2004 Lail Cabernet Sauvignon J Daniel Cuvée
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Tasting notes
Bright medium ruby. Wonderfully nuanced nose combines dark berries, black cherry, licorice and graphite minerality. Quite juicy and penetrating, even a bit youthfully tight, and much less thick than the 2003 and 2002 examples, but boasts terrific purity, definition and lift to its dark fruit, mineral and intriguing spice flavors. This really dances on the palate and stimulates the taste buds on the long, rising finish. The tannins are noble and horizontal, spreading out to saturate the palate. A very suave and highly concentrated wine from a tiny crop--and still short of its peak. But this wine is distinctly mellower today than an earlier sample was in my horizontal tasting of '04s several years ago. (14.8% alcohol; 70% new oak)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(14.5% alcohol): Bright medium ruby. Some very ripe notes to the aromas of kirsch , licorice, chocolate, violet and nutty oak. Ripe, fat and sweet, showing plenty of baby fat to its black raspberry and dark chocolate flavors. Boasts sound acidity and an intriguing savory quality on the back end, but the serious tannins are a bit youthfully tough and medicinal and the wine still needs time to assume its adult form.
From one of the grandes dames of Napa Valley, Robin Lail’s 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee (96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot aged 20 months in 75% new French oak) exhibits a complex, multidimensional style. Its dark plum/ruby/purple color is followed by abundant notes of sweet black cherry and black currant fruit intertwined with notions of licorice and loamy, earthy undertones. With sweet tannin and a full-bodied mouthfeel, this fragrant, beautifully pure and textured wine should continue to drink well for another 15+ years. The finish lasts 40-50 seconds. Tel. (707) 968-9900
(96% cabernet sauvignon and 4% merlot) Saturated ruby. Medicinal aromas of blackberry, blueberry, licorice and menthol; from the nose I would have picked this as coming from the northern Medoc. Offers very good life in the mouth and boasts more richness, sweetness and pliancy than usual for this bottling. Finishes with substantial tongue- and toothdusting tannins that do not come off as hard. Particularly ripe for this blend, and highly successful as a result. The very small crop ultimately yielded just 425 cases, vs. a typical 800 to 1,000. (The '05 had just been fined and was unavailable for tasting.)