2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
(14.6% alcohol): Bright ruby-red. Crushed cassis, blackberry, fresh herbs, dark chocolate, mocha, and licorice on the sexy, highly aromatic nose. Suave, sweet, pliant wine with nicely concentrated dark berry and dark cherry flavors. Still youthful but without any hardness. Finishes very long, with sweet, firm tannins and noteworthy incipient complexity. A superb showing: a very sexy wine with no corners. (This bottling has been called Perseid since vintage 2007.)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Perseid is a dense ruby/purple and tips the scales at 14.6% natural alcohol. It has good acidity, loads of minerality and earthy, loamy underlying notes, black and red currants, medium to full body, and a tightly knit, slightly austere style. There are a lot of good things going on, but the wine seems remarkably retrained and reserved for being ten years old. It seems to have a positive upside if buyers are patient. If it were mine, I wouldn’t touch it for another 4-5 years.