big merlot but very enjoyable.

2006 vintage

OK - down to 3 bottles - gotta find more !

2006 vintage

Off the charts good, I've been a bit concerned about some of the Hourglass' wines ability to age lately but this had an overwhelming nose of black and blue fruits with huge tobacco notes and floral notes. Thanks to Jeff Smith for getting the Blueline online and thanks to Bob Foley for yet another spectacular wine. This is available for less than release price and that is a steal.

2006 vintage

Pure, classic Napa cab. Elegant and refined nose, tannins slightly dry, with a very interesting allspice finish. Not hot, not extracted, just well made wine. Very nice.

2006 vintage

Note after 2 hours in the decanter. I think this bottle was slightly off. Did not drink at all like any of the notes I have seen. Dominated by stewed fruit and raisins - leads me to believe this suffered some heat damage at some point. All that being said this bottle did improve a bit over the night and was still an enjoyable drink.

2006 vintage

Nice nose of dark fruit cassis espresso and chocolate. Taste is excellent with good fruit and balance.

2006 vintage

Enjoyed this bottle much more than the previous two bottles.

2006 vintage

Gonna be tough to see what this is like in 5 years

2006 vintage

After an awesome bottle of this in May this bottle was a bit of a dissapointment. There were Chocolate covered cherries in spades in this and as usual a nice aromatic nose. However, this bottle seemed quite out of balance and hot. The alc was very discernable on the finish and the oak was less integrated. Too bad, but from the comments it seems like there is a bit of bottle variation here.

2006 vintage

Initially prune/raisin notes but got better over time. The three bottles we have had have been very inconsistent.

2006 vintage

I am upset that this is my only bottle, this is a great bottle of wine. Chocolate covered currants, touches of oak and mineral keep it from being overly sweet. Creamy tannins bring it all together with a nice medium bodied finish. One of the best Merlots I have ever tasted. Foley is a superstar with Merlot, hopefully this stays a secret so the $ doesn't go up.

2006 vintage

Happy 4th !

2006 vintage

Nose: Chocolate, Blueberry, Black Cherry and Creamy Vanilla. Hints of Caramel and some slight herbal notes to let you know it is merlot. Palate: Rich and mouthcoating with Cherry, Chocolate and Espresso notes taking the majority of the palate. Great mouthfeel. Finish: Long and sweet finishes with lots of cherry and powdery cocoa. Pop and pour at Grill 23 in Boston. Bob Foley strikes again with a great merlot.

2006 vintage

Classic Foley. Great smooth fruit, silky tannins, some nice oak and vanilla. A great example of what California has to offer.

2006 vintage

I think this bottle was flawed based on our previous tasting. It was like a raisin or cough syrup on both the nose and palate.

2006 vintage

So tight and closed at first that I thought the bottle was flawed. 2 hours of air, however, magically transformed this wine. Rich, deep, and dark with a heart of vanilla and blueberries. A full throttled fruit experience - but not necessarily my preferred style. I'm interested to see what lies ahead on Day 2...

2006 vintage

One of the best merlots we've had in a long time. Its a big wine with blueberry, cherry and chocolate notes.

2006 vintage

This bottle was thick and tannic hard to drink, might have been the travel to HI

2006 vintage

One of the best merlots I've ever had

2006 vintage

Enjoyable from the first sip until the end, sappy yet balanced, complex and deep excellent wine.

2006 vintage

This was being poured by the glass at Martini House in St. Helena, Ca. Definitely a new world styled merlot, this has to be the best new world style Merlot I have had. I barely touched it until about after 90 minutes in to the meal and it really began to open up. It has an opaque purple colour and aromas of blueberries, creme de cocoa, bits of earth and some cassis just exploded from the glass. On the palate …

2006 vintage

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Hourglass, Blueline Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

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