D. Zylberberg
David Zylberberg
honesty can come in all forms. Last night it was a 1999 Joseph Phelps Merlot. Unabashedly ripe, but was what it was - delicious, cherry-chocolate-mint merlot, with just enough acid to hold it together. Not a lot of oak; not a lot of spoof - no purple fruit or plump mouthfeel. Just merlot grown in a warm place in a decent vintage. Really delicious and probably at peak at age 13.
I'd take this - one bottle of thousands, with plenty of fruit and alcohol - over the majority of "small-lot", "new style" (read - spoofed in the other direction) CA wines I've had over the past year.
I'd take this - one bottle of thousands, with plenty of fruit and alcohol - over the majority of "small-lot", "new style" (read - spoofed in the other direction) CA wines I've had over the past year.