Very intense, expressive and pretty nose. It keeps showing well on the palate with a nice long finish. Big wine for the vintage. — 10 days ago
Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.
A treat to try this next to the ‘88, and also against a mini-flight of Leoville Barton. This ‘14 was shockingly odd…unbelievably high toned, sharp, and bing cherry driven aromatically. It actually has this weird cherry reduction profile but also a malic/butter note that needs time to blow off. Crème de cassis and red licorice on the palate with a small amount of graphite. A lot of Calistoga cabs for me show the warmth of the region and this evidently is in that vein, but it’s very Montelena-esque at the end of the day. I’d hold another 5-7yrs. — 12 days ago
2001 Musar is a great way to start to an amazing week. A delicate blend of Cabernet Savignon, Cinsault and Carignan aged in oak for over a year. At its peak from my cellar - 23 years later it's showing notes of dried cherries, cassis, prunes, some leathery vanilla oakyness. The complexity is off the charts and I'm getting aromas of smokey Tennessee tobacco barn and cherry bramble which is a combo I never imagined I would want so bad. The structure is light and balanced. Silky smooth acidity and fine tannins which is a hallmark of this exquisite wine. — 11 days ago
Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 5 days ago
June 2022 - last visit at WS. This was a 1939 vintage (not 1989). Unbelievably “fresh” and good level of acidity for its age. Very special! — 21 days ago
Shay A
Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.
Fun to do a side by side with the ‘88, and also check in against the Montelena. Profile wise, this leans ripe and modern stylistically. There is a kiss of brett that takes you to Bordeaux but it’s mostly red and black fruit driven with a vanilla pipe tobacco sweetness, leather, cassis and a little bit of a floral note, especially aromatically. Big structure for the vintage, but open for business now if you can give it a few hours in the decanter. — 12 days ago