A person on another wine board asked about some older Core wines because he was contemplating a purchase. It provided me a good excuse to open these two bottles.
2002 Core Elevation Sensation
This was my favorite Core wine from 2002, their second vintage. On release, it was very forward with lush fruit and a silky texture. Today, it has a pretty medium to lighter ruby color, with raspberry and strawberry aromas, lots of chalky minerality that’s characteristic of the Alta Mesa wines, a bit of heat, some cinnamon spice and lavender and a slightly fat texture. It’s held up well for a wine that was so forward in its youth. Over the years, it’s developed a caramel note on the finish. It’s not quite as sexy as it was in its youth, and won’t improve with further aging. I think this was roughly 2/3 Mourvedre and 1/3 Grenache, picked from barrels that emphasized chalk and lavender.
2003 Core Coreferment
Dave’s 2003’s were much more structured than the 2002’s, and were much tighter in their youth. This wine is also roughly 2/3 Mourvedre and 1/3 Grenache from Alta Mesa, fermented together. This wine has always been slightly cloudy and I’d recommend standing it up for a few days and decanting. It’s a medium garnet, with raspberry and cherry fruit, the characteristic chalky minerality, nice acidity and a long finish. This is drinking very nicely today, got better and better over a few hours, and I think it will hold for several years.
I enjoy both of these wines today, but the 2003 Coreferment is my clear favorite.
-Al