05
Nov
2020
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Category: Uncorked Tonight
(June 21, 2020) ... I visited this winery a number of years ago, and was impressed with the quality of the wines (I also attended a dinner that highlighted the wines, back in 2010), and now this bottle materialized from my cellar and it was time to see if my impressive-take on their wines was misplaced or spot on.
This was a gorgeous bottle right from the get go: anise, leather and dark fruit get the ball rolling, the tannins are punchy, but with good backing acidity. As it sits open and in the glass there's cassis and black pepper that shows up - a little longer and we have a change in the fruit from pseudo-fresh dark fruit to a more baked and stewed plum, but there is also a hint of dark-chocolate-covered coffee bean ... by the time the bottle is finished there's mocha and sour raspberry lingering on the back palate. I think I caught this wine before it fell off the cliff of "too old" because this Goldilocks bottle was 'just right'.
16
Oct
2020
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Category: Uncorked Tonight
(June 20, 2020) ... Another CoVid-era dinner with my brother, and I know he loves those California Cabs, that's what he always seems to have on his wine rack (that and Henry of Pelham Baco - is he really my brother?); that all said I brought along a couple of Cabernets this week to our weekly dinner, snuck in one from Chile and another was the Cali he was looking for:
Montgras 2008 Intriga Cabernet Sauvignon ... this wine really disappointed me: smoky, cedary, woody, black pepper, and spice from the get go, I just could not locate any fruit; it seemed almost nul and void from this bottle ... with some air fruit peeked out, but more like a shy 4 year old when mom and dad have guests over then any kind of vibrant "I'm here!" let's put on a show. I decided to wait and see. Spicy dark fruit comes out within half an hour but that cedary note still persists and just never lets go - and that was a real let down.
Ca'Momi 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ... This wine set my hair on fire when it was launched at our liquor monopoly, it was a Napa Valley Cab that was twenty-bucks, a totally unheard of thing. But now I'm looking at a $20 Napa Cab and wondering was it really worth it? The answer is a resounding YES. Fresh and clean with smooth black and red fruit: black cherry, blackberry, vanilla, rhubarb and subtle herbal notes, there's even a nice spice on the finish. Silky on the mid-palate, which gives way to a slight cedary/ woody note - but it is mainly in the background and does not interfere. This is one of those wines that I wonder why I did not buy more - yes I bought 3 at the time, but I now know I should have invested in more. Damn.
Once again a family pet enjoyed the proceedings of a tasting and Gus enjoyed what he saw ... or he just enjoyed the attention and the company ... either way he was quite happy to hang around.
