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2001 Château d'Yquem
2/23/2020 - For the Love of Wine Likes this wine: 96 Points
Cult Wines (Jason's House): The night ended with a wine I was definitely looking forward to tasting....the 2001 Yquem. I have had several vintages of Yquem, and I have also had several stellar 2001 Sauternes/Barsacs, including Climens, Rieussec, and Suduiraut. So needless to say, my expectations were sky high for my first 2001 Yquem. Sad to say I was disappointed (I know, disappointed in a 99 point wine, right??). I was expecting a new benchmark for Sauternes....now it could be my extraordinary high expectations, or it could be it wasn't the bottle, or could just be the wine was over-hyped....regardless, it was a damn good wine! Like all Yquems, it strikes that perfect balance sweetness and acidity, and between power and elegance...the perfect blend. On the nose, you get honeysuckle, poached pear, apricot preserves, lemon creme pie, and a whiff of petrol. On the palate you get layers of creamy cheesecake, pot de creme, stone fruits, pear, melon, Meyers lemon, butterscotch, vanilla and sweet oak, and, as other reviewers have stated, a finish that goes on and on! For comparison, I thought this was better than any of the other 2001 mentioned and was probably only bested by a magnificent 2009 Yquem, which I expect may change with another bottle or more time! We will see...for now, it is close, but not quite, perfect, which was a disappointment.
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2014 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon
2/23/2020 - For the Love of Wine wrote: 94 Points
Cult Wines (Jason's House): This wine was part of a trio of cult wines served in a flight (along with 07 Dana Lotus and 08 Schrader Beckstoffer To-Kalon). For me, this was the most surprising of the three wines, not only because I was not familiar with MacDonald wines (I know...shame on me!), but because of its youthfulness. This wine was a 2014, and Joe (who brought the wine) smartly decanted for 8+ hours (all three wines had at least a 2-3 hour decant). This wine was singing immediately! Tannins were well integrated and fruit and some tertiary flavors were present. The wine spent time in oak, but it was far from oaky. The nose was blackberries, cassis and currant, with echos of leather, lead and forest, followed by hints of chocolate and vanilla. I ranked the nose between the Schrader and the Dana. Of the three, I liked this one on the palate the best (at least for that night). It was delightful, with creamy black and red fruits, complimenting earth and lead, with chocolate lurking in the background. The finish was decent (medium +). I could drink this wine now with ease, but I believe it will still get even better. Time will tell! It sure seemed to have the fruit and tannins to age (but tannins were much smoother than the Schrader, which I attribute in part to the long decant). Hopefully, I will get a chance to taste this again down the road! 95 today, with some upside potential!
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2008 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
2/23/2020 - For the Love of Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cult Wines (Jason's House): This was part of a flight of a trio of cult wines, which also included 07 Dana Lotus and 14 MacDonald. In contrast to the Dana, this wine was all about power. The most fruit-forward of the trio, but no heat. It was a pleasure to drink young, but you could taste the potential as much and the wine. Where I am more unsure about how the Dana will evolve, there is no doubt this wine will improve with additional time in the cellar (I only have 14's in my cellar, and I dreading the wait!). This had plenty of red and black fruit on the nose and palate. The tannins were less resolved in this wine than the other two, but none-the-less not as grippy as I would have expected. I believe the fruit balanced out the tannins, and helped make this very enjoyable. I also thought this wine complimented the food (tenderloin) the best of the three. Although this was my least favorite of the three tonight (even though I did I like it quite a bit!), I also would be most comfortable saying this wine will improve with aging. It has the tannins and fruit for the long haul, IMO. 95 today, but huge upside down the road. If you open a bottle today, you will enjoy the wine, but if you can afford to cellar for 5-10 more years, I think it pay dividends!
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