Nose screams out of a forested mountain side on the Pacific coast. Leaf litter, distant ocean mist, light rain in the trees. Bits of fresh mushrooms, and cedar.
Palette is incredibly silky and cool to start. Opens up into blackberry bush, green stem, and some very dark, astringent fruit, and black cherry. Still with rigid structure, but elegantly expressed. Grips and lingers into the finish starting with black cherry and progressing into dried black currant, with a bit of cedar powder. The saline notes of the ocean persist through the palatte and come forward in the lingering finish.
Beautiful, mature California Cabernet. Old and refined and IMO, perfect.
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Nose is reluctant to emerge, subtle and understated. Once you find it, smells like medieval Christmas -- dried fruits stewed in brandy and spice, a theme that continues. Solid acid on the palate, with chalk, limestone, and then powdery cedar and wood. The tannins are *really* grippy still, and with another decade might get into chewy. Some of the blackberry bush's twigs and stems, not so much leaves or fruit. Finish is remarkable, and lingers far past what I expected. As the finish lingers, it starts to hint at creamy vanilla. *Really* needs more time. In another decade, this will be a different wine, hopefully silken and chewy. It's good, *really* good, but not yet what it could be. Wait, and revisit.
Tasted with some food, the fruit emerges much more, still tight black-fruit flavors. Doesn't change the character but lets you get much more of the fruit out. Chalky notes overtake the limestone. Better with food this young, but still deserves to be tasted in 10+ years when the real show starts.
After 4+ hours in a ship's decanter, even this young it starts to open more. The acidity and tannic rigidness integrate better, and wood with a bit of mint takes a much more prominent role in the palate. Generally, I feel like this wine would be better with bottle age taking the edge off and leaving the subtlety and beauty available from the 1-2 hour point. But absent that, letting it breath for 4 hours will let the excellence emerge here.
Needs a couple of hours of decant at least. Once opened...
Nose of forest floor and wet blackberry bush, with a touch of wet stone.
Good main palate acidity, (very) dark fruit components and a bit of herbaceous notes. Not yet fully secondary characteristics. Medium bodied but bold main flavor profile, without being too heavy or overbearing. Dried currant and cranberry, whisper of baking spices. Good tannic structure
Acidic and lingering dark berry finish with a touch of smoke, leather, and earth.
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1984 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
11/18/2023 - chandlerc@gmail.com Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose screams out of a forested mountain side on the Pacific coast. Leaf litter, distant ocean mist, light rain in the trees. Bits of fresh mushrooms, and cedar.
Palette is incredibly silky and cool to start. Opens up into blackberry bush, green stem, and some very dark, astringent fruit, and black cherry. Still with rigid structure, but elegantly expressed. Grips and lingers into the finish starting with black cherry and progressing into dried black currant, with a bit of cedar powder. The saline notes of the ocean persist through the palatte and come forward in the lingering finish.
Beautiful, mature California Cabernet. Old and refined and IMO, perfect.
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2010 Château Clinet
10/7/2023 - chandlerc@gmail.com Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose is reluctant to emerge, subtle and understated. Once you find it, smells like medieval Christmas -- dried fruits stewed in brandy and spice, a theme that continues. Solid acid on the palate, with chalk, limestone, and then powdery cedar and wood. The tannins are *really* grippy still, and with another decade might get into chewy. Some of the blackberry bush's twigs and stems, not so much leaves or fruit. Finish is remarkable, and lingers far past what I expected. As the finish lingers, it starts to hint at creamy vanilla. *Really* needs more time. In another decade, this will be a different wine, hopefully silken and chewy. It's good, *really* good, but not yet what it could be. Wait, and revisit.
Tasted with some food, the fruit emerges much more, still tight black-fruit flavors. Doesn't change the character but lets you get much more of the fruit out. Chalky notes overtake the limestone. Better with food this young, but still deserves to be tasted in 10+ years when the real show starts.
After 4+ hours in a ship's decanter, even this young it starts to open more. The acidity and tannic rigidness integrate better, and wood with a bit of mint takes a much more prominent role in the palate. Generally, I feel like this wine would be better with bottle age taking the edge off and leaving the subtlety and beauty available from the 1-2 hour point. But absent that, letting it breath for 4 hours will let the excellence emerge here.
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2001 Château Barde-Haut
12/2/2022 - chandlerc@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
Needs a couple of hours of decant at least. Once opened...
Nose of forest floor and wet blackberry bush, with a touch of wet stone.
Good main palate acidity, (very) dark fruit components and a bit of herbaceous notes. Not yet fully secondary characteristics. Medium bodied but bold main flavor profile, without being too heavy or overbearing. Dried currant and cranberry, whisper of baking spices. Good tannic structure
Acidic and lingering dark berry finish with a touch of smoke, leather, and earth.
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