Community Tasting Note

Todd French wrote:

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 - I was torn on opening this. On one hand, I have a strong feeling that it will age beautifully, but on the other hand, the '13 showed SO well in a France/CA blind tasting (hosted by Frank Murray in 2017, notes here - https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=145604) that I really wanted to peek at one of the four bottles. The deciding factor was that I knew that by opening it later in the evening I wouldn't finish it, and that would give me half a bottle for tomorrow, after some extended exposure to air, and I know this wine can handle it, plus I look forward to seeing what it is like tomorrow!

Upon opening it shows very dark, and (primarily black) olive tapenade screams from the nose. A bit of a swirl brings out some bramble and a good dose of deli meats. On the palate it's a big one, still young and lively on the mouthfeel, snappy dark fruits, good density, pure and fresh.

Two hours later, much of the plushness is gone, and the wine takes on a more angular, more rustic character - equally enjoyable, but strikingly different. Fruit profile is still dark as night, and the nose has gained gobs of flowers, principally violets. There's still a great freshness and cleanliness to this wine, yet the mouthfeel remains rich and deep - it's no crisp and refreshing wine, nor should it be.

Tomorrow I will write another note to finish it off, updating the TN here on CT and posting the additions on this thread. It's rare to enjoy a wine during all its stages of development in the glass - rarer still when it is a $30 wine. Amazing.

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