Ah, Fredente! Popped a bottle of the 96 last night to celebrate the 4th. Decanted for 8 hours. Continues to be the wife’s favorite. Such beautiful dark colors and a smooth finish. SWMBO will harm me if I do not consider. I have yet to try a later year. How similar in structure are they to the 96?
12/13/2012: Light golden color, nose is primarily pineapple and citrus. Palate is crisp with a nice round finish. Recommended at under $20.
My wife basically said that she liked it but only would purchase again at a cheaper price point.
17.5 a bottle last time. 19.63 a bottle this time shipped to SoCal.
Wish the Ardente was just 1996. Even with several that had bad corks, when the cork worked, it was fantastic. (Heck, I strained the cork ones and even with bits still left in it, it was alright). (Woot did refund the corked ones, btw). I just haven’t tried the 06 and 07 ones so I’m not sure I want to spend the money on this offer.
The '07 is exellent, just make sure you decant for atleast 2 hours.
PnP had very green taste profiles.
But once you decant, you can see this wine will develop well in the next several years.
Im my opinion, in 4 to 5 years it will drink well.
I posted tasting notes last time it came up but im too lazy to dig for it
In for 2 (more) Ardente Estate Winery Mixed 6-Packs! I thought for sure the 1996 and 1997 would have sold out by now… lucky me This brings my total count of Ardente up to 31 bottles.
fredrinaldi, Sorry, I didn’t mean to add confusion to this woot deal. I purchased the 1997 on a previous wine.woot offer. I was just surprised to see the 1996 was still available. I’ve got the following Ardente cabs in my cellar: 1996 (6), 1997 (4), 2002 (5), 2006 (8), 2007 (8).
I really wanted to get my hands on the '01 but I think that was the first vintage to disappear. I only have the '97 and '02 on hand so happy to have picked up this deal as well as some of the Clayhouse.
This brings my total count of Ardente up to 31 bottles.