Lancaster Estate, Sophia's Hillside Cuvee, Alexander Valley

Nice Bordeaux blend. Tobacco, earth, lingering finish but not that rich cab finish just a really fine Bordeaux finish. Kit likes it.

2005 vintage

Nice blend, decant is necessary

2007 vintage

A little dusty. Still has fruit but the bottle tonight, disapointing for a Sophias. Wish I could of tried this one a year or two ago.

2011 vintage

Very good

2011 vintage

Definitely a 90+ wine. Has aged well and drinking so. Muted aromas but soft, silky mouthfeel and a medium to long finish. Enjoyable.

2005 vintage

Drank over two days. Nice, but not great and not a great QPR given that I paid full retail at the winery. Still, it's nice to think back upon the time I visited.

2007 vintage

Deep ruby with medium plus aromas of black fruits, blackberry, roasted plum, savory salted pork note, and dill. The palate is full of crushed blackberry, dark plum skins, leather medium plus fine grain tannin, nicely integrated alcohol. Hitting its stride

2007 vintage

Outstanding, deep color and full mouth feel. Let this one breath for a good 90 minutes and then the talk was all about vanilla. Great with our salty strip.

2005 vintage

loved it. Fully integrated tannins. Perfectly balanced. Arguably at it's peak

2007 vintage

Hour decant; dark purple in colour; nose is composed of plums, blackberries, and some blueberries with a touch of leather. On the palate, there are blackberries and plums; some hotness is detected with a semi-dry finish. Medium bodied with a medium finish.

2007 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Velvety plum fruits at start...some tightness remained though.

2007 vintage

Brought to restaurant from my cellar. Slight level of TCA marred the wine. Overlooking that, the wine exhibits decent fruit and moderate tannins; I expect the next bottle to show nicely.

2007 vintage

Nose has a bit too much alcohol on it. Palate is better, pretty smooth, tannins coming along. I don't think this is tasting tired at all, though I'm not sure if the fruit will outlast the structure.

2007 vintage

Opened an hour before pairing with pan-seared filet mignon finished with a cabernet mushroom pan sauce. A brilliant, nearly glass-staining ruby, the powerful nose features red alpine currant, raspberry, cassis, vanilla, luxurious oak spices and a touch of alcohol. A strong attack on the palate, with excellent intensity and concentration and push through the mid-palate. Significant, oak-tinged juicy tannins are nicely integrating and provide body to this blend. The finish lags slightly behind the rest of the package, but this …

2005 vintage

Medium-dark rosewood color. A light, airy nose with a pronounced sandy aroma. Palate is light, sweet and spicy, reminiscent of cinnamon-flavored candy. This is altogether lighter-bodied and less substantial than either the Estate Cabernet or the Nicole's Vineyard. Somewhat nondescript finish, with tannins that are already receding. I enjoy this vintner's other wines but frankly, in both Napa and Sonoma, one can find far better Cabernet for the nearly $40/bottle list price. Drink now.

2007 vintage

Evolves really nicely over 2+ hours. Starts off a little tight and ends with a wonderful sandlewood nose. Still, the fruit is drying up at this point and it never really comes into full balance. I would drink up.

2007 vintage

This is starting to taste a bit tired. The nose is the usual Cabernet melange of fruit, spice and wood, but coming across fainter than before. On the palate this is fading, with washed-out fruit and limp tannins. Still sips easily enough, but it seems to be on the down slope. Would drink this up very soon.

2007 vintage

Ready to drink now.

2007 vintage

This was a pop and pour bottle and was soft out of the chute. The wine was 76% cab, 15% merlot and 9% cab franc. It was a lighter style cab than most. This was not a fruit bomb but more of a gravelly tannic structure wine. I would buy again and feel it is a classic wine label that presents well on a dinner table.

2007 vintage

Drank with Sunday night steak dinner. Decanted for 60 minutes. Very , very good wine. Muted black fruit on the nose. Well integrated tannins. Dry, hints of dust. Good black fruit on the nose but no single flavor is overpowering.

2007 vintage

Italian wines (mostly) in Sonoma (Della Santina's Tratorria) : My first time trying this wine and winery iirc. I really liked this wine. very nice nose. complex with leather, cassis and cherries. Also dusty. On the palate, this is very nice. silky. Nice acidity makes it work at the table. A slight burn on the finish that seemed to go away with some air. I don't know if this makes old bones, but it is drinking well right now. Lots …

2007 vintage

Classic Bordeaux blend crafted in the French style. Restrained.

2005 vintage

I don't have much experience with US wine, let alone California Cab, but I found this just average booze (particularly given the money). What I found most distracting was the persistence of acetone on the nose which didn't go away.

2005 vintage

Smooth fruit

2007 vintage

Dark tart, hint of vanilla, strong finish, will reorder

2007 vintage

a bit too fruit forward, not complex, will hold the rest for a couple of years

2007 vintage

A pretty good wine but not really up to other David Ramey wines. Lancaster is one of my favorite labels and I've been drinking their wines for years and my opinion adding David Ramey as the wine maker really put them on the map amongst the elites. This wine however is just OK and rather ordinary compared to past offerings. Nose id full of dark fruit and wood. In the mouth the oak dominates with spices to follow and just …

2007 vintage

Liked it enough to order more

2007 vintage

nice finish

2007 vintage

Drinking much better since last year. Medium finish

2007 vintage

Pop and pour. Consumed over 2-3 hours with little change. Tart cherry. Thin mouthfeel and acid too overpowering. Not much going on right now. Day 2 was certainly showing better and earns the 90 points. Gained some weight in the mid palate and bitter chocolate emerged. Still mainly red fruit. Acid in the finish was still somewhat sour.

2007 vintage

this is great right now. smooth long finish and will not disappoint.

2007 vintage

Very nice blend. Didn't decant but opened bottle about an hour before pouring. Ready to drink with plenty of dark fruit (cherries) and some vanilla. Tannins present but this is actually quite smooth. Will be interesting to taste rest of bottle tomorrow night.

2007 vintage

agree completely with description, esp tannins, delicious, can't wait to see it matured!; dry and full bodied, long finish reveals fruit and gets better as it opens

2005 vintage

beautiful red color with aromas of dark red fruit and some oakiness. Lighter on the palate than expected. Very Bordeaux like with delicate flavors of red fruit , and some chocolate. There was a mild grittiness with smoothing tannins on the finish. Opened well over a few hours. Very nice wine.

2005 vintage

Interesting Cab. Not a typical LOUD California cab. Understated, goes well with food, low tannins.

2005 vintage

Somewhat of a disappointment. It tasted much more full & impressive during a recent visit to the winery and so, I was holding out pretty high hopes for this revisiting. At the very best, it was an "Estate on Training Wheels"; having all the components and intrigue of their Estate bottling but ratcheted down...significantly! Where it over-performed on the aromatics, it fell a bit flat on the flavor profile. Add to that, it was drank with a decadent meal, which …

2005 vintage

Probably opened this a little early, but couldn't resist. Big and bold, but could have waited.

2005 vintage

will open with age and a long deccant. Very good wine that will improve with time.

2005 vintage

76% Cab, 24% Merlot. Almost zin like on the nose, with bing cherry, black pepper & plum. Great balance of fruit & oak tannins, touch of vanilla from the oak highlights the good fruit.

2005 vintage

Nearly the same as prior notes. Only difference is that we decanted for 1 hour. The bouquet deepened, but its still tight. Mouth feel improved from an already high quality to a smooth roundness presenting a pleasing sensation of layers.

2005 vintage

Good tannic structure for a mellow, young wine. Smokey loam and slightly ferric earth imparts sensations of the wine's terroir. Nose is still tight, consisting mostly of dark berries, plum, peat and chocolate. Comfortable mouth feel, deceptively mellow with a long finish.

2005 vintage

nice nose - full bodied with hints of raspberries - will be even bette in a few years

2005 vintage

Are you sure?

Lancaster Estate, Sophia's Hillside Cuvee, Alexander Valley

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews