billbounds
Member #543,223 signed up 8/11/2017
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Member #543,223 signed up 8/11/2017
2 Tasting Notes
211 Tasting Notes
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1984 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
1/6/2023 - billbounds Likes this wine:
Not having experience with this wine/vintage, I opened the bottle an hour before dinner. 5-10 minutes in the decanter while I rinsed the bottle, and then poured straight back in, corked, and placed into the wine carrier.
From first glass to the last this wine was firing on all cylinders. Strong fruit, moderate acid and tannins, long finish. This wine had it all and is hitting a wonderful stride. There was no meaningful evolution with air as it was already delicious from the get-go. Drink this now or in ten years, I'm sure it will be great whenever you open it. Maybe in the 2030s the tertiary notes will start to dominate, but for now it's at a wonderful balance point and my bet is that persists for a while.
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1983 Vieux Château Certan
1/6/2023 - billbounds Likes this wine:
Not having experience with this wine/vintage, I opened the bottle an hour before dinner. 5-10 minutes in the decanter while I rinsed the bottle, and then poured straight back in, corked, and placed into the wine carrier.
On first glass the somm graciously described the wine as having "some damp barnyard". My wife cut to the point and called it "wet diaper". Hard to say she was wrong. BUT, given a healthy swirl or ten in the glass, this wine shrugged off the musty-ness and was delightful. It's possible the immediate recorking didn't allow enough time to breathe. I'm reminded of an experience with an '82 Beychevelle that went much the same way but after a few hours cleared out all of the funk and was delicious. Maybe this is a similar kind of bottle variation.
Integrated, soft palate a mile wide with plenty of nuance to explore. Elegant and varied fruit. A bit thin on the finish given the expectations the mid set up. Just an absolutely delicious wine. Consumed over 2 hours and it kept getting better. I was happy to end the dinner with half a glass left of this, and we stayed late so I could take my time with it. When I revisit I will be allowing for plenty more air, as this wine was still going strong after 3 hours open.
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1985 Château Certan de May
12/28/2022 - billbounds Likes this wine:
Having had this wine 1.5 years ago when it took 90-min of slo-ox to come alive, I wanted to try out giving it more air. Opened three hours before dinner, decanted for 30 min and then back into the bottle in the cellar to slo-ox for the remainder.
Four hours after open this wine was making a very strong showing. The nose is straight wonderful if not overpromising just a touch, as the palate was hiding a bit behind still-strong tannins. Maybe a knock revealed only because it was being paired against an '82 Bon Pasteur that displayed a level of finesse this bottle on this night couldn't quite match.
A delicious wine, and one that I wish I had more of in the cellar. Plenty of years ahead of this one if you so choose. Drinking now I would err on the side of more air than less and this wine won't disappoint.
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