Drank 12/31/20
Happy New Year!
Scents of dried cherry, leather, tobacco leaf, and cedar Incredible balance with sweet cherry, earth, and a touch leather. Long finish dominated by cherry and drying tannins.
4/22/9/5/4 +50=94 pts.
JS went 98 on this one. A fantastic wine, bit cant quite get there. — 4 years ago
Troba alternativa Montgat. W. Vila. 325 -50% = 162,50. 08.02.20
07.07.20 — 4 years ago
Vintage 2009 | a true to type Touraine, certainly not a middle of the road wine. Made from 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Cot. Now eleven years old but still with a certain stubbornness, though one can call this character as well ☺️ I put it a few hours in the decanter and then it went well with a porc cotelet and fresh green beans. A smell with cherries, flint, vanilla, a robust taste with only a slight velvet impression. I like these ‘difficult’ wines that play hard to get. — 4 years ago
McCarthy & Schiering, $50
Bittersweet occasion and went way above my budget to celebrate my birthday and also mourn Grandma Julie's passing. She loved CdP so thought I'd splurge on one. I've only had a couple but have loved every one I tried. This was a bit different, I'm used to bright fruit forward but this was very muted cooked dark fruit with a lot of emphasis on the baking spice and earthy tobacco notes. Incredibly complex - licorice, coffee, clove, tobacco with an underlying subtle dried/cooked dark fruit. Crazy smooth, but I'm comparing it to sub $20 wines that I'm used to, and you can barely tell that it's 15% alc. Nice tannins but I think it would benefit from a touch more acidity. I'm being picky since I paid so much for it but in summary it's one of the best made wines I've ever had, but not among my favorites. But it's still a great experience and I don't regret the purchase — 3 years ago
This is a tasty Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County in California, however it is not drinking like one.
Showing black fruits with chocolate notes, tobacco, cedar, leather, vanilla, licorice, spices and black pepper.
Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.
Good right out of the bottle and much better after 2 hours in the decanter, so be patient.
I had this wine many times before, and it is drinking very nicely as a 5 year old.
Fruit forward and rich, with a bit of RS. Good by itself as a sipping wine.
Aged in French oak barrels for 9 months.
14.7% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$50. — 4 years ago
Stupid at under $40. Buy all you can.
Green & Golden apple, banana, lemon & lime candy, cream, super soft chalkiness, vanillin, fruit blossoms, spring flowers, jasmine caramel notes, honeysuckle to understated honey, with yellow florals, spring flowers with mixed greens. If you are an acid head (like me) it’s perfect. Excellent long finish that is well balanced, elegant, polished and sings persistently for minutes ending in mid white spice.
Photos of; one of their Grand Cru vineyards, likely 40-50 year plus rootstock, Pierre-Yves Colin and library cellar. — 4 years ago
I quite enjoyed this wine, but difficult following up after an Opus One! — 3 years ago
The 2017 De Toren Fusion V, the Left Bank Bordeaux-based blend, 90% raised in 50% new French oak, is deep garnet in color. It has a well-defined blackberry, bilberry and soy-tinged nose, touches of pencil shaving coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, almost Médoc-like tannins, quite structured and more austere compared to older vintages that I have tasted, especially in the context of a ripe growing season. Noticeably bitter toward the finish. Personally, I would afford this a couple of years in the cellar just to shave the edges, but it is a commendable Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend, one that cohered nicely after two or three hours. (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2021)
— 4 years ago
It's time for my #FridayCabernetfix. Here's a fantastic one from California.
Pretty color of dark ruby with a reddish rim.
Strong nose of blackberries, sweet cherries, black currants, dried figs, tobacco, cedar, leather, vanilla, licorice, spices, dark chocolates, coffee, cola and peppercorn. Great nose.
Full bodied, elegant and smooth, with medium acidity and fat legs.
Dry and very fruity on the palate with blackberries, black cherries, raisins, toasted cedar, leather, vanilla, tobacco, licorice, chocolates, medium roasted coffee, coke, sweet spices and black pepper.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and cherries.
This is a wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Well balanced with nice complexity and a great mouthfeel.
The nose is gorgeous and I just kept on smelling on it for a long time.
This 5 year old is drinking very nicely now, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years and beyond.
Good right out of the bottle and better after 90 minutes of airtime.
This Single Vineyard Cabernet is just plain delicious. Tangy and interesting, rich yet elegant.
Aged for 20 months in French Oak barrels (70% new).
14.8% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$50. — 4 years ago
"Odedi"
It's time for my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a beautiful one from Bordeaux.
Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.
Fruity nose with black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, earth, tobacco leaf, herbs and black pepper.
Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, cooked cherries, oak, light vanilla, earth, wet leaves, herbs, peppercorn, pencil lead, dark coffee, dark chocolates and tobacco leaf.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This 7 year old, from the great 2015 vintage, is drinking very nice right now.
This Fifth growth Bordeaux is showing nice complexity, with a soft and elegant mouthfeel.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after 3 hours in the decanter.
Young, but already delicious, and will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years.
Robert Parker 97 points.
Good by itself as a sipping wine, and good with food too. Will pair nicely with a nice piece of steak.
A Delicious wine that drank better than the 1996 I had 4 years ago.
A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and a touch of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Aged in French oak barrels (50% new) for 16 months.
13.5% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$130. — 3 years ago