MaximusT

Tasting Notes

• 2005 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard

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  1/27/2023 - MaximusT Likes this wine: 90 Points

  It’s not outstanding. It should have been. In September 1999 we drove up US 1 in a convertible. Fantastic ride, but we were on a mission: pick up a case of Heitz Martha’s Vineyard and ship it back home to THE BOSS. We parked and rolled into the winery forgetting that Y2K was going to end the world. We sat at the bar, had some sips and slowly realized that this wine was over our heads. The credit cards were burning holes in our pockets. How could we actually pay for a case of this wine? We waited and prayed that the charge went through…it did. So we drove to the “ship the wine” store, packed up the case, sent it to the boss and never saw it again. So here we are tonight, 22+ years later, we skipped the Burgundy and pulled out this 2005 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard. We joked how in the last millennium we couldn’t afford this wine, popped the cork and waited for perfection and…it did not come. It was plum, blackberry jam and strawberry. Not the signature Heitz profile we expected. We sipped and questioned whether it was us or the wine. It wasn’t our pairing (steak). So we went back to the cellar and pulled out a newer Heitz “2014 Trailside”. And there it was, Heitz magic. Everything you would have expected in the 2005 Martha; mint, eucalyptus, dark chocolate. It wasn’t that the 2005 wasn’t good, it just didn’t remind us of driving up the coast on a dime with the wind blowing in our hair.
  
  PS. A night of two bottles of Heitz is a good night

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• 2012 Jarvis (California) Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

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  1/16/2022 - MaximusT Likes this wine: 98 Points

  Cocoa and a fine cigar. What more could one ask for after Southern snow fell all day? We watched the magnolias catch flakes and the pines sway with each gust. A warm fire burned and the crackling of the wood set the scene for a perfect January night. A stew on the stove and some Jarvis in our glasses and we were home. We drank this wine for three hours. What began as a fruitful pairing to our cheese course, stayed relevant as we ate the fennel based broth and it carried us through the cold night. Now, the hints of tobacco and hot chocolate are warming us and we realize that we opened one of the best California wines. But Jarvis rarely disappoints and tonight it delivered. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect wine and can only imagine that this wine’s complexity and layers build up over time like the nice soft covering of snow in our yard.

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• 2010 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino

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  9/5/2021 - MaximusT Likes this wine: 93 Points

  This Gaja is a fine Leather Belt. Well, actually the belt is often underrated- but actually it makes a statement and has a purpose. Not many things can do that. It wraps around you, soft, but sturdy and structured. You may smell hints from the tannery, deep and weathered. It stays with you, supports you and complements anything you put with it. Like leather, wine over time develops and changes. As you sip you realize- you are actually in the tannery but eating a dark cherry ice cream cone. The dark cherry begins to drip down off the cone- the leather, the cherry = this wine. The leather belt keeps you together, but the ice cream opens things up and lets loose. We paired this with many flavors- blue cheese, king crab, venison and romaine over the course of the night. It kept our pants up the whole time. However, like we will need to do after such decadence, you probably will want to add some extra holes to this belt to let it open a few extra notches. We have five more bottles, if it’s drinking this well now, like fine leather we expect future bottles to age with a very distinctive character and hopefully not too big of a waistline.

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