Picked up a three pack on winebid and decided to open the first last night. Nose had a faint raisin smell to it and was a little off putting. Palate was a little austere and seemed to be falling apart. Hints of balsamic were coming through as well. Let it sit in the decant for a couple hours to work on another bottle and when I came back to it, it seemed to be in a better place, though my palate definately was not. Is this past its prime or just a bad bottle? Any recent impressions that would give me hope for the other two bottles I am sitting on? Really like KL and this was my first experience with an “older” bottle. I will preempt the comment of “open another and see” by saying I have another slotted for opening this coming weekend.
Not a representative vintage, I fear.
But it also sounds slightly cooked.
Agreed on the vintage, but took a risk due to CT scores. FML if all three are duds. [suicide.gif]
i think you might have off bottle there…'98 was not a stellar vintage but karl lawernce was one of the few that made great wine in '98 imo… along with showkett and hillside select.
Popped a second bottle of this last night to see if I was royally f*cked on the entire three pack that I bought. Initially, the worn cork (some signs of slight seepage) gave me some pause for concern, making me think this was another bad bottle. On pop and pour, the nose didnt have any of the balsamic and prune type notes that I experienced in the last bottle. Instead, it showed some violets, spice and black fruit. Palate showed a lot better as well with classic cassis notes and some bramble fruit. A great wine? No. But a good wine given the vintage? Absolutely. I have one remaining and will pop before the end of the year.
Yup. First bottle was probably cooked.