Monthly WTF wine group night. Our theme was American oak vs French oak. All wines tasted blind. We started off with two bottles of bubbly and finished with two non-themed reds.
My contribution for the evening. I’m posting my previous review of this wine below as it’s been consistent the few times I’ve had it over the last 12-18 months. Love these wines!
Youthful. Icredibly perfumed with typical sweet dill and coconut American oak on the nose. Gosh, I could smell this stuff all day. Aside from needing time away, it needs roughly an hour of decanting to hit stride. Tobacco, cherry tart, and great herbal nuances on the finish. — 6 years ago
An off vintage that shouldn't have improved! @ £47 this 07 is drinking lovely right now w/ all tannins soft & integrated 👍
🍇 70% Cab S, 27% Mer & 3% Cab F
🍷 Opaque ruby
👃 Mineral & pencil lead driven earthy spiced blackcurrant & dark plum w/ leather, wet leaves, mint & smokey cedar/oak
👄 Med+ body of creamy smooth blackcurrant & dark plum w/ mocha & minerals, all well integrated now
🎯 Med+ ripe dark fruit, mocha & mineral coating — 8 years ago
Spectacular! Mind blowing. One of my top 10 of all time. On every serious wine lover’s bucket list, and here we had a nigh perfect bottle. While aromatically a little recalcitrant, you still got some of the Margaux violets and potpourri on the nose, hints of clove, all trying to shake off their doldrums. But on the palate, it was timelessly ravishing. The finesse, richness, balance and smoothness, with an underlying, almost flabbergasting mixture of complexity and delicacy, was just astonishing. The finish is marvelously sweet and intense, with chocolate and cassis and utterly seamless tannins. This is a miracle of wine making and an exaltation of vintage and terroir besides. Wow! And bravo! We can only pray for an encore of such a wine. — 9 years ago
Good fruit. Good finish. Enjoyable bottle of off vintage Bordeaux — 10 years ago
The wine was medium to dark garnet in colour. On day one it offered red fruit, cherry, balsamic vinegar, cola, leather, mushroom, earthy and vegetal notes and a wet sewer component on the nose. On the palate the the wine showed red fruit, cherry, blackberry, tobacco and earthy notes, the acidity was quite pronounced, the wine became slightly drying and even more acidic after some time in the glass, and the fruit faded a bit. Two days later, on day three, the medium-bodied wine was more balanced and showed red and dark fruit, some chocolate, some tobacco, spices and earthy notes on the nose, and red fruit, cherry, leather, tobacco, earthy and balsamic notes on the palate, with just a faint touch of greenness, paired with medium-plus well-integrated tannin, medium-plus acidity and very good length. I had almost written-off the wine on day one and then, surprisingly, it showed much better the third day. Holding-up well. 90 — 11 years ago
Reddish tawny. Youthful nose. Notes of black currants, blackberries, herbs and spices and some menthol. Silky in the mouth, although at first it comes off as delicate. With more air, some spice and white pepper notes develop, and this goes full on Chave and Hermitage power on you... Not bad for Syrah that's pushing 40 years in age! — 4 years ago
I love Dominus but this bottle was a little off. :(. — 7 years ago
Fruit, acids and tannins faded into the background, initially lost (and thought off and nearly tossed!) due to extreme undergrowth funk. That blew off in 30 mins and what remained was Syrah turned all burgundy, fleshy but light. Not best example, but delicious. — 8 years ago
M+ acid, ripe tropical fruit, Mod alcohol, off-dry. Nice WA example. — 9 years ago
If you have to drink a 2011 Napa Cabernet, this is the one. Overcomes the flimsiness and off-centered taste of many of its peers. Blueberry, suggestive of Alexander Valley cabs, is present in spades, and wonderful, smooth, and satisfying midpalate and finish. — 9 years ago
Held up very well for a 30 year old wine. Took about 1-2 hours to really open up and hit its peak. Finished by hour 3 as it seemed to tail off. Very cool drinking a Lafite. — 9 years ago
2008. Dried cherry, black tea, dried mushroom and rose, prosciutto. Minerality is reminiscent of standing on a dry, dusty dirt road. Only criticism is that it falls off in the mid palate, but finishes with a nice gamey note. — 11 years ago
Sparkling Chasselas very limited and like many things that are hard to find the reward is great — 12 years ago
ID 314057 (just off one digit from pi)
Golrious balance. Cork was compressed and showing age, though I stored this in my cold cellar. Nose of yellow fruits and flowers. All of a piece, though feeling a bit spendy.
Happy Mother's day to my wife, paired w almond croissants and truffled eggs. — 5 years ago
Maybe the best expression of Riesling I’ve had from Ovum, certainly Oregon. Off-dry, orchard fruit, tropical fruit, minerality and slight petrol — 5 years ago
Berry. Guessed this but was 2 years off. — 6 years ago
The 1997 is incredibly elegant and confident. Graceful impact and gentle attack. The most Burgundy-like of the Musars I’ve tasted. Still has a ton of youthful vigor, focus and energy. Zero palate weight. Elevated VA is allowing the aromatics to really take off. The most refined and beautiful Musar I’ve had yet, covering the broad spectrum of red berries, herbs, leather, spices and minerals. Funky yet refined. — 7 years ago
Direct hit to the heart. Beaujolais spirited syrah that offers a super fruit nose composed at first of blueberrie sirup then blackberry with a violet hint after a few swirls. Non filtered with a hint of a gas when opened, no bretts; this suggests coherent and traditional wine making (+ high drinkability when successful). Clearly among the best wines I've tasted from Oregon. — 9 years ago
Light mineral good - would drink again but maybe not buy again.. — 9 years ago
"Off-vintage" Latour, always a pleasure — 10 years ago
Medium bodied and garnet in color. Nose is dominated by red fruits and a trace of black olive. Starts off with plum and red berries, softness and coquettish acidity that only really comes out by mid. Finishes with pepper, olive, fat, and leather. Overall a stellar cab franc for the price and another reason to check out more Loire reds. — 11 years ago
Josh Morgenthau
🚨WINE HACK🚨 If you 1) own a sodastream, but no expensive wine gadgets 2) have a wine which needs to come off sediment but you don’t want to expose to oxygen [eg low/no so2 gamay], try decanting the wine carefully into a clean empty bottle pre-flooded with a few gentle pumps of co2 from your sodastream. Co2 is heavier than air. This works and I swear by it!
The Foillard was beautiful. Licorice, black raspberries, purity and poise that reminds me why I fell in love with Beaujolais in the first place, and affirms what has been an oft-times rocky love affair ever since. — 4 years ago