2010 Keplinger Sumo

Community Tasting Notes (30) Avg Score: 92.6 points

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  11/12/2022 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine:

  Wine & Wagyu 4
  
  Pulled this bottle to show guest the payoff of patience. Even at 12 years of bottle age this wine has plenty of fruit to go another 8. Side note, I love secondary and tertiary flavors.
  
  Drink or hold
  
  93-95

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  9/9/2022 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Part I of a Keplinger ‘10 vertical ($53@ with a Caldera) from a recent auction purchase. Incredibly potent nose and more subdued palate with blackberries, mulberries, huckleberries, a hint of blueberries, rocky minerality, mixed spice bouquet led by lavender and bay leaf, slightly bitter, almost amaro-inflected earthiness, dark florals, incense, cedar and dark roast coffee. Impenetrably purple, medium bodied, crazy thick legs. Completely integrated medium- tannins and acidity, no heat. Great complexity, medium+ intensity, good persistence. In my 4+ years on CT, I’ve written TNs on 1, count it, 1 PS (although I had 4 bottles, if that makes me more expert), ironically also a ‘10, Outpost Other, and it’s not like I’m holding out: this recently acquired bottle was the only PS in my cellar (I did have a glass of another vintage of this, now forgotten, before going on CT and have had other PSs on occasion), all of which is to say, you can especially take this TN with a grain of salt, to whatever extent you don’t do otherwise with my TNs. For whatever reason, perhaps where Ps tends to be planted, I tend to think of it as perhaps more akin to Zin than Syrah (I like the latter far more than the former), which perhaps accounts for my rare consumption. Anyway, with the Outpost, I was completely surprised at that cuvee’s overwhelming tannins and acidity such that, it took it almost until its 10th birthday to become drinkable, at which point it was quite nice. On the other hand, I’ve been a semi-regular drinker of Helen’s Rhones for quite a while, although as I mentioned in a recent TN for her ‘13 Hangman’s, have generally found them in their sweet spot between ages 5 and 8. And 2 of my CT friends, mjp and csimm, had almost diametrically opposite experiences with this bottling of this vintage, which left me with uncertain expectations going in. These dialectal forces continued during the 2 night tasting experience. The fascinating and intense bouquet wasn’t nearly matched in intensity (although I’d not describe the wine flat as Johnny G did with one bottle nor hollow as csimm did) on the palate, although the notes were diverse and well-delineated. In their youth, I find the Keplinger Rhones tend to be powerfully structure-first wines, but after hitting a sweet spot when the fruit and structure seem to balance out beautifully, the tannins and acidity get absorbed quickly, which I found to be the case here, leaving the wine in need, for my palate, of a bit more lift and energy, which could have elevated this wine to excellence. With all of my disclaimers on PS and only the one, relatively long ago experience with this cuvée, I’m reluctant to make any kind of secular pronouncement, since I can’t speak to how this was drinking at any time in the past (and, having bought it at auction how it was treated prior to its arrival here), but this tastes to me like it’s at least somewhat past its peak drinking window, even with its other fetching qualities. On the other hand, while I didn’t aerate it, and kept it corked during consumption, it held well, and without much change or development, during the 2 nights, so that, even if fluctuation, based on this tasting experience is more likely to be down than up, it shouldn’t be precipitous. This drank particularly well on its own, but was a solid, if unobtrusive companion, to roast chicken and chicken-feta-basil orzo on the 2 nights. The notes I observed were still interesting and desirable (and I loved the wine’s savoriness), and with others’ experiences being generally positive such that I’ll look for this at relatively comparable price points from more recent vintages in the future.

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  4/2/2022 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Powerful but well balanced, with blue and black fruit, licorice, and coffee notes. Striking minerality provides vibrancy.

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  3/16/2022 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 95 Points

  One of many bottles pulled for Spring Break in Sedona.
  
  A personal request for more bottles after a Magnum release last year. This 750 came from Helen & DJ's personal stash and this wine did not disappoint out of the smaller format.
  
  Power, structure and complexity. Super aromatic. One of my personal favorites from Keplinger that I think will cellar with the best of them. At twelve years of age this wine has yet to peak. Plenty of fruit left. It's just that good... at least to me.
  
  Amador & Petit Sirah.

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  10/21/2021 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Some Interesting Bottles Shared During Thursday Night Football (Los Olivos, CA): Serving this alongside a very much alive 1974 Ridge Petit Sirah perhaps unfairly painted this wine as a bit bombastic. Loaded with ripe, sweet cherry, blueberry and spice notes along with plum, licorice and lavender. Rich and delicious, almost a meal in itself.
  
  Updating this note after returning to the bottle two nights later: I now find much less heat and much more typicity. I had slow-ox'ed for 6 hours. I recommend a 10-hour decant at a minimum, but perhaps more bottle age is merited.

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