Community Tasting Note
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Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 points
September 6, 2023 - Carol's bd wine. Given the option of a big BCellars or Aubert, she chose Aubert.
Kickoff wine for her celebration with the HMCs. Chilled bigly. Pnp'd into white glasses. Immediate nose of pineapple, other tropicals, florals and cream. Palate of creamy chard fruit with a hint of vanilla and sweet oak. Eased into more cream as it warmed in the glass. Tough to say what temp serves this wine better? I'm torn between a 94 and 95 with this one. I have one more bottle in the cellar that I'll use as the tiebreaker later this year. Happy Birthday, baby!4 people found this helpful 4,037 views
5 Comments
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I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine commented:
9/7/23, 1:19 AM - Nice note Mark! You should consider aging Aubert. Of course we all have our individual palates, but I find their wines really shine with 6-8 years on them. You may to purchase an older one on the secondary market just to see if that floats your boat!
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Mark1npt commented:
9/7/23, 6:35 AM - Jason, I know there are a lot of Aubert drinkers who like to age their chards, just like a few zin people I've talked to who do the same. To me, aging those both leads my palate down the same road. I've found my sweet spot with Aubert to be no longer than 7 years old, lest the wine becomes just a bit too tame for me. Same with most zins. They turn into just another claret by losing too much of their 'zin-ness' for me if that makes sense.
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I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine commented:
9/7/23, 6:44 AM - I understand! Everyone has their preferences! For me, I usually like Cali Chardonnays on the younger side too (3-5 years, typically). I just find Aubert and Kistler taste better with a minimum of 6-8 years (depending on vintage and vineyard). Of course, I almost never decant my Chards either. But I think a good litmus test would be if the Chard keeps improving throughout the bottle, i.e., last glass better than the first, then their is a good chance you will like it better with more age! Of course, like I said, different strokes.... :)
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prism commented:
9/8/23, 2:47 PM - I'd never heard of B Cellars, so looked up their various wines and the interesting things people had to say about them. But with Aubert UV-SL Chard in the bd mix, your wife and I are on the same page. I was planning on letting my duo sit for a few more years, but I do take your point about the tamed nature of the wine after seven years of cellarage (which may be true, in a way, of all fine wines, though this is in general a desirable passage.) I await your future notes on Aubert. (Fine Zin, otoh, doesn't sing for me these days until about ten to twelve years from vintage, in contrast to the wild zins of my youth.)
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Mark1npt commented:
9/8/23, 3:04 PM - prism.....thanks for your thoughts here....I'm 65 and have always loved so many wines in all their various stages, primary, secondary and even way past tertiary, but lately I've begun to experience a little palate shift away from big Napa reds. I used to drink them pretty much every night and save my softer aged Bdx for the weekends. I still prefer my chards and zins with nice, rich, ripe fruit, and prefer to drink them before they get too soft or aged. Perhaps as I age more, I'll want all those other wines in my cellar to be there with me, too? Cheers!