just got my ws. i guess i am not the only one not wowed by the 01 pride cab. laube gave it 93pts after barrel scoring it at 95-100.

Parker gave this wine a 96 in a tasting that he published on his website. For those of you with erobertparker full access it's under the Cabernet Open. Here is what he said:

2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards (Napa) - $70 - 53 points (nine 1st, nine 2nd, eight 3rd) - 96 rating Deeply colored. Sweet, ripe fruit and vanillin lead the way in this hauntingly beautiful nose. Follows through perfectly on the palate with that luscious, ripe blackberry fruit calling like a Siren. It's not a heavyweight but still has plenty of flesh. Perfectly balanced. Very long finish. We've used the word "seductive" before, but it's hard to imagine a more seductive wine than this one

anthonyiez-

Here in outer limits VA beach, that issue will arrive next month. But, usually the Cab. is the third best red in their lineup at best, so a 93 is pretty decent. In fact, only '97 Pride (94) got a higher score from WS. Parker rates them slightly higher than WS in general. @$55 it's worth trying. The reserve Cab and Merlot, and Claret will likely score higher, but unless I miss my guess, will be way beyond the century mark

To clear up Hoonan's post -- Parker did not give Pride 01 Cab a 96 (at least not yet). The tasting note and score that Hoonan pasted here is from an Executive Wine Seminar held in NYC. I don't think Parker necessarily participates. The tasting note is a compilation of the impressions of the people at the event, as is the score.

This probably doesn't matter anyway. Many folks have been in Pride hysteria for months now, its not like Parker can make this wine more scare -- its all gone. Of course, an RMP 96 probably would drive the price up even higher in the secondard market. We'll have to wait until next month to see.

To further indict the tasting group that generated the above-discussed 96, here is their ranking of 13 cabs. They were tasting for "deliciousness," both now and going forward. Tasting was blind, which can lead to strange results, but I personally would not rely on these palates as a collective critic.

From Favorite to Least Favorite (all Cabs or Cab blends):

01 Pride
99 Leonetti
01 Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham
98 Wynn's Riddoch
99 Mouton
97 Insignia
00 Els (yes, the golfer)
99 Catena Zapata
99 Quilceda Creek
96 Poyferre
97 Les Pavots
00 Montrose (quick sell all yours at a loss -- send me a pm)
99 Solaia

I think those "ratings" speak for themselves.

Thanks for clarifying Hoonan's post SFWine. It certainly brings things into a clearer focus. Personally, I'll be happy to trade as many bottles of Els as someone wants for 99 Solaia.

Laube gives the 2001 Pride Cab a 93. He rubber stamps the 2000 Caymus (any vintage of Caymus apparently) a 92.

Yeah. Right.

That guy is a friggin' joke.

Jones, LOL.

You are a shrewd trader!


There's a Mag of '98(?) SOLIA for sale at Robert's Market. Ask for John

well i have 8 more of them and i will give another one a try next year sometime. don't get me wrong it wasn't a bad bottle of wine just not what i was expecting based upon all the hype.

I'm a fan of the 98 Solaia. I have a case of 750s gathering dust (for at least another decade) right now but if I bought the mag now I would have some serious explaining to do.

I am not an Italian wine fan (or at least have never given them a chance, my money goes elswhere), but a shop has 6 Solaia 1998 for $85 each, is this a buy?

If this is the Antinori Solaia then the cheapest price on wine-searcher.com is $115 (there are two places which have it for $109 in England, I didn't count those). So I would say that it is a good price. The only question is wether you want to pay that much for this wine.

I can't sayI want to pay this much for an Italian wine for I have been dissappointed more times than not at least 5:1 with Italian wines, but it might be worth a shot for one at least. I just tend to find to much herby flavors in Italian wine. It is the Antinori Solaia 1998 BTW.

I did not intend to take this thread hostage.

fwiw, i thought laube's rating was fairly accurate. i doubt parker will be much higher.

seek-the super tuscany's tend to be made in a bordeaux style. at that price you might want to lay a few down. very tempting.

That's a great price. I bought mine wholesale when it was released and iirc paid more than that. Solaia is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon (75% with 20% Sangiovese and 5% Franc). I would be surprised if you did not like the wine.

Solia is my favorite Italian wine. But that's probably because it is so similar to a California Cab blend in my mind. At $85 it is a steal. This stuff will go for 20 years+.

Sorry Guys...

Parker only gave this wine 95+

Tasted at the BAWE Feb. 2004 Hamburgers and Cab tasting at skwid's...

Deep saturated purple color, beautiful perfumed and intense nose crushed berries, minerals, bitter chocolate, spice, and vanilla. Full and rich on the palate with tremendous power, depth, and intensity, the tannins are firm but fine grained and beautifully woven, and the finish is fine and tremendously long. Very young wine with tremendous potential. 94+

I broke down & pulled the cork on one of these last night w/ a gigantic porterhouse, grilled pepers& onions w/ balsamic glaze & corn on the cob. The wine stole the show. I decanted for about 2 1/2 hours, lots of stuff in the bottom of the bottle. Someone else in a previous post said chocolate raspberry ice cream, I can see that. Lots of chocolate, brown sugar & raspberry , blackberry. It had an amazing nose and a finish that was happily going on 30 seconds. I have waited patiently to try this and feel that I have been rewarded. I suppose it will keep getting better, tho I am not sure how but I was impressed. 95 + points in my world

great news. how long before you think it will hit its stride?