Still some dark fruit on the nose, blueberry pie and maybe a little stewed plum. Tannins are gone but there was surprisingly some life in this 2 decades old Washington merlot. Very smooth mid palate with a longish finish. I bought this knowing it could be long gone but I was pleasantly surprised and may buy the remaining bottles I saw on the shelf. The cork was very crumbly except for the last 3/8" or so. Forgot my ah-so and had to decant with a decanter strainer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Fabulous bottle! Drank on the heels of a disappointing 99 Guigal... and had opposite experience. Very lively, lush in the mouth, ripe full fruit, not overly tannic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Delicious and a fantastic buy at $20. Not nearly as good as the 1998 Ciel du Cheval, but close. Showed the color of an aged wine but was youthful and expressive on the palate. If this was not my only bottle I would hold off for at least 2 more years as the tannin structure was still very well defined.
Delicious stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.
2/12/2024 - gr8vino Likes this wine: 89 Points
Still some dark fruit on the nose, blueberry pie and maybe a little stewed plum. Tannins are gone but there was surprisingly some life in this 2 decades old Washington merlot. Very smooth mid palate with a longish finish. I bought this knowing it could be long gone but I was pleasantly surprised and may buy the remaining bottles I saw on the shelf. The cork was very crumbly except for the last 3/8" or so. Forgot my ah-so and had to decant with a decanter strainer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2013 - Gary wrote: 91 Points
Fabulous bottle! Drank on the heels of a disappointing 99 Guigal... and had opposite experience. Very lively, lush in the mouth, ripe full fruit, not overly tannic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2012 - junglejuice wrote: 91 Points
Delicious and a fantastic buy at $20. Not nearly as good as the 1998 Ciel du Cheval, but close. Showed the color of an aged wine but was youthful and expressive on the palate. If this was not my only bottle I would hold off for at least 2 more years as the tannin structure was still very well defined.
Delicious stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/5/2010 - buckeye76 wrote: 93 Points
DEEP BERRY FRUIT AND A BIT OF SMOKINESS IN THE NOSE WITH BLUEBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, AND PLUMS IN THE FLAVOR. MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/20/2010 - Gary wrote: 91 Points
Very jammy - still full of fruit, acid & tannin balanced. A touch sweet.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment