Community Tasting Note
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Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 points
September 18, 2019 - Coravined a glass off after reading some of the reviews here. After all, who doesn't like a great BDX they don't have to wait 25 years to drink?
Nose is dead closed, on pouring from the Coravin. No barnyard, no nothing. With an hour of air in the glass and some swirling, a light perfumed red fruit emerges with a little black licorice as well. At between 2 and 3 hours just a beautiful classic lead pencil/shavings nose wafts from the glass, no swirling needed.
Initially, the first sip displays a darker, smoother, dryer sweeter fruit with great weight to it. There is solid flavor here! Chalky tannins are integrating very well already. The acidity seems perfectly matched. The fruit loses just a little of its sweetness over 1-2 hours and a slight semi sweet red finish rounds out the palate. This is extremely approachable right now and very enjoyable. Late to the party is a load of fresh tobacco leaf and espresso about 10 seconds after you swallow. The finish lingers another 10-15 seconds. A little toasted oak creeps in at the very end. This is a BDX wine that I think even entrenched Napa cab lovers might like. Delicate levels and nuances the likes of which many young BDX are simply not capable of producing. One wonders where this ends? Is it at its peak now, or will the years be even kinder to this vintage? Best drinking between hours 2 and 3, maybe only because I didn't let it get to hour 4!
Heads up! Next day Coravined a few glasses from the same bottle with a wine buddy. Obviously the fast pour needle did not allow the cork to seal fully so it's been slow oxing overnight. First pour today was like 2-3 hours in , last night. Great nose, great fruit. Another 1-2 hours of air and it turns more BDX like with softness, a little chalk and a little red tart fruit on the end. I guess this is what hours 4-5 would have been like last night. I still like it. My Napa buddy who liked it earlier, not so much toward the end. 96 last night, 93+ tonight, IMO.7 people found this helpful 10,325 views
17 Comments
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LiteItOnFire commented:
9/19/19, 6:36 AM - Mark1Npt- thank you for jumping in on this one so early! Great notes!’ It already sounds like a great wine to start jumping in to watch it evolve. I am in! Will jump in and start the journey with you. Thanks for taking the first one for the team.
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Mark1npt commented:
9/19/19, 7:08 AM - Yw, dude, but I am hardly the first. Others encouraged me to try it. Maybe I just wrote a little more about it? Sacrilege to the true Francophile I am sure...saw it online for under $100 last night. I have 6 but thinking of getting a few more!
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LiteItOnFire commented:
9/19/19, 7:24 AM - For some reason I only have 3. Will look at getting more once I rip the seal off my split.
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Mark1npt commented:
9/19/19, 4:09 PM - Lite, check out my update from today!
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LiteItOnFire commented:
9/19/19, 4:49 PM - Thanks for the update- is the 93 today, how you would rate it based on the further decline or how your buddy would rate it now?
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Mark1npt commented:
9/19/19, 5:46 PM - Buddy did not have it last night so the ratings are my numbers from last night and today. He did concur with me however that he felt it was a 93 today and he does not like the typical BDX which is why I wanted him to try it today. He liked it on opening today which is what it was at 3 hours last night. He did not like it as much 2 hours later (5 hrs total open to air) because it tasted more BDX'ish. He probably would have given it a 92 then. I still liked it quite a bit (easy 93)but a true Napa junkie might not so much.
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LiteItOnFire commented:
9/19/19, 7:26 PM - Thank you, that helps. Now I wonder how much is that over oxidized and because it is so young it has not had a chance to fill out? Time will tell and that’s the fun journey.
Open a 2010 SHL and see what he says. That’s a winner and not overly expensive.true litmus test I use on my friends. -
Decanting Queen commented:
9/20/19, 12:41 AM - Great review Mark! Makes me want to find a few of these...
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Mark1npt commented:
9/20/19, 5:11 AM - Lite, I need to get some of those '10 SHL....had one at the Chateau back in '17 but not since.
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Mark1npt commented:
9/20/19, 5:14 AM - Jen, thanks! You would like it first opened, but even better at 2-3 hours and probably the next day you could enjoy it as a more mature BDX letting it ox.....it's a hard wine to get an accurate read on due to it's evolution right before your eyes. It has a window where I agree with the 96 WA score but it changes quickly. If you blink, you might miss it. Would be fun for you to track it during an evening......
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Decanting Queen commented:
9/20/19, 2:26 PM - I just looked for some at CDG duty free but they only had the 2009. And not a great price, probably a premium for the vintage. I would have loved to pick up a ‘15 for the weekend.
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Mark1npt commented:
9/20/19, 2:30 PM - Oh, to be in CDG right now........you lucky dog! Have a sip of some Coppola for me at the wine bar, will you?
The '09 PClement is a 99-100 pt wine! Get one if you can without crippling the credit card. It's pretty good....... -
Mark1npt commented:
9/20/19, 2:32 PM - Don't see any vendors in ATL with any. There are a couple in NY with a $120-150 price tag. I can get it in Tampa for $99 at B-21. Order some for next weekend.
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Decanting Queen commented:
9/21/19, 4:21 AM - I probably should have bought the 2009 but you know I am meant to be in the ‘no buy’ zone and there are only very particular exceptions...lol. So I bought an 08 champagne instead. ATL still too hot for shipping so will hold on the ‘15 for now unless I find it in another airport!!
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Mark1npt commented:
9/21/19, 6:05 AM - lol....just wanted to give you the heads up on where you could get it.....pretty good price, too.
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jmoon commented:
4/30/20, 1:51 AM - Very good note thanks mark
Day 2 probably shows its future I’m guessing as I noticed on tonight’s bottle it got darker harder and more bramble as the night continued -
Mark1npt commented:
4/30/20, 6:03 AM - jmoon, you are most welcome. Sounds like now 7 months later, based on your bottle it's evolving even more. I am relatively new to the BDXs (about 3 years experience with them) and still trying to gauge their changes and compare to the Napa reds. People tend to only think of release dates and drink by dates and they miss all these changes in wines over their life. I find it really amazing, like I never know what hairstyle my wife is gonna have when I walk in the door after work on any given night. Tons of fun!