TN: TNs from the holidays... 99 Lynch, 05 Quilceda, 99 d'Armailhac, and others

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michael
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TN: TNs from the holidays... 99 Lynch, 05 Quilceda, 99 d'Armailhac, and others

Post by michael »

Thought I'd try posting from CT. Here's a smattering of notes from over the holidays.
  • 1998 Vérité La Joie - USA, California, Sonoma County (1/4/2009)
    Reserved at first. This wine came out of it's shell over two hours and ended up being a really nice expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. Probably at it's apex now.
  • 2006 Alexandria Nicole Quarry Butte Destiny Ridge Vineyards - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills (12/28/2008)
    A little hard and austere. This either needs more time to soften up its structure or more fruit to balance it out.
  • 1999 Château d'Armailhac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (12/26/2008)
    This is the 4th bottle from my case purchased on release to show a cork with heavy saturation. I expect this might have even leaked a bit. While other bottles with marginal corks have been enjoyable, this one was shot. Other wines purchased at the same time, from the same retailer, and stored identically have not had this problem, so I'm inclined to think it's an issue with the batch of corks used to bottle my case. Reading through the other notes here, it's clear I'm not alone with this problem. Do not buy this wine today unless you like to gamble. NR (flawed)
  • 2005 Fidelitas Optu Columbia Valley - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (12/26/2008)
    Today, this shows better than the 05 Quilceda Cab consumed last night. Nice nose, good balance between fruit and structure, long finish. This should provide excellent drinking over the next five years and is one of the better examples of a Washington style Bordeaux blend. (93 pts.)
  • 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Washington (12/25/2008)
    My first experience with Quilceda. Opened and decanted for 2 hours before serving. It's hard to judge this wine at this stage. The wine has plenty of structure and occasionally gave off hints of fruit it's hiding, but is generally pretty tight right now. The other TNs on CellarTracker give the impression this wine is approachable, I would recommend waiting at least 5 more years before opening a bottle, or maybe 4-6 hours a decanting if you're a gambler. Given the reputation of the winery and the hints of greatness glimpsed from this bottle, I'm optimistic it will blossom into something great, but in the near term... keeps those corks intact!
  • 1999 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (12/19/2008)
    This seemed to be shut down. Not giving up much, although it seemed like there was still fruit hiding beneath the tannin. Given the vintage and previous experiences with this wine, I was pretty surprised. If this hadn't been my last bottle I'd wait another two or three years before opening another.
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