| Score: |
91 JG.
"The very first vintage of the Trailside Vineyard bottling at Heitz Wine Cellars is now fully mature and drinking very well, but it does not seem to show quite the same thread of personality that runs through all of the other vintages that I tasted of this bottling. The nose on the ’89 Trailside is decidedly more black fruity than most vintages of this wine, as it offers up a very complex and maturing mélange of black cherries, leather, an exotic touch of meatiness, lovely soil tones, a bit of petroleum jelly, hints of eucalyptus, a streak of tariness and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite broad-shouldered, with a rock solid core of fruit, still a fair bit of tannin and excellent length and grip on the complex and chewy finish. This is a very good bottle of cabernet, but subsequent vintages of the Trailside have perhaps just a touch more class." John Gilman, View From the Cellar, May/Jun 2011, Issue #33 |