Community Tasting Note

• msuwine Likes this wine: 92 points

  October 30, 2017 - This savory and compact wine was a bit of a head-scratcher for me: it clearly has the right components (rich fruit, ample structure, genuine acidity), but it was so inward and backward that it never quite got out of first gear. I always distrust the conclusion of an "awkward phase," but that seems possible here (and is true of many 2013's at the moment). I think csimm1161 put it best in his 2/17 review: drinking this now is like opening one of those snakes-in-a-can, but the snake doesn't spring; it's there, but it's not alive, at least not yet.
  
  Garnet in color, full in body, nose of blackberry, pencil shavings, and eucalyptus. Tastes of boysenberry, gravel, dark chocolate, and baking spices (e.g., nutmeg, pepper, anise), with a prickly finish. 14.9% alcohol. I'd hold this until 2018 or 2019, when it might become really special. If you can't wait, at least decant, since this improved after a few hours.
  
  At the risk of being impolite, I've found the 12c wines to be the least compelling of Mike Smith's wines (all of which are good - don't get me wrong - but somebody has to come in last place). Although I'm not an expert, the 12c wines generally seem more rustic and inward, when compared to others (Carter being my favorite, with Myriad close behind).

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1 Comment

• Cristal2000 commented:

  10/30/17, 7:48 PM - Nice note. This is the reason I don't buy 12c any longer. This was pretty great right after shipping, but over time it's devolved quite a bit. This could very well be attributed to the GIII vineyard, which seems to start off amazing but loses its luster relatively quickly. Not a lot of structure. I am firmly in the camp that even the Myriad's from GIII need to be consumed in the first few years for maximum enjoyment. Also, I suspect 12c just doesn't have the best blocks, which is huge (as evidenced by the Carter La Bam vs Carter Verdad). At the end of the day, the fruit is the most important factor in all these wines IMO.

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