Michael-David Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Last of the 3-bottle auction lot and showed the best of the 3. As described on the back label (it says that it's a feature of the vineyard influence), this Cab shows quite a bit of cedar on the nose and palate. Really nice depth of fruit, mouthfeel, and balance. Really interesting and enjoyable. Sorry to see this gone, as I'm sure the vineyard source is now tract homes, much too valuable real estate to grow grapes (not named Napa). …

This bottle showed better fruit than the first bottle of the auction lot. Not dried out at all. However, a telltale "wet cardboard" note was definitely present indicating the presence of a small amount of cork taint. Was not overwhelming, so the bottle was actually drinkable, but the TCA really distracted from the enjoyment. Shame.

14.5% abv. 1st of 3 bottles from recent auction purchase. Initially, the nose was reductive and off-putting, but it cleared up after a half hour of slow-oxing, though it was not particularly aromatic or remarkable. On the palate, cedar notes dominated and oak tannin was abundant - this seemed to be in a dried-out stage of its life, like most of the fruit has already faded out. Still, this wasn't terrible and was actually an enjoyable and interesting drink, and …

Quite a surprise, this cellar found did not disappoint. Some notes of eucalyptus and cassis, as well as some slight tertiary notes. Medium bodied the wine still has some freshness and shows the ageworthiness of Cali Cabs from the Santa Cruz region.

I am so surprised no one has rated this great wine since 2010. I bought this bottle upon release, stored it in perfect conditions and found it to be drinking remarkably well. Medium nose and colour, with an above-average use of oak, the fruit has settled in very nicely here with strong a typical Cali nose of stewed fruit, tobacco, and baking spices. Tannins are medium, but present enough to make me think this is a 10yr wine at this …

Average in almost every respect. Needs about 45 minutes of air to smoothe out a bit. After that, some earthy tones draped around blackberry fruit. Finishes a little ruggedly. Drink now through 2012.

We drank 2 bottles of David Bruce Cabernet. Excellent!!

We liked it. More to follow