Community Tasting Note

• CranBurgundy Likes this wine: 96 points

  April 19, 2017 - Before getting started, I just wanted to say I am only committing this blatant infanticide for the betterment of CellarTracker.
  
  ..... plus, I wanted to be the first note on this wine, which I've eagerly anticipated since Karen & John told me about it last September at my Monday night Chop House wine club dinner showcasing their products.
  
  Rich dark red and purple fruit aromas escaped out of the bottle immediately on the pull of the cork. Not overpowering, yet not exactly shy either. With most freshly released Cabs, you can detect the tannin on the nose due to youth. This, however, has a much more refined nose than the usual baby bottle and it beckons you to just enjoy the aroma for a while. The palate is more lavish than the nose alludes to, with purple and dark red berries coating your mouth. Tannins and oak are there.... but somehow not bothersome in the least (rare for a young Cab) and the medium acidity is perfectly embellishing the fruit. Mind you, this is all on the pop & pour!
  
  Despite completing the first glass in 10 or 15 minutes, the finish hung on for a long time and started to give a hint of espresso. After an hour, I poured the second glass and found that (a) it seems even better when served slightly chilled and (b) the espresso hint is a wee bit stronger. After polishing off the second glass, I thought I'd better pour the wine back in the bottle from the decanter and come back to it tomorrow evening. Somehow, my palate instructed my hands to serve up another glass, as if my medulla oblongata had now taken over and it became an involuntary function like breathing. Considering how rare it is for me to have a 3rd glass of a Cab I'm evaluating during the first evening (the last was '95 Shafer Stag's Leap which received a 96), I think I might have to pay a visit to the JEC site and order this in quantity. Massive quantity.
  
  As usual, I'll edit as necessary whilst I follow this over the next several nights and at some point give the score I believe it merits. The number will be high. Allow me to leave you with this for now: it is amazing!
  
  Day 2 - The nose seemed to become just a little more reticent. The fruit shifted a smidge to the darker end of the spectrum, a minuscule vanilla note from oak has joined the fray, and the espresso became more expressive (espressive? hahaha!). In a strange twist, the fine tannins are slightly more noticeable tonight than last night. Overall, no major changes whatsoever; more like small refinements that only improved on an already sensational product.
  
  I've never had a mountain Cab, especially a Veeder, be so perfectly drinkable this young. Pure refreshment - the baseball equivalent to hitting a home run in your first at bat. I sound like a JEC fanboy, don't I? Taste this and you'll know why. I rate at the moment and not on potential. This could possibly end up in the same league as the ethereal 2002 Lokoya Diamond Mtn (which was before my CT days, but I would have scored a 99). Where's the "I love this s#*t!" option?

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1 Comment

• midtownmac commented:

  4/21/17, 6:33 AM - Great note. Thanks for taking one for the team! I ve got a couple incoming. Now I feel like I should ve bought more.

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