"Odedi"

8.9

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Dark ruby in color with a wide brick rim.

The nose is simpler than I expected right out of the bottle, but beautiful once it opens up.

Medium plus in body and elegant, with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing black plums, cooked cherries, light oak, licorice, spices, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, espresso, earth, light forest floor and black pepper.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This Merlot based blend from Bordeaux is drinking nicely now, and feels young, especially on the nose.

Good right out of the bottle, and better with airtime. I did not decant it and left it in the bottle. I was actually worried that it will die sooner, but it still has a lot in it. Love to see that. Only after 2 hours, the nose opened up and tannins showed up.

This 26 years old is easy drinking and good by itself or with food. I had the 2010 vintage, five years ago, and I liked it better this time.

Robert Parker 94 points.

Paired nicely with a Charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$100. — 3 months ago

Severn Goodwin

9.2

Nose has ripe blackberry, perfect black cherry, strawberry, tanned leather, moist chocolate cake, dry leaves and a touch of alcohol.

Palate has brown sugar dusted ripe strawberries, over-ripe black cherry, dehydrated strawberry, forest moss and moist soil; medium finish. Decanted 4H at the time of notes.

Paired with Taiwanese Five Spice Pork (Lu Rou Fan | 卤肉饭) over Jasmin rice with lightly fried eggs from our private egg factory in the backyard. Locally raised NY pork (Kinderhook Farm, Valatie, NY), Columbia Co. ❤️

Inaugural vintage. This was shortly after the time Duckhorn acquired Goldeneye and started a massive diversification program, isolating the vineyards into singular bottlings. For better or worse, we only lasted a few more years on vigorous collecting before withdrawal. Pricing was really getting detached from quality IMHO. — 2 years ago

"Odedi"

9.1

It's time for my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a nice one from Red Hills.

Dark purple in color with a purplish rim.

Fruity nose of blackberries, raspberries, black plums, oak, light vanilla, licorice, herbs, tobacco leaf, earth, spices, chocolates, dark coffee and black pepper.

Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with plums, cherries, black currants, oak, tobacco, licorice, peppercorn, coffee, cinnamon, earth, spices, light vegetables and herbs.

Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a very tasty Cabernet Sauvignon from Lake County in California. Fruit forward with lots of coffee and chocolates notes.

Needs a few hours of airtime to open up, but drinkable right out of the bottle too. Big tannins come out after a couple of hours of air.

Showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel, but still very young, and needs five years in the bottle to mature properly. Would be nice to revisit it in 3 years. Will age nicely in the next 10 years.

I had the 2017 vintage a year ago and it is very consistent.

Easy drinking and good by itself or with food. Will pair nicely with BBQ Meats.

14.3% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$75. — 2 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.3

2016 | Riesling (Kabinett)
Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff; Oberhäuser Leistenberg
Nahe; Oberhausen, Germany
APN 7 753 010 03 17
(93-94; drink 2030-36, 9H decant)

Paired with Taiwanese Five Spice Pork (Lu Rou Fan | 卤肉饭) over Jasmin rice with lightly fried eggs from our private egg factory in the backyard. Locally raised NY pork (Kinderhook Farm, Valatie, NY), Columbia Co. — a year ago

"Odedi"

9.1

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim. What a beautiful color.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Showing cherries, raspberries, black plums, currants, oak, light vanilla, spices, cola, chocolates, earth, wet leaves, peppercorn, pencil lead, dark coffee, rust, blood and herbs.

Dry on the palate with a nice mouthfeel. Shows nice complexity at this point.

Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and pomegranates.

This 13 year old is starting to drink very nicely now, and will continue to age in the next 7 years.

Needs 3 hours to open up properly and show itself. Easy drinking once it opens up. Elegant with good structure.

Robert Parker 94 points.

Paired nicely with the Prosciutto.

A blend of 80% Tempranillo with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. Aged in used American oak barrels for five years.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$40. — a year ago

"Odedi"

9.1

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday.

This is a very tasty Merlot based blend from Saint Emilion.

Full-bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing blueberries, black plums, cooked cherries, cola, chocolates, light vanilla, oak, light vegetables, herbs and black pepper.

This 5 year old is still young and needs three to five years in the bottle to mature. Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

I had it a few months ago and this time I gave it 24 hours to open up in the bottle. Much better this way.

Good by itself or with food. I enjoyed it with Camembert cheese and crackers.

A blend of 68% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc.

15% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$60. — 2 years ago

Pat Taylor

9.0

Dark purple but notable bricking. It was a touch astringent at first, but with good length. It’s another lesson learned with Syrah - almost incomprehensibly better on day 2. I would have scored this three points lower at least on first taste. Five to six hours of air recommended. — 2 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It is time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Dark purple in color with a short purple rim.

Fruity nose, spicy and elegant, with nice complexity.

Dry and very fruity on the palate with medium acidity.

Showing blackberries, black currants, cooked plums, cedar, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, spices, earth, vanilla, coffee, cola and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This young Napa Cabernet needs three to five years in the bottle to mature properly.

Drinking nicely now, and needs 2 hours in the decanter to calm down a bit, and bring out the tannins and more structure.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years. Has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.

Spicy, rich and extracted.

A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.5% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot and 4.5% Malbec.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$55. — a year ago

"Odedi"

9.2

This 10 year old Brunello is drinking very nicely now.

Medium bodied with medium plus acidity.

Very dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing red fruits with oak, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, spices, earth and light vegetables.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy pomegranates.

Powerful yet elegant and smooth.

Good by itself or with food, and needs a couple of hours to open up properly.

Rich with a great mouthfeel.

Will continue to drink nicely in the next five years.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$60. — a year ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Deep purple in color with a very short purple rim.

Strong nose of blackberries, black currants, black plums, dried figs, raisins, cedar, vanilla, licorice, tobacco, coffee, mocha, dark chocolates and herbs.

Full-bodied, smooth and bold, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and very fruity on the palate with blackberries, black plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, light earth, licorice, tobacco, chocolates and black pepper.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This young Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley needs a few hours to open up property.

Big and bold. Fruit forward and extracted. Rich and opulent.

Still very young, and needs at least five years in the bottle to mature properly. Will age nicely in the next 15 years.

Good by itself or with food. Will pair nicely with a big piece of steak. A good sipping wine too.

A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. Aged for 22 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$115. — 2 years ago