2015 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (14) Avg Score: 96.2 points

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  9/25/2021 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 95 Points

  My greatest day of wine (over)consumption. Ever. (Aaron and Tiffany's pad): The third of 3 csimm's announced contributions; more on the unannounced part soon. I don't remember seeking out the nose on this, but by the time I got to the cabs/Bordeaux blend, we'd been at for quite a while. On the palate, dark mixed berries, some black cherries and currants, classic LPV minerality, dark chocolate, the world's strongest espresso, graphite and a Graves-like hot asphalt streak on the end. Coal black, medium-full bodied, thick legs. Powerfully tannic, medium++ acidity, no heat. Complex, very persistent and super intense. My first Double VV--I'd embarrassingly not even realized that Messr. Melka was the winemaker until I read Cristal's TN--was a revelation, not so much in terms of quality, where it was incrementally under my expectations but still excellent, but stylistically, as the writers on this thread tend to be aficianados of giant, fruit-driven cabs, which this wasn't to me, and my prior experience with the house of Melka has been 5 bottles out of 6 of the '05 V 29 Aida, the buoyancy of which stands in strong contrast to where this wine is now. I'd describe this as dark and brooding, not like a vampire in a dimly lit Eastern European castle in a horror movie, but more like a minor chord heavy orchestral passage played by the oboe section in a Bartok symphony, as you await the full symphony jumping in. There's certainly no paucity of high-quality dark fruit here, but the structure, minerality and other secondary are currently leading the fruit around by the nose, IMO, in an almost Bordeaux like manner. Is a fruit avalanche in the future? As I said, I have no experience with this bottling or VV at all (in addition to said V 29s, I did recently buy a '14 J. Daniel and a Blueprint SB, though, so I may get just a bit more familiar with the Melka style) and have a slightly more educated idea. As with all of the wines I didn't supply, I don't know what anyone else's decanting ablutions were, nor did I track this closely during the time we had it open, but much like the '13 Riverain I had recently, I'd aerate this like someone going down for an abalone. Would wait for at least a few years for sure if I had one of these otherwise. I wouldn't push my last chip into the pot, but agree with the others that the future is bright for this one, but how bright and when the future comes I'll leave to more experienced minds than mine. I was mostly done eating when I drank this, but while not striking me as the best possible match with our rich stew, think it would be more than acceptable. Would certainly consider buying, but for my tastes, would likely prefer to wait a few years, read others' TNs and see how it develops, even if becomes potentially beyond my wine spend at that point. 95++

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  7/27/2021 - csimm wrote:

  Vice Versa weekend and dinner: I’ve played around with this wine here and there over the last few years and I am always a little circumspect about predicting how it is going to perform. LPV in general can shut down throughout bottle evolution and for whatever reason I’m no stranger to catching it when it can be pretty balled-up and tense. This particular bottle displayed focused and honed black cherry and crushed asphalt flavors that are distinctly LPV. Because it was served side by side with the 2015 VV TK BBS and Crane BBS, this LPV showed even more frame and minerality by comparison. This bottle had about 8 hours of a double-decant and it probably could have benefitted from even more. This is a wine for aging and will likely hit its full stride in 10-15 years from vintage. I wouldn’t mess with these until way after 2025++..... Of course, I never follow my own advice.

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  7/24/2021 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Vice Versa Wine Dinner: The ever fickle 15 LPV was finally open for business on this occasion. Showed lots of wonderful crushed stone notes to go along with blackberries and hints of char. Next to the BBS wines, this was a bit lighter on its feet and worked more deftly around the palate. Super expansive while also showing great freshness, this is still a baby. It’s amazing how young these wines still taste at age 6. I expect this to improve for a long time to come.

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  7/21/2021 - msuwine wrote: 94 Points

  This is my third 2015 Vice Versa in 2021 that is more tight and reserved than open and expansive. Call it the vintage, but - as a native Midwesterner - I feel qualified at spotting something that is good but a little repressed, and this wine currently fits the bill. I imagine it will be impressive in another few years, but I won’t open my other bottle until at least 2023.
  
  Dark cherry in color and full in body, the wine offers aromas of boysenberry, cocoa powder, cloves, and graphite. The flavors are grainy and soft, with notes of blueberry, gravel, espresso, and dried herbs, followed by a juicy finish that has plenty of dry tannin. 15% alcohol.
  
  This is better than the 2015 VV BTK I had a few months ago, not as good (nor as expensive) as an 2015 M7. Still, the lesson applies across the vintage: I will no longer be repeating the same act and expecting different results, as these particular 2015s need time (so don’t open them). 94 at the moment, with upside in a few years.

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  5/17/2021 - csimm wrote:

  Not as stubborn as the last time I had this wine 2.5 years ago, but still somewhat disinclined to fan out and show its full flavor potential, the 2015 VV LPV is going to be a slow burn of a wine moving forward before it ultimately decides to reveal the pulsating sum of its parts. Black cherry, dark plum, and some higher register red fruit (pomegranate and cranberry) mix with slight mineral elements that ride on the surface of the palate and remain firm on the finish. Hold until 2025+.
  
  Served side-by-side with a 2016 Crane BBS, which was a huge depth and flavor monster compared to the more coy LPV.

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