When I’m confronted with this question, I try to remind myself of 2 things: 1) there is a lot of very good wine available at that price that I don’t have to wonder about and 2) there is always another great deal down the road. ymmv.
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I’m in same boat as you. Definitely tempted. It is possible it’s just in a weird funk right now and giving a couple years may work itself out. At least that’s what the half of me that wants to buy more is saying!
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Not sure why folks think 2013 is an “inferior” vintage. To me, it tastes very structured and tannic. I bought some to try initially and went back and bought a case to open 2030+
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13’ needs the most time of any of the vintages out there. I am still sitting on my other Napa 13s and have started with 14 and 15.
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I edited my tasting notes above on the 2013 but after following this for a couple days i’m holding off on buying anymore. There was just something about it that I did not find fully pleasant or satisfying. I plan to open a 2011 soon to contrast.
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I have three and that feels like plenty for a wine with an uncertain ability to turn into a swan.
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2007 half bottle was drinking beautifully last night. No need to hold any longer here.
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Surprisingly, 2009 followed by 2006 are my favorite vintages. I guess they really age well, but it can take almost 20 years, which is a good thing.
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In a way, all of us have an Elivette to clear out. For some, Newton might be their Elivette. For others, Twomey might be their Elivette. For us, Elivette is a big bodied, expensive wine that is being blown out. But as sure as my name is Patrick_Taylor, the people of WineBerserkers can clear out their own personal Elivette, which also happens to be the actual Elivette!
And would you say that some WineBerserkers have a plethora of Elivette?
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2000 Elivette on Last Bottle now for $39 and free shipping on all orders! Has anyone tried the 2000? It does have a recent 95-point review.
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I don’t know if this was ever available before, except in the initial SMV sale and in that sale the older vintages were priced progressively higher, such that I expect the 2000 was probably around $100 in the sale.
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Had to get 2. Really enjoyed the 12 I had recently. At 39$ per bottle, no reason not to try a few.
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I’m super excited for the first ever vintage and if it is on the decline, so what…it still won’t be bad. For $40…show me another high quality 26 year old wine.
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Because the 2013 Elivette is still on the https://wines.lastbottlewines.com/ site and because the tasting reports aren’t that great, I decided to open a bottle and taste it over the course of the last eight days. Decanted at noon on Day 1.
Day 1) hint of cherry, mostly tannic
Day 2) mostly tannic
Day 3) mellowing a bit, better but not good
Day 4) mellowing more, but still not good
Day 5) mellowing more, okay but not good
Day 6) definitely getting better, more flavors developing
Day 7) turning into a nice wine
Day 8j flavors are integrated, tannins have mellowed, smooth, savory wine with a long finish. Full mouthfeel, hint of dried fruit but mostly earthy.
I have the rest of a case here and am not bummed, which I was expecting to be after reading earlier reports. I won’t bring it out for friends who like fruity wines, but those who enjoy aged cabernets will be happy with it.
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The 13 is just going to have a long life sitting sideways before it loses those tannins. That’s consistent with the vintage however.
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I put a 2013 in a decanter a couple hours ago, planning to enjoy tonight. Just checked in on it and, just based on this bottle, a lot of the concern about this particular vintage seems unfounded. It’s tannic, backward and has a loooot of years left, but for those who bought it and have liked other vintages of Elivette, this is not some weird outlier. Rest easy.
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Long attention span!
Did you cork it each day after sampling?
Leave on the counter or fridge?
Thanks.
B
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Poured it into an ETO carafe and left it on the counter. I don’t usually plan wine a week in advance, so most likely these bottles will age into a better place instead of using that long of a decant. I just wanted to see where it would end up after a week.
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What an amazingly patient experiment! I had bought a couple of the -13’s earlier, but inspired by your notes, bought three more. I think that in ~10 years the 2013 Elivette will be a fabulous wine. In the meanwhile, I will enjoy some of the earlier (and selectively later) vintages.
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