Checkerboard, Kings Row, Napa Valley

Great bottle from Checkerboard. Second best wine behind a 15 Bevan Wildfoote. My lone bottle of this wine and thought it improved with air. Martha did a great job with this. Hope to find some more to try a more recent vintage. Silky integrated tannins and a plush finish on the palate. it was a pleasure to drink.

2007 vintage

Decanted and poured - didn't get a lot of air. This was the group favorite in a line-up of 3 Napa Cabs ('06 Larkmead and '08 Detert). The oak which was quite prominent at release, seems to have been mostly absorbed at this point. Dark and juicy fruit, softened tannins, long finish. While no longer my preferred style of wine, I still thought this was quite enjoyable. The rest of the group loved this, and the bottle disappeared quickly

2007 vintage

Round sweet fruit, glycerin texture, long, long ketonic finish. Might not sound enjoyable but it is! Middle aged with lots left to mature into. Moderate tannic structure, but it seems to have lots of acidity. Big wine - more sipping than food. Loads of alcohol but it has the weight to carry it off.

2008 vintage

One of the better 2011 still in my cellar. As the last CT member mentions there is a little heat but overall the wine is in a great spot to open but has plenty of life still left to be cellared. Better on day two as the wine gained some weight. Day 3 was dialed in with no decline.

2011 vintage

Good wine in a good spot. Inky purple black color. Nice viscosity. Medium acidity, with fairly resolved tannins. Tons of Black fruit (raspberry and currant) hint of menthol, vanilla oak aroma. Good mouth feel and finish. A little alcoholic heat on finish but finish had good length. Well recommended

2011 vintage

Lovely sweet nose with a hint of menthol. On the palate, this wine has a beautiful texture to it. Initial hit of cassis and black fruit, beautiful balanced by the acidity present. Very balanced. Drinking very well at the moment but probably still has 5+ years ahead of it.

2011 vintage

From my original six bottles, I have now consumed two bottles. The first was in 2016 and now the second last night. While I agree this bottle presents like a softer Bordeaux, possibly right bank as others suggested, it does not have the aging potential of the higher growths from that region. The freshness I tasted in 2016 is gone and now what has taken its place is less interesting, less distinctive. I am updating my drinking window to consume …

2011 vintage

Drinking well with an hour decant

2007 vintage

Interesting and delightful bottle - my 3rd one in the recent few months. This one was fruit forward - full bodied dark fruit. Was expecting much less. All I can say is I bought 3 from the winery and 3 from an auction and didn't know which came from which. MAYBE different barrels. No prune here at all.

2007 vintage

Same thoughts as last entry...monolithic big fruit forward with slight hint of prune. Have a couple left that I plan to finish off in the next year.

2007 vintage

This wine is drinking amazing right now. Very similar to a right bank St. Emilion Merlot. Very soft fruit with a long finish. Day two it fell off ever so slightly. PNP. Enjoy!

2011 vintage

In its drinking window. Fruit beautifully integrated, tannins subdued. Very enjoyable.

2008 vintage

Lots of sweet fruit and fairly extracted which I know may be a negative to some but I liked. 2 hour decant to begin with - 15.4% alcohol. Left half of it till morning and the heat blew off and it tasted better second day. This is my second bottle and the first was much more impressive. I have a few more so we will see...

2007 vintage

Decanted for an hour, tasted over 3 hours. Big, jammy, and noticeable tannins and acidity. Slight taint to the nose. Over all, somewhat disappointing compared to prior bottles. 89

2008 vintage

I have to say, I was impressed - so impressed that after drinking this I immediately purchased the current 2013 vintage. It speaks well of a wine that can impress in such an underperforming year (2011) - this wine exhibited very nice balance, black fruit, with tannins being present still, but mostly integrated. Drinking well now, but like most big Napa cabs, this could age for longer. Although the 1st wine, Checkerboard is clearly superior, at this point the QPR …

2011 vintage

2011 is definitely more austere in Napa but I like it. This wine has great blackberry and cassis fruit with coffee, middle eastern spices and mint. Great texture and mouthfeel. Tannins need some time I would decant if I drank again soon but a nice wine nonetheless. Recommended.

2011 vintage

Powerful Cabernet..3 hour decant. Smoky, with dark fruits and wet earth. Long finish of plum and blackberry jam. Medium + tannins ...big finish that lasts

2008 vintage

Dark opaque purple color. Nose of tobacco and cherries, maybe a little leather? Basically PnP, the fruit is recessed initially, mild taste of sour cherries, hints of leather and ?, with a velvety mouthfeel and prominent tannins. Will update after some air which I think it needs... But feel there is potential upside here with a little air

2011 vintage

Lots of life left and at the same time delicious right now. Middle of the road in terms of volume on this one. Right where I like it.

2008 vintage

LBTG - with Alan hosting : lighter in color than the other 2 wines. Cali cab nose. ripe sweet plum. with time - some chocolate. lots of oak still needs to integrate. big sweet fruit in mid. Soft rich ripe wine. not my thing but a pretty well made cali cab.

2007 vintage

we did a side by side with QTR 2012 and this was better for sure

2011 vintage

This was a surprising wine in many ways; it was not as bold and in-your-face as I was expecting. Instead, it displayed a more classic profile than that of a cult cab. Sweet notes of plums, creme de cassis, black cherry, and sage. The palate is fairly fruit driven, rich on the attack, but it mellows out on the mid palate. Medium-low acidity. A tad cloying on the finish. Not a bad wine, but I guess you could say I …

2008 vintage

Decanted for 5 hours, nice deep ruby pour, nice nose, lots of deep dark fruits , with a nice finish. Overall a very nice wine wish I had more.

2008 vintage

Decanted 5 hours ,nice dark ruby pour with a great nose , very balanced and smooth , this is a great wine it will be hard to keep my hands off the remaining bottles I have.

2008 vintage

This is a big wine that mellows as it decants. Right out the bottle it is huge and almost port like with tons of berries on the palate. The mouth feel is silky and heavy. Decanted for an hour and the fruit bomb mellows a bit and it dries a bit more most likely from the tannins. I think this is a great bottle of wine.

2008 vintage

I hope this bottle was flawed, I have been a huge fan of this wine, but this was plummy & stewed, that being said it was still drinkable but I was head over heels for previous bottles and this one not so much.

2007 vintage

Sweet oak and vanilla on the nose. Same on palate, with chocolate and cinnamon not. Round and fleshy. Tannins fully integrated. Benefits from 1+ hour decant.

2007 vintage

The color on this looked like it was ageing quickly. Brown red. The nose was nice with cassis and some complexity. On the palate, this drank younger although still seemed to be ageing more quickly than most 07's. It is very nice with some layering. Not sure it is worth what I paid, but it is a very nice Cab. I do wonder if this bottle was entirely correct or not.

2007 vintage

Garnet color as I decanted, would have pegged as older than a 2008. Tasted over about an hour. Chocolate and some tea notes on the nose, a little disjointed. Palate is red fruit with a touch of porty-ness, again a little disjointed. Medium weight. I really like Checkerboard, this is just okay as a second bottling. (This was allocation direct from winery and I don't believe a flawed bottle.)

2008 vintage

Pretty dark purple in the glass. The nose is alive with dark red fruits, coffee and really let's you know this is a big wine. The mouthfeel is really smooth and not too tannic at all so quite drinkable now. The finish is long and the favors reveal layers as you savor each glass. A great bottle of wine.

2008 vintage

Wine was uncorked to not much of a stain at all, no bleed whatsoever. Uh oh, what have I DONE? At the price paid per bottle, I expected a little more. Would have been a 97 if the wine was priced in the 70's per. The wine was decanted for an hour before even being touched. Poured a dark, dark red into the decanter. Once in the glass, the nose is INTOXICATING. Blackberry, blueberry, truffle, mocha notes. On the palate …

2008 vintage

Notes similar to last bottle. Really nice and seamless and drinking great right now. 93+

2007 vintage

Decanted for 4 hours, nice deep ruby pour , with a great nose , lots of black fruit very rich and soft ,loved this wine ,will be hard not to open the rest of them I have. Overall a great wine for the price.

2007 vintage

One hour decant... lots of primary black fruit, nuanced chocolate and oak... a big wine, but overall very well balanced and delicious.

2007 vintage

Seriously delicious right out of the bottle and got better as the night went on. If this is the second wine I await with great anticipation big brother. With uncharacteristic restraint I saved some for tonight, so will update after the Superbowl. Go Pats

2007 vintage

"Very approachable" is the best description for this. Soft and rich, mouth-coating tannins, opulent but not over-the-top.

2007 vintage

liked at the 1st sip- good

2007 vintage

Consumed over two nights. Drank well from the get go. Similar in many respects to the regular Checkerboard bottling I tried a few months ago, though definitely more approachable (the winery was right on in their description). Rich, smooth and very well made. Drink now and over next several years. Great effort, especially for a 2nd wine.

2007 vintage

Just received my Kings Row shipment and popped one open. It is very drinkable. Tastes of coffee and caramel... then later cherry (actually Madera, but softer). Looking forward to seeing how the other bottles taste in a few years.

2007 vintage

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Checkerboard, Kings Row, Napa Valley

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