Bringing this to dinner this evening. Has anyone had it recently? Thinking a slow-ox for a couple of hours before I leave should suffice, but I also know these are built for the long haul and could need a little more time. Any thoughts would be much-appreciated.
Open about 4 hours before dinner, confirm sound, pour a glass 30 minutes before dinner and maybe splash decant but I doubt you’ll need that. Should be good to go.
Please post notes…there’s a few bottles here at a “reasonable” price. I’d be interested in knowing how it shows.
- 1 for what Kris said.
Will certainly do. Thanks all.
Had this yesterday pnp and it developed beautifully in the glass over 3 hours. You are in for a treat.
This ended up being a very interesting bottle. I don’t have much experience with Heitz Martha’s, and was excited to see what all the fuss is about. Slow-ox for 4 hours on the kitchen counter, then into a decanter at the beginning of dinner.
Initally, explosive wafts of Halls cherry cough drop on the nose with a big blast of VA. Stewed fruit and teritiary aromas of saddle leather poking through. Distinctly green–mint, eucalyptus, sage, underbrush. Palate had plenty of fine tannic grip remaining, but something was just off. Wonky and weird. The balance wasn’t there.
Finally, at the end of the meal (3 hours later), after favoring a couple of other bottles of Brunello and leaving the last bit of Heitz sitting in the decanter (it had been poured out to service staff/somm/etc for the educational experience) , it had miraculously pulled itself together. A different animal entirely, with the edges rounded out, and the bright red fruit character emerging through the muddiness of the earlier stewed fruit. And then it was too late–the last few drops down the hatch. Oh well. Next time, I think a full 12-24 hour decant wouldn’t be inappropriate, and I’ll definitely exercise more patience in the preparation.
Also, I’m not discounting the fact that there seems to be records of a fair amount of bottle variation in this vintage, and this was the first vintage after the replanting of Martha’s, so who knows?
TL;DR: I should’ve decanted it longer, or it was an off bottle.
Sorry decant advice didn’t work out, I’ve never gotten VA on Heitz wines, so I find that surprising.
As you said…only great bottles…
IMHO it was an off bottle. We’ve enjoyed more than 6 bottles of this wine and it is nowhere near your description nor does it need the amount of air you mention.