Bang up wine. Opened a bottle for my wife's birthday weekend, and we finished it up over two days.
Not much else to add in the way of notes, except maybe 1/2 t of hard sediment at bottle bottom. Delicious, big licorice, big smooth fruit, round, fat, drinking really well, especially with a few minutes of air. Love this stuff. Drink or hold for a few. 95pts.
Have always enjoyed this wine, from having to decant "at noon and hope your guests don't arrive for dinner" to more recently being able to pop and pour. Wonderful wine.
On April 12th, thought it held its own with the two single vineyards.
On April 12th, thought it held its own with the two single vineyards.
People still drink this swill?
- 2001 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (9/18/2009)
This drank very well tonight- a powerhouse rich dark cali cab that didn't overwhelm with oak. An hour or 2 in the decanter really smoothed this out and gave it some charm as well as power. I'm impressed with this right now- no hard edges, not overly sweet, not too obvious. I'll try to save my last another couple of years, I feel like this one may have turned a corner and is starting to come out of a middle-aged funk (wish I could!). (92 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
The evolution of this wine has been most interesting. My notes have it as being hard and charmless in early 2008, but softening up in the 6 months (2 bottles). My prediction in 2006 was that it needed 5 more years. That might end up as true, surprising since that was clearly a WAG at the time (wild-ass-guess). I have only 1 left, I hope I remember to keep if for a couple more years!
Of the 4 vintages I have had from 2001 - 2004, the 01 is definitely my favourite.
quote:Originally posted by steve8:
Of the 4 vintages I have had from 2001 - 2004, the 01 is definitely my favourite.
+1, by a longshot, followed by '04. Thanks for the TN grossie.
- 2001 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (11/28/2009)
Decanted for about an hour prior to serving. Really expressive nose with tons of sweet dark berries. Good fruit on the palate that is nicely balanced and easy to drink. Plenty of structure left so there is no rush to drink here. A well made wine no doubt, but I found it a bit one dimensional and boring. (90 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
quote:Originally posted by GlennK:
A well made wine no doubt, but I found it a bit one dimensional and boring. .
Amen brother. You can say that about so many wines today.
90-94: Outstanding; a wine of superior character and style
quote:Originally posted by TBird:
90-94: Outstanding; a wine of superior character and style
Yep... you can put a different label on many of these wines, but they still all taste the same.
sorta like orange juice and champagne? 
quote:Originally posted by wine+art:
Yep... you can put a different label on many of these wines, but they still all taste the same.
quote:Originally posted by TBird:
sorta like orange juice andChampagnesparkling wine ?quote:Originally posted by wine+art:
Yep... you can put a different label on many of these wines, but they still all taste the same.
Just had the 03 and 04 day before Thanksgiving. The 03 was my last and was really drinking well. Found it better than the 04.
Still drinking well from half bottles. 90
- 2001 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/19/2009)
Decanted for one hour; very nice nose of plum and currant, with mild vanilla and nice herbal notes; more purple fruit on the palate; the tannins are well-integrated; good structure/balance; medium finish. It seems to be near its peak, but certainly has 2-3 more years of drinkability ahead. (91 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
I bought the hell out of this wine in 2003 and tracked it over five years. It was at its best upon release when it was a tannic fruit-bomb of incomparable depth and complexity. It steadily lost its appeal there after - more or less fell apart - although one bottle developed interesting cinnamon and chocolate notes at a Yosemite camping trip in October 2008. This is not really a criticism of the wine-making. Many, if not most, Cali cab are at their best upon release. This was a 93 point wine when it dropped. By contrast, it took five years for the 2002 to develop into a 92 point wine. Didn't care for the 2003... I have one bottle each of the 2004 & 2005, but haven't found time to try either. Perhaps my tastes have moved on, but I would love to re-experience that first sip of the 2001 when it was brand new - perhaps in my next wine-tasting life.
quote:Originally posted by RedMeat:
I bought the hell out of this wine in 2003 and tracked it over five years. It was at its best upon release when it was a tannic fruit-bomb of incomparable depth and complexity. It steadily lost its appeal there after - more or less fell apart - although one bottle developed interesting cinnamon and chocolate notes at a Yosemite camping trip in October 2008. This is not really a criticism of the wine-making. Many, if not most, Cali cab are at their best upon release. This was a 93 point wine when it dropped. By contrast, it took five years for the 2002 to develop into a 92 point wine. Didn't care for the 2003... I have one bottle each of the 2004 & 2005, but haven't found time to try either. Perhaps my tastes have moved on, but I would love to re-experience that first sip of the 2001 when it was brand new - perhaps in my next wine-tasting life.
I completely agree with you about the 01 RedMeat. By far the best showing I had of it was the first time, back in March 2004. I drank my last bottle recently, and while tasty, it was not the wow of that first bottle.
quote:although one bottle developed interesting cinnamon and chocolate notes at a Yosemite camping trip in October 2008
That's really quite common when you put wine in the same tin cup you just had hot chocolate in.
quote:Originally posted by mountainman:quote:although one bottle developed interesting cinnamon and chocolate notes at a Yosemite camping trip in October 2008
That's really quite common when you put wine in the same tin cup you just had hot chocolate in.
Funny you should spoof the vessel, M-man... My compatriots at the annual lads 'n dads camping trip are always ribbing me for insisting on the proper stemware in the midst of the wilderness. Alas, the lads will be in college next fall - our last outing was this past September.
We had this wine tonight and, to the best of my recollection, this was the best bottle. There was cedar, tobacco, wet earth, and baking spice on the nose. Rich dark fruit and berry flavors were balanced by ample not-so-soft tannins and juicy acidity. The wine is well-balanced with no sign of tiring. In fact, I believe it's still improving. I'm glad I saved some of this to see how beautifully it aged. 92-93. My wife scored it 94-95. This is a beautiful Cabernet.
Sorry I didn't...
quote:Originally posted by Board-O:
We had this wine tonight and, to the best of my recollection, this was the best bottle. There was cedar, tobacco, wet earth, and baking spice on the nose. Rich dark fruit and berry flavors were balanced by ample not-so-soft tannins and juicy acidity. The wine is well-balanced with no sign of tiring. In fact, I believe it's still improving. I'm glad I saved some of this to see how beautifully it aged. 92-93. My wife scored it 94-95. This is a beautiful Cabernet.
That's good to hear. I have been following some of the not-so-favourable reviews on this wine and haven't touched mine. Hopefully, I'll agree with your experience.
Did you decant at all?
I have only one left of these. Based on your notes, Board-O, I won't open it for a few years yet. I guess some of these powerhouse new era Napa wines might be able to age!
quote:Originally posted by grossie:
I have only one left of these. Based on your notes, Board-O, I won't open it for a few years yet. I guess some of these powerhouse new era Napa wines might be able to age!
if you are ever down in the Okc area i would be glad to share some of my 2001 i have left- me thinks i have 4 or 5 half bottles and a couple of Maggies just waiting to breath again
I was actually surprised by this wine. On thinking this over, I think my wife's score, which was basically blind since she didn't know anything about the wine, is probably more accurate than mine. I hope I didn't, but I may have factored the cost and that it wasn't a single vineyard bottling into my notes.
Wow, pretty high praise. I've got three of these left so I'm glad to see the wine is doing well.
A delicious wine, one of my favorite California Cabs, and my favorite in the Neal stable. Good to see it's still evolving!
quote:Originally posted by corky:quote:Originally posted by grossie:
I have only one left of these. Based on your notes, Board-O, I won't open it for a few years yet. I guess some of these powerhouse new era Napa wines might be able to age!
if you are ever down in the Okc area i would be glad to share some of my 2001 i have left- me thinks i have 4 or 5 half bottles and a couple of Maggies just waiting to breath again
Thanks, Corky!
Board-o, I opened one of these a couple of nights ago as well. I didn't write a tasting note, but recollections pretty much mirror your notes. I would have scored it 92 now with a potential for another couple of points. I agree, it's going to get better.
Popped and poured and enjoyed over a 5 hour period. More enjoyable in the first 3 hours as the tannins started to kick in towards the end of the night. Not as exciting as "decant at noon and hope your guests do not arrive for dinner so you can drink the whole bottle" or the evening 3 years ago when it met the challenge of the '01 Howell Mountain and '01 Second Chance but still a vibrant wine.