Almost 6 years ago I reviewed this wine, declaring it young but tasty and with a good future. Well the future is here and it is even tastier! The blackberry fruit is redolent on the nose and the palate. The nose has cedar and tobacco notes as well. The tannins are much tamer, if a little dry, but the sturdy acidity holds all the fruit and provides a wonderful mouth feel. A nice anise note lingers at the end and lasts 15 seconds. Nice wine that is ready to be enjoyed if decanted and allowed to breathe for a couple of hours.
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From a bottle purchased upon release and cellared under ideal conditions, this 17-year-old Cabernet has surprisingly evolved into something quite memorable. Decanted off of its sediment and serially tasted over the ensuing four hours, it is a deep garnet elixir that retains lots of black fruit, now accented with leather, cocoa, fennel, pipe tobacco and hazelnuts. Full bodied, vibrant and without alcoholic heat (14.5%), it weaves in a judicious amount of wood and a modicum of silky-textured tannins. With good mid-palate density and a lengthy finish, this is one whose potential I grossly underestimated when last tasted in 2015. At this stage, it fully struts its stuff after only 30 minutes in decanter (but does not lose anything for several hours thereafter). Comparably cellared bottles will last longer than previously projected. Drink now-2025.
Some wine creeping up the sides of an intact removed cork. Deep purple/red opacity color with scant brick red/orange edge in a Riedel Bordeaux glass. Nose is reticent giving up blue/black fruit aroma and cigar box in the bouquet. Silky smooth mouth feel, coating the tongue with sweet slightly smokey berry compote and accompanying dusty tannic astringency on the inner lips. A mature presentation connoting pure-blood breeding and relaxed intensely interesting perigee. More to come with grass fed rib eye. No tannic residue in the bottle shoulders after emptying. Lovely relaxed and incongruently intense black bramble fruit with residual tannins balancing the fat component of the ribeye. Far from oenophilic necrophilia, this beautiful wine is a testament to dedicated cellaring and a wife who can only drink red wine on occasion due to regrettably associated headaches. Oh to live to one hundred odd years to continue to enjoy 14+ year old Mount Vedder wines. One more bottle to explore in the cellar. Redux: 11/28/2020-As before, a silky, voluptuousness coats the palate with bright vibrant and allspice accented fruit, showing smokey vegetal and dark chocolate flavors, supported more by a zip of acidity than by the same dusty mouthfeel-friendly tannins, but this bottle shows a small amount more of concentrated dark cherry flavor, as with a less aggressive Amarone, especially on the finish. Tonight we will have this wine with lamb sausage and beef tenderloin tips. Who would have thought life could be this wonderful? New rating on this bottle-93 points.
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5/11/2023 - ElAzul Likes this wine: 93 Points
Almost 6 years ago I reviewed this wine, declaring it young but tasty and with a good future. Well the future is here and it is even tastier! The blackberry fruit is redolent on the nose and the palate. The nose has cedar and tobacco notes as well. The tannins are much tamer, if a little dry, but the sturdy acidity holds all the fruit and provides a wonderful mouth feel. A nice anise note lingers at the end and lasts 15 seconds. Nice wine that is ready to be enjoyed if decanted and allowed to breathe for a couple of hours.
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10/30/2022 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 93 Points
From a bottle purchased upon release and cellared under ideal conditions, this 17-year-old Cabernet has surprisingly evolved into something quite memorable. Decanted off of its sediment and serially tasted over the ensuing four hours, it is a deep garnet elixir that retains lots of black fruit, now accented with leather, cocoa, fennel, pipe tobacco and hazelnuts. Full bodied, vibrant and without alcoholic heat (14.5%), it weaves in a judicious amount of wood and a modicum of silky-textured tannins. With good mid-palate density and a lengthy finish, this is one whose potential I grossly underestimated when last tasted in 2015. At this stage, it fully struts its stuff after only 30 minutes in decanter (but does not lose anything for several hours thereafter). Comparably cellared bottles will last longer than previously projected. Drink now-2025.
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3/23/2020 - Sdouglass20 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Solid funk! Aged ok
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1/18/2020 - doggman Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still lots of fruit. Tannins are totally softened. Probably slightly over the hill but still enjoyable.
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11/15/2019 - Josch48 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Some wine creeping up the sides of an intact removed cork. Deep purple/red opacity color with scant brick red/orange edge in a Riedel Bordeaux glass. Nose is reticent giving up blue/black fruit aroma and cigar box in the bouquet. Silky smooth mouth feel, coating the tongue with sweet slightly smokey berry compote and accompanying dusty tannic astringency on the inner lips. A mature presentation connoting pure-blood breeding and relaxed intensely interesting perigee. More to come with grass fed rib eye.
No tannic residue in the bottle shoulders after emptying. Lovely relaxed and incongruently intense black bramble fruit with residual tannins balancing the fat component of the ribeye. Far from oenophilic necrophilia, this beautiful wine is a testament to dedicated cellaring and a wife who can only drink red wine on occasion due to regrettably associated headaches.
Oh to live to one hundred odd years to continue to enjoy 14+ year old Mount Vedder wines. One more bottle to explore in the cellar.
Redux: 11/28/2020-As before, a silky, voluptuousness coats the palate with bright vibrant and allspice accented fruit, showing smokey vegetal and dark chocolate flavors, supported more by a zip of acidity than by the same dusty mouthfeel-friendly tannins, but this bottle shows a small amount more of concentrated dark cherry flavor, as with a less aggressive Amarone, especially on the finish. Tonight we will have this wine with lamb sausage and beef tenderloin tips. Who would have thought life could be this wonderful?
New rating on this bottle-93 points.
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