Community Tasting Note

winenut919 Likes this wine:

Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - Recently obtained via auction from K&L and allowed to rest 1 month. Lower neck fill with a good quality cork (removed via Ah So)...moist only at the end. Medium brickish ruby tailing off noticeably toward the rim. Not bad for it's age. Nose of old cedar & oak with some tobacco, old cherries, plums, and red currants along with quite bit of tannin (which is perceived as the residue of Black Tea...the tannic acid). Amazingly good right of of the bottle into the glass, as I would NEVER decant an older wine like this. A bit light (12% alcohol), but wonderfully intricate nose and flavors, which progressively opened and expanded over a 3+ hour period of time...and got progressively more tannic. Lots of sediment, but not annoyingly so. Sediment indicates life, and you DON'T want to strain it out until you're halfway into the bottle...or you'll strip out some of the wonderful flavors that the sediment contains (and which it releases with oxygen). The fruit became denser and riper as time went on. Such a wonderfully complex nose at this age, and that's reflected in the wine. Long, complex finish (despite the tannins). Quite nice...though not as nice at the 83 Volcanic Hill or 83 Gravely Meadow would be (which I've not had for quite some year).

Like a nice La Mission Haut Brion from a good (but not great) vintage (say 81?) at this age. Definitely what you get from Jerry Luper and Diamond Creek.

Despite what you may be thinking, I fully expect the remains will be quite drinkable (if not delectable) tonight (2nd day). But I will strain out the excess sediment...now that it's had a chance to oxidize and infuse the flavors into the wine.

Is this thankfully NOT a 4-year old Screaming Eagle...as I've never been fond of Prunes. But do I love old wines and for a little over $70, this turned out to be a wonderful drink. I have 5 more bottles.

I won't list my cellar, but I currently have about 1000 bottles, and have been collecting and drinking the MOST BALANCED & Age Worthy wines I can get for over 38 years...which I figure means over 4000 bottles of wine.

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