Cimarossa, Riva Ponente Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain

The last one went down today. What a wine. Deep, dense and powerful. Dark plum liqueur and blackberry compote. This wine is dense and powerful. Hint of shoe leather on the nose. Darker black fruits prevail on the nose. Lots of herbal influence here. Oregano and thyme on the front with a lot of black pepper and resolving tannin on the finish. Wine has grown up and my ninth of 9 (aka the last one!!) of these just went down …

2011 vintage

Last bottle. Right on top of a bottle consumed earlier this year. Open for 1+ hours. No decant. Was very good right from the start. I have had 2024 down as the last year in the drink window for this wine. While there was no sign that it is rolling over, I do not see it getting any better from where it is. I am glad I went ahead and enjoyed it.

2011 vintage

Drinking very well. Opened for about an hour and a half with no decant. I am inclined to enjoy my last bottle before too long. I do not think it will improve any from here. Time to enjoy.

2011 vintage

I bought really big on this bottle. And, after purchasing nine, I am now down to one after this one. What a great 2011 Cabernet. Although mostly red-fruited, as a lot of the 2011 wines are that tend to otherwise be black-fruited, this wine is quite elegant, herbal, spicy, and one part delicate while also showing a very structured, complex wine that has a lot of layers. Although I think this one is probably integrated quite a bit as far …

2011 vintage

Oh the complexity! My score 94-95 is probably a point too little. The average 92.9 on this wine is QUITE A FEW POINTS too low. This one is really hitting its stride. Tobacco leaf, menthol on a backbone that is decidedly black cherry and herb. The middle gains a bit of green and black olive character to it with a bit of truffle and some grilled mushroom. Finish on this wine wasn't too astringent, especially after a few hours. This …

2011 vintage

Aging nicely, losing its boldness but gaining a soft luscious feel. Ready to drink

2011 vintage

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve said this, but this is another example of a 2011 vintage Napa cab that is just absolutely superb! I’ve had a few 2011 Cimarossa offerings and each one has been a highlight of the vintage. At pop and pour, I couldn’t believe the profile this was showing...it reminded me of a Ridge Montebello aromatically, as if I had tasted this blind I would have called some use of American oak wrapped in truly …

2011 vintage

My last of these wonderful mountain fruit '11s from Cimarossa. Beautiful cab nose with dark red/black fruit, perfectly integrated tannins and acidity. Moderately heavy weight and depth. There is just the slightest hint of greenery/herbs on the ending. I mean really slight, as all here know by now I hate green pepper. This ending has nothing like that. Just a pleasant ever so slight dash of rosemary/sage? Fun to drink with sirloin sliders.....

2011 vintage

Still over the top Cabernet. Served with prime New York strips that melted in your mouth, Nebraska corn fed beef, and the wine paired extremely well with them. Acid is still present in this vintage so accents the fat of the steaks. Not sure there is better pairing. Yummy wine with plenty time still on it.

2011 vintage

Opened tonight. And, I feel like a broken record saying that here is ANOTHER great 2011 considering the "damned vintage" that this one received press for being. I have 43 more 2011 Napa wines and I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing the same thing another 43 times. Not powerful, but these wines truly show the complexity that Napa cab CAN be. Nose of iodine, black licorice. Very front of this wine is sweeter black cherry giving …

2011 vintage

This is drinking right now, the best it ever has. What a great nose! Perfumed like few other Napa cabs can be! Great mountain fruit, dark berry....ummmm. Not great depth or length to it but it is quite good. 2nd WOTN with my bro on our birthday weekend.

2011 vintage

From the "damned" 2011 vintage comes this 95 point Mia Klein wine from Cimarossa. Nose of dark chocolate, black licorice, and walnuts. Entry is thick, reductive, dark black fruit, plum, sweeter front. Middle is dominated by chocolate and hints of spice. Tannic finish has softened somewhat but still more on the stiff than resolved side. A little herbal notes on the finish. Nice acidity and great balance. Held back on giving this a 96 for some reason, but I still …

2011 vintage

Deep, dark Ruby color. Nose expresses fruit, wood and soil. Surprisingly, still a touch hot, though it burned off with a 2 hour decant. Flavors of red fruit leathers and barrel woods stand out in a palate that is well balanced and subtly outstanding. Finish is medium long. Drinking very well now.

2011 vintage

This is the first of 3 bottles. I see some earlier reviewers were not excited by this one in the past. I believe it has come around and see it evolving to the WA rating. This bottle was consumed at a restaurant without a decant. Perhaps it would live up to the WA rating right now with a decant.

2011 vintage

This wine was a baaaaaaad mofo tonight! Uncorked to a black stain on the cork with visible sediment. The nose of this wine was flowing out of the bottle. From 6-12 inches away you could smell the gingerbread cookie, dark black fruits, some fig, and just smelled spicy! The entry of this wine is black fruit with perhaps a hint of green pepper. Full bodied wine on the entry. The middle is where this one actually took a dive to …

2011 vintage

Murdered this bottle tonight. Served pop and pour. Lots of blueberry, blackberry middle, and black pepper spice on the finish. Quite tannic as well, but lots of spice at finish. Tasted alongside a 2010 Cab Franc from Rutherford, and you could easily see the restraint that this one had (as this bottle was very closed), and WAY WAY not ready to go yet. It still drank very well, and if I had to rate it right now I'd give it …

2011 vintage

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Cimarossa, Riva Ponente Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain

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