PnP Nose reveals a little dark fruit with hints of some red candy and funkiness that I enjoy. Fair amount of rough tannins to make it interesting as the fruit is singular and simple. Decent qpr
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The ratings swing on this wine's tasting notes suggest to me there is a stylistic preference rather than inconsistency in the wine. We thoroughly enjoyed the extracted, rough, and gamey style of this wine. Big fruit aromas and flavors up front with lots of earthy mid-palate flavors. Finish was a bit disappointing after the nice tannic backbone. Better food wine than sipper, but this was a very good bottle of wine.
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The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, Forest floor, and Horsey. It tastes like Blackberry, Forest floor, Black Pepper, Tea, Wet Dog, and Horsey. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Long.
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I think this bottle is past its peak, tannins still present and some structure, but fruit is very thin. I would recommend drinking up any bottles still in stock.
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Had it with Emma, Tony and Marina with a mixed bag dinner of figs, smoked oysters, beets, beef lasagna and paella. Somewhat intriguing cassis and dark cherry nose but the fruit is dominated by tart, unripe notes. Tannins fading. A perfectly cromulent wine but a bit of a letdown considering this label's storied reputation.
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Popped and poured. Deep purple/garnet hue, quite youthful in appearance. Initially, the aromas of fruit had to contend with an off-putting note of vegetal "funk." However, after a good 45 minutes the funk blew off to reveal an aromatic profile of fresh mountain fruits (blackberry, raspberry), fresh currant, fresh herbs (anise, fennel), and minerals. Medium-plus body, with nice concentration. On the palate, the merlot component is certainly prominent, with plummy, dark fruits providing contrast to earthy/herbaceous notes of tobacco leaf, cedar, and dried basil. Has a very nice streak of minerals running through the back palate with tannins still a bit dense but seemingly mellowing on the moderate close. Continued to improve over the course of 3 hours...should evolve into a very nice claret within 1-3 years and drink well for many more.
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Better than advertised, but needed more than an hour to get the rough edges down, flavors of tobacco, earth and plum. Not my favorite style, but enjoyed getting it to the point of drinkability
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This wine has really come into its own in the last ten months. This bottle was much smoother, coating the palate with rich dark stone fruits, vanilla, currants-earthy cocoa and chewy tannins on the finish.
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Full body. The 4 varietal components are very expressive. But the dense over-ripe character and heat eliminate virtually all the pleasure. Didn't go at all well with steak. Can't think of any food it would pair with. But, maybe a cigar... It's a real shame this was picked so late, as there's clearly nothing wrong with the vineyards.
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Tasted 5-2-09 at a tasting bar. Nose of ripe fruit, with plum, cassis, & red fruits-- the cab franc shows, plus some vanilla below. Palate impression delivers rich fruit with some chocolate notes. Easy, polished, on the lush side. Sweet tannins, nice fruit intensity, moderate acidity, very easy to like. This glass does not deliver the flavor complexity that showed a few months ago with another bottle. Likely due to lack of decanting & air time with this pour. Enjoyable nonetheless. All the merlot makes this Lateral approachable & an option for a mixed crowd, plus it stands alon well for sipping. The cab franc & the dollop of petit verdot provide interest. Not built for extended aging, maybe a couple of yrs.
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SKS Vino Club: Good bordeaux blend medium body with mostly an earthy texture which needs time for the fruit develop, light hints of black fruit on the front, tobacco and cedar notes int he mid palate, finish was a bit light. high 80s. -S
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This is a Merlot blend, but not a Merlot. It had a big black current, tobacco, vanilla and earthly nose. The middle was smooth with medium fruit and tannins. The earthly, tobacco tasted carried though the finish. bought a second bottle to taste again.
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taste: Medium+ tannins with a good smooth medium feel of dark cranberries, black cherries, mixed berries, cedar and bits of root vegetables
overall: a excellent young right bank blend. Good smooth and silky feel with excellent aromatics and flavors. Needs a bit of time and there is a nice upside on the wine as it should round out as the tannins pull back
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Okay, this one had an oaky woodiness that overpowered the fruit. Not as good as the first couple of times I've tried it. It still has it's moments but not all the way thru to the end.
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I couldn't stop thinking about this wine after having it last week so I went and bought another on to see if I had the same experience. This is a sophisticated wine. In the nose fragrant chocolate, brown sugar, smoked wood, cherries and plums. Silky, elegant but fairly concentrated but not heavy at all. Juicy with nice acidity.This wine caresses the senses.
A woman wine writer wrote this about the 2003 Lateral that could also apply a little to the 2005 .
"Suddenly, you’re drinking a meaty plum tart with cedar, pepper, herbs and fabulous high notes of raspberry liqueur. Wow, even a hint of fine cognac. This wine is so elegant and sophisticated, I went upstairs to my closet to fetch a hat. Considered gloves, but I hate spilling wine on white suede. You can easily be seduced by this wine, and then, more easily lost in its complexity and charm. It reeks of the proper butler’s pantry: cigars, sherry, cognac, cedar closet and glove leather – wait, wait, do I smell Eau de Rolls Royce? This wine most certainly could be that fragrance. Most wonderfully, much of it translates to the palate in the form of a smooth, sleek and fabulously Greta Garbo-like elixir. It is as smooth and lovely as her hair, but still wears the hat and the gloves, never giving up one ounce of sophistication. And that’s the whole idea."
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Popped and poured. Balanced nicely but I thought not that interesting at this price level. After decanting for an hour it gets much better. Nose opens up to dusty fruit and pencil shavings. Chocolate and Vanilla and sweet & sour cherries. Melts in your mouth. I like acidity that is a little noticeable when the fruit is rich and this has that. Now I'm getting really nice wood in the bottom of the glass.. I think the scores are too low on this one especially WS. This is all about complexity, finesse and balance. Not over-rich or structured. I think it delivers what it's meant to be extremely well. You need to decant this for at least an hour to open up.
From the winemaker: "The 2005 is my favorite Lateral in the last decade, due to the fact it’s style is dead on for my original model; that of St. Emilion. It’s very refined, subtle, and feminine, while still being very complex and captivating, with it’s earthy and fruity aromas and polished rich texture. It’s almost Burgundian in style.
Aged for 22 months in 40% new oak, including 25% French oak, Lateral carries a level of quality rarely found in it’s price range. It’s ready to drink in the first couple of years. Lateral serves perfectly for customers looking for a luxury wine, without breaking their budget."
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This wine seemed to have a lot going for it at the beginning with scents of dark berries mixed with some vanilla. Some oakiness on the palate but that's where it had a lot of sharp edges that will need some time to smooth out and become well rounded. The bottle wasn't around long enough to tell if it would really come around any time soon and at this price point I won't bother buying another to find out.
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Still too early not to decant this-if it follows suit of the 03 and 04 vintages, in a year or so decanting won't be necessary. Once it opened up the smooth fruit and spice were nicely balanced. Not as fruity as previous years, but very good, finish lingered nicely-looking forward to trying this again in the next few years.
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Decanted for just under an hour before drinking. 50% merlot, 22% cab franc and cab sauv, and 6% Petit Verdot. The nose was full of vanilla, chocolate, cherries, cranberries and blueberry. Flavor profile was much of the same with the 13.9% alcohol raging in on the finish for the first glass or two (but I have a feeling this had more to do with the chipotle marinated steaks we had for dinner than the wine itself). Surprisingly, the denser petit verdot aromatics, flavors and mouth feel was what stood out to me. After about another hour, it settled down quite dramatically into a pretty well balanced wine with soft fruit and oak influenced flavors, and a fairly elegant texture. This retails for about $33, but we got it in our wine club shipment for $25. Even at the discounted price, I'd have to pass on this next time around. However, I can see this wine being great under the right conditions and if I was in the right mood for it. 86-88.
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2/25/2022 - Stuberman wrote:
92 Points. This wine was worth waiting for.
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3/27/2015 - etc wrote:
PnP Nose reveals a little dark fruit with hints of some red candy and funkiness that I enjoy. Fair amount of rough tannins to make it interesting as the fruit is singular and simple. Decent qpr
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1/6/2014 - docjavadude Likes this wine: 90 Points
The ratings swing on this wine's tasting notes suggest to me there is a stylistic preference rather than inconsistency in the wine. We thoroughly enjoyed the extracted, rough, and gamey style of this wine. Big fruit aromas and flavors up front with lots of earthy mid-palate flavors. Finish was a bit disappointing after the nice tannic backbone. Better food wine than sipper, but this was a very good bottle of wine.
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12/18/2013 - hunteje Does not like this wine: 85 Points
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Blackberry, Forest floor, and Horsey. It tastes like Blackberry, Forest floor, Black Pepper, Tea, Wet Dog, and Horsey. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Long.
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10/3/2011 - JHaslam wrote: 85 Points
I think this bottle is past its peak, tannins still present and some structure, but fruit is very thin. I would recommend drinking up any bottles still in stock.
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1/29/2011 - JuliannaDHS wrote: 89 Points
Nice bottle of wine with good fruit and smooth tannins after it opened up about an hour.
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11/12/2010 - yeastbeast wrote: 84 Points
Had it with Emma, Tony and Marina with a mixed bag dinner of figs, smoked oysters, beets, beef lasagna and paella. Somewhat intriguing cassis and dark cherry nose but the fruit is dominated by tart, unripe notes. Tannins fading. A perfectly cromulent wine but a bit of a letdown considering this label's storied reputation.
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11/5/2010 - *Vine* wrote:
Popped and poured. Deep purple/garnet hue, quite youthful in appearance. Initially, the aromas of fruit had to contend with an off-putting note of vegetal "funk." However, after a good 45 minutes the funk blew off to reveal an aromatic profile of fresh mountain fruits (blackberry, raspberry), fresh currant, fresh herbs (anise, fennel), and minerals. Medium-plus body, with nice concentration. On the palate, the merlot component is certainly prominent, with plummy, dark fruits providing contrast to earthy/herbaceous notes of tobacco leaf, cedar, and dried basil. Has a very nice streak of minerals running through the back palate with tannins still a bit dense but seemingly mellowing on the moderate close. Continued to improve over the course of 3 hours...should evolve into a very nice claret within 1-3 years and drink well for many more.
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3/22/2010 - danielbleier wrote: 86 Points
Better than advertised, but needed more than an hour to get the rough edges down, flavors of tobacco, earth and plum. Not my favorite style, but enjoyed getting it to the point of drinkability
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10/24/2009 - JR_Boston wrote: 89 Points
Light, perfumy, lack of finish
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9/6/2009 - scottmlew wrote: 90 Points
This wine has really come into its own in the last ten months. This bottle was much smoother, coating the palate with rich dark stone fruits, vanilla, currants-earthy cocoa and chewy tannins on the finish.
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7/4/2009 - yhn wrote: 82 Points
Full body. The 4 varietal components are very expressive. But the dense over-ripe character and heat eliminate virtually all the pleasure. Didn't go at all well with steak. Can't think of any food it would pair with. But, maybe a cigar... It's a real shame this was picked so late, as there's clearly nothing wrong with the vineyards.
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5/9/2009 - clava wrote: 89 Points
Tasted 5-2-09 at a tasting bar. Nose of ripe fruit, with plum, cassis, & red fruits-- the cab franc shows, plus some vanilla below. Palate impression delivers rich fruit with some chocolate notes. Easy, polished, on the lush side. Sweet tannins, nice fruit intensity, moderate acidity, very easy to like. This glass does not deliver the flavor complexity that showed a few months ago with another bottle. Likely due to lack of decanting & air time with this pour. Enjoyable nonetheless. All the merlot makes this Lateral approachable & an option for a mixed crowd, plus it stands alon well for sipping. The cab franc & the dollop of petit verdot provide interest. Not built for extended aging, maybe a couple of yrs.
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4/19/2009 - sasvino wrote: 89 Points
SKS Vino Club: Good bordeaux blend medium body with mostly an earthy texture which needs time for the fruit develop, light hints of black fruit on the front, tobacco and cedar notes int he mid palate, finish was a bit light. high 80s. -S
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4/12/2009 - mjsherwin68 wrote: 90 Points
This is a Merlot blend, but not a Merlot. It had a big black current, tobacco, vanilla and earthly nose. The middle was smooth with medium fruit and tannins. The earthly, tobacco tasted carried though the finish. bought a second bottle to taste again.
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3/21/2009 - mmurry wrote: 91 Points
Blended Wines (Farpointe Cellar): The nose had raspberry, currant, earth, and vanilla. The palate had currant, earth, cedar, raspberry, and vanilla.
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3/20/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
Binny's Spring California Night (Binny's Highland Park, highland park IL): nose: very well balanced with excellent tones of black cherries, mixed berries, anise, cedar, bits of herbs and a touch of root vegetables. Excellent aromatics with good balanced fruit
taste: Medium+ tannins with a good smooth medium feel of dark cranberries, black cherries, mixed berries, cedar and bits of root vegetables
overall: a excellent young right bank blend. Good smooth and silky feel with excellent aromatics and flavors. Needs a bit of time and there is a nice upside on the wine as it should round out as the tannins pull back
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3/20/2009 - kennyg wrote: 84 Points
Got better on day 2 but initially way too tight with astringent finiish. Somewaht rich and meaty despite its short comhings
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1/14/2009 - beachnic wrote: 88 Points
Okay, this one had an oaky woodiness that overpowered the fruit. Not as good as the first couple of times I've tried it. It still has it's moments but not all the way thru to the end.
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12/16/2008 - beachnic wrote: 90 Points
I couldn't stop thinking about this wine after having it last week so I went and bought another on to see if I had the same experience. This is a sophisticated wine. In the nose fragrant chocolate, brown sugar, smoked wood, cherries and plums. Silky, elegant but fairly concentrated but not heavy at all. Juicy with nice acidity.This wine caresses the senses.
A woman wine writer wrote this about the 2003 Lateral that could also apply a little to the 2005 .
"Suddenly, you’re drinking a meaty plum tart with cedar, pepper, herbs and fabulous high notes of raspberry liqueur. Wow, even a hint of fine cognac. This wine is so elegant and sophisticated, I went upstairs to my closet to fetch a hat. Considered gloves, but I hate spilling wine on white suede. You can easily be seduced by this wine, and then, more easily lost in its complexity and charm. It reeks of the proper butler’s pantry: cigars, sherry, cognac, cedar closet and glove leather – wait, wait, do I smell Eau de Rolls Royce? This wine most certainly could be that fragrance. Most wonderfully, much of it translates to the palate in the form of a smooth, sleek and fabulously Greta Garbo-like elixir. It is as smooth and lovely as her hair, but still wears the hat and the gloves, never giving up one ounce of sophistication. And that’s the whole idea."
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12/7/2008 - Rollerball wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for four hours. Elegant and complete; fills in the back of the palate beautifully.
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12/5/2008 - beachnic wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Balanced nicely but I thought not that interesting at this price level. After decanting for an hour it gets much better. Nose opens up to dusty fruit and pencil shavings. Chocolate and Vanilla and sweet & sour cherries. Melts in your mouth. I like acidity that is a little noticeable when the fruit is rich and this has that. Now I'm getting really nice wood in the bottom of the glass.. I think the scores are too low on this one especially WS. This is all about complexity, finesse and balance. Not over-rich or structured. I think it delivers what it's meant to be extremely well. You need to decant this for at least an hour to open up.
From the winemaker:
"The 2005 is my favorite Lateral in the last decade, due to the fact it’s style is dead on for my original model; that of St. Emilion. It’s very refined, subtle, and feminine, while still being very complex and captivating, with it’s earthy and fruity aromas and polished rich texture. It’s almost Burgundian in style.
Aged for 22 months in 40% new oak, including 25% French oak, Lateral carries a level of quality rarely found in it’s price range. It’s ready to drink in the first couple of years. Lateral serves perfectly for customers looking for a luxury wine, without breaking their budget."
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11/15/2008 - Rob MacKay wrote: 84 Points
This wine seemed to have a lot going for it at the beginning with scents of dark berries mixed with some vanilla. Some oakiness on the palate but that's where it had a lot of sharp edges that will need some time to smooth out and become well rounded. The bottle wasn't around long enough to tell if it would really come around any time soon and at this price point I won't bother buying another to find out.
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11/13/2008 - scottmlew wrote: 88 Points
Still too early not to decant this-if it follows suit of the 03 and 04 vintages, in a year or so decanting won't be necessary. Once it opened up the smooth fruit and spice were nicely balanced. Not as fruity as previous years, but very good, finish lingered nicely-looking forward to trying this again in the next few years.
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10/10/2008 - jhannah27 wrote: 86 Points
Decanted for just under an hour before drinking. 50% merlot, 22% cab franc and cab sauv, and 6% Petit Verdot. The nose was full of vanilla, chocolate, cherries, cranberries and blueberry. Flavor profile was much of the same with the 13.9% alcohol raging in on the finish for the first glass or two (but I have a feeling this had more to do with the chipotle marinated steaks we had for dinner than the wine itself). Surprisingly, the denser petit verdot aromatics, flavors and mouth feel was what stood out to me. After about another hour, it settled down quite dramatically into a pretty well balanced wine with soft fruit and oak influenced flavors, and a fairly elegant texture. This retails for about $33, but we got it in our wine club shipment for $25. Even at the discounted price, I'd have to pass on this next time around. However, I can see this wine being great under the right conditions and if I was in the right mood for it. 86-88.
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