TN: 2012 EMH Black Cat Classic

Since it’s National Black Cat Appreciation Day and I ordered a couple more it was time to pop another one.

Three hour decant and drank over the next three hours. Fantastic nose which continued to evolve and strengthen. Red fruit and good acidic balance with a touch of spice. The mid-palate feel was excellent. Mild tannins and a somewhat short finish

A really elegant wine that strikes a good balance between new and old world California Cabernet. It does lean towards old world in a good way.
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Sounds delicious.

I broke down and ordered some 2015 Lady Sapphire.

Enjoyed every sip… Terrific.

When I had the 2013 at Merril’s I felt the same way.

But it took a little longer to completely open up - maybe 6 hours.

Delicious.

Now you are giving up all our secrets…6 hours with me? [wow.gif]

Yeah, thanks for noticing. It just seemed like 6 hours. [cheers.gif]

We started tasting at about noon after it had been open 3 hours, then went to lunch and came back to taste some more.

I headed out about 3:30 after buying a couple of bottles.

One of these days soon my wife and I will be back when our schedules can work.

Ha! I love it when it goes like that…

We just took a 2010 Black Cat to Eddie V’s Steakhouse. Decanter for about an hour. Wine was wonderful and still very young tasting with a long life ahead. Shared some with the Sommelier and she was impressed and was inquiring about the winery.

Thanks, Bill. You hit a sweet spot - 9 years is typically a nice place for the Black Cats. It won’t fall off the edge soon!

Good to know as my current stash is 2011 current.

Does the same advice go for the 2009 10th Anniversary Special Selection? Or does this wine have it’s own set of rules? It drank beautifully at the EMH tasting in NY in 2014.

Oh Dan, that wine is the best of my best. A Special Occasion Wine, in my thinking. Both because of the pleasure it delivers, and the fact that I myself have only 2 of them. Not counting the etched 3L [cheers.gif] .

But all my wines are better with a decant of 2 or more hours if you can do it - plenty of people enjoy them pop and pour.

We had a 2010 earlier this year and I believe the 12’s are in a better spot for our palate at this time. I will probably have another 12 before I check back in on the 10’s.

I was fortunate enought to enjoy a magnum of both the 06 and 07 Black Cat this year. I have a bottle of the 15 Special Selection that I am holding onto for a couple more years, but I definitely need to aquire some more!

Wow! I have only once had my own wine from magnum, and that was a 2009 about 5 years ago.
A magnum offering from my Library is next on my list for “the cellar reduction plan,” or whatever that thread is officially titled.

I picked up a bottle of the 2004 EMH Black Cat on WineBid yesterday ($50 before premium). Was surprised that it went that low, with no other bids. I’m really excited to try EMH after reading so much about it here on WB! I hope it’s a sound bottle…

The 2004, when properly stored, should be awesome now. I do not use winebid…do they give any clue as to where the wine has been…who consigned it?

The only descriptive text regarding provenance: “Removed from a temperature and humidity controlled wine storage unit.”

BTW Merrill, WineBid does have a write-up about EMH, in case you haven’t seen it yet. This shows up when an EMH bottle or lot is viewed individually:

"EMH Vineyards

EMH Vineyards was founded in 1999 when Merrill Lindquist purchased a pocket-sized vineyard just east of the Silverado Trail. With slightly less than an acre, the vineyard nevertheless grew outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, and in her first year as owner, Lindquist decided to keep a half ton of grapes for herself, selling the rest to other producers. She hired winemaker Art Finkelstein to make the first nine vintages. Finkelstein founded Whitehall Lane Winery, later sold it and opened a custom crush facility. Today the winemaker is Kenn Vigoda, and due to the success of the estate’s one wine, Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon, Lindquist no longer sells grapes, but keeps all her grapes for her own label. Black Cat is named for the family’s pet, and the wine is generally available only through a mailing list. About 100 cases are made annually."

Thanks - check CT - someone just opened a very nice 2003 Black Cat.

Thanks to the board (and BD day), I’ve got some ‘12, ‘13 and ‘14 but had not tried any yet. This thread inspired me to pop open the 2012 and it was a treat!

Beautiful nose of dark cherry. Cherry and raspberry on the palate and just a little earthy. Fruit was well balanced with good acidity and medium tannins. A cross between old and new Napa. Open for business after a three hour decant.