Was given this as a gift today from the office staff. Must admit, I have heard of Plumpjack, but have never tasted. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Thanks.

China,
Should be a good bottle of juice. I would say hold for at least three or four years. I've had the 95, 95 reserve, 96 and 97. All tasty. I'm holding what little I have remaining for somewhere down the line. The 95 reserve was killer about 3-4 months ago.
Hope this helps.
The bottle is somewhere in the neighborhood of $40-50. So your staff appreciates you.

Thanks for the notes. And yes, my staff appreciates me. I took them to lunch yesterday b/c I was in such a good mood that i got the unexpected promotion. Burgers and Beers for all! The Plumpjack was a congratulatory gift, which I greatly appreciate.

I have 2 97's, one is a reserve, the other the regular napa cab. I had the 97 napa cab about a year ago and it was a huge, thick, turn your toungue black, basically a mouthfull of tannins. I'm not opening any of the 97's for a couple years at least.

I had the pleasure of being introduced to PlumpJack wines at the Rutherford Grill. My wife and I ordered a bottle of the '97 Oakville and the whole room which previously smelled of grilled meats suddenly was reaking of blackberries. The wine was not decanted, if it had we would have passed out from the fruit vapors. This wine is a bomb. I have only two bottles in my cellar, they may not be uncorked for several years. Great stuff, very intimidating to the Cabernets made around the whole world.

Bart

I saw the 1997 Reserve on a restaurant wine list last week for $300. I later checked the rating and was surprised that it was only rated a RMP 90!
Is this an example of an overpriced California garage wines?

IMO, the reserves seem to command the prices they do because of the half screwcap, half cork bottling. Big deal. The "estate" wine is a better value, but approaching the $60 mark. The best thing about PlumpJack cabs are the distinctive aromas and flavors that resound "Oakville Crossroad." Silver Oak, Raymond, Groth and Turnbull(a personal favorite) have it too. My tastes find them dusty and cedary with rich ripe dark fruits. Yum!

It is almost too early in the day for me to be day-dreaming about cabs. But not really!

Bart

Note that Raymond isn't on the Oakville CR, but Zinfandel lane. Close enough!

Bart

So has anyone popped a 99 yet? Don't see any 99 TNs above in this thread.

I had a half bottle of this at a restaurant tonight...$50 off their list. It was very tight upon first taste but seemed to open up quite a bit over the two hours I was there. It turned into a very nice cab with good black cherry, plum and tobacco...dusty tannins seemed to come through as time wore on. I really enjoyed it. It was suggested by the waiter over the '99 Archery Summit Pinot Noir...the wine was driving my food decision and he suggested the plumpjack...i agreed....anyway, it is a very nice bottle of cab. I want to try the marquis phillips cab now and see how it compares...i think i'll prefer the plumpjack despite the disparity in parker ratings...but who knows.