1996 Swanson Napa Estate

[winoweenie]

With a beautiful property in Oakville this pristine property used to sell their grapes. They now are making a first-class wine instead. Deep ruby, this classicly structured bottle shows both red and black fruits, spices, bakers cocoa, and a whiff of the famed Rutherford Dust. Lots of ageing potential with velvety tannins in the mix. Haas some Merlot, and maybe cab franc in the blend but nothing on the lable to give %s'. Since 94 always up there with the big boys and faitly priced. 91/95. 26 by the box.WW

[winoweenie]

Still holding nicely. A wine of character that is still 1-3 from peaking. WW

[winoweenie]

My 2nd wine off sabbatical. Still progressing nicely. The aromatics are a little more assewrtive with florals notes intertwined with red fruits coming on strongly. Still needs another 2-3 to fully develop. No change in the scores. Lovely juice. ( My Grandson enjoyed the other half of the bottle as we cleaned up the Rems of the Italian Steak.) WW

[californiagirl]

ww- are you sticking to 2 glasses per day?

btw- I'm on day 3 and down 1.5lb. Definitely missed wine with dinner. Had tri-tip with bleu cheese and salad.

[winoweenie]

Yeppo there CG. I've managed to stick to 2 glasses with either lunch or dinner. Both days I've had help. Will see how strong the ole' WP is whenced I'm looking at a half-empty bottle. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]WW

[winoweenie]

Opened this for dinner last nite. The nose has progressed nicely. A fine bottling from this Oakville producer. No change in scoring yet but close. Another 1-3 will bring this hummer up a notch. 14.3% alc. WW

[winoweenie]

Opened another for lunch yesterday. Progessing nicely but still not enough to ratchet up the score. Nice bottling. WW

[winoweenie]

Finished off the box last nite. A very fine bottle to be sure. Has stood the test of time with flying grapes. Color brite dark ruby. Lots of floral notes on the nose along with both red and black cherries and a sweet spicy note. The finish hit the 4+lapper slot so will take this up to 92. Bye-the-bye the alc was 14.3%. WW