12/2/2022 - Sw244 wrote:

Read a few tasting notes on this being past its peak. Was a bit worried when I initially opened it to find the nose and palate with little fruit and mostly notes of heavy cedar and leather.

Quick decant and 30 minutes later this wine absolutely sprang to life. Nose of cherry, dark berries, leather, smoke and cedar. Incredible nose and kept getting more powerful with more air. Balanced palate of cassis, dark cherry, cedar, leather and lead pencil. Tannins perfectly integrated with a vibrant acidity keeping this wine almost youthful for such an oldie at 22 years. A smooth velvety finish of almost a full minute.

I've never experienced such a rapid transformation in a bottle of wine. If I wasn't paying attention I'd swear someone switched my glass. Pretty cool. Looking forward to my other 3 bottles I was lucky enough to score in auction. They must have been stored well and has definitely a few more years ahead.

4/11/2022 - Morgan1132 Likes this wine:

Dark, deep purple. Black really with colour only showing at the rim. Very slight bricking but looking for it. Nose is savoury, meaty, smokey, fatty notes. Also some white pepper, vanilla and pomegranate/plum/cherry notes. A lot going on on the nose. Still savoury leaning on the palate. Smokey and meaty upfront with some cherry/plum in the mid palate before the tannin takes over for a long finish. Getting some vanilla and smoke from the oak on the finish but not overpowering.

Really enjoyed. Medium+ bodied and would not have guessed such light alcohol. Speaks strongly of the variety and hits all the texture, nose and flavour markers. Really enjoyed this.

Decanted 2 hours. Has some sediment but not too bad. Still in fantastic shape and possibly still on the upward slope given the tannin prominence although drinking very well now.