Had heard a little about this but had never had it before. Got to try it yesterday at Juan Mercado’s (Realm) house during the Super Bowl. This is Keller’s “house wine” for the French Laundry. They make 100-150 cases of two wines and I think it goes for about $100 direct. The wines are made by Paul Roberts, and you can order them through him (I doubt there is any 2005 left) at proberts@modicum.net. The wine is a dead ringer for the Levy-McClellan style.
The vineyard source of the Rutherford is an Abreu-managed vineyard in the hills of Rutherford, apparently not far from Sloan. He also makes a St. Helena "Red Wine"wine from Cab, Merlot and Cab Franc grapes on hillside and alluvial vineyards in St. Helena. Both are the same price. This TN is for the St. Helena.
It is not a surprise that the wine is excellent given Thomas Keller does not do things half-way. Like I said, this is very much the Sloan style, and at the same quality level. The name “Modicum” means something like “small amount of something unique.” The label shows a single drop of red wine, with an “M” on top of it, I guess meaning there is very little of it.
Here is a pic of the bottle.
2005 Modicum “Red Wine” St. Helena, $100
Heavy, Merus-sized bottle. 15.1% alcohol listed. Black color. Massively full-bodied. Almost backwards. Blackest of black fruit, spice and oak. Opens slightly with aeration. Mouth coating, bruiser-like, but with a smooth texture. Fine, but substantial tannins that could use a few years. Port like. No burn. More explosive than complex, but this will probably change in time. Not exactly a food wine, at least now. There is Merlot and Cab Franc in this, but you would not know it. Reminiscent of an 05 Levy-McClellan in the nose and the 01 Neal Second Chance in the mouth. Not for everyone, but for those who like this style, a killer, and probably several points higher than my rating for those individuals.
93+pts
