Havens, Bourriquot, Napa Valley

Showed well but probably time to drink up. Bell pepper tones, barnyard, dried dark red fruits, earthy base. Med body, still some fruit, a smooth structure with acid supporting.

2005 vintage

At this point in time I�m sure there is a lot of bottle variation. This bottle was clearly past its prime. The fruit was almost gone and there were some bitter notes on the palate.

2005 vintage

No detailed notes. The color was deep with little browning. The nose was moderately complex with plenty of tertiary notes. On the palate the fruit was almost gone, the tannins were soft, and the acidity was pronounced.

1997 vintage

Corked. :-(

1997 vintage

In a really lovely place. Tons of tomato leaf and cedar, very silky. Has more time, but great drinking right now.

2005 vintage

Initial glass was a little disjointed...Cab Franc on the nose & finish, Merlot in the middle. After some air, and a few days later (pumped stopper) it was a bit more integrated. Dried herbs & some pyrazine/celery seed notes on the nose with a bit of dried dark red fruit notes underneath. Med palate weight, touch of plump darker fruit in the mid feels lively, then an integrated finish with great acid & more dried herbs in the finish. Went …

2005 vintage

Surprised me by being of the best bottles I've had so far. Really nice.

1997 vintage

Singing again beautifully. A really nice bottle. much better than some of previous ones.

1997 vintage

Rather nice, but obviously is getting closer to the end of its drinking window.

1997 vintage

Unfortunately, last bottle, and is consistent with previous notes. Tannins are fading.

2005 vintage

Slightly more mature than the previous bottles I've had. Cork breaks up while opening.

1997 vintage

Second bottle that was slightly better than previous one. PnP again and pleasant nose from the beginning. Cork was really soft and broke into peaces. really soft tannins that come up after 1 hour or so.

1997 vintage

PnP. Colour of the wine is not showing yet the 25 years of age. The nose opens up immediately and is rather pleasant. Wine still has few years of life ahead, but it's highly recommended to consume during next 1-3 years as it might be sliding from where it must have been (obviously depending on what kind of wines you like).

1997 vintage

Surprisingly alive and beautiful. Popped and poured - at first the wine was a little disjointed (tannins were a bit dusty and not well integrated) but with time in the glass the wine came together with beautiful fruit (raspberry, plum), coffee, chocolate, and graphite notes. Overall felt like it was perfectly in the zone - the fruit was still present and wonderful, while still showing some pleasant tertiary components.

2005 vintage

Has that green cigar box note but in a good way. And then still with some gumption - fruit and tannin on the mid palate. Going strong, amazingly enough.

2005 vintage

Color/App: light/medium ruby core -> diffuse garnet/bricked rim. 6 years on from my last tasting note for this and I'm happy with how this has developed but there's no reason to wait on these any longer. Tobacco, earth, a little leather and a touch of barnyard ascendant now with a little rhubarb and cranberry lurking. Austere palate reminding me how much I've always thought this wine mimics many Bordeaux more than the vast majority of California Meritages. Perhaps it's the …

2005 vintage

**Saturday Older Wines Day** Developed, of course, but also still fresh and quite elegant. Beautiful and fine tannins. Lovely wine! Medium+ intense aromas of raspberry, red cherry, cranberry, blackberry, green paprika, old books, bell pepper, fig, cedar, bay leaf. Dry wine, medium+ acidity, medium and fine tannins, medium body, medium+ flavour intensity, medium+ length finish. Napa tasting @ Best Bottles

1997 vintage

Opened and the cork was in great shape, good nose but the flavors were closed down. Decanted for about three hours...flavors opened to right bank Bordeaux. About an hour later we tasted during our Monday Night Zoom Tasting. Most guessed between Bordeaux or Syrah and in the 2005 to 2012 vintages. Tasting excellent...the tannins were rounding with just a slight tinge of age in the color. My last bottle...delicious.

1997 vintage

Popped and poured. Virtually opaque garnet-red in the glass, also a bit cloudy. The nose, from the start, was an almost searingly intense mix of cocoa, tobacco, tar, plums, allspice, coffee, and iron. The intensity subsided after about 30 minutes but the complexity did not, in fact other aromas like cinnamon and peat came in too. The wine was quite silky on the palate with all of the tannins resolved yet with plenty of fruit still present. The depth and …

2005 vintage

This just keeps on going. Similar to 2012/2016 notes, just silkier!

2005 vintage

It is good with steak or other heavy meat. It needs decanting to bring out the best flavor

2005 vintage

Opened at the restaurant with my wine group. Drank really well, no flaws. Still kicking but way more mature that my last note (9 years will do that). Nice old world balance for a new world wine.

2005 vintage

Popped and poured and consumed over three hours. Deep, virtually opaque red-garnet color with little fading at the rim. Nose somewhat reticent at first but eventually blossomed into a dense, intense blend of earth, Asian spices, oak, and deep red fruits. Wonderfully rich and mouth-filling on the palate with loads of fruit, some lingering tannins, and lovely balancing acidity all creating a very harmonious and succulent wine that was never jammy. Long finish of coffee and tobacco.

2005 vintage

Highly aromatic -baked cherries, ripe blackberries, cassis. Grip of tannins, graphite, and dried herbs dominate the palate, all enrobed in creamy rich oak. The fruit is concentrated but not sweet. Regal.

2005 vintage

Cork looked to be intact. VA bitter on finish. Brett perhaps but no other barnyard present. Just off, could not drink

2005 vintage

Very nicely matured with exqusite aromas of old cabernet, but the fruit on the paalte is not quite ripe, yet well aged and mature. Acid minus. Overal well made wine. Don't keep anymore, it is staeting to fade.

2005 vintage

oicey with some oxidized bouquet that would disappear after 1 hour of decanting. Balanced with focused flavor but medium to short on finish. Still enjoyable and had delicious factor.

2005 vintage

Twenty-first anniversary today. Wine from the first winery we ever visited. Amazingly, the wine lived up to what I had hoped it would be. Fully mature, no sign of decline — sweet currant, pepper, the Franc is noticeably present (a positive in my book), also plum rounding out the fruit profile; saline sea spray tanginess. Long, but showing a touch of heat on the finish. All in all a grand showing. In all likelihood this is, sadly, the last bottle …

1997 vintage

Decanted for sediment. Crimson color, slightly fading toward the rim. Nose of roasted black plum, black cherry, slightly stewed fruit, earthy top soil, wet leaves, a bit of pyrazine and tobacco. Very complex mature nose. Similar flavors on the palate showing a mix of earthy and savoury with dark red and black fruits and some sweet oak on the back end. Medium acid and tannin, mostly fully resolved. Medium length finish. Very enjoyable and an oustanding QPR. I would say …

2005 vintage

Great pepper and earthy flavors

2005 vintage

Last bottle. Ready to go on the PnP. Nose is primarily olives with ripe black raspberries. Classy texture, round mid-palate. Very much on the dark chocolate vein on the finish--toasty, high quality oak I'd surmise. Well-balanced and will keep going, but I think this has peaked and is on a plateau. I like the olive profile, for example, though it does seem less complex and more hitting its equilibrium.

2005 vintage

Started out funky but opened up a bit, lighter than I imagined, earthy fruit, nothing special, won�t find again, drank with grilled rack of lamb. After reading my prior note and other recent notesI think that this bottle was probably beyond it life or else my taste is wacky from bottle to bottle or lack of bottle consistency. Oh well.

2005 vintage

Same impressions as I posted on 5/9/17. I wish I had cases of this in my cellar!!

2005 vintage

PnD let air for 2hrs. Consistent with previous notes. Sad to see the last one go. Has evolved beautifully and drinking really well at this point. Way better than the HdV Belle Cousine.

2005 vintage

corked. disappointing as it was my last bottle.

2005 vintage

3-1/2 years since last bottle review. This has improved (or my memory is flawed). The nose of cedar/pencil shavings/bright, bold berries/floral notes, and a little barnyard at P&P was captivating enough to wish for it to be canned in an aerosol container for longer enjoyment. On the palate, it was perfection! Soft tannins, bold fresh fruit, velvet in the mouth. with a loooong finish. This bottle lasted for 90+ minutes with 4 drinking it. I wish the other 3 had …

2005 vintage

4th Saturday group uptown tasting (R&C's) : Double blind. Opens on the weedy/green side of the spectrum and doesn't really move all that much. Flavors of macerated red berry fruit linger on the palate. Medium finish. It's slightly lean through the midpalate. Would probably be better paired with a meal. Guessed cab franc dominant right bank Bordeaux.

1997 vintage

Single blind. Opens with notes of spice, black fruit- currants and cassis jam- along with cedar and violet nuances. Fully-integrated and balanced, with a mélange of red and black fruit and leather and a long, lingering finish. Terrific. Best in the flight and in the running for WOTN. This had been double decanted off its sediment about an hour before the flight was poured. Michael's wines have always struck a chord with me. If this bottle was truly representative it …

1997 vintage

sweet polished black fruit and intens on the finish.

1997 vintage

Still drinking beautifully. Needed to open up. Opened three hours in advance, decanted an hour before.

1997 vintage

Very subdued flavors even after 90 minutes. Fruit seems to be largely gone. Wine was modestly pleasant but far less than I was expecting. Fear I waited too long. I see no reason to wait another day. Drink up.

1997 vintage

Very dark and youthful appearance. The nose is fairly evolved, with the beginning of sweet decay. The palate does not deliver the complexity the aroma promises, but what it lacks in complexity it delivers in straightforward sumptuousness. There is a definite liqueur quality until a couple of hours into the decanter, but with air the liqueur becomes less obvious, and woodsmoke becomes the predominant attribute. Havens consistently delivers a lot of quality at a fair price. I am sorry to …

1997 vintage

3rd bottle of this lot that's bad - wine clearly poured out of the bottle. Purchased from Winebid.com. Not happy.

1997 vintage

Drunk with Richard Swan at my house in Wichita. No detailed notes, but I remember that while it has aged beautifully, it is on the cusp or a downhill slide.

1997 vintage

Lovely red just starting to darken to brown. Strong alcohol, overripe dark fruit, and a strong undercurrent of wildflowers on the nose. Notes of raspberry, cinnamon, Christmas spices, strong cocoa, chocolate milk, and a quick taste of blueberry before it is eclipsed by the strawberry, raspberry, and spice notes leading in to the extended chocolate milk, Indian spices, and cherry cough syrup dominated finish. The texture is very light but quite fitting. This very elegant and nuanced wine reminds me …

1997 vintage

Lots of coffee, graphite, white pepper and leather on the nose. Still prettyy tight, tannic and acidic on the palate with some white chocolate and white pepper. Surprisingly unevolved.

1997 vintage

Blind free-for-all : Tasted blind. Maturing nose with plum, chocolate, and a nice vegetal/peppercorn element. Spicy, earthy, incense palate with great acidity, smoke and nice ripe fruit. Impressive. I guessed Italian Cabernet.

1997 vintage

Great nose, big fruit and a spectacular finish.

1997 vintage

Delicious, very mellow. Mildly sweet with very evident graphite in the feel more than the taste. Buttery, creamy texture.

1997 vintage

Very ripe nose of chocolate and rich black fruit. Quite a bit of tannic bite to it on the palate - still tasting quite young and a little untamed. An hour in the glass and food to accompany the wine really began to help it to show better. Coffee, licorice and pencil lead on the nose and much more intermingled dark cherry and blackberry fruit on the palate. Still a pretty tightly wound tannic structure on a long finish. I …

1997 vintage

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Havens, Bourriquot, Napa Valley

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