2016 Quivet Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard
Community Tasting Note
Badmonkey wrote:
95 Points
Saturday, March 6, 2021 - Get together with some friends. Purple fruit - currants, blackberry, dark cherry, and a little blueberry. Smooth mid-palate with solid depth/concentration - medium plus body. Nice rich flavors of dark berries, cassis, some spice/licorice, and a fairly prominent mineral/graphite component. Decent finish but not overly long nor deep and just a little tart - a little bing cherry on the back-end. Popped/poured but drank out of a decanter for a couple hours. Improved a little with time. 100% cab.
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6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,829 views)
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,829 views)
Comment posted by sfwinelover1:
3/6/2021 8:11:00 AM - BM: I know you sometimes like to drink wines a bit earlier than I do, but I'm curious where you think this wine is in its drinking window, especially since you mentioned it improved a bit with air. Do you think holding for another year or a bit more may improve it? Many thanks, and cheers!
Comment posted by Badmonkey:
3/6/2021 8:39:00 AM - I like big/bold cabs that are really expressive/flavorful so I do tend to prefer younger wines as long as they are not closed, tight, tart, acidic, etc. Mike Smith is probably my favorite winemaker because his wines tend to show really well young in my opinion. I usually prefer his wines in the first couple years from their release. As for the 2016 Quivet Las Piedras cab, I thought it showed quite a bit better in the first year of its release but I also believe a lot of these 2016 cabs are transitioning right now and are in somewhat of an awkward stage. The finish of both the 2016 Quivet Las Liedras cab and 2016 Carter La Verdad Las Piedras cab were somewhat short and just a little tart/tannic. Although I’m sure a couple hour decant would have helped. I’m going to lay my other higher-end Mike Smith 2016 cabs down for at least a year. Take care.
Comment posted by Yack Man:
3/6/2021 9:41:00 AM - Nice comments Badmonkey and I agree with your comments on this wine. I think your experience this time was much better than my last one with this vintage. As is typical, this wine out of the gate was so delicious but has backed off considerably (my last bottle back in 5-2020). I think I have a couple of bottles remaining but clearly I will be in no hurry to pop one any time soon. I'm considering drinking the remaining 2016 Myriad Georges III as well, that one was my all-time favorite.
Comment posted by sfwinelover1:
3/6/2021 9:55:00 AM - I appreciate both BM's TN and your comment, YM. I rarely buy current releases from wineries, more typically from auctions, private purchases and vigorous discount shopping from online and physical retailers, so I often miss that initial window. As I've noted elsewhere, my general preference is for more Bordeaux-inflected Cabs/blends, but I'm trying to expand my drinking range, so I want to give these wines their best shot. The windows on the Cabs I more typically drink are easier to figure, usually not getting to a good point, depending on vintage, for 7-8 years, then holding that for 10+, but with the more modern cabs, it seems they are often at their best shortly after bottling, hold that for a while, then shut down, sometimes reopening after some variable period, sometimes not, but rarely staying at peak levels for the extended periods of the more "classic" cabs (which makes sense, as they often don't have the tannins and acidity which tend to heighten longevity). Many thanks again for both of your helpful thoughts!
Comment posted by Badmonkey:
3/6/2021 9:59:00 AM - In my opinion, 2016 was the best vintage of the Myriad G3. However, I recently had a bottle of the 2016 Myriad G3 Empyrean and I thought that wine could also benefit from some more time. The finish was a little short and somewhat tart/tannic like the 2016 Quivet Las Piedras and 2016 Carter La Verdad. Have a nice weekend.
Comment posted by Badmonkey:
3/6/2021 10:34:00 AM - Sfwinelover1, I agree with your thoughts. I’m still sitting on a bunch of 2014 Myriad cabs that showed really well in the first couple years from their release and then went into hibernation but still haven’t come out yet. Hopefully better days ahead for that vintage. Obviously it’s all personal preference but I’ve had some of Mike’s wines with some age on them (in particular the 2009 and 2010 vintages) and they were good but just didn’t show the character of the recent vintages within the first couple years of their release. Although there are other wineries and winemakers that I take a very different approach like Dunn which benefit from a lot of time. I have a fair amount of 2008 and 2009 Dunn Howell Mountain cabs still laying down.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
3/6/2021 12:17:00 PM - Excellent notes, comments guys, thanks for your updates on these wines! Cheers!