I opened a 97 Heritage last night and this thing was very much alive. Needed some time to open up, but it was pleasurable with some wonderful texture and great body. Aromatics were okay - not great - but well worth paying $16 for a +20 year old wine and having it give this much pleasure. May have to go back for more and use as a ‘party’ wine . . .
I’ve opened at 2006 Merlot that may have been an off bottle (some EA), a 2000 Meritage I thought was quite nice in a somewhat old school style, a 1996 Meritage that was a bit past peak but again quite nice, a 2003 Cabernet Track that was ripe, hot, and a bit of a mess, and a 2001 Merlot that was on the ripe side but tasty for the style.
-Al
Picked up a 2007 Petit Verdot.
2005 Cab Sauv was ok, but not much more than that. 2006 was a definite step up. Archetypal old school Napa Cab. A total steal at $17. I have a bottle each of 2001 and 2005 Merlot which I haven’t gotten around to opening yet.
Opened the 2003 Spring Mountain cab from a 375 @ 14.8 % alcohol. OK but raisiny and over ripe for my tastes. YMMV.
Opened the 2003 Spring Mountain cab from a 375 @ 14.8 % alcohol. OK but raisiny and over ripe for my tastes. YMMV.
Popped 2001 Merlot. This bottle is perhaps the eensiest bit over the hill. In a weird way, it adds a touch of complexity. The balance is sound and there’s lots of sweet fruit flavors. It’s not on the same level as the 2006 Cab, but if there’s any left this weekend, I’ll pick up another bottle. I don’t see any point to cellaring this wine.
They are not only on, they are in great shape. Drinking far younger than you might expect.
375’s in Nevada for 8.99. Drinking a nice 01 Meritage now, also picked up 02 Cab and 07 Cab Franc.
So far I’ve had the 1997 Meritage and 2006 “Lake” Cab. The 1997 was drinking like an older wine, probably on the downslope but still very complex and interesting. The 2006 was definitely more extracted and bigger, you can tell it’s not the same winemaker as the 1997. Integrated at this point, lots of fruit and crowd pleasing, but not a whole lot going on. At the prices i paid, both are silly good deals.
It seems like there’s some serious bottle variation then. We tried the 1996 Meritage a couple days ago. I expected it to be in better shape than the 1997, which was still pretty youthful. It wasn’t. Very mature, not quite dead but not long for the world. Those were the two that Cathy Corison made and I was surprised that the later vintage seemed so much better. The 1997 surprisingly wasn’t drinking like an older wine at all. Still really dark purple and tannic.
Purchased a bottle of the 2002 Merlot for $12 and it was surprisingly good! 17 year old California Merlot had great color, still has a lively fruit component, nice acidity and soft tannin. For sure had subtle signs of age but could still go for another 5 years or so I’m sure. Ironically I used to sell York Creek for a distributor and this particular vintage. Trip to see it at Grocery Outlet and have still stood up over all this time. Bravo Fritz.