Lail Vineyards, Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Appearance is black with no showing of visible aging. Nose: A little funky, musky and earthy. Palate: Full mouth coat but only front and mid palate with flavors of tobacco, leather, dark cacao, coffee and prunes. Long finish with black licorice kicking in. Although I enjoyed, especially with the Porterhouse I had alongside, and might buy again depending on price however I would look for better options.

2008 vintage

Tasted immediately with no decant and found it open and accessible. Soft black fruit, with a touch of cedar, and spice. Full and a little sweetness. Excellent.

2010 vintage

dark ruby core, ruby rim, in color. currants, raspberry, blueberry, licorice, earth, herbal, spice, medicinal. the aromas work, the palate is missing.

2008 vintage

A little tight but after an hour it was a great wine. Got it as a gift so hoping that I get more of it as a gift. At $65 it's a decent value.

2010 vintage

Passed prime; really little depth or structure remaining. While fine to open late into a party, we poured this out.

2008 vintage

Decanted one hour. Lots of sediment left in bottle. Colour is medium-dark purple. Good balance of primary and tertiary flavours. Full bodied, XD. Low tannins. Acidity is spot on. Paired well with steak. Nice but overpriced at $70 CAD.

2010 vintage

Not real complex or memorable, but a nice drink for sure. A tad tart on opening with a beautiful aroma. Very bright taste. Could use 1-3 more years of age I believe. If drinking now, give it at least 2-3 hours of air. Be advised, there's a ton of sediment. Update 8/9: after sitting for seven days on nitrogen, this was much improved. Bumped score one point. I've experienced this before with my nitrogen storage system. That is, the wine …

2010 vintage

Mature Bordeaux- like nose of old wood, cigar, dark fruit. Wine is still well composed though not quite as tasty as it was two years ago. Medium weight with fading fruit and fine grained tannins. Very tasty with flank steak, This would be less enjoyable if consumed without food.

2008 vintage

Dark fruit, well balanced. Smooth.

2008 vintage

Pop and pour from 750. Followed over 2.5 hours. Solid wine that's absolutely outstanding for the vintage. Tea and light tobacco on the nose, ripe red fruit with dark berries in the background. Really in a solid place, well-balanced and in/near its peak.

2010 vintage

WineLA event: Cabernet College (Downtown Los Angeles) : Tasted blind. This was very very dark and had a sick nose. This was super acidic and ripe. The flavors escalated at the finish and really attacked the palate.

2010 vintage

Pop and pour from a 375. Leather, earth on the nose, very bordeaux-like overall. In the back nine of its life (at least in this format) but very enjoyable. Drink during 2017

2008 vintage

Well balanced nose with earthly notes of leather, lavender and black currants. This wine has been cleared for 3 yeas, but was still a bit tannic at first. Once it opened up, it displayed multiple pairing options and was very sipable after the food was gone.

2010 vintage

Decanted and allowed to breathe for an hour; followed over 75 mins. None of the green notes seen earlier this year via coravin. Dark berries seem a little watered-down, good strength / depth for the vintage. Good wine overall, solid execution for a '10

2010 vintage

Pop and pour from .375; Nose is muted with tight red fruit. While the wine seems rich with dark red fruit on the front palate, this quickly fades. Light mid-palate with mature red fruit, modest spice and black pepper. Much more enjoyable than my last CV'd bottle, this should be consumed in a 375 and probably has another 2-3 years in larger formats.

2008 vintage

Coarvin'd a large glass. Deep coloring and much richer profile than the '10 Lewelling Wight earlier this evening. Slight alcohol and eucalyptus on the nose as well. Early sips are cold out of the cellar and the wine is both dry and quite tannic. Mild green notes evident mid-side palate, but they're overpowered by red cherry as the wine opens up. Might have benefited from a little decant time. Will drink the balance of the bottle this summer to monitor …

2010 vintage

Previously coravin'd bottle gone bad. I'm really beginning to wonder about the safe of a coravin as this is the 3rd or 4th bottle I've had that has deteriorated SIGNIFICANTLY after using a CV

2008 vintage

Pop and pour from 375. Dark fruit, muted earth, dust on the palate. Bright fruit but medium-heavy weight with dusty tannins. Tobacco, cola, clove. In a very good place at preset.

2008 vintage

Nice improvement over last tasting ~8 months ago. Side-by-side in both standard Reidel stems, and coravin'd a sample from a 750 to sample alongside the 375 that I opened tonite. The Reidel stem provided a more concentrated boquet of watery blackberry, vanilla and faint, young oak. The Spigelau stem showed more muted aromas of the same though the oak was barely noticeable. Same notes are evident on the palate, with a nice tannic layering providing structure and a medium+ finish …

2008 vintage

Popped and poured. This wine is in a beautiful place! Wonderful fruit forward, not too bright, blueberry and dark berry flavors, with a strong backbone and structure, warm tannins and toasty spice and long finish. This wine pairs wonderfully with food, in our case a hanger steak. Drink now.

2008 vintage

Pop and pour from a 375, followed over 3 hours. Consistent with last tasting, this is an enjoyable wine but is lacking the layers, complexity and finish one would hope to find in a calicab. Dark plum, watery blackberry, flower/lilac notes. Overall this tastes like a really good wine that has been watered-down a bit; lots of nice components but missing depth, structure and finish. While this may go longer than my 2017 drinking window, I'll pop a 750 before …

2008 vintage

One of my favorite "go to" cabs, this is drinking very well right now and shaping up to be a great vintage (not unexpectedly).

2010 vintage

No rating. PNP I like Lail's wines. This is way to young to be drunk. Large fruit profile, red and black fruit. i get cherry pie. Also, an unusual zing to it like almost effervescent. Must need some time to settle in. Second bottle consumed. Much smoother this time around, I thought. Went nicely with rib eye. Characteristic Melka richness. Nice wine, would buy again

2010 vintage

Smooth smooth smooth, with medium to heavy mouth feel, long finish. Dark fruit flavor, but very well balanced. Very nice wine, glad I have one more bottle.

2008 vintage

Poured 2/3 of bottle into decanter and consumed over the following 2 hours. Dark purple/black coloring, tight-grained wood, vanilla and black plum / blackberry on the nose. Silky mouthfeel with fine tannins and more tight wood/oak. Dark fruits are very strong, wine lingers on the palate a solid 30 seconds. Very nice, no mistaking this for anything but a CaliCab.

2010 vintage

Nose - tannic, blueberry, full on Cali fruit bomb. Over extracted. No finesse. I've had worse but I've had many better. No way this is a 92 or 93. One day Parker's influence on the American public (and winemaking styles) will wane. Overpriced.

2010 vintage

Getting better as it ages...

2008 vintage

from winemaker Philippe Melka, the pedigree on this wine is pretty impressive, owner came from Dominus, super connected in Napa. This has a lot going on, layers, power, supple tannins, classic Napa style but not overoaked. Very well made.

2010 vintage

Very nice. Opaque with a dark crimson color. Nose is a sultry tobacco and sour cherry nose. Medium mouth feel with velvety tannins. Drinking well right now. 5+13+17+8=93

2010 vintage

Dark fruit - cheery and plum with liquorice . Balance tannin - very pleasant to drink.

2008 vintage

Great minerality and herbacious notes even at such an early stage for this impressive Cab. Accessible, yet with plenty of structure.

2010 vintage

very nice wine...

2008 vintage

From a 375, used a vinturi to help it open up as it was closed upon opening. Blue fruit, vanilla and oak on the nose; fruit-driven profile with blackberry, black cherry, more vanilla and oak. Tastes youthful and has the structure to come into its own, but it doesn't seem to have progressed much in the year since my last tasting. Maybe I'll give this 90 mins in a decanter when I next pop a bottle.

2008 vintage

The 2008 Blueprint exhibits medium to full body, dark ruby/purple color, somewhat subdued black current and black cherry fruits accented with hints of licorice and roasted herbs with soft delicate tannins on a modest finish.

2008 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Has some pencil lead and deep dark fruit which gives way to oak and a long smooth finish. Oak well balanced as are the tannins.

2008 vintage

Needs time. A bit astringent on the early going. You can taste some great big fruit, but it lacks complexity. Each of he favors feels independent. Maybe time will improve that but it's not obvious. Despite all of this this is a nice wine.

2008 vintage

nice

2008 vintage

Medium bodied cab. Expressive dark fruit on the nose. Astringent cherry finish.

2008 vintage

Slightly astringent upon opening, stays that way for much of the 2.5 hr drinking window. Strong dark fruit and berry flavors but they're not yet "gelling" to create a cohesive structure. Nice....yes. Needs more time.....YES!!

2008 vintage

Dark fruit, chocolate and cocoa. Very nice

2008 vintage

Pop and pour from a .375. Tar, cassis and mocha on the nose. Medium+ weight, very sweet on first blush. Blue fruit comes into play, softening the too-sweet first impression. This is very good now and should become much better as the wine integrates.

2008 vintage

Are you sure?

Lail Vineyards, Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews