Delectus, Cuvee Julia, Napa Valley

A bit past peak--no surprise. Nonetheless popular with the Thanksgiving crowd. If you have any left, drink now.

2006 vintage

fantastic

2013 vintage

Delicious red blend from Gerhart!!

2013 vintage

$100+ Blind Tasting (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA) : Black core with thin garnet rim; inky, vanilla bean, black fruit, eucalyptus, powerful and very full bodied; sticks out a bit in the tasting tonight but we've had a wide variety already.

2010 vintage

I want to post a tasting note right after opening the bottle and pouring a few ounces, because I was immediately impressed with outstanding characteristics of this wine. Dark, opaque, dense body, rich fruit, plenty of smooth tannins. A real treat to drink. I will edit this note with more specifics.

2010 vintage

terrific after a brief decant.

2010 vintage

Decanted for approximately an hour...muted nose of blackberry jam and black cherries which opened more with time. Opulent and unctuous and still quite primary. Could go for another 5 years if need be. This is a yummy one for sure. Some back notes of dark chockolate, baking spice, and some mild tobacco. Full bodied with a nice soft finish. Drink or hold.

2010 vintage

Very very smooth. Silky tannin. Fruity but not over the top. PnP and singing right out of the bottle. Would love to try other vintages. 96+ My highest score wine...so far!

2009 vintage

Cork disintegrated upon opening but I was able to remove it in pieces. Strained the rest with a few flecks of cork. Garnet color with slight bricking. Still with powerful dark fruit, black currant, black raspberry, just a hint of earthy tobacco. Secondary flavors really starting to shine. Tannins are soft and silky. In a good drinking window. Expect fruit to fade and secondary flavors to become more dominant in the next 2-3 years.

2006 vintage

It's probably not going to get any better. Tannins are fully resolved. Tastes older than it would seem on the nose. Black fruit, just black. Almost a roasted black plum, black cherry cola, slate. Paired well with NY strips. Pretty massive wine in a new world style. Might have a couple more years before it starts to go south. Not as good as other vintages I've had of this wine.

2010 vintage

Still very good. Smooth!

2000 vintage

Either this wine is in a shut down phase or it is just not that good. Had a flawed bottle that was replaced by the winery so I was anticipating this to be much better but it is dissapointing to say the least. Typical Delectus meaty aromatics with some chocolate and dark berry fruit but muted and never really giving much. Big let down for the price. I’ve had $40 bottles that blew this away. Earlier vintages seem to be …

2010 vintage

Complex wine with dark fruit and chocolate. WOTN at a wine dinner. Drinking beautifully.

2006 vintage

Tons of structure, with still very strong tannins. Definitely needs more time, but is very solid right now.

2013 vintage

Cork disintegrated upon opening and had to strain to remove. Not sure if that sucked the life out of the wine or what but not particularly impressed.

2006 vintage

Relative to my prior note from 2015, this has become more approachable but is still very much full of life. Benefited considerably from 2+ hours of decanting, with rich, dark fruit notes on the palate and, most remarkably, plenty of balanced acidity and strong but well integrated tannins. Moderate-to-long finish. Paired beautifully with short ribs cooked for eight hours in a slow-cooker.

2006 vintage

Once it opened up from decanting it became full bodied with berry, chocolate, and hints of leather. A delicious wine that went well with the pork filets I had for dinner.

2006 vintage

Drinking in a wonderful place right now. Still has time left but it is gorgeous summer of '16.

2006 vintage

Nice balanced wine built for many more years, decanted full bodied silky tannins and loads of fruit.

2009 vintage

Tasted at Delectus St. Helena location

2013 vintage

Tasted at Delectus Napa location

2013 vintage

The previous notes are all pretty accurate. It's a smooth blend. Light. A little fruity. It most definitely needs a 2+ hour decant. Changes a lot from opening to the 4 hour time period. Have it with food. Not a sipping wine.

2006 vintage

Upon opening, very dark color, more like a young Brunello; on the palate, overextracted fruit bomb with too much heat (alcohol at 16.1%) and plenty of wood. After 3 hours of decanting, transformed considerably, gaining much more balance and joy, to my surprise. Paired nicely with a T-bone steak and grilled eggplants. Tannins are meaty for this age; can easily be cellared for additional 5, if not 10, years.

2006 vintage

great wine, smooth, elegant, sumptuous on the mid palate and no after-taste.

2006 vintage

Nice cork pull, stained just on the bottom, no infiltration, but ugh...the first sip was incredibly tannic. If I was a novice I would have poured this down the drain. But the key word is patience. this wince changed so much dung the time I opened it and pure into the glass. First thing it did was to lose all the tannic harshness, then the fruit came forwards and I became a beautiful and balanced wine. I feel this wine …

2006 vintage

Decanted at restaurant and consumed over the next 2-3 hours. Drinking great right now. Taste and nose of dark fruit and tobacco. Medium finish.

2006 vintage

one of the best cabs I've ever had, coats the mouth with a wonderful feel and the finish goes on forever.

2010 vintage

Three hour Vinturi decant and rebottle for transit to restaurant with 45 minute slow-ox at table. Great smoky dark fruit nose; full bodied but not even a flash of heat despite the label's stated ABV. Palate is a well-balanced mix of dark berries, plum, fig and currant with a touch of minerality mid-palate. There was the faintest touch of anise on the medium finish. We've loved this since release, purchased more during their Black Friday sale, and thank Julia herself …

2006 vintage

50+5+14+18+8 What a nose! Decanted about 60 minutes, aromas were present from two feet away while decanting. Full bodied, high alcohol, M+ tannin, beautiful ruby day bright with slight rim variation. No flaws, no signs of gas. Light sediment. Nose of ripe juicy blackberry, ripe black plum, dried roasting herbs, vanilla extract, smoke, black licorice. Palate agrees with nose and adds ripe black cherry, shale, dill, black currant jam, some baking spice. There's a lot going on here, nice complexity, …

2006 vintage

Tasted at winery visit.

2010 vintage

Excellent blend. Big on the nose. The alcohol level is definitely up there but it mellows very fast. You know it's a blend from the first sip. Nice balance of cab and other varietals. If it was half the price, I would buy several cases.

2009 vintage

Still very good after all these years, but needs decanting for at least an hour or so. Tannins are mellowing, but still has power and finesse. Drink within next year or two.

2000 vintage

- Fast forming legs. It's in total harmony with a medium/full body. Polished texture with a long finish - Terrific Wine. Decanted for 90 minutes, well balanced with a great finish.

2006 vintage

red Bordeaux blend ruby in colour, massive. 16.1% ABV but not really noticeable plummy, with significant tannin surprisingly balanced, but with some heat on the back end can keep for fair few years yet

2006 vintage

Drank at private Delectus tasting in Katy, TX.

2009 vintage

At BCC with family. Aerated 60 minutes. Smooth, fruit forward, balanced.

2006 vintage

Tasted during Napa trip 10/1/13 thru 10/3/13.

2009 vintage

A huge wine with black fruit, vanilla, and huge tannins. Tasted blind and we all thought this was a 2009 or 2010 cab from napa. From napa yes, but drinking very young. Still has life ahead of it.

2000 vintage

Drinking window says until 2012, but this is drinking exceptional right now, and don't think it's ready for calling past it's time. I'd say it has another couple years

2000 vintage

Tasted blind at a party, I was not able to take my usual notes on this wine. However, it had classic Napa bright cherry fruit. The wine making was impressive as this bottle was quite well balanced with good length. Obviously, it was quite young and still a bit primary. Overall, this was nice wine and seemed to have a bright future. However, given that there is not a long track record here, it is hard to say with confidence. …

2006 vintage

Barrel tasting

2009 vintage

Wonderfully smooth

2006 vintage

Outstanding showing from Delectus (again). During a wild game dinner in Denver we opened several fantastic wines over the course of the evening; this was clearly the WOTN.

2006 vintage

A very good wine from a spotty vintage. The tannins are fading, so I would finish in the nex 2-3 years.

2000 vintage

Very dark purple all the way to the rim. The aromas are a wonderful mix of black currant, cherry and vanilla. Across the palate the fruit really shines with black cherry, plumb stew, and blackberry. There is a lot going on but everything in it's place and working very well together. Outstanding. More at http://encompasswine.wordpress.com/

2006 vintage

2009 California Barrel Tasting (Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Washington DC) : Fruit forward nose and taste with pleasant caramel and vanilla ending notes. Someone also described it as "cocoa butter" which worked too. Very much in harmony now with plenty of aging potential. The was one of our WOTN. The 2007 could surpass it in time...

2006 vintage

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Delectus, Cuvee Julia, Napa Valley

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