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Wines with Age

Wines with Age

Wines with Age

If you spend even a single day talking to an experienced wine enthusiast, the topic of vintages will come up. Every producer will create a slightly different mixture each year because the conditions change. Completely unpredictable weather scenarios can affect the yearly grape harvest and alter the taste and texture of the wine. As a result, every brand comes with recommended years or best vintages. In a way, it takes a miracle to create the best possible wine because many factors have to align. Sampling a vintage gives you an insight into the weather patterns and other natural conditions of that given year – it’s like receiving visions of the past, and can hold great sentimental value if the year is otherwise important to you.

Not every wine is made to last a century, which means you have to search very carefully. A truly great wine stands out instantly, as it’s complex and subtle enough to rival the most intricate paintings and classical compositions. The flavors develop and evolve over time, creating a colorful collage of scents that perfume your mouth and spirit, leaving an emotional, rich aftertaste. It becomes incredibly hard to stop at one glass, believe us.

Being able to pick out wines is a skill that requires years to fully develop, much like the wines themselves. Acidic wines, ones with residual sugar, and precisely tuned alcohol levels tend to mature much better than their ordinary counterparts. Good things come to those who wait, and there is no better example than finely-aged wine. Let us guide you through some choice picks, wines that will give your collection more longevity, so that you may one day tell stories to your children about life-defining moments that sprouted from these fertile elixirs.
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2006 Dominus, California Red
2006 Dominus California Red

Starting to take on the tertiary character of ripe fruit and savory components with dusty tannins. Full and round with a lovely texture and a light salty, meaty and tobacco character. Forest floor. Sweet and sour. Just opening.James Suckling | 96 JSThere are 6,500 cases of the superb 2006 Dominus (91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot). Its dark plum/purple color is accompanied by aromas and flavors of truffles, forest floor, black cherries, black currants, and Asian spices. One of the finest wines of the vintage, it is complete, full-bodied, and seamlessly built with beautiful ripe tannins, low acidity, and a luscious, layered mouthfeel. The aromatics are even more evolved and complex than the 2005’s. The 2006 should drink well for 20-25 years.Christian Moueix, Dominus’ owner, has purchased the 35-acre Swanson Vineyard, which is situated between the well-known California bistros, Brix and Mustard’s. I suspect that will result in a third label from Dominus. At present, the production from these large holdings in Yountville is approximately 10,000-12,000 cases, with the second wine, Napanook, representing 3,500-4,000 cases, depending on the vintage. It is ironic that Christian Moueix, the great Merlot specialist at his flagship chateaux in Pomerol, especially Petrus, prefers the other Bordeaux varietals at his Napa property. Interestingly, when I visit Dominus, they always open a fresh bottle and serve it alongside a bottle that has been decanted for 24 hours. On each occasion, the more complex, open wine is the one that has had 24 hours of aeration, something buyers of this wine should take into consideration. These are the two strongest back to back vintages for Dominus since 1990-1991 and 2001-2002.Robert Parker | 96 RPBright red-ruby. Lovely floral lift contributes precision to the aromas of raspberry, rose petal and licorice. Sweet, high-pitched and sharply delineated; velvety but not thick. There’s a juicy quality to the ripe red fruit, mineral and graphite flavors, not to mention a firm underlying spine, that promises a long and positive evolution in bottle. Quite young but not austere, finishing with building tannins and lovely lift. The lingering perfume of red fruits, pepper, flowers and licorice is unusually complex. A really superb 2006, seemingly every bit as good as the sensational 2005.Vinous Media | 94+ VMUnless you knew that this was Dominus and had tasted older vintages, you might not be impressed. In its youth the wine is tannic and dry and linear. However, it is Dominus and it does need cellaring. Right now it shows blackberry, black currant, cedar and baker’s chocolate flavors. Will slowly open and reach maturity after 2011, and could easily develop for far longer.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEYouthfully floral and tight, this vintage of Dominus is a big wine that holds all of its weight behind a powerful structure. And it’s the power of that structure that is front and center-red apple-skin acidity and walnut-skin tannin-needing a ribeye with plenty of fat to bring the fruit out of its cage. Stay with it and the wine’s earthiness begins to meld with the blueberry and chocolate richness. But it’s all completely primary. Put this away for ten years, and drink the Napanook while it matures.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&S

96
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