Art In The Age

Flora Springs

Trilogy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2019

It's time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Deep purple in color, almost inky, with a short purple rim.

Fruity nose of blackberries, cooked plums, sweet cherries, cedar, light vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, coffee, light cocoa powder and peppercorn.

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

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, cola, light herbs, earth, chocolates, coffee, peppercorn and tobacco.

Tangy finish with round tannins and raspberries.

This is a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley. Tangy and interesting.

Spicy, rich and extracted, yet elegant. Nicely balanced with a nice mouth feel.

I had the 2018 not too long ago, and it is very consistent.

Very young, but already drinking nicely, after a couple of hours of airtime. A good quality wine that will age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

A good sipping wine that doesn't necessarily need food, but will be great with a big piece of steak as well.

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Aged in mostly French oak barrels for 18 months.

14.2% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$85.
— 4 years ago

Romain, Brent and 19 others liked this

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 1981

🏅 Rating 93+/100 (4,35⭐)

Tasted from magnum.

Ruby color with tawny hue showing the age. First nose has a slight touch of iron. Fruit is ripe and sweet. Vegetable scent of tomato stems suggesting presence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sandy tannins of Sangiovese. Amazing how bottle aging makes the wine so smooth and satin.

Mostly tertiary aromas, but very well holding the age and could last for at least 5 more years without any signs of decline

Elegant expression of famous Tignanello.

1981 was outshadowed by great 1982. It was 10th anniversary vintage and is considered a very fine one.

Key oenological data:
Average sugar content of grapes at harvest 21.00%
Average total acidity of the grapes 7.80%
Alcohol content after fermentation 13.00
Average fermentation temperature 28C
Length of fermentation 13 days
Acidity of wine after malo 5.90
Ageing in 225 litre barrels 20 months
Bottle ageing in our cellars 18 months

======
I have published the article with a story of Tignanello, the emblematic SuperTuscan wine from Antinori.

\- What were the key factors of its success?
\- What makes this wine stand out from many other wines form Tuscany?

Best enjoyed with a glass of Tignanello.

Read the full article at www.stasmedvedev.lv/wine

---
Instagram: @wine_talks_club
— 5 years ago

Severn and Ira liked this

Hanzell Vineyards

Sonoma Valley Chardonnay 2013

Taking a virtual tour of Sonoma while dining at one of our favorite restaurants in Santa Barbara. This is the white wine for dinner; look for the red wine rating as well. Bright creamy bold Sonoma Chardonnay. Atypical tropical flavors present tonight, with a hint of quince on the finish. This wine is in a lovely place. Very enjoyable. Bravo!! One of the very few domestic Chardonnay wines that is age worthy. — 6 years ago

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1984

1984 vintage. Cork difficult to extract, ended up in several pieces. Beautiful deep color, little to no bricking even at this age. Seductive at one hour+ of air with black cherry, raspberry, some vanilla, green pepper, graphite. 12% ABV. From the FIL’s collection. — 6 years ago

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

BV grapes were first planted back in 1900, by founder Georges de Latour. A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon & 6% Petit Verdot. A Wow factor wine!! Outstanding! Deep dense red with complex berry fruit aromas adding in toasty floral spice. On the palate big full flavors of blackberry, cherry and sweet plum flavors with licorice and cacao, adding cedar and cacao notes. Soft velvet tannins, young, lingering finish, well integrated and nicely balanced, a joy to drink. Will age a long time. Wait, don’t be tempted — 8 years ago

David, Velma and 4 others liked this

Domaine Tempier

Bandol Rosé Blend 2016

2016 vintage on Dec 19, 2017 at Sun River, OR with Rhett and Family. Bought 6 bottles at Zupan’s in Aug 2017. Complex and age-worthy rosé, but my willpower to keep is uncertain. — 8 years ago

P liked this

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

This wine needed about 3 hours to release. Initially tight with uncomfortable medicinal nose which then totally dissipated. Drinking now next day and you get the age of fully integrated but not fading tannins. Nose has a delightful dark fruit and smokiness. Great fit of nose and taste, meaning - when tastes after smelling the experience is consistent and not jolting. I think the color purple in a subdued way. Very nice. Memo to self: decant and watch for sediment, and enjoy three hours later. — 10 years ago

Cynthia LangstaffChris Langstaff
with Cynthia and Chris
Chris liked this

Shafer Vineyards

Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Great wine, impeccable balance and in a good spot. No sign of age but my preference is to drink them younger, 15 years is fine but I would not hold for 25 — 10 years ago

John, David and 3 others liked this
David L

David L Influencer Badge Premium Badge

A great bottle!
Mike Davila

Mike Davila

Our anniversary, plus sentimental value behind purchase of the bottle.
David L

David L Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Happy Anniversary. Enjoy!

Dunn Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

I know these wines well and even for Dunn Napa, this wine is very light in its structure and mid palate. I love these wines with a bit more age on them. I feel like this is in an awkward in between stage. Softer than a young wine, but still too fruit focused to appreciate the nuances and lean finish that makes these wines brilliant. Hold it! — 10 years ago

Cantina Bartolo Mascarello

Barolo Nebbiolo 1985

Jason Heller
9.4

Everything you hope on the nose and palate. Started to slide in the nose within the first 30 min, though the palate stayed strong throughout. Love me some Nebbiolo with age. — 11 years ago

Christopher, Anthony and 15 others liked this

Pio Cesare

Barolo Nebbiolo 2006

Solid at age 20

Day 1
Served with Vinlog Wine System
Youthful appearance
👃Barolo notes of cherries and tar
👅Palate is darker than aromas. Plum,
sweet purple fruits, black licorice and
tea. Fresh. Menthols emerge with time
Full bodied with tannins that could still
resolve
Persistent finish

Stored in fridge with Vinloq
preservation gas

Day 21
👃Cherries, menthol, strawberries and
roses
👅Similar to Day1 with softer tannins

In a solid place at 20 years and it
should be good and likely improve for many
years
— 4 years ago

Tom, Chris and 21 others liked this
Romain Fitoussi

Romain Fitoussi

Wow classy
Brent Young

Brent Young Premium Badge

Definitely classy 🙂

Leeuwin Estate

Art Series Margaret River Shiraz 2018

A Margaret River-producer from the beginning, whose inception was coached by Mondavi; deep purple; nose of dark mulberry, black currant, ripe cherries, black pepper, anise and nutmeg; showing great on the palate, forceful yet elegant, with tannins, ripe fruit, acid levels and alcohol in good harmony, and a long dry finish. Promising future. — 5 years ago

"Odedi", Ron and 4 others liked this

Penfolds

Bin 389 South Australia Cabernet Shiraz 2008

Rich Ruby in colour. Aromas of mocha oak, plum, cherry and blackberry. Hints of prune and dark chocolate. Great fruit quality - Cabernet 52% from Coonawarra and 48% Shiraz from the Barossa. The percentages are correct - they may tinker with the source from Penfolds vast resources. Dry but polished tannins. Typical of the longevity of nearly all Penfolds Reds, this is the first of 6 bottles at 13 years of age. Richard Hemming MW has a drinking window of 2020 to 2043 so this is just the beginning. Have the next in a few years. — 5 years ago

Peter, Daniel and 22 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Ok , I drank too early . My excuse, I’m staying in place. 14 day up Monday. Dark, chewy traditional cab.I liked it a lot. Will age. — 6 years ago

Severn, Tom and 26 others liked this
Paul K

Paul K

@Hugh O'Riordan thank you for making me feel better about opening early! Im not the only one! Cheers to you. Stay safe and healthy my Delectable friend!
Hugh O'Riordan

Hugh O'Riordan

Thanks for your note. Nice to know I’m not alone

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Enjoyed while cleaning out the boss' cellar. Say what you want about this wine, but the one thing you can say is that this wine is incredibly consistent. This wine reminds me of the family uncle who always gives you some silver dollars at Christmas...even though you are now a grown adult. And if you actually listen to his crazy advice on investing when you were a kid, you just might be able to be that Uncle when you grow up. This wine is a thoroughbred. Meant to be consumed at least after 10 years. And this wine is in a really good spot. The nose does show a tiny bit of age as does the palate. This is front-loaded with slightly aged blackberry and a bit brambly. This wine smoothed out quite a bit over 3 hours. Finish with very nice integration, a hint of stiff oak tannin but a lot of it has resolved. Very enjoyable. This wine still has another 10 or 15 years left. — 7 years ago

Sharon, Kirk and 29 others liked this
P A

P A

@Mark Flesher Mark Good wine, producer and vintage a trifecta Cheers 🍷
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

Nice metaphor!

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2005

Once it opened up a phenomenal wine. Incredible nose. Strong aromatics, dried fruits, oak, hints of pepper. Smooth but firm tannins. Cherries and vanilla develop in the mouth. Long, warm finish. Drink now or let it age. — 9 years ago

Mark Parsonson
with Mark
Matt, Colin and 1 other liked this

Heitz Cellar

Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Heitz has still got it baby, 1998 Napa cab standing up nicely at 18 years old. The color is only just showing signs of age. The nose is full of mint and lamb. In a strange spot since its not especially lush or fruity and yet hasn't fully developed the tertiary notes you would expect. But has the bones to go longer still. — 10 years ago

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 1972

This was the vintage Serge sipped as bombs fell in Beirut in '76.

Moderate ruby-garnet to an orange rim. It was phenomenal straight out of the bottle, with tertiary dark blackberry essence leaping from the glass. It doesn’t show much oxidation at all. Savory integrated brett, complex tamari and blackcurrant notes. Rounded softened tannins, but still present. I can’t believe how good this is!

Overall the character was similar to the ’95 but with an added tone of brilliant blackness. Slightly toasty, blackened and charred blackberry essence. Also at various moments, dried apricot, orange peel, amaro herbal notes, anise, flemish sour notes, like a rich BFM brew.  

Age with power. Complexity with playfulness. Wisdom with unpredictability. 
— 10 years ago

Gence AltonTim Herrmann
with Gence and Tim
Anthony, Will and 1 other liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 2004

Seasonal feature here at Mastro Ocean Club, Dom by the glass? Yes $60 per glass & $240 per bottle!!
Great paired with seafood; stone crab claws, sea bass, caviar, and even foi Gra!!

With age, Dom Pérignon takes on a totally seductive fresh-toast-and-coffee bouquet, one of the most intriguing scents in champagne 🔱🔱🔱
— 11 years ago

Rich, Hermes and 14 others liked this
Eric Adams

Eric Adams

Thats not to bad of a bottle price for a restaurant.
Rich

Rich

@Eric Adams it's a steal, Costco sells it for $150. This season only, after its back at $300

Tenuta Sette Ponti

Oreno Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2007

Alex Lallos
9.0

Sette ponti oreno 2007.... Like bordeaux with Sangiovese. Rich but mineral driven. Simply fantastic juice. Should age really well also. In fact this needs at least 5 more years to become the wine it is capable of being — 11 years ago

Lee liked this

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2005

Popped and poured from my cellar. The cork was absolutely perfect. The 2005 pours a rather turbid, deep garnet at nearly 17 years old. There's quite a bit of fine sediment that clings to the edge of the glass with each swirl. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, this was initially a bit grumpy but within minutes, it relaxed and started to show some real charm. A fully developed wine, this is becoming a bit of a Leather Daddy, full of leather (obviously), bruised and desiccated red, black and blue fruits, Christmas spice fruit cake, coffee, damp earth, and candied nuts. On the palate, the fruit remains quite stunning and confirms the mix of bruised and desiccated fruit with a sort of sherried character. Loads of salmiakki (salted licorice), spiced nuts, pepper, coffee and, you guessed it, leather. The wine was dry, technically, but almost gives the sensation of some RS with all of the over-ripe fruits and the texture was almost sappy, in some ways. However, while this was absolutely rich and well-endowed, it was not cloying. Tannins have fully integrated (though still present) and the acid was like a girdle keeping everything held together. This remains a rather large personality even if it's showing its age. Definitely in a lovely spot...but how much longer will that last? If this wasn't my last bottle, I would probably be drinking these over the next five years unless you want the full Leather Daddy experience...which is okay if that's your thing. — 4 years ago

Jason, Alex and 13 others liked this
Jason Brater

Jason Brater

Ooh 05! Nice.

Château Bellefont-Belcier

Grand Cru Classe St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2018

It’s time for some Merlot on this#MerlotThursday.

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

On the nose, plums, black currants, strawberries, sweet cherries, light cedar, licorice, vanilla, earth, herbs, chocolates, tobacco, spices, dark coffee and black pepper.

Medium plus in body and soft, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with currants, black plums, cherries, oak, light vanilla, spices, dark chocolates, coffee, peppercorn, earth, light vegetables and herbs.

Medium finish with fine tannins, tangy raspberries and peppercorn.

This young Bordeaux from Saint Émilion is already showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel.

Tasty and interesting. Tangy and rich. Needs a couple of hours to open up properly.

Still young, but starting to drink nicely now. I am surprised of how approachable it is already. Still a little unbalanced, and needs another few years in the bottle to mature properly. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years.

This 2018 vintage is showing a lot of potential. A little lighter than the 2016 I had a couple of weeks ago.

A good quality wine that will age nicely in the next 15 to 20 years.

I paired it with Brie cheese and crackers.

A blend of 68% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$55.
— 5 years ago

Dick, Daniel and 21 others liked this

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

Tasted blind. Reddish tawny, almost opaque. Big shoulders in the nose. Complex. Notes of briary brush, raspberry, hickory, pepper and tobacco leaf. Mellow in the mouth, especially when compared to the big nose. Sweeter fruit finish. Took some deductive time with my guess... 82 Margaux which freaked out my friend who brought the bottle. This is in a good place, not sure if it will improve with more age. But it’s in no danger of declining anytime soon. — 6 years ago

Ira, Mario and 23 others liked this
Mike R

Mike R Influencer Badge

Lucky lucky lucky and I am so jealous - bravo
Alan Weinberg

Alan Weinberg

Good guess!

Paul Jaboulet Aîné

La Chapelle Hermitage Syrah

Taken from what was generally a tough vintage in the Northern Rhone, the 1997 ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage is a striking rendition at more than twenty years of age. Bulls blood, iodine, red cherry puree and crushed mint flavors provide some serious refinement. Silky throughout, this will continue to evolve over the next five to ten years — but is marvelous right now. Drink 2019-2025- 93 — 7 years ago

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2004

VINTAGE: 2004
BOTTLE: 375ml
APPEARANCE: Deep red, garnet meniscus, viscous legs.
NOSE: Allspice, white pepper, bell pepper, dark fruits.
MOUTHFEEL: Round, medium - acidity, medium + tannins.
PALATE: Cinnamon, tomato leaf, leather, hints of vanilla.
FINISH: Long with sandalwood throughout and some cocoa at the very end.
NOTES: Picked this up in December of 2017, thinking the 375 bottle will have made this ready to drink immediately. Was not wrong, it is drinking well, but there is sufficient backbone left in this wine to age for many more years to come, even in a 375. Nice layers of complexity that were fun to tease out, but still many notes that I don’t yet have the ability to properly identify. I look forward to trying again with more years under its belt.
— 8 years ago

Ridge Vineyards

Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Blend

Had in 06 and 14. 06 was better proving their zins need age — 9 years ago

Beaulieu Vineyard

Reserve Tapestry Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1996

Somm David T
9.5

I under estimated this wine last weekend as I didn't decant it. Some concern over a 20 year old CA Cabernet. However, this wine is still all there. There's something special when the right wine hits 20 years of age and there is simply no shortcut or substitute. The evolution in this wine is spectacular. Ripe plum, blackberries, dark raspberries, cooked strawberries, amazing baking spices, sweet dark earth and minerals, swede and soft leather, tobacco leaf, great balance, an amazing elegant finish and perfect acidity. I would have not expected this much from a Tapestry but there you go!!! Holding my 07's for much longer than I expected based on this 96. — 10 years ago

Ron, "Odedi" and 13 others liked this
"Odedi"

"Odedi" Influencer Badge

Nice review

Olga Raffault

Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 1979

Proof that one does NOT have to spend a lot of money to acquire wines that will age gracefully into a beautifully mature wine 36 years of age. The usual pepper note is there that tells you are with a Cabernet Franc from #chinon, but the real beauty unfurls with the elegant spices of tobacco leaf and old leather, notes of forest floor, subtle mint, dried red currant and cassis fruits. Simply beautiful and I will now go buy a case of 2010 and say goodbye to it in storage for at least ten years. $20-25 retail for the recent vintages. #1979 #smashingpumpkins #raffault — 10 years ago

Anthony, Trixie and 3 others liked this

Leeuwin Estate

Art Series Margaret River Riesling 2014

Easy summer drink. Goes well with anything, from hours d'overs to desserts. Ideal with lightly seasoned fishes. Fresh and vibrant. Light golden appearance , Lime scents detected in the nose and mild citrus on the palate. Typical Leeuwin Estate wines. — 11 years ago

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2002

Lopez killed in 2002 with the Tondonia. Has acidity to age beautifully. — 11 years ago

David, Andie and 5 others liked this