Community Tasting Note
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Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 98 points
April 2, 2018 - Decided I needed to check my friend CSIMM1161's work on this wine. As per usual, his review is spot on. Coravin pour and WOW has this come a long way from when I had it at the Tusk party. Lots of black cherry, raspberry, cedar, black licorice and expressive floral notes. The pallet is a mix of black and red fruit, a touch of oak and just impeccable texture and tannin management. The definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove. Mega full bodied, with a huge core of concentrated weightless power leading to a ridiculously long 1min+ finish. This will clearly get better, but it's quite a pleasure to have it now. Total class.
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6 Comments
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csimm commented:
4/2/18, 9:00 PM - Well done sir. Please check on my rhetoric all day long. I need the oversight! Now, it’s either groupthink between you and me, or this wine is actually great!
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Nes153 commented:
4/5/18, 10:50 AM - I signed up for this mailer a few years back and have yet to hear anything. It's not really discussed anywhere either and the only thing I've ever read in the wine press was an article stating that Tusk is closed to outsiders... outsiders being anybody that doesn't know Melka or the owner. Any insight on how to get my hands on this wine?
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Cristal2000 commented:
4/5/18, 10:57 AM - The waiting list really means nothing for Tusk, because you need to know one of the owners or a list member that refers you. I recently referred someone, but it seems they are sold out for the time being. They pride themselves on being uber exclusive. I will try to remember to let you know if slots open up.
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Nes153 commented:
4/10/18, 12:48 PM - Sorry, just seeing this, been on the road - thanks and I appreciate the thought! Would definitely be cool to try one of these out.
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Cristal2000 commented:
6/3/18, 7:59 AM - Certainly a big part of the allure of this wine is exclusivity. If you have a more European pallet, prefer Bordeaux to Napa Cab etc, it definitely isn't going to be in your wheelhouse. This is a pet project of Michael Uytengsu. Philippe Melka signed on and was given some ownership of the label. The idea is they source enough grapes from exceptional sources to produce a couple thousand cases of wine, and then Philippe gets to whittle that down to 150 cases or so of what he considers the best material. They sell off the rest of the juice.
The wine itself isn't submitted for ratings, so it is a bit of an obscure unicorn wine, albeit with one of the most famous winemakers in Napa at the helm. They got a big boost when the French Laundry Somm recently called the 2013 one of Napa's four most exciting cabernets.
I am a Napa cab lover myself, so for me this is a very nice wine. That said, it certainly isn't a value even at the list price of over $400 (vs $800+ retail at times). It has a lot of Pritchard Hill fruit, so I associate it more with the Colgin's and Ovid's of the world. I find the mouthfeel and tannin management to be exceptional. The 2014 vintage in particular showed more oak and needs more time for integration.
Hope that wasn't too long an answer for you! -
csimm commented:
6/4/18, 9:29 PM - I just had the 2014 Tusk the other night. It was significantly better on day 2. It's a wine that seems to need some time. Initial PnP is certainly riddled with some booze and dark powerful core fruit. Day 2 showed more sophistication and complexity.