Cellar Mini-Disaster
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Tasted December 15, 2013 - January 15, 2014 by vanpe003 with 557 views
Introduction
Looking through the cellar for some holiday wines, I was surprised to find that apparently the door on one of my Eurocaves hadn't sealed adequately...resulting in a moisture buildup that unfortunately led to some mold growth. Amazed at how widespread the issue was - three trashed racks, about 15 bottles or so that were beyond cleaning, and many more that have hopefully been adequately cleaned up with hydrogen peroxide. Those that were beyond cleaning - a few of them given away as gifts with a caveat of "consume these early and don't put them in your cellar". A few yet to be tried. But here's the rest. A collection of bottles that for the most part I hadn't planned on drinking quite yet.
Flight 1 (7 notes)
With the extra air in the glass: on the nose - whereas it was originally dark fruit and dark fruit only, 30 minutes later a good dose of florals and green grass has emerged to add a sense of freshness along with a more noticeable sense of cassis. On the palate, it's lightened up a bit showing better balance overall, but a need for even more air to round out a few rough edges that have emerged. Some tannins make a stronger appearance now, with a slight astringency on the back end.
Will try to check in later. The wine started initially on the pop as big, one-dimensional and lush. 30-45 minutes later - more balanced, but some of the balancing notes seem a bit out of sorts. Will see if they fold back in over the next several hours. 92-94 points for now, though it's hard to evaluate given the evolution over the first 45 minutes.
Pop/pour. On the nose dark fruits, smoky oak and licorice. On the palate, rich body with enough acid to lift it up. Oak provides notes of tar and vanilla. There's also a hint of menthol that creeps in on the background. Finish is extremely long and lingering.
The longer this sits in the glass, some light but manageable tannins show on the finish. The acidity becomes a bit more pronounced. Maybe a bit too much so for now. Was going to rate 95 points but dropping a point for now.
In contrast, the Back Forty seems rich, natural and fully developed. Dark fruit with hints of chalky minerality to keep it from being overly brooding. A reasonably long finish rounds out the overall package. A few rough edges here and there (a tinge of alcohol and astringency) keep my score down, but unlike the West Face, these are distinctly in the background and pair off against richer fruit IMHO.
Perhaps my best cab of the year. Everything is as it should be and in perfect balance. I allowed myself to fall off the list as prices started creeping up, but now feel as though I might have made a mistake......
To that point, people who like a more restrained Cab / Cab blend will enjoy this styling. Drinks well now, and should carry for at least another several years. Probably 90-91 points.
Update Day 2: I normally don't get around to writing second day updates, but in this case, the change was so dramatically positive I found it noteworthy. Any rough edges, any hint of tightness - gone. On the nose, a sense of mature cab with the but still more fruit dominant with just hints of secondary development. On the palate - silky smooth and surprisingly rich. Tonight, this tastes more like an aged Left Bank than it does contemporary Napa. 93-94 points tonight, being as objective as I can be, and frankly I like this better than that score. This is one of those unexpected pleasant surprises that makes this hobby interesting.