Arkenstone, Nvd Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

My Second Tasting at The Vine Club (Atlanta, GA) : Tasting at The Vine Club - mainly California wines. 40 wines in one hour. Mainly just my quick scores and some background on the wine. According to the rep, this wine is always a 100% Cabernet. They source from high-end vineyards across Napa Valley with an addition of a nice backbone of their own Howell Mountain Cabernet. The vineyards are Highmark, Amoenus and Godward which the last one is a …

7/28/22 1st bottle took to dinner at John and Michele's home. the wine was excellent. The fruit offered an awesome expression of tannins it was still too young

90 minute decant. Garnet red in the glass. Floral and toasted bread aromas leading to flavors of red and blue fruits, dark chocolate, toasted caramel, cocoa and cinnamon. Rich, vibrant and complex with good depth. Nicely balanced with a velvety, sophisticated texture. Smooth, silky, moderately long finish. Approachable now with sufficient air and some upside potential for further cellaring. Very enjoyable.

Not even close to the 2016. For a c-note, this was disappointing. One and done-hope the 2018 is better.

Deep purple color. Nicely balanced, good structure with medium tannins. Dark fruit, plums, and cherries.

Napa - All my COVID finds; 4/29/2021-5/5/2021 (Napa) : Really enjoyed this on the initial sip but over time it started to feel a bit primary. I would say it is good for the price but when you have Ontogeny for the same thing its hard to justify.

3 days in Napa: Arkenstone, Memento Mori, Maxem, The French Laundry, Christopher Tynan, Kinsman, Harlan, Vice Versa, Accendo, Fairchild, Macdonald, and a truckload of others (Napa) : Higher-toned and red-fruited on entry, with cranberry puckering the tip of the tongue on the first flash of the initial entry, quickly giving way to an instantly easy-going fruity mid-palate. Finishes with a slight bite of alcohol. Give this some air or another year or so in the cellar to smooth out. An …

One hour in glass before drinking. Deep dark purple-hued magenta. Cherry, red currant, raspberry, and cocoa on the nose. Very smooth, dry palate. Firm tannins on the longish finish. Very nice considering the poor vintage.

Wanted to give my mountain dwelling friends 2017s a try - this does have a very fruit forward nose, even on PnP, cassis, blackberry jump out. But the fun stops there - unfortunately this is way out of balance, the palate doesn’t match the nose, I was expecting a push of mountain fruit but I get more tart berry with acid being overly strong; giving it a day and the acid has faded and there is a bit of chocolate …