1996 L'Ecole No. 41 Merlot Columbia Valley

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 82 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View BoltCapt's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/2/2012 - BoltCapt wrote:

  An explosion of flavor. After 16 years, this was a joy to drink. Helped make a special occasion even more special.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View *Vine*'s profile
  • Report Issue

  4/16/2011 - *Vine* wrote:

  Popped and poured. Medium-plus garnet, cloudy with subtle bricking. Aromas of black fruits, kirsh, herbs, forest floor, barbecue spices, and roasted corn. Medium-plus body. Quite fresh and lively on the palate, even at age 15....with fresh fruit flavors of blackberry, plum, cassis, and savory/earthy elements of herbs, earth, and even a hint of conifer. Barely even a hint of oak. The tannins are still slightly grainy/chalky on the long finish. Quite amazing that this bottle is showing so strong as it certainly isn't one of the more renowned bottling's WA, much less L'Ecole No. 41. However, it's quite nice to know that WA Merlot will not only stand the test of time but even show improvement - an aspect that makes this a WOW wine.
  
  Day 2: This wine is simply stunning. Ever-changing, it's hard to fully describe the array of diverging, contrasting flavors on the palate...fresh berries, blood orange, fresh herbs (basil in particular), bitter cocoa powder, crushed stones, minerals, stems, menthol. And yet as expressive as the palate is on day 2 the nose is slightly muted...but really, the flavors on the palate are so compellingly addictive at this point it's it's not even worth sniffing. Endless, amazing finish. An epiphany wine.
  
  Quick note: I paid $15 for this bottle on Winebid...quite the QPR in aged Merlot! However, I also purchased a bottle of the 1995 for the same price and that bottle was DOA. Still, what a great (edit: make that profound) surprise!

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Mark's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/5/2006 - Mark wrote: 83 Points

  I have low expectations on opening this wine, but it was taking space in the cellar that could be used by some other (any other) bottle of wine. The initial nose was green with slight vegetal characteristics, some green pepper and maybe dill. I left the glass and came back to it 2 hours later. A surprising recovery, The greenness blew off and the wine took on more weight, following through to the finish. Although short, the finish was sweet with resolved tannins. Better than before, but not all that good none the less.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Mark's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/2/2005 - Mark wrote: 79 Points

  This is not very good wine. A piercing and sharp jolt hits you in the nose as soon as you pull the cork, this settles down, but to what? A weedy and veg element is always present, the wine is just hard, a bit tannic and not pleasant. If you must drink this, it does improve somewhat after an hour.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View ChrisJo's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/2/2004 - ChrisJo wrote: flawed

  I wouldn't exactly say I drank it -- vinegar on opening, kept this one far too long.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 6 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.