Parallel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Great, red cherry and oak, delicious. Anniversary wine

2017 vintage

Retail $110. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. 334 cases. Big Ass Bottle. With all of the big, powerful Cabs coming out of Napa, this wine from Philippe Melka and Parallel is a delightful departure from the apparent norm. Sure, there is plenty of fruit aromas (black and blue berry, plum) along with dark spice, a hint of mocha, and lavender that emit from this inky dark elixir but it is decidedly restrained. The palate is rich and coats the mouth, but it …

2017 vintage

Drank during virtual tasting with winery. First experience with this brand. This Cab was very light, elegant and “feminine”. Not a huge, big chewy Cab but delicate notes of red fruits, florals and light vanilla. Some mocha flavors at the end. Well balanced and nice finish. Paired it with some dry salumi from Pannevina (recommendation from winery). Very nice. More time in the bottle would probably be best for this wine. ** we did not decant the wine but popped …

2017 vintage

Drank over a week. Still somewhat tight but opened up.

2003 vintage

Drank for my birthday. This was much better than my last bottle and again drinking nicely. One left to consume over the next year or so.

2003 vintage

Same notes as before...solidly good cab, drink up. We'll drink our last soon. Max Power is right, give it plenty of time, at least two hours, to open before drinking.

2003 vintage

This was not nearly as good as my last bottle. It had a barnyard funk that never blew off and had a slight brett taste. I think these have peaked and would drink up. i have two left and I will drink them in the near future.

2003 vintage

Just had the '03 Parallel after the '07 last Saturday, and the '06 last night (Wednesday). The '07 was my wine of the night at a quarterly wine comparison against the '07 Caymus, '07 Isosceles, '07 Coho Headwaters, and '07 Kalinda. The '03 tonight was quite closed initially, took 1.5 hours to open up and start singing. A nice wine, smooth, with grippy tannins and excellent finish, but was a bit short of the upfront fruit found on the '06 …

2003 vintage

This was an enjoyable CA cab. The fruit was not overly intense, the alcohol not over powering and there was some licorice, leather and tobacco to add some nice layers of complexity. There are some oak tannins that are not integrated and from the smoothness of the fruit I don't believe we'll get full integration of the oak tannins before the fruit fades. Great with chocolate.

2003 vintage

This has peaked so drink up. It takes a little bit of time to open up but once it has, it's very nice. The fruit has mellowed a bit but it's even and completely integrated with a nice finish. The fruit has retracted a bit so it's not a huge cali cab at this point but it's very smooth and delicious.

2003 vintage

This has rounded out and settled down and a really nice drink with good ripeness but appropriate structure and alcohol in check. This is a very solid Cali cab

2003 vintage

Cali Winemakers Offline - Barrett, Browne, Kurtzman, Melka and Masyczek (Brentwood, CA) : Ripe and unctuous with notes of black raspberries, black cherries, and sweet tobacco.

2003 vintage

A stunning, well rounded and purely enjoyable California Cab. No wonder Wine Spectator said Parallel was one of the "up and comming" cab makers of 2008. Lovely stuff.

2003 vintage

This was my first day back to drinking wine after 2 weeks. This was also the last day of taking some medicine. As a result, my taste buds are not quite in order. A strong meat and balsamic nose; dark and smokey, slightly hot, with some citrus tastes but never quite opened up. Tight but not too tannic. Needs air time, but still seemed just OK. I would like to try this again with a 2-3 hour decant.

2003 vintage

This has potential to be very nice. Needs alot of time.

2003 vintage

One more bottle down. Just a delight to drink. Smooth, silky finish - I think of this as a wine "drinkers" wine, it's truly enjoyable to work trough the bottle, and as my glass emptied, I found myself quickly reaching back to the bottle to fill it back up. A really good Cab and a great bargain at this price point. I’ll stick with my earlier review - 93. This wine will shine in after a few years of cellaring, …

2003 vintage

Premier Bottling. Very nice wine - great value @ $44/btl. Other wines by Philippe Melka are much more expensive. Bordeaux styling - 82% Cab Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, aged for 22 months in new french oak. Medium dark garnet in color, complicated aromas of fruit and earth, full flavored with balanced tannins. The finish of a really good bordeaux. The wine will become great with five years in my cellar. I will order more of the '03 and future vintages as …

2003 vintage

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Parallel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

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