(January 10, 2021) … Another of my famous finds in the cellar selections, this time I found two different vintages of the same wine – these used to be great examples of the grape, but how have they held up? Time to find out:
2002 … My notes start out like this: not the greatest, has a sweet cherry vanilla note but the nose is full of volatile acidity, leather and licorice … then comes the chemical perm, oak, and spice – interesting but kinda scary … then 20 minutes later it’s turned leathery, weedy and port-esque, very off-putting. Dead in 30 minutes. The best part of this wine was the first 10 minutes.
2006 … Another atrocious nose but the palate seems to be okay – leather, pruney, burnt coffee, spiced oak, dried cherry with more leather on the finish … opens up fresher, smoother and silkier than one would expect with a touch of dried dark fruit and mocha. This one was at least drinkable for longer.