Brought this particular bottle to a tasting/dinner with Adam Lee last night as there was a request to compare/contrast CA Syrah and Pinots with his Siduri and Novy wines. I chose the '04 Reva as I haven’t had a bottle in over a year, and I wanted to check in on one. Bottle was opened at 1400 and NOT place in decanter. First sip was around 2000, so a good six hours of air time was on the wine. Dark as night and massive notes of dark fruit and tar. No reductive notes like previous '04 Revas, and Alban in general. Palate was unyielding with just an upfront assault of blueberries and cracked black pepper. Faint hint of roasted tomatoes started to come out on the nose, but it wasn’t a negative stewed component that can plague these wines. Our end of the table tasted the wine and came to the same conclusion that I did…cork the sucker up and try again after a day. I brought it home and will report back after tasting again tonight.
I sense that the '04 and '05 Revas, and Alban reds as a whole, have shifted in a direction of going for a riper, bigger and more massive style ala SQN. I know that John is pricing Seymour’s and Pandora according to RMP scores and what Manfred gets for his juice. Kinda sad as I truly love the '03 Reva and it was quite a bargain on release.
Bill did you notice any heat? I ask b/c the one and only bottle I opened was so hot and disjointed I immediately sold all the others - and the provenance/storage was very good.
Tony, no percievable heat on this bottle…and I know of what you speak of. My first bottle right after release was almost undrinkable. Second bottle a year ago had tamed down a bit.
I had this wine with Bill last night and felt it was very strong. If anything, it was still tight and in need of additional decanting/cellar time. I’m pretty annoyed by heat with my wine and I didn’t notice it. Of course, that could be related to tasting through the other 25 bottles ahead of it1
Overall, it came across as a very good wine. I hope Bill keeps some around over the next day or so to see if/how it evolves or devolves.
After thirty hours of being open, it is just now beginning to show what is underneath the surface. I liken it to a SQN…no joke. Tastes just like a Raven Syrah at this stage.
Here are a couple of my past CT notes on the '04 Reva. I haven’t had a bottle for a while. Maybe I’ll bring one to Berserkerfest II?
3/14/2009 rated 95 points: Popped and poured at restaurant. Opulent, fruit forward bomber of a wine. Gobs of concentrated ripe dark fruit - dark cherry, blueberry, plum - with slight hints of spice, tar, iodine. Full, balanced mouthfeel with long finish.
12/11/2008 rated 93 points: Starts out with room-filling aromas of blueberry, blackberry, lavender and honey. Dark and dense, super concentrated with gobs of cocoa and dark fruit with notes of tar/asphalt wrapped around a core of medium/fine tannins. Long finish. Still a bit tight and hot. Can benefit from another year or two of bottle time.