2004 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
Community Tasting Note
msuwine wrote:
Friday, August 23, 2019 - This bottle has more energy and definition than the one I had about 16 months ago (5/18 - 90 points), but it's still not a wine I would seek out with particular (or any other form of) urgency. Purple red in color and full in body, the wine offers aromas of plum, licorice, and tar. Tastes of stewed blueberry, leather, and gravel, with a loose and lingering finish. This has more life in it than the bottle I had last year, but even that variation gives me pause. 15.1% alcohol. Drink now.
I am a fan of Robert Parker (no wine writer more reliably pointed me in the direction of great wines), but I took a look at his retrospective note about this wine (97 in 2014) - and I couldn't help but laugh at two things:
The first is the idea that this has "skyscraper-like texture." What does that even mean? I could imagine this analogy for depth or complexity, but texture is mouthfeel (e.g., silky, grainy), not height. Lots of reviews, lots of words, I get that it's hard - but, drinking this tonight, I couldn't imagine that descriptor for this wine (or, to be fair, any wine).
The second is that Parker suggests, in 2014, that this wine could age for another 15-20 years (read: 2029-2034). After tasting the wine twice in the past year or so, I can say this: that drinking window is insane. Perhaps it's easy to say this kind of thing when you don't pay for the wine, but this doesn't have the density or structure to go much further. I know free advice is worth what you pay for it, but the same can't be said (at least sometimes) for professional advice, either...
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Comment posted by Gustavo Brambila:
8/24/2019 9:01:00 AM - Great note, I appreciate your view. I can't help think that most critics definition/descriptors are way out there. Parker was just first to hit the seen. I find that I am using the critics only to point out wines that I could look for. In terms of ratings, I would agree more with the CT family to rate a wine closer to it's point score. Same with the drinking window.
On a critic's note, Suckling is a critic that I have lost all respect for.