Went to Denny’s house for a little dinner that consisted of a Majinola Wagyu Tri-Tip and some tasty grilled finerling taters.
2008 Leflaive Macon-Verze: Picked a few of these up during a restaurant clearance sale for $22 a bottle. Crisp, clean and ready for business right now. No real complexity or anything that would suggest this wine will have any aging significant potential, but for an early drinker in the TX heat, this hit the spot. Citrus and tropical notes with no real sign of any oak and just a touch of minerality. Glad to have some to crack over the summer.
2007 Alpha Omega Proprietary Red: Jean did a damn fine job across the board with his 2007s, and this is no exception. Based on the high merlot percentage in the blend, the wine comes across as much softer and more suptle than his cab driven wines (and other producers as well) for the vintage. Great palate of chocolate covered cherries with a hint of violets and tobacco on the nose. Tannins are very well tamed, and the oak is barely noticable. In a really good spot right now.
2005 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Herb Lamb Vineyard: Still big and massive, but not unapproachable. Blueberries, dark cherries and vanilla dominate the palate with a big dose of mouth coating glycerin. Tannins are still there and are in the forefront, but the oak seems to have integrated nicely. Definitely has the stuffing to go another decade or two without missing a beat. Just makes me all the more giddy to get my hands on the 2007 KL reserves.
2007 Lewelling Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard: Denny decided that we should have at least one “controversial” wine for the evening. Lots of people has complained about over extraction, high ETOH and big oak. While I can see their respective points if they only drink thin and anemic pinots, this wine is none of that compared to its own kind. Certainly, the wine is huge at this point, but it doesn’t come across as blocky, disjointed or monolithic. Lots of stuff going on behind the baby fat. Licorice, dark fruits, cigar box and freshly cut flowers are all there…along with the requisite new oak and medium tannins. Everything is in balance, and the wine was only getting better with air. Too bad we guzzled it in about an hour or so. Give a bottle four to six hours in a decanter and you will have a good representation of what Napa does best…all for well under a C-Note.
