what tasting note consistencies!

WINE TALK
1

Posted this elsewhere and got nothing back yet. Does anyone here want to cast a tie breaking vote?—

Do I open before 2011 or wait 15 years?

Wine Advocate
Catena Zapata’s flagship is the Nicolas Catena Zapata, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec blend. The 2004 Nicolas Catena Zapata is composed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Malbec. It spent 18 months in 100% new French oak. A saturated black purple in color, it has an aristocratic perfume of pain grille, mineral, espresso, saddle leather, cassis, black currant, and black raspberry. Opulently textured, complex, ripe, and sweet on the palate, it maintains a sense of elegance as well as power. It demands 10-15 years of further cellaring and should still be providing pleasure at age 50. It strikes me as being Argentina’s equivalent of a great vintage of Lafite-Rothschild.
Score: 98. —Jay Miller, December 2007.



Wine Spectator 2004 Nicolas Catena Zapata
Rich and showy, with lots of licorice snap, plum sauce, graphite, boysenberry and milk chocolate notes all carried by rich, velvety tannins. The long, fleshy finish is very accessible. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2011.
Score: 92. —James Molesworth, June 15, 2008.

2

Simple… buy 2 bottles. Drink one now, then drink the other in 15 years.

Then you’ll know who was right!!! [wink.gif] [wink.gif] [berserker.gif]

3

Actually buy 3. One now, one in 15 and one in 50!!!

4

I’ve never found WS drinking windows very useful. Then again, I haven’t found Jay Millers useful either!

10 years minimum, 11 years tops! [wink.gif]

5

A few years back I was on the Carlisle web site checking out the drinkablity chart and I noticed the window on the 03 Tom Feeney was only 2 years. So I sent Mike an email asking him about it and he told my after the 2nd year it will start to taste like port.

He was right, it did.

6

Only got one (the Schnieder’s fire sale- $45) and I ain’t paying sticker price of $100 for any more.

BTW got one bottle of the 2002,2003,2004- Any ideas on drinking windows for the lot- I never even heard of this wine before, but if the weight of the bottle is any indicator of quality- I’m in for a good time. I have never seen such a bottle before- thicker than
Drew Carey’s glasses

7

Well, I have found that Argentinian and Australian wines really shine after about 125 years, so I’d keep them that long.

8

I’ve had this both aged and right out of the gate. You really won’t be disappointed either way. I like mine with a few years on it, but 50 years seems excessive to me for this one.

9

There is no conflict between the reviews. It is clearly a 92 point wine through 2011, then complete swill through 2017 when it will emerge as a 98 point wine. The only part of either review that confuses me is why aristocrats are associated with the smell of toast.

10

In all seriousness, you have to taken JL’s viewpoint into account here . . .

He has come out and said that he likes drinker wines sooner rather than later - and this might come across in his tasting notes . . .

In addition, I think we’ve ALL experienced wines where we thought they were ‘rough around the edges’ and needed more time but others felt they were ‘smooth and integrated’ now and ready to roll . . .

It seems that tasting windows have become much more arbitrary across the board - I agree with others to buy and drink one now and judge for yourself!

Just another viewpoint . . .

Cheers!

11

My problem with Miller’s notes is that I never know why I’m waiting 15 years for a wine. Is it unapproachable now? Tannins? Not integrated? Or simply a stylistic preference for these wines to be aged? I am a rank amateur, so it is probably me, but what in that note describes today’s experience with wine versus 15 or 50 years out? With most other reviewers, the drinking window often enough follows naturally from the text in the review. With Miller, I have tried to “guess” what window he’ll assign based on his note, and I feel like he’s spinning a roulette wheel.

12

Mike,

That’s why I say taste it for yourself now and YOU make up your mind . . .

Not to say to disregard ALL reviewers, but at the end of the day, isn’t it YOUR palate that is the most important?!?!??!?

Cheers!

13

I drank a '99 of the Nico last night and thought it was time to drink up (bought it at the same fire sale). I have two left and will drink within a year. (Sorry Serge! neener But if you are out in CA look me up and I’ll be happy to open one with you)

Having had the '04 out the gate, I will tell you it was as tight as a drum, even with an hour in the decanter (this was a year ago). The '05 was much more approachable upon release. I have two more of the '04s and will probably sit on them for another year or two before breaking into them. But I echo the sentiment above in that you wont be disapointed if you open it now.

14

Not lost on me. [wink.gif] [grin.gif]

15

Larry is correct about Laube and his stated views. Molesworth is even more of an animal than Laube. JM will give newly released malbecs that are wound up tighter than a drum a drink now.

One of the interesting posts over on WS was about the 07 St. Prefect CdP. Molesworth gave it a “pop and pour”. Almost all the other drinkers said the wine needed a min of 6-8 hours of vigorous decant. At “pop and pour” it was completely unapproachable.

Guess one has to have a mouth of steel to face a line up of 20-30 new Argentina malbecs in a blind line-up! But for most wine drinkers, I wouldn’t give much credence to his drinking windows.

16

[rofl.gif] I guess you haven’t seen the movie? [welldone.gif]

17

The only major critics I trust at all on drinking windows are Parker with Bordeaux and Meadows with Burgundy. (Germany isn’t such a big deal because Rieslings are eminently drinkable at any stage of their lives, usually, so it’s never a disaster to open one too early.) Luckily those two types are the wines I care most about aging properly.