Tonight I retried about 11 wines from my tasting yesterday, which were mostly reds - I wanted to see what effect 24 hours would have on some of them. Most stayed the same, or did not improve significantly; but two of them had that "wow" factor about them that made be stand up and take notice. Then there was the Bordeaux ...
The first of these wines was from Bodega El Transito (Argentina) and their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, the downside of this wine is that the winery uses a plastic cork closure for all their wines, so the oxidization has already begun, but this wine was one of the few that benefited from the extra air. Sweet dried prunes/black fruit on the nose with a jammy-cassis-black raspberry flavour, there's even a hint of baker's cocoa on the finish which is laced with raspberry and vanilla. In the mouth the wine feels full and robust leaving behind a pleasant finish, though there are port-like qualities developing. This one would be quite ageable under cork or even screwcap, but because they have opted for plastic you have about a year or two before this one is fully oxidized and undrinkable - too bad - so enjoy now.
The next wine is from my favorite Bolivian winery (in truth I only know this one), La Concepcion, with this elegant 2007 Syrah - this mid-ranged alcohol (12.2%) wine is lovely with its smoked meat and bacon grease smells. When first opened it had a leathery quality, but 24 hours later it has softened somewhat, replacing the leather with white pepper and smoked meat wrapped in a combination of white pepper laced red and black fruit - this wine could still stand to be laid down for an extended period of time - I will check it again tomorrow ... it is the only wine of the whole tasting that I will be doing this experiment again on.
Speaking of lying down, I acquired a bottle of 1989 Chateau Mayne-Vieil, and that is the wine I ended the evening with. A 21-year old Bordeaux that showed it still had life. At first the nose had rotting red fruit, sweet dried cranberries, wet leaves and a grassy/herbaceous sensation along with some mushroom and subtle earthiness. The palate, when swallowed quickly was dried fruit and wet leaves, but if held in the mouth the wine desperately tried to show the red fruit that used to be so prevalent within, this sensation increased with each subsequent sip. Where the wine really shone was on the finish where dark cocoa powder was persistent and lingering. Not sure how long this wine has, so I'm gonna get back to it and enjoy it until it's ultimate demise in my glass. This is the reason that Bordeaux still remains king of reds.
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