2016 Tusk Estates L'Orange

Community Tasting Notes (13) Avg Score: 94.3 points

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  7/29/2023 - WineBurrowingWombat wrote:

  Nose: [59°] Scents of white flowers, lightly ripe black fruits, prickly brambles and tree bark. Notes of river stones get elevated from the strong boozy-ness, making the mineral scents quite sharp.
  
  Palate: [64°] Pure flavors of deep earth, black lightly ripe fruits, dark oak with a firm spice, and a finish of dark graphite with some savoriness. Stubborn heat on the mid to end palate.
  
  Attributes: Dark medium ruby. Dry with medium-plus amounts of grippy, chewy tannin. Medium to medium-plus body with medium to medium-plus acidity. Good finish of at least 18-20 seconds.
  
  Thoughts: Overflowing with unrestrained power, this thing still needs time to resolve, and a lot of it. Like our sun in the heavens, this thing is emitting solar flares uncontrollably. I was hoping this would maybe be a bit more resolved by now but this is still acting like an immature juvenile. And like some of those degenerates, you can't tell what kind of future it has but can only hope they have a better one. Gonna hope for the best and keep telling myself, "It's just a phase.."
  
  Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Served one glass and emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~54° and consumed over 9.5 hours. Recommend serving ~56°-58° and decant as needed. As of this date, don't open yet, just cellar away for another 4-5 years (yes, a reset of the waiting game from my last post two years ago).

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  8/4/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 98 Points

  Small Tusk tasting with the proprietor (Napa Grill (Zurich)): Small Tusk tasting with co-founder Tim Martin. The L’Orange is around 60% Cab with the rest split into Franc and PV. Only around 120 cases made.
  
  Tasting note:
  Dark cherry, black currant, vanilla, baking spice, barnyard, herbs, iodine and elements of mint. Incredibly versatile, constantly evolving and changing in the glass. Compared to the Tusks Estates, this added a more Bordeaux-like, earthy character. The palate is youthful and fresh, in good balance even if still a bit wild. A very present mid-palate structure. This was fantastic and toe to toe with Tusk 2012 for the wine of the night. Add another few years of bottle age and the L’Orange would probably surpass the Estate wine.

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  6/13/2022 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points

  Likely didn’t give this enough time open (2 hours decant). Like the notes below mention there is a considerable amount of heat on the palate here. Structurally it’s dense and chewy with thick tannins. Ripe dark fruited and a good wine but just lacking lift for the price (especially the secondary market).

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  2/9/2022 - csimm wrote:

  PnP, which was a mistake. A good amount of heat right out of the gate. This bottle was reluctant to let the fruit loose from its youthfully angular frame. A lot of power here that currently overrides a sense of flow or nuance. Giving this bad boy air is a much needed undertaking if attempting to approach it anytime soon. Otherwise, hold another 4-5 years.
  
  Remainder of juice left in the bottle for a next day revisit. We shall see how day two goes...
  
  Day 2: Waaaaaaay more resolved and sans the big booze blockade from the first pull on Day 1, this revisit on the second day was a personal sigh of relief for the future of this wine. Definitely one to hold for now.

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  12/9/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Epic Napa Trip - Day 5: Tasted at Tusk with Augie - This was a very nice wine, and certainly offers a nice QPR. It did suffer slightly being next to its big brother, which stole the show, IMO. I had heard of Tusk wines but had never tasted one, so this was indeed a treat! Nose showed red and dark fruit, with some perfumed notes coming through, as well as hints of spice and cedar. The palate was equally nice with layers of red and dark fruit, some chocolate notes and some earthy woodsy notes. A very nice wine that is showing well now, and should continue to improve. 94+ today, but should go higher with some additional age.

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