2016 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras

Community Tasting Notes (18) Avg Score: 97.4 points

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  8/4/2021 - blarmston wrote:

  Decided to pop the cork on one of these last night to celebrate a mini career milestone. Since it had been a minute from the last bottle, I was fired up.
  
  Decanted for about three hours and dove right in. The nose seemed a bit muted, with mouth drying tannins. It just didn't seem ready to rock, suggesting a much longer decant time at this point (5 hours+?), or several more years of slumber.
  
  Unfortunately, while I decided to dive right in, a couple fruit flies (despite my best effort in placing a paper towel over the mouth of the decanter) decided to take a swan dive in as well.
  
  I was horrified when I looked in and saw those two little FUCKERS swimming around in my pristine juice. After scooping them out (and hoping they were males since apparently they don't release those wine destroying pheromones), I just couldn't help but to think the bottle had been compromised.
  
  For that reason alone I will withhold a score, but suffice to say that my expectations were not met.
  
  It is what it is, and there are bigger things to concern oneself with these days, but it was a letdown for sure.

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  4/30/2021 - csimm wrote:

  3 days in Napa: Arkenstone, Memento Mori, Maxem, The French Laundry, Christopher Tynan, Kinsman, Harlan, Vice Versa, Accendo, Fairchild, Macdonald, and a truckload of others (Napa): I've written quite a bit on this wine already. Strikingly similar to the 2019 barrel sample we had two days earlier, the 2016 LPV from Memento Mori busts out of its seams with powerfully ripe black fruit and dominating black rock elements. More overt brawn here than the 2019, but the 2016 found a pathway to fuller and more seamless flavor expansion with a considerable amount of air. The serious mineral side is layered with the equally serious black fruit core that I continue to be especially drawn to. As previously mentioned, the bridge between 2019 and 2016 seems evident to me with the Memento Mori wines, which is obviously a great thing. I think the 2019s will be a bit more approachable than the 2016s in general, as the 2019’s freshness is already inviting and work well at taming some of the explicit power. This 2016 is a staple wine for LPV and a fine representation of Napa Cabernet. Give it 5+ years to shed some of its superflex.

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  12/29/2020 - eschuldt wrote: 98 Points

  Preferred this on the night against a VV M7 which surprised me. More open and rich over the 3 hours, both bottles could have likely used more than the 2 hour decant but thought it was enough based on other 2016 experiences.

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  6/23/2020 - Whisky&Wine Likes this wine: 98 Points

  Consistent with my past note. This bottle had a lot of sediment but that did not impact the flavor or quality of the wine.
  
  My wife got distinct chocolate aromas from this and once she pointed it out I agreed. Not sure if the last bottle had that, but I did not notice it
  
  Great depth and complexity. Had one glass left for today, and I think it was better day two. I think this wine has a long life ahead. Enjoyable now with a proper decant, but will probably still be singing in 2030+.
  
  
  
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  5/20/2020 - GQG Likes this wine: 97 Points

  SpaceX is targeting lift off from Kennedy's historic Launch Pad 39A soon, hopefully a heavenly achievement. This wine's mission has already launched from Las Piedras and is a terroir achievement right here on the ground.
  
  A full payload of dark cherries and black raspberries is effortlessly lifted across the palate by twin boosters of deep minerality and silky smooth tannins. Currently tracking flawlessly in the first stage, in a few years this Memento Mori variant's second stage will propel this vintage into high orbit. Thanks to Sam Kaplan's super hardcore work ethic, a talent for making wine, common sense, & trustworthiness, all systems are go.

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