2015 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (6/23/2019)
Decanted 4 hours then double decanted recorked and return to cellar to chill. Served with prime rib-eyes. Nose loaded with cassis, cedar and graphite. Would swear it had some cab franc in it but it’s 100% Cab Sauv. Full rich palate of blackberry, plum and tobacco. Good acid balance and sweet tannins to finish. Great depth. Really went well with food. Fantastic bottle of wine.
Depends on what you are after. My rule of thumb on these wines is not to wait too long. When a wine borders 15% abv and you wait for the fruit to settle down you’re going to end up with a wine that’s out of balance. Not laways but I like to err on the safe side. This surely has plenty of stuffing to sit but I wanted to open something special for my Son-in-law.
Interesting philosophy, my friend. Many would disagree with you and would feel that these wines will truly shine with more bottle age, but it sounds as if your reasoning is based on plenty of data points.
Of course, your decanting methodology could be equated to more bottle aging, no? Curious as to your thoughts on this.
alcohol level is obviously only one of many metrics. i think a labeled pH would do more benefit for me than a labeled alc %, which I by default assume to be bogus anyway.
if I don’t have much experience with the producer, then I’d consider it to a degree. but my primary way of evaluation is my experience with the producer & the vintage.