Day 1
It was in the glass for 3 hours. It’s a bit closed on the nose (dry tannins/alcohol), but is showing some serious potential on palette. My first impression was it needs some more time, but it has evolved in my glass over the last 3 hours to a very pretty wine.
Day 2
Still a bit closed on the nose, but the palate rounded out (like most of Larry’s wine do with a bit of bottle age). This is a really good wine! If you have any I would hold or decant for a bit. This wine will continue to improve! Larry continues to make really good wine that are unbelievable QPR’s.
Thanks for the notes, Bryan!
I will eventually get around to ordering some Tercero Mourvedre. I figured that the wines were good drinking on release…
Bryan,
Thanks for posting this note. Yep, to me, this wine is still quite backwards, even though it’s a 2010 and was released a few years back.
This is a 100% Mourvedre using fruit from both the Larner Vineyard in the Ballard Canyon AVA and Camp 4 in the Los Olivos District in Eastern Santa Ynez. The former provides this wine with its structure and it’s ‘typical’ Mourvedre structure, spice and funkiness, and the latter provides it with an underlying brambly fruit.
Both lots were cold soaked, fermented, and basket pressed separately, and each was aged separately in 3-8 year old French oak barrels for 34 months (!), and neither lot was racked until just prior to bottling.
To me, this wine’s best life is still a few years ahead. And my guess is that by Day 2 or 3 it’ll be singing . . .
Drew - each vintage brings its own ‘challenges’ and some vintages will be ready to drink sooner rather than later. In general, I age my reds in older French oak for at least 28 months and as long as 36 months, and I don’t rack my wines during aging. To me, it keeps my wines more ‘tightly wound’ than they would have been had I racked them mid stream, and therefore, even upon release, I believe my wines are certainly approachable - but with plenty of ‘upside potential’.
Cheers!
Larry’s wines are very approachable on release. I think it’s a matter of your preference. I like Larry’s wines young as well as with a little bottle age to them…but by no means are his wines unapproachable young. They are very balanced food friendly wines. Order away…you won’t be disappointed!