TN: 2008 Dacalier De La Terre (USA, California, North Coast, Lake County)

WINE TALK
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  • 2008 Dacalier De La Terre - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County (7/9/2014)
    Medium garnet, roast beef on the nose. Dry, lightly tart medium fruit and body, getting a nice roast beef note to complement the fruit, a fresh red table grape profile. Drinking superbly now with many years of pleasure ahead, no sign of getting to the end of it’s drinking window. Getting better with age and still fresh on the PnP. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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What’s the blend on this?

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The blend is:
81% Grenache
14% Carignan
5% Syrah

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Dave Smig brought this to a CT event blind, he may have just bottled it. It was very good 4 years ago.

Blind

Everyone that tasted this wine blind missed by a mile figuring it to be French old world for sure with a little age under its belt. interestingly it was one of my favorite “old world” wines of the night beating the pants off all the cdp. who says they don’t make wines in California that reflect terrior. Bravo smig.

Posted from CellarTracker

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2008 Dacalier De La Terre - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County (9/4/2015)
Light garnet, drinking fabulously now for the AFWE bunch, I could be happy if my whole cellar consisted of this wine. Enough body and fruit to satisfy those wanting a little fruit and restrained enough with age for those liking more finesse, showing some smoky and peaty note, as always a pleasure to drink with or without food. (91 pts.)[/list]
Posted from CellarTracker

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81% grenache, 14% carignan, 5 % syrah, 2 left out of 32.
2008 Dacalier De La Terre - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County (12/13/2015)
Medium garnet with barnyard and ripe cherry nose. Well balanced, light acid, ripe plums with some stone fruit bitters and smooth tannnis. Still going strong and better on the second night. (89 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker

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Nice notes. I bought a case of this wine on Berserkerday this year and have finished most of the case already. The wine really is interesting, with the leather and barnyard notes to compliment the fruit. Factor in the Berserkerday pricing, and this may take the prize as the best QPR wine purchase I have ever made.

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I missed out this year but went really strong a few years back and got several cases for friends as well. A good price on release and a killer deal on Berserker Day.

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Brad… completely agree on the QPR.

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Still drinking well. No signs of a down slide.

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Wow. Impressive! I wouldn’t have expected this one to go this long. Good job, Dave!

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Revisited on day 2:

Without the marinated & grilled flank steak, the wine shows a ton of smokiness. Before, it disappeared, now its right there. The nose is aged Aussie Shiraz with a bit more meat maybe. But the smokeiness is strong in the attack and kinda throughout. Not sweet smokiness; rather more like mesquite. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not a “fault” or taint. It’s kinda interesting.

So…I loved it with grilled red meat. It was the home run pairing of all home run pairings.

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I feel like I should append to my previous post: it looks like I did think this wine could carry-on to nearly its tenth birthday.

From three years ago:
2008 Dacalier De La Terre - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County (4/20/2014)
– popped and poured –
– tasted a couple glasses non-blind over approx. 1 hour –
– 81% Grenache, 14% Carignane, 5% Syrah –

Savory; spicy; fruit is a bit more tertiary than primary; seems to be at its peak right now, but I’d be willing to bet that it would ride in the cellar for a couple more years; expressive; hint of brett?; richer/fuller than the ’98 Clos des Papes opened next to it; very good; two of the four folks at the table preferred this to the aforementioned CdP.

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Thanks for the update!

We don’t see much chatter about the wines coming out of Lake County on the board.