September 23, 2022 - Fully mature fruit, leather and farm smells. Cleans up well when decanted through a coffee filter.
August 17, 2022 - Identical notes to my recent notes.
July 7, 2022 - One-hour decant through a screened and aerating funnel. Some sediment. Wine continues to be strong as described in my notes in 2021.
October 6, 2021 - Completely consistent with my notes from 9/11/2021, 6/29/2021 and 5/17/2021. Perfectly aged Bordeaux!
September 11, 2021 - In line with my notes of 6/29/2021 and 5/17/2021. On a side note: one of my dinner companions, who never really likes red wine, found this one quite enjoyable (so much so that he asked to buy one from me for a dinner party he is hosting soon).
July 20, 2021 - Initially, it almost seems as if this wine is trying to hide its light under a bushel. While the nose does not jump out at you, aromas of dried currant and herbs waft from the glass infused with notes of cigar box, saddle leather, pleasant earth, and an appealing hint of barnyard funk. All the same elements from the nose manifest themselves on the palate in pleasing proportions of aged savoriness. For a 22 year-old wine, there is deceptively more tannin here than initially apparent, but these tannins are refined and subtle--like ultra-fine oak sawdust. After a gentle decanting of about an hour, the wine finally began to display secondary and tertiary characteristics ultimately manifesting as savory fruit, sweet herbs, and cigar humidor with just a hint of astringency as it heads into medium-long but satisfying finish. Drink now if you are still holding, but definitely decant before serving.
June 29, 2021 - Identical serving conditions and tasting experience as my first note of 5/17/2021. Wonderful wine.
June 15, 2021 - Ninety-minute decant. Nearly identical to my note of 5/17/2021 but the nose seemed to have more red fruit than my last experience. Still outstanding, and like that earlier bottle it did throw some sediment and had more caked to the bottle. Really drinking perfectly!
May 17, 2021 - Ninety-minute decant through a screened funnel. Sediment was caked to the bottle and some more was strained out. During decant, wine was aromatic: dark fruit and wet slate. In the glass, wine was clear; still fairly dark with no bricking towards the rim. Nose of blackberries with leaves, stones and some forest floor. In the mouth, the wine was smooth: tannins and oak completely integrated. Dark fruits, a little minerality and a hint of vanilla creme on the medium finish. Wine did not fade throughout the meal and was just as good more than 2 hours after our first sip (3 and 1/2 hours after decanting). Wonderful wine!
January 20, 2021 - Still one of the better left bank 98's that's not a First Growth, just pluggin' along with a solid Bordeaux foundation and good secondary development. At 23, drinks more like 15. Has outlasted a lot of bigger names.