1997 L'Ecole No. 41 Apogée Pepper Bridge Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 91 points

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  12/24/2014 - Mark Likes this wine: 91 Points

  My last bottle. I have had several of these older L'Ecole 41 bottles that have not aged, this one was fantastic, and evolved in a wonderful bottle. Smokey cigar and spice with a medium length finish. Required about 45 minutes of air then drank well for many hours.

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  3/31/2012 - Nataliego wrote: 96 Points

  Didn't decant, just a few swirls and it's still drinking beautifully. Soft tannins, dark fruit and a hint of tobacco breaks through on the finish. Delicious!

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  3/13/2012 - Pelly Cellar wrote: 92 Points

  Still drinking beautifully... well integrated soft tannins, heavy on the merlot, a little weak in the nose department. Opened and poured the first glass about an hour before drinking. It could have breathed for 2-3 hours instead of just 1, but I was chicken that I might over-shoot the runway.

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  1/1/2007 - teekayfl wrote: 88 Points

  Performance solid but not exceptional. After an hour open, undecanted. Opaque dark garnet. Nose of dark fruit and hints of tobacco. Palate with decent acidity, medium tannins, short to medium finish (not falling off a cliff, but still fairly short). Dark fruits with black cherry as high note. More balanced after 2-3 hours open, but no real change in fundamentals. $34 retail (inTacoma) on release; in retrospect, overpriced as were most Wash state wines of the time except Quilceda Creek and the better Andrew Will bottlings.

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  9/6/2006 - Mark wrote: 89 Points

  This was a bit of a surprise, I have not been all that excited about the development of the 97 Apogee, but there was a very nice bottle. Clear benefit of 45 minutes of decanting time, the wine put on substantial weight and opened up after this. The nose is a singular cherry red fruit with some heat emerging after two hours, you have some cedar notes with spice and pepper. Full in the mouth with a nice velvety texture and most resolved tannins. Finish is a bit on the short side and trails of quickly with a slight tannic bite. The Apogee showed best at one hour and overall, it is drinking very well now.

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View all 6 Community Tasting Notes

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