Peter Creasey
Peter Creasey
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. . . . . Pete
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Diverse Wines w/dinner (menu)
- Thread starter Peter Creasey
- Start date
Florida Jim
Florida Jim
‘Interested to hear how the ‘87 Montelena is holding up.
For a hot vintage, it always surprised me how much I liked that wine.
But that was years ago . . .
For a hot vintage, it always surprised me how much I liked that wine.
But that was years ago . . .
Peter Creasey
Peter Creasey
Jim, I have always considered the Montelena '87 as the premiere vintage of Montelena so I bought a good bit of it upon release.
Everyone, including me, loved the Montelena and most people indicated they liked it maybe a bit better than the Ducru '86 (which also showed well albeit a bit youthful).
The Montelena had great color, generous bouquet, full and round with all the right elements. I double decanted it ~2 hours before pouring it (for convenience and for the ability to serve it promptly). It stayed well in the glass. Really another superb showing of this wonderful Montelena which is seemingly well suited for additional cellaring.
. . . . . . . Pete
Everyone, including me, loved the Montelena and most people indicated they liked it maybe a bit better than the Ducru '86 (which also showed well albeit a bit youthful).
The Montelena had great color, generous bouquet, full and round with all the right elements. I double decanted it ~2 hours before pouring it (for convenience and for the ability to serve it promptly). It stayed well in the glass. Really another superb showing of this wonderful Montelena which is seemingly well suited for additional cellaring.
. . . . . . . Pete
Pavel Tchichikov
Pavel Tchichikov
the judgement of paris, texas
Florida Jim
Florida Jim
Well played.
I have very fond memories of both the '87 Montelena (a wine that I last had about 10 years ago and which helped me formulate the proposition that CA Cabernets simply do not evolve so much as persist) and the '86 Ducru (a monster of a wine that I last had earlier than the Montelena and which promised a near-infinite lifetime). Nice pairing!
Mark Lipton
Mark Lipton
Florida Jim
Florida Jim
Yes. I have often thought that; persist, not evolve.
But there are exceptions . . . at the wedding of a friend’s daughter several years ago, he opened a double magnum of 1976 Diamond Creek, Red Rock Terrace; of the Bordeaux that I remember to compare; few eclipse.
Much is made of the longevity (or lack thereof) of CA wines and, while I grant the change in focus (since Parker), I am no longer dismissive. Many aged CA cabs are bad or marginally better. But some . . . some make me write that I disagree. From time to time I taste something that makes me think that the Judgment of Paris didn’t know the path they opened. Or the accuracy of their foretelling.
Some shit good - real good.
And to the subject; many of the older but off vintage Montelena cabs. that I’ve had have made me wish that I had let them age - not just because I thought they weren’t ready but because I thought they were going to be much more.
Not just persist.