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2002 Sloan - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/19/2014)
Two different stories here: A quick pour immediately after removing the cork, followed by a few swirls, a moment to let the wine settle in the glass and then a big sniff. A wee taste, then a second wee taste. Nah, nothing to see here, folks, move along. Which is to say, this could be any $75-$150 Napa Cab/Cab Blend, from just about any vintage. I set the glass aside as we’re tasting through a pair of 83s - one a Palmer, the other a Kalin. Champagne, salad, conversation, the Sloan sits there, patiently waiting for my next visit.
An hour and a half passes all too quickly, as happens when the conversation and company are better than the wine and food. While the 83s get aerated to decanter, the Sloan stays in the bottle, cork removed.
We’re told our steaks will be right out, and at the same time, the glass of Sloan catches my eye, and I give a few big swirls, followed by a taste - not a sip, but a full taste - and I stop – surely someone has moved my glass, I think to myself. But no one moved my glass; the wine had done a 180, with acids gaining liveliness, layers of fruit unfolding onto a seamless canvas, and tannins that had gained detail, sweetness and focus; as if they’d come to attention.
The wine had gone from so-so, to elegant and complex. It continued to do so for the next hour as we worked through the balance of the bottle. A 100pt wine? Uh, no. An excellent, perhaps someday (toward) epic wine? Absolutely. If I had it to do over again, this would have seen a slow-O for 2 hours, followed by a full two-hour aeration in decanter. EtOH fully integrated. Maturing nicely, with the best still to come. Wonderful experience. Drink thru 2022
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