2001 Henry's Drive Reserve Cab

[newsguy]

$40 a bottle and worth every penny. sparky and sarah deliver the goods yet again. i had a bottle four nights ago along with an aged prime T-bone and didn't write down my notes, now i've forgotten much of the specifics. from memory...

decanted and let it sit for 1.5 hours. opaque, dark purplish-black. nose/taste of dark fruits (plum leading way) and vanilla, with mocha showing later and just a hint of eucalyptus/mint. this is the deepest, thickest, richest wine i've ever tasted. there's plenty of fine-grained tannins, but they don't seem to stomp much on the finish, which i timed at over 50 seconds.

clearly, this youthful brute is over the top now. i'd like to hear from others who've tried it as to whether they think this will get more complex as it ages, and how long they think this should be cellared. i'm guessing it's best to hold 3-5 years, but this could go 10 easy. whaddya say folks?

i enjoyed this wine more than others that have cost up to four times as much. if you can track this down, buy some and do it fast, cause it won't be on the shelves long.

[newsguy]

ok. this post is more than a week old and no responses? wow. if you all haven't tried this wine, you REALLY should.

[Innkeeper]

I would guesstimate that 90% of mine and others' TNs never get a response. They do get read though, and people take notes.

[Drew]

Sorry Keith, I read, absorbed and drooled....we rarely see the Henrys Drive round here. It's just been recent that I've seen, and purchased, Grateful Palate offerings.

DRew

[wondersofwine]

I ordered two bottles before Christmas and two more after Christmas. Haven't picked up the last two yet and haven't delved into them but the 2000 version was great and 2001 is reputed to be even better. Tonight I'm going to pop the cork on a Cimicky Signature Shiraz that was highly recommended in the thread on favorite reds and whites from Australia. I don't know if mine was the same vintage but will post tomorrow or next week. I will be attending a tasting of Australian reds February 6 in Raleigh. Will post on that also.

[newsguy]

well, i've got 2 bottles of the 01 henry's drive reserve cab in my wine locker. will probably try the next in 2005 or so. and i just picked up two bottles today of the marquis phillips S2 cab (also at $40 per. S2 was released at $20 a few months ago and sold out on the spot. they got a little more in and doubled the price. ouch). i don't generally buy multiple bottles of a wine (especially if it's expensive) without trying it first, but i figure the i can't lose on the S2 (since i was so impressed with their lower priced shiraz, cab and merlot). parker gave the S2 a 93+, but then admitted the wine improved so much overnight that he should have given it a 95. expected maturity 2004-2017. i'll probably try the first bottle in 2005 or so, then wish i'd bought more. 2017? not a chance for me [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 01-29-2003).]